Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-02-08

ficction of the drcar December out
doors. But there were two marrow
skylights over the alcove. which in /;
pinch might have served the purpos'
Of an atcli"r dc pcinturc, or artist!
room. for Il very poor painter.
The walls OF the large room wer'
of pink plaster. cracked and hideous
y round iron stove, made to burr
either wood or charcoal. hugged ont
corner it's dusky black pipe penetrat
from the bottom of the building.
tire was burning. and on 1t q pot o.
coffee Simmercd. a huge dresser, o,
clothing chest. bulged from another
corner and in all probability 1t hclt
the spanglcd dress the girl had worr
the night before.
Chromos OF General Joffre. Presi.
dent Wilson and Lord Kitchener were
the only pictures on the walls. save fol
u rather good petit water color OF
country landscape. Several pieces Of
absurd bronze statuary. copies OF IA
nous ancient works. were standing
about and contraStcd strangely will
;hc few odd pieces of wicker furniture
and marblc-toppcd table upon which
Il ragged cloth, once white. was spread
Mimi Pincon took the roasted
chicken and white bread from the
major and placed them upon the table
She whispered her thanks. Then run
ming toward the stove she pointed nj
two sacs de boulet or bags of char
coal.
From English officers" she ex-
planned. Good gentlemen. Zey come
ce matin. English toujours ami OF
French girl"
The major felt less ridiculous. He
was not alone in his extension of SYM
pathy
The girl opened drawer and lifted
out small box with q sliding cover,
On |hicf was inscribed in white
painted letters "guere de guerre." that
meant "the little war Of the war;
There are many like it in France
these days. II was for sugar Jumps
and it contained half dozen cubes
of sugar. She said that the sugar had
been contributed by some Americans
who frequcnted the boulevard cafes. IL
was for the coffee. she told the major
And this winc?" asked the major
picking up Il bottle of red Bordeaux.
GIFT to me from the fat merchand
de vim in Place Pigall," she replied
lie is kind. Beige and know Mimi
avant IL guerrc. He make money ici
so he understand French girl"
\ bit of frontage dc livaro. or strong
cheese. completed the menu. 1t was
clearly dinner supplied by many, and
WAS ready to he eaten when the old
grandmother woke up. The major die
not tarry. He arose and gazed kindl!
at the little French woman. He al
most took n hundred-franc note from
his pocket, but nc checked the impulse
and with n gruff "bonne chance" went
out.
Somehow he felt as he stood In the
street below waiting to hall an empty
taxicab that there was touch ol
tragedy In the whole affair
The major. pacing the sidewalk with
long cavalry strides, came to tense
halt as u couture de place. one of those
venerable open horse-drawn Pari:
cabs. approached with Captain Brown
on the rear seat.
well. look who's here" said th'
Young officer. unabashed, jumping tt
the curb.
The major smiled tolcrantly
YOU have better heart thar
I thought. Don't forget your bun
dies
Explain why we are both here?'
Easy enough" said the older man
"You came primarily because yol
thought I would back out. Broad!
put. both of us thirst for adventure
glimpse into the unusual. We Ameri
cans are defendants Of the creates
adventures and idealists the wori'
has known"
PERHAPS II was that dig she gav'
us about the Americans who neve
understand the French woman" wa
Browns dry comment.
AT any rate. I am going back u
leave her 100 francs for luck" said tn
major. fumbling in the pocket OF nj
rreatcoat and moving tows~ I'd the yer!
street door Of the building he hat
shortly before emerged from. 1t Il
worth that much TO have found ou
that the girl wasn't lying. Come OF
with your extra chicken and whit
bread. This is going to be a grand
mothers big day"
Together they climbed In the dfrec
ton Of the apartment of Mimi Pincor
and now comes the real climax OF tn
tale.
Brown reached the top landing first
He found the door Of the girls room
open quite as the major had left II
He paused and looked within.
Hurry" he said breathlessly to tn
slower footed elder officer, "or you ar
going to miss the whole show"
Through the few inches Of spac
between the door and its casing tn
two officers watched Mimi Pincon pul
back the velvet curtains Of the alcov
and disclose to full view the occupan
OF the sofa-not a grandmother at al
|, but a broken man In the horizon blu
uniform Of a French soldier, fade
and mud-stained uniform.
She had been so occupied with he
dinner preparations that she had NO