ofthunder
.
If
the
bonds
of
discipline
had
loosed
them
,
they
would
have
rushed
forth
on
the
search
and
to
the
slaughter
,
forgetful
of
hunger
,
of
heat
,
of
sun-stroke
,
of
self-pity
,
of
all
things
save
the
dead
Tringlo
,
whose
only
fear
in
death
had
been
lest
they
should
want
and
suffer
through
him
.
Their
adjutants
,
alarmed
by
the
tumult
,
hurried
to
the
spot
,
fearing
a
bread-riot
;
for
the
camp
was
far
from
supplies
,
and
had
been
ill
victualled
for
several
days
.
They
asked
rapidly
what
was
the
matter
.
"
"
Biribi
has
been
killed
,
"
some
soldier
answered
.
"
Ah
!
and
the
bread
not
come
?
"
"
Yes
,
mon
adjutant
;
the
bread
is
there
,
and
Cigarette
too
.
"
"
There
is
no
need
for
me
,
then
,
"
muttered
the
Adjutant
of
Zouaves
;
"
the
Little
One
will
keep
order
.
"
The
Little
One
had
before
now
quelled
a
mutiny
with
her
pistol
at
the
ringleader
's
forehead
,
and
her
brave
scornful
words
scourging
the
insubordinates
for
their
dishonour
to
their
arms
,
for
their
treason
to
the
tricolour
;
and
she
was
equal
to
the
occasion
now
.
She
lifted
her
right
hand
:
"
We
will
avenge
him
.
That
is
of
course
.
The
Flag
of
France
never
hangs
idly
when
there
is
a
brave
life
's
loss
to
be
reckoned
for
;
I
shall
know
again
the
cur
that
fled
.
Trust
to
me
,
and
now
be
silent
.
You
bawl
out
your
oath
of
vengeance
,
oh
yes
!
But
you
bawled
as
loud
a
minute
ago
for
bread
.
Biribi
loved
you
better
than
you
deserved
.
You
deserve
nothing
;
you
are
hounds
as
ready
to
tear
for
offal
to
eat
to
rend
the
foe
of
your
dead
friend
.
Bah
!
"
The
roar
of
the
voices
sank
somewhat
;
Cigarette
had
sprung
aloft
on
a
gun-carriage
,
and
as
the
sun
shone
on
her
face
it
was
brilliant
with
the
scorn
that
lashed
them
like
whips
.
"
Sang
de
Dieu
?
"
fiercely
swore
a
Zouave
.
"
Hounds
,
indeed
!
If
it
were
any
one
but
you
!
When
one
has
had
nothing
but
a
snatch
of
raw
bullock
's
meat
,
and
a
taste
of
coffee
black
with
mud
,
for
a
week
through
,
is
one
a
hound
because
one
hungers
?
"
"
No
,
"
said
the
orator
from
her
elevation
,
and
her
eyes
softened
wonderfully
.
In
her
heart
she
loved
them
so
well
,
these
wild
barbaric
warriors
that
she
censured
—
"
no
,
one
is
not
a
hound
because
one
hungers
;
but
one
is
not
a
soldier
if
one
complains
.
Well
!
Biribi
loved
you
;
and
I
am
here
to
do
his
will
,
to
do
his
work
.
He
came
laden
;
his
back
was
loaded
heavier
than
the
mules
'
.
To
the
front
,
all
of
you
,
as
I
name
you
!
Petit-Pot-de-Terre
,
there
is
your
old
mother
's
letter
.
If
she
knew
as
much
as
I
do
about
you
,
scapegrace
,
she
would
never
trouble
herself
whether
you
were
dead
or
alive
!
Fagotin
!
here
is
a
bundle
of
Paris
newspapers
for
you
;
they
are
quite
new
—
only
nine
months
old
!
Potélé
!
some
woman
has
sent
you
a
love-scrawl
and
some
tobacco
;
I
suppose
she
knew
your
passions
all
ended
in
smoke
!
Rafle
!
here
is
a
little
money
come
for
you
from
France
;
it
has
not
been
stolen
,
so
it
will
have
no
spice
for
you
!
Racoleur
!
here
is
a
poulet
46
from
some
simpleton
,
with
a
knife
as
a
souvenir
;
sharpen
it
on
the
Arbicos
.
Poupard
,
Loup-terrible
,
Jean
Pagnote
,
Pince-Maille
,
Louis
Magot
,
Jules
Goupil
—
here
!
There
are
your
letters
,
your
papers
,
your
commissions
.
Biribi
forgot
nothing
.
As
if
you
deserved
to
be
worked
for
or
thought
of
,
sacripans
!
"
With
which
reproach
,
Cigarette
relieved
herself
of
the
certain
pain
that
was
left
on
her
by
the
death
of
Biribi
;
she
always
found
,
that
to
work
yourself
into
a
passion
with
somebody
is
the
very
best
way
in
the
world
to
banish
an
unwelcome
emotion
.
The
men
summoned
by
their
camp-sobriquets
,
which
were
so
familiar
that
they
had
,
many
of
them
,
fairly
forgotten
their
original
names
,
rallied
around
her
to
receive
the
various
packets
with
which
a
Tringlo
is
commonly
charged
by
friends
in
the
towns
,
or
relatives
away
in
France
,
for
the
soldiers
of
African
brigades
,
and
which
,
as
well
as
his
convoy
of
food
and
his
budget
of
news
,
render
him
so
precious
and
so
welcome
an
arrival
at
an
encampment
.
The
dead
Biribi
had
been
one
of
the
lightest
,
brightest
,
cheeriest
,
and
sauciest
of
the
gay
,
kindly
,
industrious
wanderers
of
his
branch
of
the
service
;
always
willing
to
lend
,
always
ready
to
help
;
always
smoking
,
singing
,
laughing
,
chattering
;
treating
his
three
mules
as
an
indulgent
mother
her
children
;
calling
them
Plick
,
Plack
,
et
Plock
,
and
thinking
of
Plick
,
Plack
,
et
Plock
far
beyond
himself
at
all
times
;
a
merry
,
busy
,
smiling
,
tender-hearted
soul
,
who
was
always
happy
,
trudging
along
the
sunburnt
road
,
and
carolling
in
his
joyous
voice
chansonnettes
and
gaudrioles
to
the
African
flocks
and
herds
,
amidst
the
African
solitudes
.
If
there
were
a
man
they
loved
,
it
was
Biribi
;
Biribi
,
whose
advent
in
camp
had
always
been
the
signal
for
such
laughter
,
such
abundance
,
such
shower
of
newspapers
,
such
quantities
of
intelligence
from
that
France
for
tidings
of
which
the
hardest-featured
veteran
amongst
them
would
ask
with
a
pang
at
the
heart
,
with
a
thrill
in
the
words
.
And
they
had
sworn
,
and
would
keep
what
they
had
sworn
in
bitter
intensity
,
to
avenge
him
to
the
uttermost
point
of
vengeance
.
Yet
five
minutes
afterwards
,
when
the
provisions
Plick
,
Plack
,
et
Plock
had
brought
were
divided
and
given
out
,
they
were
shouting
,
eating
,
singing
,
devouring
,
with
as
eager
a
zest
,
and
as
hearty
an
enjoyment
,
as
though
Biribi
were
amongst
them
,
and
did
not
lie
dead
two
leagues
away
,
with
a
dozen
wounds
slashed
on
his
stiffening
frame
.
"
What
heartless
brutes
!
Are
they
always
like
that
?
"
muttered
a
gentleman-painter
who
,
travelling
through
the
interior
to
get
military
sketches
,
had
obtained
permission
to
take
up
quarters
in
the
camp
.
"
If
they
were
not
like
that
,
they
could
not
live
a
day
,
"
a
voice
answered
,
curtly
,
behind
him
.
