Okolona messenger. (Okolona, Miss.) 1900-current, 1903-01-28
THE FLIGHT OF
THE SWALLOWS
By 8. RHErr RoR1AN.

A Ii day long they sped past, and for
weeks their STEADY flight south
4aFd. "A twOH, % 1SseA OF Eingly, had
SSsn Watched With an iAla interest By
ANddaoed soldier, weaing ~ khAh
unaform Of Uncle BAn's army, his red
strtpes denOting he was in ths artil-
tsry service, as de also the high walls
- Bort Getty, before whose postsrn
90 he was pacing, As sentry, up and
Down
Fort Getty, . Rlendid earthwork
Fertilization, armed with the most i'm
proved modern guns, planned and
cult 70 defend . Rsad harbor, and
aooatsd to overlook . bend in the chan
nsl which has bSOA formed by . long
line Of jsttisE ITO q deep rushing eur
'eanA up TO the BaA front of q pictur-
ssqua sturdy old town, looks serene
and peaceful, th@S September days,
while the swallows 90 noisSlessly by,
noetng from the approaching chill
frosts Of autumn, and the Atlantic
gales which ruAh down the coast, when
summer closes its page of gay pleas
nres and idle S~aunteringA.
The sentry, slight erect and with
rather q foreign air, who vas sta
AOnsd before the postern gate, kept
booking upward, his gaze following the
swallows, all going In the same dirsc-
Gton-Eouthward.
Until recently this man, who was an
accomplished musician, had been the
principal SOloist Of the Field band,
whose reputation was well known
everywhere.
BIS name on the rolls wa GuEtaVuS
Berrst. But somebody said his real
name was Gustave Berriet, and that he
came from New Orleans, and somehow,
while he denied the story, everyone be-
lieved 1t.
1t was very evident that his had
been a superior education, for he would
occasionally quote Latin, or the class
los, and he spoke French huently, in
fact better than English.
And he would recall incidents of the
time when he was q "hgnard" in the
~~quarante troissms de hgne" Of the
French army.
His hair, now slightly gray, had been
black, and his brown eyes and rather
dark skin denoted a Latin origin.
Buthe declared himself an American,
born Il this country, and after all it
was nobody's businesSif Gustavus Ber-
ret declined to discuss his sntscedents
with the fellows at mess and held him
self aloof from Jim Grady and John
Conner, who was from Chicago, and
declined to talk of his AFFAIRS.
When Gustavus Berret declared he
wonld no longer play the c~larionette
IN the Field band, there was e great
clamor at the port, and loud protests,
and the commander of Fort Getty was
appealed to.
But, as It is optional w1th'a man to
serve in the band or TO go back to the
rGnks II he 20 desires, according to
tho rules Of the United States army,
nothing more than q remonstrance was
attempted.
eustavus Berret seemed determined
80 forego the pleasures and privileges
attached to the position Of q member of
tho Distinguished Seventh Artillery
Field band, and 20 prefer the more
arduOuS and monotOnous life ofa plain
private, IN L company.
What we're HIS reasons2 Well, that,
COO, was exclusively his own business,
nor did he take the trouble to divulge
them 70 anyone
The band had been engaged to give
concerts IN the beautiful dancing pa
WILTON OF the Isle Of Palms, three times
aweek, all summer, Gndits well trained
20 musicians Allied the immense hall
With very delightful music, TO which
shrOngs Of strangers, drawn from ell
parts OF the country, listened with
more 0 Misrepresentation, according to
4heir lights and familiarity with
Beethoven, Bach, MasCaeni, Chopin.
Strauss and others and their previous
residence in city or village,
For the Isle of Palms is f~requented
By the usual pot-Pourri OF summer
tourists, drawn thither by the entrAnc-
ing sweep Of the Atlantic breezes, the
thunder Of the surf on its long, low
DcuSA8 " US RAoeaANA4ue auu DIOhEM
sand hills, its myrtles, and storm
blown oak groves, and the usual pleas
ares to be found ct all seaside summer
resorts.
There was q man from Boston who
wanted to bring down HIS auto, and
riSk the neck OF q very handsome young
woman, on the beach, and along the
queer, winding roads, running through
s tangled tropical growth the length
Of this oceap-girt island, and another
from New York, whose yacht was rid
ing at anchor in the bay, and who was
equally solicitous TO take her and her
gray-eyed sister aboard for a cruise
down the coast, and there were quite
g number of "local talent" attachedto
the party, chaperoned by a gay and
pretty widow, Mrs. Chatworth.
They were in the habit Of saunterfng
ansthe big pavilion to listen to the
concerts, and being conspicuous
from many agreeable s~tandpointL
GOOD looka wealth and fashlon