The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1918-10-17

that matter is how / employed my
time, or, rather, how Arsene
Lnpin employed his time during
the last three years of his service
with the Foreign Legion.
These inquiries were made by
my orders, said Valenglay.
And they led?'
ITO nothing
so that YOU do not know
what | did during my captivity 2"
Just so.
4 will tell you, Monsieur lie
President. 1t will not take me
long
Don Luis pointed with pencil
to spot in Mon occo marked on
the map.
f" 1t was here that | was taken
prisoner on the twenty-fourth of
July. My capture seemed queer
to Monsieur lie Project de Police
and to all who subsequently
heard the details Of the incident.
They were astonished that l
should have been foolish enough
to get caught in ambush and to
|allow myself to be trapped by a
troop of forty Berber horse. Their
surprise is justified. My capture
was deliberate move on my part.
You will perhaps remember,
Monsieur lie President, that | en-
listed in the Foreign Legion after
making fruitless attempt to kill
myself in consequence of some
really terrible private disasters.
| wanted to die, and ! thought
that Moorish bullet would give
me the final rest for which I
longed
Fortune did not permit it. My
destiny, it seemed, was not yet
fulfilled. Then what had to be
was. Little by little, unknown to
myself, the thought of death van
ished and [ recovered my love of
life. A few rather striking feats
of arms had given me back all my
self confidence and all my desire
for action.
New dreams seized hold of
me. | fell victim to new ideal.
From day to day | needed more
space, greater independence,
wider horizons, more unforeseen
and personal sensations. The Lee
glon, great as my affection was
for the plucky fellows who had
welcomed me SO cordially, was no
longer enough to satisfy my crav-
ing for activity.
One day, without thinking
much about it, in a blind prompt
ing of my whole being toward a
great adventure which / did not
clearly see, but which attracted
me in mysterious fashion, one
day, finding myself surrounded
by band of the enemy, though
still in position to fight, | al
lowed myself to be captured,
That is the whole story, Mon
sieur lie President. As prisoner.
] was free. A new life opened be-
fore me. However, the incident
nearly turned out badly. Ny
three dozen Berbers, a. troop de-
tached from an important nomad.
tribe that used to pillage and put
to ransom the districts lying on
the middle chains Of the Atlas
Range, first galloped back to the
little cluster of tents where the
wives of their chiefs were en-
.camped under the guard of some
ten men. They packed off at
once; and, after a week S march
which [ found pretty arduous,. for
| was on foot, with my hands
tied behind my back, following q
mounted party, they stopped on
la narrow upland commanded by
rocky slopes covered with skele-
tons mo,nldering among the
| 81 sas;s a,.s. Nth remains Of
French swords and other weap-
ons. s,.sss
Here they planted q stake in
| the ground and fastened me to it.
| gathered from the behavior Of
my captors and from.a few words
fssh lee Jaas Ii
was decided on They meant to
cut off my ears, nose, and ton lle,
and then my head. \
However, they began By pre-
pairing their repast. They went
Ito y well close by, ate and drank
land took no further notice Of me
except: to laugh ut me and ties-
lcribe the various treats they held
lin store for me. An
$500