"
Do
you
know
what
this
service
is
,
that
you
venture
to
judge
them
?
Men
who
meet
death
in
the
face
every
five
minutes
they
breathe
cannot
afford
the
space
for
sentimentalism
which
those
who
saunter
at
ease
and
in
safety
can
do
.
They
laugh
when
we
are
dead
,
perhaps
,
but
they
are
true
as
steel
to
us
while
we
live
;
—
it
is
the
reverse
of
the
practice
of
the
world
!
"
The
tourist
started
,
turned
,
and
looked
aghast
at
the
man
who
had
reproved
him
;
it
was
a
Chasseur
d'Afrique
,
who
,
having
spoken
,
was
already
some
way
onward
,
moving
through
the
press
and
tumult
of
the
camp
to
his
own
regiment
's
portion
of
it
.
Cigarette
,
standing
by
to
see
that
Plick
,
Plack
,
and
Plock
were
properly
baited
on
the
greenest
forage
to
be
found
,
heard
,
and
her
eyes
flashed
with
a
deep
delight
.
"
Dame
!
"
she
thought
,
"
I
could
not
have
answered
better
myself
!
He
is
a
true
soldier
,
that
.
"
And
she
forgave
Cecil
all
his
sins
to
her
with
the
quick
,
impetuous
,
generous
pardon
of
her
warm
little
Gallic
heart
.
Cigarette
believed
that
she
could
hate
very
bitterly
;
indeed
,
her
power
of
resentment
she
rated
high
amongst
her
grandest
qualities
.
Had
the
little
leopard
been
told
that
she
could
not
resent
to
the
death
what
offended
her
,
she
would
have
held
herself
most
infamously
insulted
.
Yet
hate
was
,
in
truth
,
foreign
to
her
frank
,
vivacious
nature
;
its
deadliness
never
belonged
to
her
,
if
its
passion
might
;
and
at
a
trait
akin
to
her
,
at
a
flash
of
sympathetic
spirit
in
the
object
of
her
displeasure
,
Cigarette
changed
from
wrath
to
friendship
with
the
true
instinct
of
her
little
heart
of
gold
.
A
heart
which
,
though
it
had
been
tossed
about
on
a
sea
of
blood
,
and
had
never
been
graven
with
so
much
as
one
tender
word
or
one
moral
principle
from
the
teachings
of
any
creature
,
was
still
gold
,
despite
all
,
no
matter
the
bruises
and
the
stains
and
the
furnace-heats
that
had
done
their
best
to
harden
it
into
bronze
,
to
debase
it
into
brass
.
The
camp
was
large
,
and
a
splendid
picture
of
colour
,
movement
,
picturesque
combination
,
and
wonderful
light
and
shadow
,
as
the
sun-glow
died
out
and
the
fires
were
lighted
;
for
the
nights
were
now
intensely
cold
,
cold
with
the
cutting
,
icy
,
withering
bise
,
and
clear
above
as
an
Antarctic
night
,
though
the
days
were
still
hot
and
dry
as
flame
.
On
the
left
were
the
Tirailleurs
,
the
Zouaves
,
the
Zéphyrs
;
on
the
right
were
the
Cavalry
and
the
Artillery
;
in
the
centre
of
all
was
the
tent
of
the
Chief
.
Everywhere
,
as
evening
fell
,
the
red
warmth
of
fires
rose
;
the
caldron
of
soup
or
of
coffee
simmered
,
gipsy-like
,
above
;
the
men
lounged
around
,
talking
,
laughing
,
cooking
,
story-telling
at
their
pleasure
;
after
the
semi-starvation
of
the
last
week
,
the
abundance
of
stores
that
had
come
in
with
other
Tringlos
besides
poor
Biribi
,
caused
an
universal
hilarity
.
The
glitter
of
accoutrements
,
the
contents
of
open
knapsacks
,
the
skins
of
animals
just
killed
for
the
marmite
,
the
boughs
of
pines
broken
for
firewood
,
strewed
the
ground
.
Tethered
horses
,
stands
of
arms
,
great
drums
and
eagle-guidons
,
the
looming
darkness
of
huge
cannon
,
the
blackness
,
like
dromedaries
couched
,
of
caissons
and
ambulance-waggons
,
the
whiteness
of
the
canvas
tents
,
the
incessant
movement
as
the
crowds
of
soldiery
stirred
,
and
chattered
,
and
worked
,
and
sang
—
all
these
,
on
the
green
level
of
the
plain
,
framed
in
by
the
towering
masses
of
the
rugged
rocks
,
made
a
picture
of
marvellous
effect
and
beauty
.
Cecil
,
looking
at
it
,
thought
so
;
though
the
harsh
and
bitter
misery
which
he
knew
that
glittering
scene
enfolded
,
and
which
he
had
suffered
so
many
years
himself
—
misery
of
hunger
,
of
cold
,
of
shot-wounds
,
of
racking
bodily
pains
—
stole
from
it
,
in
his
eyes
,
that
poetry
and
that
picturesque
brilliancy
which
it
bore
to
the
sight
of
the
artist
and
the
amateur
.
He
knew
the
naked
terrors
of
war
,
the
agony
,
the
travail
,
the
icy
chills
,
the
sirocco
heats
,
the
grinding
routine
,
the
pitiless
chastisements
of
its
reality
;
to
those
who
do
,
it
can
no
longer
be
a
spectacle
dressed
in
the
splendid
array
of
romance
.
It
is
a
fearful
tragedy
and
farce
woven
close
one
in
another
;
and
its
sole
joy
is
in
that
blood-thirst
which
men
so
lustfully
share
with
the
tiger
,
and
yet
shudder
from
when
they
have
sated
it
.
It
was
this
knowledge
of
war
,
in
its
bitter
and
deadly
truth
,
which
had
made
him
give
the
answer
that
had
charmed
Cigarette
,
to
the
casual
visitor
of
the
encampment
.
He
sat
now
,
having
recovered
from
the
effects
of
the
day
of
Zarâila
,
within
a
little
distance
of
the
fire
at
which
his
men
were
stewing
some
soup
in
the
great
simmering
copper
bowl
.
They
had
eaten
nothing
for
nigh
a
week
,
except
some
mouldy
bread
,
with
the
chance
of
a
stray
cat
or
a
shot
bird
to
flavour
it
.
Hunger
was
a
common
thorn
in
Algerian
warfare
,
since
not
even
the
matchless
intendance
of
France
could
regularly
supply
the
troops
across
those
interminable
breadths
of
arid
land
,
those
sun-scorched
plains
,
swept
by
Arab
foragers
.
"
Beau
Victor
!
you
took
their
parts
well
,
"
said
a
voice
behind
him
,
as
Cigarette
vaulted
over
a
pile
of
knapsacks
and
stood
in
the
glow
of
the
fire
,
with
a
little
pipe
in
her
pretty
rosebud
mouth
,
and
her
cap
set
daintily
on
one
side
of
her
curls
.
He
looked
up
,
and
smiled
.
"
Not
so
well
as
your
own
clever
tongue
would
have
done
.
Words
are
not
my
weapons
.
"
"
No
!
You
are
as
silent
as
the
grave
commonly
;
but
when
you
do
speak
,
you
speak
well
,
"
said
the
vivandière-Demosthenes
,
condescendingly
.
"
I
hate
silence
myself
!
Thoughts
are
very
good
grain
,
but
if
they
are
not
whirled
round
,
round
,
round
,
and
winnowed
and
ground
in
the
millstones
of
talk
,
they
keep
little
,
hard
,
useless
kernels
,
that
not
a
soul
can
digest
.
"
With
which
metaphor
Cigarette
blew
a
cloud
of
smoke
into
the
night
air
,
looking
the
prettiest
little
genre
picture
in
the
ruddy
firelight
that
ever
was
painted
on
such
a
background
of
wavering
shadow
and
undulating
flame
.
