The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1914-06-18

minutes the general read this; then bis
black eyebrows lifted and be glared
You find 1t Interestingly" he demand
Francois, lips compressed. shook his
head firmly. mo, my Seigneur. Not
at all" And the generals gaze con-
centrated fiercely on the humble patch
Of brown homespun. The boys great
eyes met his calmly.
Il agree with YOU" the general said,
and sorted the papers over and laid
some away. you are an uncommon
critic" he went on. you speak the
truth, 1t Is what I want" Selecting
sheet or two, he began TO read again.
Over the frozen roads the worn
army still trudged, every form or mis-
cry trudged with them. Hunger was
there, and cold, and suffering Of
wounds, and suffering OF lack OF cloth
ing; more than this, there was the
constant dread OF attack from flying
bands OF Cossacks. From time to time
frightful explosions made one turn
ones head-it was the caissons explod-
ed by order OF the emperor that they
might no longer cucumber US. The
snow fell The low hanging sky was
heavy with more snow clouds; often
wind cut to our I'll covered bones;
the road was sleety; the worn shoes Of
the emaciated horses slipped on the
frozen ground; the soldiers put their
shoulders to the wheels to help their
horses"
Through the reverberating tones OF
the old soldier cut a childs sigh. The
bushy eyebrows arched and a glance
shot over the paper at the tense small
figure. The voice went on.
THE emperor marched on foot with
us, Staff in hand, wrapped In a large
loose cloak, q furred Russian cap on
his head, he walked in the midst Of
his household, encouraging with q
word, with q smile, every one who
came near him. At night he slept often
in cabin without doors or windows,
his rough bed screened with difficulty;
he shared our sorrows, our little cor
poral, our emperor. He was pale, but
calm as always, for his face never
showed his mind. Over frozen roads
of Russia, strewn with the men and
horses who were killed by fatigue and
famine, day after day Napoleon walked
with his army" 81.
There was no sound now. but the gem
eTal. glancing up again, met eyes so
on fire that he was Disconnected and
lost his place, In a moment he had
| found II again.
There were many adventures which
showed the souls Of men shining
through the nightmare of the hor-
rible time. Many noble deeds were
done, many heartbreaking ones
One which was both happened
to me. There was an Italian
officer In the corps under Prince
Eugene, who had been my comrade
when was on the staff OF Lannes;,
his name was zappi--the Marquis
zappi. On the day after the dreadful
passing of the Beresina river, I sudden
ly felt my strength go-I could walk
no longer, The horrors of the day be-
fore had capped the long stretch Of
prtvation; like thousands OF others. I
must drop out and die. looked at
the piles OF snow by the trampled road
side. at the gray sky over NEON that
frozen bed, under the pitiless roof. I
must lie down. A sick loathing seized
me, and groaned and dragged my
heavy feet forward, to stay with NV
friends even few steps more. And
with that an arm was around me sud-
denly, and heard zappi's quiet voice.
Keep up your courage comrade;
we are going to see our homes vet
he said I shall take. care Of you.
Look--and looked, and he had a
sledge with fur robes on IL never
knew where he got it--from some de.
serted Russian home i suppose He
put me on the sledge and wrapped me
m Ia tne turs and gave me brandy from
MS flask. For Zappi had done a clever
thing. He had made a bargain with
some Jesuits near Polotsk, where he
had camped for a while, that his men
should cut and beat the wheat neces-
sary on condition that he should have a
part of the brandy for them. He had
kept some of his share yet, and 1t saved
my life that day. the brandy of the
monks Of Polotsk
$50 zappi drew me, weak and
helpless on the sledge for days,
and cared for me like a baby
and brought me back to com.
parative strength. One would be-
lieye that after such kindess would
gladly given my life for my friend; in
stead Of that l tried to take his life 4"
The shock that caught the little
figure down on the stool arrested the
generals deep voice. He lowered the
paper and glared. But wait. monsieur
the marshall; wait till you hear the
story; don't condemn man unheard,"
he interjected. The reading went on.