The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1914-10-01
CHAPTER XII
THE AT LAST

1t is a common tragedy that men,
being human, cannot see all sides OF a
question; that a decision right In n
light may bring disaster in another. II
events had stayed where he left them,
Francois Beaupre and Colonel Couard
and his regiment would have won hon
OF and eternal gratitude from Louis
Bonaparte for the quarter OF an hours
work which made the arsenal theirs.
Events. instead OF standing still, or go
ing forward, took an unexpected sinis-
ter turn. not long after Francois go
Ing.
The happy Prince, smiling the shad-
owy smile which made his face win
ming, stood in the center Of triumph
ant turmoil his new followers, he men
Of the Forty-sixth, crowded about him
shouting, cheering, kissing his hands,
and the loyal fourth artillerymen fra
ternized. embraced, congratulated the
men OF the line regiment. The narrow
courtyard was a hubbub of ~rapturous
excitement, and the Princes Officers
Montholon, Vaudrey, Voisin. Parquin,
D'Hunin, Querelles-these and others
whose names Frenchmen knew, SUR
rounded the small figure which yet
had SO much of royalty, n laughed
and chatted light-heartedly. In a few
moments, when Colonel Laity's engin-
GERS and the third artillery should have
arrived, the Prince would have 1000
men under his command. The great
game vas practically won-Prince
Louis was all but Emperor.
Suddenly, bov the sea OF SOUND, a
commotion was heard at the farther
end of the barrack yard. The colonel OF
the Forty-sixth, Colonel Talandier, had
arrived. Very loyal to Louts PHILIPPE,
very angry at The scene before him, he
would not believe the news. He called
excitedIy, and the mems voices died
doE s0,S ss they saw cr INN ses ~on aIn de-
ceivedl This man for whom you are
shouting is an a~dventurer, an impos-
tort"
In the shock Of silence which fol-
lowed his words. another voice rang
out, clear and indignant, the voice or
a star officer whom they all knew.
TT Is not the nephew OF the Emperor!
1t is the nephew Of Colonel Vaudreyl /
recognize himl" the officer cried IN q
strong ~staccato, M q gasp as III
ice water had been scattered went
through the crowded place.
There Is nothing more absurd In his
tory than the instant effect Of this
quick wttted lie. Only with a mer-
curial French mob. perhaps, could 1t
have succeeded. but II succeeded here
with hopeless swiftness. 1t flew from
mouth to mouth-they were cheated,
tricked; h emperor's newphew, their
prince, had not come; this young man
was a make -believe, a substitute, the
nephew Of an officer; some OF b sol
diers who had show most enthusiasm
almost lost their minds now in rage.
Colonel Talandier began to form his
men; the prince, composed as ever,
yet earnest. swift, tried to rally his,
but 1t was impossible to start any
where, In this confusion, for line n
a-kf1koNrr HaH .hnrnVpn Vnf~a6 In nm nm
manageable mob. A word from either
prince or colonel and blood would have
flowed. De Querelles begged cave to
force a way through the infantry for
the prince. But Louis Bonaparte, con-
siderate and self-controlled, would not
shed a drop of blood OF these men who
had hailed him emperor a ONE be-
fore-he would not believe them his
enemies. He threw himself into the
midst Of them and they received him
with bayonets fixed, even forcing him
to parry a blow or two; he tried to
seize O troopers horse that so he might
be a rallytng point for his column, but
that failed, too.
Yet the steadfast mind kept it's
hope; he glanced every moment to-
ward the ramparts. The Third must
appear there shortly; It could not be
many minutes. They would turn the
tide. One glimpse OF that solid swing
INK ECklIuCuI anu knO uhy WOuAA 10
saved-and salvation was certain. The
Third was coming, would be here any
Becond-Francoia' ~faithfulness could
be trusted. .
Slowly, with his officers crowding
about him, he was driven toward the
barrack wall. and. in a fash. from
somewhere, a man was before him,
thrusting a bit of paper at him. with
d swift movement he had It open and
read:
'Destiny throws arsenal into our
hands. Have taken Third artillery to
hold II. / wait to bring the news-a
jewel for your crown. Vive I EN-
pereurl Beaupre."
Few men ever heard Louis Napoleon
sob, yet the officers who stood about
him at that moment caught a sound
that wrung them. 1t meant the end,
and they knew II. Passionately he
crushed the paper and threw II into
the seething mass.
FOOL! He has thrown away h m
pire," he Kissed through set teeth. II
I could run him through"
Then, quickly, he was himself again.
Eerenely while the maddened soldiers
pressed on him, he turned and spoke
q quiet word to his friends, and then,
serenly, too. with 9 gaze that was half
! contemptuous, half friendly, he let
himself be made prisoner.
Yet h fight was not all over even
now. On the ramparts, where the
prince and his column should have
been, had gathered from the Faubourg
Pierre a f. rmidable crowd, who adj
vanced al Srily to HIS rescue, and pelted
the line regiment with stones, and
cried again and again, "Vive PEmper-
eurI' Colonel Talandier had to reckon
with q many-sided trouble. But the
heart of II was In his hands, and
slowly order and the old rule were
coming back.
The tumult of the struggle had
quieted, the volatile Forty-sixth regi-
ment, returned to its allegiance, stood
formed In ranks, In appearance as firm
for the king as the everlasting hills,
and at the end OF thb court was a sad
and silent, yet a stately group of men,
the prince who had almost been en-
peror and those who had watched
slipping with his hope, their hopes Of
grandeur.
Suddenly a horses hoofs rang down
the lane from the Faubourg; a rider
clattered at gallop into the yard and
across the front OF the soldiers, and
every one in the agitated company saw
that the man Keeling I'm hfs saddle was