New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1919-01-10
CHAPTER XIII.
The Gate Of the Moon.

booth, swept now to u wonderful clean
Illness and adorned within with pic
lures cut from the illustrated papers
Outwardly Adelbert was peaceful
The daughter now received his pension
In full, and wrote comforting letters
But his resentment and bitterness a.
the loss of his position at the opera
continued. even grew.
For while he had now even a greater
wage, and could eat three meals, be
sides second breakfast and afternoon
coffee, down deep In his heart ole
Adelbert felt that he had lost caste
The opera-that was a setting! He
had been, then. Of the elect. And now
to what had he fallen! To selling
tickets for an American catchpenny
scheme, %patronized by butchers, by
%housemaids, by the common people
a noisy, uproarious crowd, that never
theless counted their change with
suspicious eyes, and brought lunches
in paper boxes, which they scattered
about.
There was. however, a consolation.
He had ordered a new uniform. Not
for twenty years had he ventured the
extravaganza, and even now his eau
tious soul quailed at the price. For
the last half dozen years he had
stumped through the streets, painfully
aware of shabbiness, of a shiny back,
of patches, when, on the anniversary
Of the great battle to which he had
sacrificed a leg, the veterans marched
between lines of cheering people.
Now, on this approaching anniver-
sary, he could go peacefully, nay, even
proudly. The uniform was Of the best
cloth, and on its second fitting showed
already its marvel of tailoring.
On an evening a week before the
parade would occur, he got out his
boots. He bought always large boots
with straight soles. the right not much
different from the left in shape. Thus
he managed thriftlly to wear, on his
one leg, first one of the pair. then the
other. But they were both worn now,
and because of the cost Of the new
uAllAoli IL AC NouIl IIOt DuJ OtlACA0s
Armed with the better of the two
he visited the cobbler's shop, and there
met with bitter news.
"a patch here, and a new heel, com
rade," he said. with that and a pol.
ishing, it will do well enough for
marching"
The usual group was in the shop,
mostly young men, a scattering of gray
heads. The advocates of strange doc
trines, most of them. Old Adelbert
dlsapproved Of them, regarded them
with a sort Of contempt.
Now he felt that they smiled behind
his back. 1t was his clothing, he felt.
He shrugged his shoulders disdain.
fully. He no longer felt ashamed be-
fore them. Already, although the
tailor still pressed its seams and
marked upon it with chalk, he was
clad in the dignity of the new uni
form.
He turned and nodded to them. "A
fine evening"" he said. III this
weather holds, we will have a good
day for the marching" He sQulnted
a faded eye at the sky outside.
"What ~marching?"
Old Adelbert turned on the speaker
sharply. "Probably you have forgot
ten," he said scornfully, "but in a week
comes an anniversary there r many
who will remember. The day of a
great battle. Perhaps" he added, "if
you do not know of what l speak, there
are some here who will tell you"
at is the way of the old to live in
the past" a student said. Then, imi-
tating old Adelbert's majestic tone:
1--WE, we live in the future. Eth, COM
radesy He turned to the old soldier:
You have not seen the bulletins"
"BulletinsT"
"There will be no marching, my
friend. The uniform now-that is a
pity. Perhaps the tailor" His eyes
Knocked.
mo marching"
"An order of the council. It seems
that the city is bored by these ancient
1t is for peace, and would
forget wars. And professions r cost
ly. We grow thrifty. Bands and fire.
works cost money, and money, my
hero, Is scarce-very scarce"
Again the group laughed.
After a time he grasped the truth.
There was such an order. The cause
was given as the kings illness,
"Since when," demanded old Adel-
bert angrily, has the sound of his
soldiers marching disturbed the kingT
1.-THE sound Of wooden legs annoys
him." observed the mocking student,
q cigarette. HE would hear
only pleasant sounds, such as the noise
Of tax money pouring into his vaults.
Mel can think Of a ~pleasanter: the
tollIng of the cathedral bell, at a e
tain time, will be music to my earsl"
Old Adelbert stood. staring ahead.
At last he went out into the street,
m~uttering. "They shame us before the
people," he said quickly.
The order of the council had indeed
been issued, a painful business over
which Mettlich and the council had
pondered long. For, In the state Of
things, 1t was deemed unwise to per-
nit any gathering Of the populace en-
masse. Mobs lead to riots, and riots
again to mobs. Five thousand armed