Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1933-09-28
AN OFFICIAL
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BY H. M. Egbert
@. by W. g. chapman-wNU Service.

Wv inquired the presiding ON
Ger Of the court-martial.
Eyes, sir" answered Major Lafieche.
Eyes. sir" repeated the other mem
bers, down to the Junior one, Lieuten-
ant Leblanc, who repeated the words
in a dry voice and licked his lips nerv-
ously.
1T is the only verdict possible un-
der the laws of war;" said Colonel
BOileau. LET the prisoner be brought
In"
Two noncommissioned officers led
the young fellow into the tent. He
was q fair-haired boy, not more than
two or three and twenty. He faced
the court impassively, but the fear Of
death was evident in his ashen face
and twining fingers.
"Jean Marchand." said the colonel,
''you have been found guilty Of the
crime Of sleeping ON sentry duty.
There is only one punishment for that.
Have you anything to say before SEN
tence 10 pronounced upon your
"Not much, sir" answered the boy.
" had not slept for three nights, ow-
ing to the forced marches. And the
sergeant put me on duty two nights in
succession, by error" :.
"Let Sergeant Lavergne be re-
called" commanded the colonel, and
presently the sergeant appeared with
In the tent.
"Was the prisoner placed on sentry
duty on two successive nights9' asked
Colonel Boileau..
"No, sir" replied the sergeant
quietly.
He was not sure, now that they
questioned him, but having given his
evidence, he did not want to get into
trouble. Besides, he hated the young
American who had returned at the
outbreak Of war to fight for, his IA.
theirs country.
Marchand, with his American ideas
had been what IL called q lawyer
He had made trouble with the commits.
siariat, with the little thieving cor.
poral who sold the hay; altogether he
was what the sergeant regarded as q
bad influence In the force-that 10 "a
say, q man, not q machine.
War had been declared four days
before, and the company was moving
by forced marches toward the from
tier. In war time sleeping on sentry
duty has, justly enough, only one pen
alty-death. Marchand could. hops
for no mercy, for his negligence might
have cost hundreds Of, lives, D.,
He had been brought to America II
childhood, and had grown up an Amer
ican in every sense Of the word Bill
father, a silk importer. had prosperet
in the land Of his adoption, and two
months before, while on q business
trip to his native land, had died sud
denly. The boy and his mother had
hurried to France to adjust his af
fairs. Then Mrs. Marchand had re
membered some old friends in Nancy
and had gone there for brief visit
while the son settled the Paris bust
ness tangle.
Suddenly, like q bolt from the blue
war blazed out. Mrs. Marchand, shut
up in Nancy, could get no news Of her
son. And Jean, ablaze with new love
for the land Of his birth, had enlisted
al private soldier. "
The tragedy Of the affair was that
Nancy was not six miles distant, and
the mother, waiting there, did NOT
know but that Jean was in Paris.
Colonel Boileau faced the prisoner.
1.-THE sentence Of this court 10 that
you be shot at dawn" he said.
The noncommissioned officers took
the young man to the guard tent. The
eourt-martial dispersed. II was eve
ming, and the company had been or
dered to advance NO further till II re-
ceived orders.
The firing squadron which had been
told Off to perform the execution at
dawn whispered together. It was a
melancholy duty, yet n necessity, If
discipline was to be maintained, for
upon the vigilance Of her soldiers the
safety Of the motherland depended. In
his tent Colonel Boileau scanned his
war map, together with his aide, Jac-
quevel, the captain who had endeav-