"
Will
your
allegory
hold
good
,
petite
?
"
smiled
Cecil
,
thinking
but
little
of
his
answer
or
of
his
companion
,
of
whose
service
to
him
he
remained
utterly
ignorant
.
"
I
fancy
speech
is
the
chaff
most
generally
,
little
better
.
So
,
they
talk
of
you
for
the
Cross
?
No
soldier
ever
,
of
a
surety
,
more
greatly
deserved
it
.
"
Her
eyes
gleamed
with
a
lustre
like
the
African
planets
above
her
;
her
face
caught
all
the
fire
,
the
light
,
the
illumination
of
the
flames
flashing
near
her
.
"
I
did
nothing
,
"
she
said
,
curtly
.
"
Any
man
on
the
field
would
have
done
the
same
.
"
"
That
is
easy
to
say
;
not
so
easy
to
prove
.
In
all
great
events
there
may
be
the
same
strength
,
courage
,
and
desire
to
act
greatly
in
those
who
follow
as
in
the
one
that
leads
;
but
it
is
only
in
that
one
that
there
is
also
the
daring
to
originate
,
the
genius
to
seize
aright
the
moment
of
action
and
of
success
.
"
Cigarette
was
a
little
hero
,
she
was
,
moreover
,
a
little
desperado
;
but
she
was
a
child
in
years
and
a
woman
at
heart
,
valiant
and
ruthless
young
soldier
though
she
might
be
.
She
coloured
all
over
her
mignonne
face
at
the
words
of
eulogy
from
this
man
whom
she
had
told
herself
she
hated
:
her
eyes
filled
;
her
lips
trembled
.
"
It
was
nothing
,
"
she
said
,
softly
,
under
her
breath
.
"
I
would
die
twenty
deaths
for
France
.
"
He
looked
at
her
,
and
for
the
hour
understood
her
aright
;
he
saw
that
there
was
the
love
for
her
country
and
the
power
of
sacrifice
of
a
Viriathus
or
an
Arminius
in
this
gay-plumaged
and
capricious
little
hawk
of
the
desert
.
"
You
have
a
noble
nature
,
Cigarette
,
"
he
said
,
with
an
earnest
regard
at
her
.
"
My
poor
child
,
if
only
—
—
"
He
paused
.
He
was
thinking
what
it
was
hard
to
say
to
her
—
if
only
the
accidents
of
her
life
had
been
different
,
what
beauty
,
grace
,
and
genius
might
have
been
developed
out
of
the
untamed
,
untutored
,
inconsequent
,
but
glorious
nature
of
the
child-warrior
.
As
by
a
fate
,
unconsciously
his
pity
embittered
all
the
delight
his
praise
had
given
,
and
this
implied
regret
for
her
stung
her
as
the
rend
of
the
spur
a
young
Arab
colt
—
stung
her
inwardly
into
cruel
wrath
and
pain
;
outwardly
into
irony
,
devilry
,
and
contemptuous
retort
.
"
Oh-hé
!
Child
,
indeed
!
Was
I
a
child
the
other
day
,
my
good
fellow
,
when
I
saved
your
squadron
from
being
cut
to
pieces
like
grass
with
a
scythe
?
As
for
nobility
?
Pouf
!
Not
much
of
that
in
me
.
I
love
France
—
yes
.
A
soldier
always
loves
his
country
.
She
is
so
brave
,
too
,
and
so
fair
,
and
so
riante
,
and
so
gay
.
Not
like
your
Albion
—
if
it
is
yours
—
who
is
a
great
gobemouche
stuffed
full
of
cotton
,
steaming
with
fog
,
clutching
gold
with
one
hand
and
the
Bible
with
the
other
,
that
she
may
swell
her
money-bags
,
and
seem
a
saint
all
the
same
;
never
laughing
,
never
learning
,
always
growling
,
always
shuffling
,
who
is
like
this
spider
—
look
!
—
a
tiny
body
and
huge
hairy
legs
—
pull
her
legs
,
the
Colonies
,
off
,
and
leave
her
little
English
body
,
all
shrivelled
and
shrunk
alone
,
and
I
should
like
to
know
what
size
she
would
be
then
,
and
how
she
would
manage
to
swell
and
to
strut
?
"
Wherewith
Cigarette
tossed
the
spider
into
the
air
,
with
all
the
supreme
disdain
she
could
impel
into
that
gesture
.
Cigarette
,
though
she
knew
not
her
A
,
B
,
C
,
D
,
and
could
not
have
written
her
name
to
save
her
own
life
,
had
a
certain
bright
intelligence
of
her
own
that
caught
up
political
tidings
,
and
grasped
at
public
subjects
with
a
skill
education
alone
will
not
bestow
.
One
way
and
another
,
she
had
heard
most
of
the
floating
opinions
of
the
day
,
and
stored
them
up
in
her
fertile
brain
as
a
bee
stores
honey
into
his
hive
by
much
as
nature-given
and
unconscious
an
instinct
as
the
bee
's
own
.
Cecil
listened
amused
.
"
You
little
Anglophobist
!
You
have
the
tongue
of
a
Voltaire
.
"
"
Voltaire
?
"
questioned
Cigarette
.
"
Voltaire
.
Let
me
see
.
I
know
that
name
.
He
was
the
man
who
championed
Calas
?
who
had
a
fowl
in
the
pot
for
every
poor
wretch
that
passed
his
house
?
who
was
taken
to
the
Panthéon
by
the
people
in
the
Revolution
?
"
"
Yes
.
And
the
man
whom
the
wise
world
pretends
still
to
call
without
a
heart
or
a
God
!
"
"
Chut
!
He
fed
the
poor
,
and
freed
the
wronged
.
Better
than
pattering
Paters
,
that
!
"
said
Cigarette
,
who
thought
a
midnight
mass
at
Notre-Dame
or
a
Salutation
at
the
Madeleine
a
pretty
coup
de
théâtre
enough
,
but
who
had
for
all
churches
and
creeds
a
serene
contempt
and
a
fierce
disdain
.
"
Go
to
the
grandams
and
the
children
!
"
she
would
say
,
with
a
shrug
of
her
shoulders
,
to
a
priest
,
whenever
one
in
Algiers
or
Paris
attempted
to
reclaim
her
;
and
a
son
of
the
Order
of
Jesus
,
famed
for
persuasiveness
and
eloquence
,
had
been
fairly
beaten
once
when
,
in
the
ardour
of
an
African
missionary
,
he
had
sought
to
argue
with
the
little
Bohemian
of
the
Tricolour
,
and
had
had
his
logic
rent
in
twain
,
and
his
rhetoric
scattered
like
dust
,
under
the
merciless
home-thrusts
and
the
sarcastic
artillery
of
Cigarette
's
replies
and
inquiries
.
"
Holà
!
"
she
cried
,
leaving
Voltaire
for
what
took
her
fancy
.
"
We
talk
of
Albion
—
there
is
one
of
her
sons
.
I
detest
your
country
,
but
,
ma
foi
!
I
must
confess
she
breeds
uncommonly
handsome
men
.
"
She
was
a
dilettante
in
handsome
men
;
she
nodded
her
head
now
to
where
,
some
yards
off
,
at
another
of
the
camp-fires
,
stood
,
with
some
officers
of
the
regiment
,
one
of
the
tourists
;
a
very
tall
,
very
fair
man
,
with
a
gallant
bearing
,
and
a
tawny
beard
that
glittered
to
gold
in
the
light
of
the
flames
.
Cecil
's
glance
followed
Cigarette
's
.
With
a
great
cry
he
sprang
to
his
feet
and
stood
entranced
,
gazing
at
the
stranger
.
She
saw
the
startled
amaze
,
the
longing
love
,
the
agony
of
recognition
,
in
his
eyes
;
she
saw
the
impulse
in
him
to
spring
forward
,
and
the
shuddering
effort
with
which
the
impulse
was
controlled
.
