Omaha daily bee., 1903-01-31
MAX O'RELL'S ADVENTURES
Famous Authors "reminiscences of the
Franco German War.
HUMOROUS INCIDENT OF THE COMMUNE
An observer and Prisoner Of War
Death Cry OF n College Chum-
A Pinch of Tobacco ns
N Life saver.

At the Threshold Of these few remarks 7
sholSd like TO be permitted to pay to the
French soldier my warm tribute Of admlra-
ton. He is as easy to lead as a child.
HIS cheerfulness and gay philosophy enable
MIN to endure the greatest hardships with
out a murmur. All he wants is Justice.
When he has received his provisions he
straightway goes to weigh his meat. his
bread. his coffee, his sugar. even his salt.
All he wants is his due. and If he finds
that he has not received short weight he is
satisfied and cheerful. A kind word from
an officer will make him happy. A cigar
etto offered to him II he is short OF tobacco
will make a hero Of him.
| remember one day passing a young
soldier who was being taken TO the hospital.
His right hand had been shot of clean.
Cheer up, my boy" / said to him: mo
more lighting for you. They will nurse you
and take care Of you"
"Ah. Lieutenant" he replied. with a look
pitiful to contemplate, "how am to roll
my cigarettes now?"
I put a small box OF ready made cigar
cites in his breast pocket. l Shall never
forget the expression Of gratitude on his
face.
~ aAOth1A llbNduGt n utNOltu OIutIly
was plying his captain, whose leg had
Just been amputated.
Don't cry. old fool said the captain to
him. II am going to keep you, and, in the
future, you will only have one boot TO clean
every morning"
4 Devoted Orderly.
| had the good luck TO start the campaign
with a good, devoted orderly. a man about
40 years of age, called Rabier. He was a
tailor, a shoemaker. a carpenter, a cook
and. in times OF need, a man of many re-
sources and unlimited audacity. But for
him l should have had to go without food
many a day. He was an old African SOL
der and It was never with him a question
of what he could do, but rather of what he
could not do. His attachment and devo-
tion to me we're those OF a kind parent, and
he many times tended me as a kind and
skillful nurse would.
when, at night, / had retired under my
tent. and was lying on some straw or dry
leaves strewed on the ground, with a
blanket over me, he would come noise
lessly in, listen to find out whether / was
asleep. then carefully tuck me in before
he himself went to lie down under his own
tent. With a few pieces Of wood he would
improvise a bedstead, and my clothes were
every gay most CdTeIully examined ana
kept in a state that would have done honor
TO the best of housewives. An officer has
to stand on his dignity more or less. My
dear Rabier had no dignity to stand on,
and, thanks TO that, he many times sue
c~essfully managed to scheme and get me
a dinner when l had lost all hope of get
ting one.
remember that one day my regiment
stopped for the night in a deserted village
which we reached at about 4 o'clock in the
afternoon. All the officers we're assigned
10 an abandoned farm house. The pro-
visions had not arrived and no one had the
slightest idea how soon they would arrive.
The private soldiers carried their pro-
visions In the knapsacks. They we're sure
Of their meals. But the officers had to
rely on the arrival of the wagons. For
two hours we sat in silence, about thirty
OF us. BY 8 o'clock some prepared to lie
down on the floor and try to sleep and for
get the pangs of hunger, when Rabier, ra-
diant, triumphant, smiling from ear to ear,
entered and announced that dinner wac
ready. We looked at each other, speeches.
and unbelieving. BY what miracle could
dinner be ready? We repaired TO a barn
where. TO our stupefaction, we saw on the
floor omelettes, rabbits and chickens, fill
Ing the place with odorous perfumes.
i heardi later on, that habier had ridden
TO a neighboring village and called on the
mayor. stating that he was ordered by the
general commanding the division to brinl
provisions for his staff. And he got all h.
asked for. the mayor even refusing to hear
Of any payment. Rabier was the hero Of
the day and none of us had the courage Il
reprimand him for the manner in which
he had obtained that dinner.
Poor Rabier! At the battle OF Worth HI
received a bullet which entered his heat
under the chin and cam out between hii
nose and his right eye. As he was beinl
taken away from the battlefield he signed
to me that he wanted to speak. ] went Il
him and placed my ear close to his mouth
when he said in a tone hardly audible:
who will take care OF you while l an
away?"
And ] thought there were tears in hi
eyes. | know there were in mine. ] neve
saw him after that. He died In the hos
pital.
The Death Cry of a Friend.