The Parma herald. (Parma, Idaho) 1903-1917, 1915-05-27

barked; then he was of again cIosa :.
his masters heels and not too soos
He did not know the blow that Htrra,.
Sabron, but he saw him fall, and thor
and there came into his canine hear
some knowledge of the importance 30
his day. He had raced himself waars'
Every bone in his little BODY achaa
with fatigue.
Sabron lay his length on the bad .,
dried-up river, one of those phantor,
like channels of desert stream who's
course runs watery only certain timas
OF the year. Sabron, wounded in tba
abdomen, lay on his side Pitchoupa
smelled him from head to foot "a.
dressed himself to his restoration 4,
his own way. He licked his face ard
hands and ears, sat sentinel at the no
loved head where the forehead waa
covered with sweat and blood He
barked feverishly and to his attentive
ears there came no answer whatso-
ever, either from the wounded man in
the bed of the African river or from
the silent plains.
Sabron was deserted. He had fallen
and not been missed and his regiment
routed by the Arabs, had been driven
into retreat. Finally the little dog
who knew by instinct that life re-
manned in his masters body, set him.
self at work vigorously to awaken a
sign Of life. He attacked Sabron,s
shoulder as though it were a prev: he
worried him, barked in his ear, strucl,
him lightly with his paw, and finally.
awakening to dreadful pain, to fever
and to isolation, awakening perhaps
to the battle for life, to the attentions
of his friend. the spahi opened his
eyes
Sabrons wound was serious, but his
body was vigorous. strong and healthy.
and his mind more so. There was a
film over 1t just now. He raised him.
self with great effort, and in moment
realized where he was and that to
linger there was horrible death On
each side of the river rose an inclined
bank, not very high and thickly grown
with mimosa bush. This meant to him
that beyond it and probably within
easy reach, there would be shade from
the intense and dreadful glare beat
ing down upon him, with death in
every ray. He groaned and Pitchoune's
voice answered him. Sabron paid no
attention to his dog, did not even call
his name. His mind, accustomed to
quick decisions and to matrer-of-fact
consideration of life, instantly took its
proper course. He must get out of the
river bed or die there, rot there.
What there was before him to do
was SO stupendous an undertaking that
it made him almost unconscious of the
pain in his loins. He could not stand.
could not thoroughly raise himself:
but by great and painful effort, bleed
ing at every move, he could crawl: he
did so, and the sun beat down upon
him. Pitchoune walked by his side,
whining, talking to him, encouraging
him, and the spahi, ashen pale, his
bright gray uniform ripped and stained,
all alone in the desert, with death
above him and death on every hand,
crawled, dragged, hitched along out of
the river to the bank, cheered. en-
couraged by his little dog.
For drop of water he would have
given-oh, what had he to give? For
little shade he would have given
about all he had to give had been
given to his duty in this engagement
which could never bring him glory, or
distinction or any renown The work
OF spahi with native regiment Ia
not very glorious affair. He was
simply an officer who fell doing his
daily work.
P1tchoune barked and cried out to
him: "Courage!"
shall die here at the foot of the
mlmosa," Sabron thought; and his
hands hardly had the courage or
strength to grasp the first bushes by
which he meant to pull himself up on
tne bank. The little dog was close to
nim' leaplng, springing near him, and
SaDron did not know how tired and
THIRSTY and exhausted his brave little
companion was, or that perhaps in
that heroic little body there was as
much OF soldiers soul as in his own
human form
Inc sun was so hot that 1t seemed
TO sing In the bushes Its torrid fever
struck on his brown, struck on his
chest; why did it not kill him? He
was not even delirious, and yet the
bushes sang dry and cracking. What
was their melody? He knew 1t. Just
one melody haunted him always, and
now he knew the words: they were a
prayer for safety.
(TO BE CONTINUED