He
turned
to
her
almost
fiercely
:
"
He
must
not
see
me
!
Keep
him
away
—
away
,
for
God
's
sake
!
"
He
could
not
leave
his
men
;
he
was
fettered
there
where
his
squadron
was
camped
.
He
went
as
far
as
he
could
from
the
flame-light
into
the
shadow
,
and
thrust
himself
amongst
the
tethered
horses
.
Cigarette
asked
nothing
;
comprehended
at
a
glance
with
all
the
tact
of
her
nation
;
and
sauntered
forward
to
meet
the
officers
of
the
regiment
as
they
came
up
to
the
picket-fire
with
the
yellow-haired
English
stranger
.
She
knew
how
charming
a
picture
there
,
with
her
hands
lightly
resting
on
her
hips
,
and
her
bright
face
danced
on
by
the
ruddy
fire-glow
,
she
made
:
she
knew
she
could
hold
thus
the
attention
of
a
whole
brigade
.
The
eyes
of
the
stranger
lighted
on
her
,
and
his
voice
laughed
in
mellow
music
to
his
companions
and
ciceroni
.
"
Your
intendance
is
perfect
;
your
ambulance
is
perfect
;
your
camp-cookery
is
perfect
,
messieurs
;
and
here
you
have
even
perfect
beauty
too
!
Truly
,
campaigning
must
be
pleasant
work
in
Algeria
!
"
Then
he
turned
to
her
with
compliments
frank
and
gay
,
and
full
of
a
débonnair
grace
that
made
her
doubt
he
could
be
of
Albion
.
Retort
was
always
ready
to
her
;
and
she
kept
the
circle
of
officers
in
full
laughter
round
the
vidette-fire
with
a
shower
of
repartee
that
would
have
made
her
fortune
on
the
stage
of
the
Châtelet
or
Folies
Marigny
.
And
every
now
and
then
her
glance
wandered
to
the
shadow
where
the
horses
were
tethered
.
Bah
!
why
was
she
always
doing
him
service
?
She
could
not
have
told
.
"
Parcequ
'
j
'
suis
bien
bête
,
"
said
Cigarette
mentally
,
with
a
certain
fiery
contempt
for
herself
.
Still
she
went
on
—
and
did
it
.
It
was
a
fantastic
picture
by
the
bright
scarlet
light
of
the
camp-fire
,
with
the
Little
One
in
her
full
glory
of
mirth
and
mischief
,
and
her
circle
of
officers
laughing
on
her
with
admiring
eyes
;
nearest
her
the
towering
height
of
the
English
stranger
with
the
gleam
of
the
flame
in
the
waves
of
his
leonine
beard
.
From
the
darkness
,
where
the
scores
of
grey
horses
were
tethered
,
Cecil
's
eyes
were
riveted
on
it
.
There
were
none
near
to
see
him
;
had
there
been
,
they
would
have
seen
an
agony
in
his
eyes
that
no
physical
misery
,
no
torture
of
the
battle-field
,
had
brought
there
.
His
face
was
bloodless
,
and
his
gaze
strained
through
the
gleam
on
to
the
fire-lit
group
with
a
passionate
intensity
of
yearning
;
—
he
was
well
used
to
pain
,
well
used
to
self-control
,
well
used
to
self-restraint
,
but
for
the
first
time
in
his
exile
the
bitterness
of
a
struggle
almost
vanquished
him
.
All
the
old
love
of
his
youth
went
out
to
this
man
,
so
near
beside
him
,
yet
so
hopelessly
severed
from
him
:
looking
on
the
face
of
his
friend
,
a
violence
of
longing
shook
him
:
"
O
God
,
if
I
were
dead
!
"
he
thought
,
"
they
might
know
then
—
—
"
He
would
have
died
gladly
to
have
had
that
familiar
hand
once
more
touch
his
;
those
familiar
eyes
once
more
look
on
him
with
the
generous
tender
trust
of
old
.
His
brain
reeled
,
his
thoughts
grew
blind
,
as
he
stood
there
amongst
his
horses
with
the
stir
and
tumult
of
the
bivouac
about
him
.
There
was
nothing
simpler
,
nothing
less
strange
,
than
that
an
English
soldier
should
visit
the
Franco-Arab
camp
;
but
to
him
it
seemed
like
the
resurrection
of
the
dead
.
Whether
it
was
a
brief
moment
,
or
an
hour
through
,
that
the
circle
stood
about
the
great
black
caldron
that
was
swinging
above
the
flames
,
he
could
not
have
told
:
to
him
it
was
an
eternity
.
The
echo
of
the
mellow
ringing
tones
that
he
knew
so
well
came
to
him
from
the
distance
,
till
his
heart
seemed
breaking
with
but
one
forbidden
longing
,
to
look
once
more
in
those
brave
eyes
that
made
every
coward
and
liar
quail
,
and
say
only
,
"
I
was
guiltless
.
"
It
is
bitter
to
know
those
whom
we
love
dead
;
but
it
is
more
bitter
to
be
as
dead
to
those
who
,
once
having
loved
us
,
have
sunk
our
memory
deep
beneath
oblivion
that
is
not
the
oblivion
of
the
grave
.
Awhile
,
and
the
group
broke
up
and
was
scattered
,
the
English
traveller
throwing
gold
pieces
by
the
score
amongst
the
waiting
troopers
.
"
A
bientôt
!
"
they
called
to
Cigarette
,
who
nodded
farewell
to
them
with
a
cigar
in
her
mouth
,
and
busied
herself
pouring
some
brandy
into
the
old
copper
caldron
in
which
some
black
coffee
and
muddy
water
,
three
parts
sand
,
was
boiling
.
A
few
moments
later
,
and
they
were
out
of
sight
amongst
the
confusion
,
the
crowds
,
and
the
flickering
shadows
of
the
camp
.
When
they
were
quite
gone
,
she
came
softly
to
him
;
she
could
not
see
him
well
in
the
gloom
,
but
she
touched
his
hand
.
"
Dieu
!
how
cold
you
are
.
He
is
gone
.
"
He
could
not
answer
her
to
thank
her
,
but
he
crushed
in
his
the
little
warm
brown
palm
.
She
felt
a
shiver
shake
his
limbs
.
"
Is
he
your
enemy
?
"
she
asked
.
"
No.
"
"
What
then
?
"
"
The
man
I
love
best
on
earth
.
"
"
Ah
!
"
She
had
felt
a
surprise
she
had
not
spoken
that
he
should
flee
thus
from
any
foe
.
"
He
thinks
you
dead
,
then
?
"
"
Yes
.
"
"
And
must
always
think
so
?
"
"
Yes
.
"
He
held
her
hand
still
,
and
his
own
wrung
it
hard
—
the
grasp
of
comrade
to
comrade
,
not
of
man
to
woman
.
"
Child
,
you
are
bold
,
generous
,
pitiful
;
for
God
's
sake
,
get
me
sent
out
of
this
camp
to-night
.
I
am
powerless
.
"
There
was
that
in
the
accent
which
struck
his
listener
to
the
heart
.
He
was
powerless
,
fettered
hand
and
foot
as
though
he
were
a
prisoner
;
a
night
's
absence
,
and
he
would
be
shot
as
a
deserter
.
He
had
grown
accustomed
to
this
rendering
up
of
all
his
life
to
the
rules
of
others
;
but
now
and
then
the
galled
spirit
chafed
,
the
netted
stag
strained
at
the
bonds
.
"
I
will
try
,
"
said
Cigarette
,
simply
,
without
anything
of
her
audacity
or
of
her
vanity
in
the
answer
.
"
Go
you
to
the
fire
;
you
are
cold
.
"
"
Are
you
sure
he
will
not
return
?
