El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-06-26
"Sir Men ForWard!''
A short story.


MT you are away, brOthern
A'A Bernhard. and may you
soon return safe and sound" said the
prior cordially to a young man in lay
clothes who stood before him.
That his dress was a disguise was
quite evident for everything about the
young monk betrayed his profession.
In May, 1871. the commune held its
wild orgies in Paris. The streets were
barred by barricades and the churches
and public buildings were IN constant
danger Of destruction. The Tuileries
were smoking heap OF ruins. The mob
was master and priests and monks were
no safer than outlaws, so il was small
wonder that brother Bernhard was
afraid. as he was about to carry an i'm
pcrtant message TO house at the
other end Of Paris
As he was leaving the monastery
the thought struck him that his rosary
might betray him, and that il would
perhaps be better to leave it in his
cells. on second thought however, he
kissed the rosary and put in back in
the pocket Of his coat
To avoid suspician he sauntered
along as If In no particular hurry,
but he had a vivid realization that his
acting was very poor, and when he
met a crowd of half intoxicated hood
lums his courage deserted him. and
h9 took refuge in the nearest door
way.
It was a long while before he ven-
tured out again As he turned a cor
ner there confronting him was a bar
r5cade- He turned quickly and was
about to run when one of the men on
the barricade Signaled him to pass
he walked past the one end of theI
hGIricade where narrow opening hadN
/. been left and suddenly found himself
surrounded by score Of wOrkingmer
in blouses.
''Vive la Iiberte, vive la commune
they shouted and compelled him TO re-
peat the cries. He begged them To
let him go but they only laughed and
cursed
In a few minutes they had torn his
clothes from his body and put him
into a blouse He was given a gun and
placed IN the most exposed place on
the barricade.
An afternoon and evening he stood
there thinking only Of how to get
away and trembling with fear that the
gun might 90 off. At midnighr he re-
ceiYed ration of bread and brandy
but he was not relieved as he hadI
hoped. Evidently the men were ex-
pecting to be attacked by the regular
troops and in his heart brother Bern
haTdt prayed that these heroes who
had just fought and bled for their
country might be victorious and Iiber-
ate the beautiful city from the howl
ing mob.
His prayer was heard. On this glor-
iCUs day in May Paris was liberated
The troops captured one barricade
after the other. some without meet
ing any resistance some after long and
Ll"Cdy uShtlnE- Law and order had
conquered and the reign Of terror Of
the commune was over.
In a great hall in the Conciergerie
few hundred men from the barri-
CGces we're hUddled together They
were not to be taken before a court
martial as the fact that they had been
captured arms in hand was sufficient
death warrant
Among these men were brother Bern
hard The soldiers for whose victory
he had prayed were now TO be his eX-
eCutiOners.
Everything had happened so quickly
that he had no time to throw away
the hated gun and flee from the bar
r-cade back to his beloved monastery.
where the brethren were anNiOusly
awaiting his return.
The men were glum and silent and
occasionally was heard the mOnOtOnOus
command of an officer six men fOr-
ward Nobody refused to obey this
order though fl meant death.
The only innocent man among them
vas struggling to control his fear.
He was trembling with terror and his
forehead was wet with cold perspira-
ton He could not bear the thought of
dying the death. not Of a martyr but
or q common criminal
His conscience did not trouble him
he had committed no sin. but voice
within told him that he had acted
the part Of n coward. If he had been
d worthy servant of the Lord heI
would hGve refused to put on the
blouse or touch the gun.
The sound Of each new volley in the
courtyard increased his anguish How
many were there still ahead of him2I
When would his turn Gomez How
many minutes had he left in which
TO live2
It was an easy death of course. far
hot til
ness. but he was afraid to die young
as he was.
At las he found himself in the
front rank. Another vOlley, Then
short silence and the officers deep
voice, six men forward"
Brother Bernhard's pale lips moved
and he cried II am Innocent
His companions stared at him in
surprise The officer looked up
i am innocent" brother Bernhard
repeated 'I was caught when on my
way with message from the prior
of st. Martins monastery and forced
TO carry the gun after they had taken
my coat away and put me into a
blouse have not fired a single shot"
Have you any papers or passport
NO. but if you will send to Ct.
Martins or to our other house in Rue
I'VE have no time for that said
the officer six men forward"
Every hope vas gone Brother
Bernhard felt that he was about to
faint and pressed his hand against
his heart But what was that? His
rosary InstinCtively he had concealed
It at his bosom when they tore away
his clothes. He pulled it out and held
g. I'D high.
Here is my passport" he cried.
The officer smiled. He felt sure
that not another man in the hall had
a similar passport
step aside he commanded. six
men forward