"
"
Not
he
.
They
are
gone
to
eat
and
drink
;
I
go
with
them
.
What
is
it
you
fear
?
"
"
My
own
weakness
.
"
She
was
silent
.
She
could
just
watch
his
features
by
the
dim
light
,
and
she
saw
his
mouth
quiver
under
the
fulness
of
his
beard
.
He
felt
that
if
he
looked
again
on
the
face
of
the
man
he
loved
he
might
be
broken
into
self-pity
,
and
unloose
his
silence
,
and
shatter
all
the
work
of
so
many
years
.
He
had
been
strong
where
men
of
harder
fibre
and
less
ductile
temper
might
have
been
feeble
;
but
he
never
thought
that
he
had
been
so
;
he
only
thought
that
he
had
acted
on
impulse
,
and
had
remained
true
to
his
act
through
the
mere
instinct
of
honour
—
an
instinct
in
born
in
his
blood
and
his
order
—
an
instinct
natural
and
unconscious
with
him
as
the
instinct
by
which
he
drew
his
breath
.
"
You
are
a
fine
soldier
,
"
said
Cigarette
,
musingly
;
"
such
men
are
not
weak
.
"
"
Why
?
We
are
only
strong
as
tigers
are
strong
—
just
the
strength
of
the
talon
and
fang
.
I
do
not
know
.
I
was
weak
as
water
once
;
I
may
be
again
,
if
—
if
—
—
"
He
scarcely
knew
that
he
was
speaking
aloud
;
he
had
forgotten
her
!
His
whole
heart
seemed
burnt
as
with
fire
by
the
memory
of
that
one
face
so
familiar
,
so
well
loved
,
yet
from
which
he
must
shrink
as
though
some
cowardly
sin
were
between
them
.
The
wretchedness
on
him
seemed
more
than
he
could
bear
;
to
know
that
this
man
was
so
near
that
the
sound
of
his
voice
raised
could
summon
him
,
yet
that
he
must
remain
as
dead
to
him
—
remain
as
one
dead
after
a
craven
and
treacherous
guilt
.
He
turned
suddenly
,
almost
violently
,
upon
Cigarette
:
"
You
have
surprised
my
folly
from
me
;
you
know
my
secret
so
far
;
but
you
are
too
brave
to
betray
me
,
you
are
too
generous
to
tell
of
this
?
I
can
trust
you
to
be
silent
?
"
Her
face
flushed
scarlet
with
astonished
anger
;
her
little
child-like
form
grew
instinct
with
haughty
and
fiery
dignity
.
"
Monsieur
,
that
question
from
one
soldier
of
France
to
another
is
insult
.
We
are
not
dastards
!
"
There
was
a
certain
grave
reproach
that
mingled
with
the
indignant
scorn
of
the
answer
,
and
showed
that
her
own
heart
was
wounded
by
the
doubt
,
as
well
as
her
military
pride
by
the
aspersion
.
Even
amidst
the
conflict
of
pain
at
war
in
him
he
felt
that
,
and
hastened
to
soothe
it
.
"
Forgive
me
,
my
child
;
I
should
not
have
wronged
you
with
the
question
.
It
is
needless
,
I
know
.
Men
can
trust
you
to
the
death
,
they
say
.
"
"
To
the
death
—
yes
.
"
The
answer
was
thoughtful
,
dreamy
,
almost
sad
,
for
Cigarette
.
His
thoughts
were
too
far
from
her
in
their
tumult
of
awakened
memories
to
note
the
tone
as
he
went
rapidly
on
:
"
You
have
ingenuity
,
compassion
,
tact
;
you
have
power
here
,
too
,
in
your
way
;
for
the
love
of
Heaven
get
me
sent
out
on
some
duty
before
dawn
!
There
is
Biribi
's
murder
to
be
avenged
—
would
they
give
the
errand
to
me
?
"
She
thought
a
moment
.
"
We
will
see
,
"
she
said
,
curtly
.
"
I
think
I
can
do
it
.
But
go
back
,
or
you
will
be
missed
.
I
will
come
to
you
soon
.
"
She
left
him
then
,
rapidly
,
drawing
her
hand
quickly
out
of
the
clasp
of
his
.
"
Que
je
suis
bête
!
Que
je
suis
bête
!
"
said
Cigarette
to
herself
;
for
she
felt
her
heart
aching
to
its
core
for
the
sorrow
of
this
man
who
was
nothing
to
her
.
He
did
not
know
what
she
had
done
for
him
in
his
suffering
and
delirium
;
he
did
not
know
how
she
had
watched
him
all
that
night
through
,
when
she
was
weary
,
and
bruised
,
and
thirsting
for
sleep
;
he
did
not
know
;
he
held
her
hand
as
one
comrade
another
's
,
and
never
looked
to
see
if
her
eyes
were
blue
or
were
black
,
were
laughing
or
tear-laden
.
And
yet
she
felt
pain
in
his
pain
;
she
was
always
giving
her
life
to
his
service
.
"
Que
je
suis
bête
!
Que
je
suis
bête
!
"
she
murmured
again
.
Many
beside
the
little
Friend
of
the
Flag
beat
back
as
folly
the
noblest
and
purest
thing
in
them
.
Cecil
mechanically
returned
to
the
fire
at
which
the
men
of
his
tribu
were
cooking
their
welcome
supper
,
and
sat
down
near
them
,
rejecting
,
with
a
gesture
,
the
most
savoury
portion
which
,
with
their
customary
love
and
care
for
him
,
they
were
careful
to
select
and
bring
to
him
.
There
had
never
been
a
time
when
they
had
found
him
fail
to
prefer
them
to
himself
,
or
fail
to
do
them
kindly
service
,
if
of
such
he
had
a
chance
;
and
they
returned
it
with
all
that
rough
and
silent
attachment
that
can
be
so
strong
and
so
staunch
in
lives
that
may
be
black
with
crime
or
red
with
slaughter
.
He
sat
like
a
man
in
a
dream
,
whilst
the
loosened
tongues
of
the
men
ran
noisily
on
a
hundred
themes
as
they
chaffed
each
other
,
exchanged
a
fire
of
bivouac
jokes
more
racy
than
decorous
,
and
gave
themselves
to
the
enjoyment
of
their
rude
meal
,
that
had
to
them
that
savour
which
long
hunger
alone
can
give
.
Their
voices
came
dull
on
his
ear
;
the
ruddy
warmth
of
the
fire
was
obscured
to
his
sight
;
the
din
,
the
laughter
,
the
stir
all
over
the
great
camp
,
at
the
hour
of
dinner
were
lost
on
him
.
He
was
insensible
to
everything
except
the
innumerable
memories
that
thronged
upon
him
,
and
the
aching
longing
that
filled
his
heart
with
the
sight
of
the
friend
of
his
youth
.
"
He
said
once
that
he
would
take
my
hand
before
all
the
world
always
,
come
what
would
,
"
he
thought
.
"
Would
he
take
it
now
,
I
wonder
?
Yes
;
he
never
believed
against
me
.
"
And
,
as
he
thought
,
the
same
anguish
of
desire
that
had
before
smitten
him
to
stand
once
more
guiltless
in
the
presence
of
men
,
and
once
more
bear
,
untarnished
,
the
name
of
his
race
and
the
honour
of
his
fathers
,
shook
him
now
as
strong
winds
shake
a
tree
that
yet
is
fast
rooted
at
its
base
,
though
it
sway
awhile
beneath
the
storm
.
"
How
weak
I
am
!
"
he
thought
,
bitterly
.
"
What
does
it
matter
?
Life
is
so
short
,
one
is
coward
indeed
to
fret
over
it
.
I
cannot
undo
what
I
did
.
I
cannot
,
if
I
would
.
To
betray
him
now
!
God
!
not
for
a
kingdom
,
if
I
had
the
chance
!
Besides
,
she
may
live
still
;
and
,
even
were
she
dead
,
to
tarnish
her
name
to
clear
my
own
would
be
a
scoundrel
's
baseness
—
baseness
that
would
fail
as
it
merited
;
for
who
could
be
brought
to
believe
me
now
?
"
The
thoughts
unformed
drifted
through
his
mind
,
half
dulled
,
half
sharpened
by
the
deadly
pain
,
and
the
rush
of
old
brotherly
love
that
had
arisen
in
him
as
he
had
seen
the
face
of
his
friend
beside
the
watch-fire
of
the
French
bivouac
.
It
was
hard
;
it
was
cruelly
hard
;
he
had
,
after
a
long
and
severe
conflict
,
brought
himself
into
contentment
with
his
lot
,
and
taught
himself
oblivion
of
the
past
,
and
interest
in
the
present
,
by
active
duties
and
firm
resolve
;
he
had
vanquished
all
the
habits
,
controlled
most
of
the
weakness
,
and
banished
nearly
all
the
frailties
and
indulgences
of
his
temperament
in
the
long
ordeal
of
African
warfare
.
It
was
cruelly
hard
that
now
when
he
had
obtained
serenity
,
and
more
than
half
attained
forgetfulness
,
these
two
—
her
face
and
his
—
must
come
before
him
,
one
to
recall
the
past
,
the
other
to
embitter
the
future
!
As
he
sat
with
his
head
bent
down
and
his
forehead
leaning
on
his
arm
,
while
the
hard
biscuit
that
served
for
a
plate
stood
unnoticed
beside
him
,
with
the
food
that
the
soldiers
had
placed
on
it
,
he
did
not
hear
Cigarette
's
step
till
she
touched
him
on
the
arm
.
Then
he
looked
up
;
her
eyes
were
looking
on
him
with
a
tender
,
earnest
pity
.
"
Hark
!
I
have
done
it
,
"
she
said
,
gently
.
"
But
it
will
be
an
errand
very
close
to
death
,
that
you
must
go
on
—
—
"
He
raised
himself
erect
,
eagerly
.
"
No
matter
that
!
Ah
,
Mademoiselle
,
how
I
thank
you
!
"
"
Chut
!
I
am
no
Paris
demoiselle
!
"
said
Cigarette
,
with
a
dash
of
her
old
acrimony
.
"
Ceremony
in
a
camp
—
pouf
!
You
must
have
been
a
Court
Chamberlain
once
,
were
n't
you
?
Well
,
I
have
done
it
.
Your
officers
were
talking
yonder
of
a
delicate
business
;
they
were
uncertain
who
best
to
employ
.
I
put
in
my
speech
—
it
was
dead
against
military
etiquette
,
but
I
did
it
—
I
said
to
M
.
le
Général
:
'
You
want
the
best
rider
,
the
most
silent
tongue
,
and
the
surest
steel
in
the
squadrons
?
Take
Bel-àfaire-peur
,
then
?
'
'
Who
is
that
?
'
asked
the
General
;
he
would
have
sent
out
of
camp
anybody
but
Cigarette
for
the
interruption
.
'
Mon
Général
,
'
said
I
,
'
the
Arabs
asked
that
,
too
,
the
other
day
at
Zarâila
.
'
'
What
!
'
he
cried
,
'
the
man
Victor
—
who
held
the
ground
with
his
Chasseurs
?
I
know
—
a
fine
soldier
.
M
.
le
Colonel
,
shall
we
send
him
?
'
The
Black
Hawk
had
scowled
thunder
on
you
;
he
hates
you
more
still
since
that
affair
of
Zarâila
,
specially
,
because
the
General
has
reported
your
conduct
with
such
praise
that
they
cannot
help
but
promote
you
.
Well
,
he
had
looked
thunder
,
but
now
he
laughed
.
'
Yes
,
mon
Général
,
'
he
answered
him
,
'
take
him
,
if
you
like
.
It
is
fifty
to
one
whoever
goes
on
that
business
will
not
come
back
alive
,
and
you
will
rid
me
of
the
most
insolent
fine
gentleman
in
my
squadrons
.
'
The
General
hardly
heard
him
;
he
was
deep
in
thought
;
but
he
asked
a
good
deal
about
you
from
the
Hawk
,
and
Châteauroy
spoke
for
your
fitness
for
the
errand
they
are
going
to
send
you
on
,
very
truthfully
,
for
a
wonder
.
I
do
n't
know
why
;
but
he
wants
you
to
be
sent
,
I
think
;
most
likely
that
you
may
be
cut
to
pieces
.
And
so
they
will
send
for
you
in
a
minute
.
I
have
done
it
as
you
wished
,
"
le
diable
prends
le
fruit
!
"
There
was
something
of
her
old
brusquerie
and
recklessness
in
the
closing
sentences
;
but
it
had
not
her
customary
débonnair
lightness
.
She
knew
too
well
that
the
chances
were
as
a
hundred
to
one
that
he
would
never
return
alive
from
this
service
on
which
he
had
entreated
to
be
despatched
.
Cecil
grasped
both
her
hands
in
his
with
warm
gratitude
,
that
was
still
,
like
the
touch
of
his
hands
,
the
gratitude
of
comrade
to
comrade
,
not
of
man
to
woman
.
"
God
bless
you
,
Cigarette
!
You
are
a
true
friend
,
my
child
.
You
have
done
me
immeasurable
benefits
—
—
"
"
Oh-hé
.
I
am
a
true
friend
,
"
said
the
Little
One
,
something
pettishly
.
She
would
have
preferred
another
epithet
.
"
If
a
man
wants
to
get
shot
as
a
very
great
favour
,
I
always
let
him
pleasure
himself
.
Give
a
man
his
own
way
,
if
you
wish
to
be
kind
to
him
.
You
are
children
,
all
of
you
,
nothing
but
children
,
and
if
the
toy
that
pleases
you
best
is
death
,
why
—
you
must
have
it
.
Nothing
else
would
content
you
.
I
know
you
.
You
always
want
what
flies
from
you
,
and
are
tired
of
what
lies
to
your
hand
.
That
is
always
a
man
.
"
"
And
a
woman
too
,
is
it
not
?
"
Cigarette
shrugged
her
shoulders
.
"
Oh
,
I
dare
say
.
We
love
what
is
new
—
what
is
strange
.
We
are
humming-tops
;
we
will
only
spin
when
we
are
fresh
wound
up
with
a
string
to
our
liking
.
"
"
Make
an
exception
of
yourself
,
my
child
.
You
are
always
ready
to
do
a
good
action
,
and
never
tire
of
that
.
From
my
heart
,
I
thank
you
.
I
wish
to
Heaven
I
could
prove
it
better
.
"
She
drew
her
hands
away
from
him
.
"
A
great
thing
I
have
done
,
certainly
!
Got
you
permission
to
go
and
throw
a
cartel
at
old
King
Death
;
that
is
all
!
There
!
Loup-á-griffes-de-fer
is
coming
to
you
.
That
is
your
summons
.
"
The
orderly
so
nicknamed
approached
,
and
brought
the
bidding
of
the
General
in
command
of
the
Cavalry
for
Cecil
to
render
himself
at
once
to
his
presence
.
These
things
brook
no
second
's
delay
in
obedience
;
he
went
with
a
quick
adieu
to
Cigarette
,
and
the
little
Friend
of
the
Flag
was
left
in
his
vacant
place
beside
the
fire
.
And
there
was
a
pang
at
her
heart
.
"
Ten
to
one
he
goes
to
his
death
,
"
she
thought
.
But
Cigarette
,
volage
little
mischief
though
she
was
,
could
reach
very
high
in
one
thing
;
she
could
reach
a
love
that
was
unselfish
,
and
one
that
was
heroic
.
A
few
moments
,
and
Cecil
returned
.
"
Rake
,
"
he
said
rapidly
,
in
the
French
he
habitually
used
,
"
saddle
my
horse
and
your
own
.
I
am
allowed
to
choose
one
of
you
to
accompany
me
.
"
Rake
,
in
paradise
,
and
the
envied
of
every
man
in
the
squadrons
,
turned
to
his
work
—
with
him
a
task
of
scarce
more
than
a
second
;
and
Cecil
approached
his
little
Friend
of
the
Flag
.
"
My
child
,
I
cannot
attempt
to
thank
you
.
But
for
you
,
I
should
have
been
tempted
to
send
my
lance
through
my
own
heart
.
"
"
Keep
its
lunge
for
the
Arbicos
,
mon
ami
,
"
said
Cigarette
brusquely
—
the
more
brusquely
because
that
new
and
bitter
pang
was
on
her
.
"
As
for
me
,
I
want
no
thanks
.
"
"
No
;
you
are
too
generous
.
But
not
the
less
do
I
wish
I
could
render
them
more
worthily
than
by
words
.
If
I
live
,
I
will
try
;
if
not
,
keep
this
in
my
memory
.
It
is
the
only
thing
I
have
.
"
He
put
into
her
hand
the
ring
she
had
seen
in
the
little
bonbonnière
;
a
ring
of
his
mother
's
that
he
had
saved
when
he
had
parted
with
all
else
,
and
that
he
had
put
off
his
hand
and
into
the
box
of
Petite
Reine
's
gift
the
day
he
had
entered
the
Algerian
army
.
Cigarette
flushed
scarlet
with
passions
he
could
not
understand
,
and
she
could
not
have
disentangled
.
"
The
ring
of
your
mistress
!
Not
for
me
,
if
I
know
it
!
Do
you
think
I
want
to
be
paid
?
"
"
The
ring
was
my
mother
's
,
"
he
answered
her
simply
.
"
And
I
offer
it
only
en
souvenir
.
"
She
lost
all
her
hot
colour
,
and
all
her
fiery
wrath
;
his
grave
and
gentle
courtesy
always
strangely
stilled
and
rebuked
her
;
but
she
raised
the
ring
off
the
ground
where
she
had
flung
it
,
and
placed
it
back
in
his
hand
.
"
If
so
,
still
less
should
you
part
with
it
.
Keep
it
;
it
will
bring
you
happiness
one
day
.
As
for
me
,
I
have
done
nothing
,
pardieu
!
"
"
You
have
done
what
I
value
the
more
for
that
noble
disclaimer
.
May
I
thank
you
thus
,
Little
One
?
"
He
stooped
and
kissed
her
;
a
kiss
that
the
lips
of
a
man
will
always
give
to
the
bright
youthful
lips
of
a
woman
,
but
a
kiss
,
as
she
knew
well
,
without
passion
,
even
without
tenderness
in
it
.
With
a
sudden
impetuous
movement
,
with
a
shyness
and
a
refusal
that
had
never
been
in
her
before
,
she
wrested
herself
from
him
,
her
face
burning
,
her
heart
panting
,
and
plunged
away
from
him
into
the
depth
of
the
shadow
;
and
he
never
sought
to
follow
her
,
but
threw
himself
into
saddle
as
his
grey
was
brought
up
:
another
instant
,
and
,
armed
to
the
teeth
,
he
rode
out
of
the
camp
into
the
darkness
of
the
silent
,
melancholy
,
lonely
Arab
night
.
CHAPTER
V.
SEUL
AU
MONDE
.
The
errand
on
which
he
went
was
one
,
as
he
was
well
aware
,
from
which
it
were
a
thousand
chances
to
one
that
he
ever
issued
alive
.
It
was
to
reach
a
distant
branch
of
the
Army
of
Occupation
with
despatches
for
the
chef
in
command
there
,
and
to
do
this
he
had
to
pass
through
a
fiercely
hostile
region
,
occupied
by
Arabs
with
whom
no
sort
of
peace
had
ever
been
made
,
the
most
savage
as
well
as
the
most
predatory
of
the
wandering
tribes
.
His
knowledge
of
their
tongue
,
and
his
friendship
with
some
men
of
their
nation
,
would
avail
him
nothing
here
;
for
their
fury
against
the
Franks
was
intense
,
and
it
was
said
that
all
prisoners
who
had
fallen
into
their
hands
had
been
put
to
death
with
merciless
barbarities
.
This
might
be
true
or
untrue
;
wild
tales
were
common
among
Algerian
campaigners
;
whichever
it
were
,
he
thought
little
of
it
as
he
rode
out
on
to
the
lonely
plains
.
Every
kind
of
hazardous
adventure
and
every
variety
of
peril
had
been
familiar
with
him
in
this
African
life
;
and
now
there
were
thoughts
and
memories
on
him
which
deadened
every
recollection
of
merely
physical
risk
.
"
We
must
ride
as
hard
and
as
fast
as
we
can
,
and
as
silently
,
"
were
the
only
words
he
exchanged
with
Rake
,
as
he
loosened
his
grey
to
a
hand-gallop
.
"
All
right
,
sir
,
"
answered
the
trooper
,
whose
warm
blood
was
dancing
,
and
whose
blue
eyes
were
alive
like
fire
with
delight
.
That
he
had
been
absent
on
a
far-away
foraging
raid
on
the
day
of
Zarâila
had
been
nothing
short
of
agony
to
Rake
,
and
the
choice
made
of
him
for
this
duty
was
to
him
a
gift
of
paradise
.
He
loved
fighting
for
fighting
's
sake
;
and
to
be
beside
Cecil
was
the
greatest
happiness
life
held
for
him
.
They
had
two
hundred
miles
to
traverse
,
and
had
received
only
the
command
he
had
passed
on
Rake
,
to
ride
"
hard
,
fast
,
and
silently
.
"
To
the
hero
of
Zarâila
the
General
had
felt
too
much
soldierly
sympathy
to
add
the
superfluous
injunction
to
do
his
uttermost
to
carry
safely
and
successfully
to
their
destination
the
papers
that
were
placed
in
his
sabretasche
.
They
knew
well
that
the
errand
would
be
done
,
or
the
Chasseur
's
main
de
femme
,
mais
main
de
fer
,
would
be
stiffened
and
nerveless
in
death
.
It
was
just
nightfall
;
the
after-glow
had
faded
only
a
few
moments
before
.
Giving
their
horses
,
which
they
were
to
change
once
ten
hours
for
the
distance
,
and
two
for
bait
and
for
rest
,
he
reckoned
that
they
would
reach
the
camp
before
the
noon
of
the
coming
day
,
as
the
beasts
,
fresh
and
fast
in
the
camp
,
flew
like
greyhounds
beneath
them
.
Another
night-ride
that
they
had
ridden
together
came
to
the
minds
of
both
;
but
they
spoke
not
a
word
as
they
swept
on
,
their
sabres
shaken
loose
in
their
sheaths
,
their
lances
well
gripped
,
and
the
pistols
with
which
they
had
been
supplied
sprung
in
their
belts
ready
for
instant
action
if
a
call
should
come
for
it
.
Every
rood
of
the
way
was
as
full
of
unseen
danger
as
if
laid
over
mines
.
They
might
pass
in
safety
;
they
might
any
moment
be
cut
down
by
ten
score
against
two
.
From
every
hanging
scarp
of
rugged
rock
a
storm
of
musket-balls
might
pour
;
from
every
screen
of
wild-fig
foliage
a
shower
of
lances
might
whistle
through
the
air
;
from
every
darkling
grove
of
fir-trees
an
Arab
band
might
spring
and
swoop
on
them
;
—
but
the
knowledge
scarcely
recurred
to
the
one
save
to
make
him
shake
his
sword
more
at
loose
for
quick
disengagement
,
and
only
made
the
sunny
blue
eyes
of
the
other
sparkle
with
a
vivid
and
longing
zest
.
The
night
grew
very
chill
as
it
wore
on
;
the
north
wind
rose
,
rushing
against
them
with
a
force
and
icy
touch
that
seemed
to
freeze
their
bones
to
the
marrow
after
the
heat
of
the
day
and
the
sun
that
had
scorched
them
so
long
.
There
was
no
regular
road
;
they
went
across
the
country
,
their
way
sometimes
leading
over
level
land
,
over
which
they
swept
like
lightning
,
great
plains
succeeding
one
another
with
wearisome
monotony
;
sometimes
,
on
the
contrary
,
lying
through
ravines
,
and
defiles
,
and
gloomy
woods
,
and
broken
hilly
spaces
,
where
rent
bare
rocks
were
thrown
on
one
another
in
gigantic
confusion
,
and
the
fantastic
shapes
of
the
wild
fig
and
the
dwarf
palm
gathered
a
hideous
grotesqueness
in
the
darkness
.
For
there
was
no
moon
,
and
the
stars
were
often
hidden
by
the
storm-rack
of
leaden
clouds
that
drifted
over
the
sky
;
and
the
only
sound
they
heard
was
the
cry
of
the
jackal
,
or
the
shriek
of
the
night-bird
,
and
now
and
then
the
sound
of
shallow
watercourses
,
where
the
parched
beds
of
hidden
brooks
had
been
filled
by
the
autumnal
rain
.
The
first
five-and-twenty
miles
passed
without
interruption
,
and
the
horses
laid
well
and
warmly
to
their
work
.
They
halted
to
rest
and
bait
the
beasts
in
a
rocky
hollow
,
sheltered
from
the
blasts
of
the
bise
,
and
green
with
short
sweet
grass
,
sprung
up
afresh
after
the
summer
drought
.
"
Do
you
ever
think
of
him
,
sir
?
"
said
Rake
,
softly
,
with
a
lingering
love
in
his
voice
,
as
he
stroked
the
greys
and
tethered
them
.
"
Of
whom
?
"
"
Of
the
King
,
sir
.
If
he
's
alive
,
he
's
gettin
'
a
rare
old
horse
now
.
"
"
Think
of
him
!
I
wish
I
did
not
,
Rake
.
"
"
Would
n't
you
like
to
see
him
agen
,
sir
?
"
"
What
folly
to
ask
!
You
know
—
—
"
"
Yes
,
sir
,
I
know
,
"
said
Rake
,
slowly
.
"
And
I
know
—
leastways
I
picked
it
out
of
a
old
paper
—
that
your
elder
brother
died
,
sir
,
like
the
old
Lord
,
and
Mr.
Berk
's
got
the
title
.
"
Rake
had
longed
and
pined
for
an
opportunity
to
dare
say
this
thing
which
he
had
learned
,
and
which
he
could
not
tell
whether
or
no
Cecil
knew
likewise
.
His
eyes
looked
with
straining
eagerness
through
the
gloom
into
his
master
's
;
he
was
uncertain
how
his
words
would
be
taken
.
To
his
bitter
disappointment
,
Cecil
's
face
showed
no
change
,
no
wonder
.
"
I
have
heard
that
,
"
he
said
,
calmly
—
as
calmly
as
though
the
news
had
no
bearing
on
his
fortunes
,
but
was
some
stranger
's
history
.
"
Well
,
sir
,
but
he
ai
n't
,
the
Lord
?
"
pleaded
Rake
,
passionately
.
"
He
wo
n't
never
be
while
you
're
living
,
sir
?
"
"
Oh
yes
he
is
!
I
am
dead
,
you
know
.
"
"
But
he
wo
n't
,
sir
!
"
reiterated
Rake
.
"
You
're
Lord
Royallieu
if
ever
there
was
a
Lord
Royallieu
,
and
if
ever
there
will
be
one
.
"
"
You
mistake
.
An
outlaw
has
no
civil
rights
,
and
can
claim
none
.
"
The
man
looked
very
wistfully
at
him
;
all
these
years
through
he
had
never
learned
why
his
master
was
thus
"
dead
"
in
Africa
,
and
he
had
too
loyal
a
love
and
faith
ever
to
ask
,
or
ever
to
doubt
but
that
Cecil
was
the
wronged
and
not
the
wrong-doer
.
"
You
ai
n't
a
outlaw
,
sir
,
"
he
muttered
.
"
You
could
take
the
title
if
you
would
.
"
"
Oh
no
!
I
left
England
under
a
criminal
charge
;
I
should
have
to
disprove
that
before
I
could
inherit
.
"
Rake
crushed
bitter
oaths
into
muttered
words
as
he
heard
.
"
You
could
disprove
it
,
sir
,
of
course
,
right
and
away
,
if
you
chose
.
"
"
No
;
or
I
should
not
have
come
here
.
Let
us
leave
the
subject
.
It
was
settled
long
ago
.
My
brother
is
Lord
Royallieu
.
I
would
not
disturb
him
if
I
had
the
power
,
and
I
have
not
it
.
Look
,
the
horses
are
taking
well
to
their
feed
.
"
Rake
asked
him
no
more
:
he
had
never
had
a
harsh
word
from
Cecil
in
their
lives
;
but
he
knew
him
too
well
for
all
that
to
venture
to
press
on
him
a
question
thus
firmly
put
aside
.
But
his
heart
ached
sorely
for
his
master
;
he
would
so
gladly
have
seen
"
the
king
among
his
own
again
,
"
and
would
have
striven
for
the
restoration
as
strenuously
as
ever
a
Cavalier
strove
for
the
White
Rose
;
and
he
sat
in
silence
,
perplexed
and
ill-satisfied
,
under
the
shelter
of
the
rock
,
with
the
great
,
dim
,
desolate
African
landscape
stretching
before
him
,
with
here
and
there
a
gleam
of
light
upon
it
when
the
wind
swept
the
clouds
apart
.
His
volatile
speech
was
chilled
,
and
his
buoyant
spirits
were
checked
.
That
Cecil
was
justly
outlawed
he
would
have
thought
it
the
foulest
treason
to
believe
for
one
instant
;
yet
he
felt
that
he
might
as
soon
seek
to
wrench
up
the
great
stones
above
him
from
their
base
as
seek
to
change
the
resolution
of
this
man
,
whom
he
had
once
known
pliant
as
a
reed
and
careless
as
a
child
.
They
were
before
long
in
saddle
again
and
off
,
the
country
growing
wilder
at
each
stride
the
horses
took
.
"
It
is
all
alive
with
Arabs
for
the
next
ten
leagues
,
"
said
Cecil
,
as
he
settled
himself
in
his
saddle
.
"
They
have
come
northward
and
been
sweeping
the
country
like
a
locust-swarm
,
and
we
shall
blunder
on
some
of
them
sooner
or
later
.
If
they
cut
me
down
,
do
n't
wait
,
but
slash
my
sabretasche
loose
and
ride
off
with
it
.
"
"
All
right
,
sir
,
"
said
Rake
,
obediently
;
but
he
thought
to
himself
,
"
Leave
you
alone
with
them
demons
?
Damn
me
if
I
will
.
"
And
away
they
went
once
more
,
in
speed
and
in
silence
,
the
darkness
of
full
night
closing
in
on
them
,
the
skies
being
black
with
the
heavy
drift
of
rising
storm-clouds
.
Meantime
Cigarette
was
feasting
with
the
officers
of
his
regiment
.
The
dinner
was
the
best
that
the
camp-scullions
could
furnish
in
honour
of
the
two
or
three
illustrious
tourists
who
were
on
a
visit
to
the
head-quarters
of
the
Algerian
Army
;
and
the
Little
One
,
the
heroine
of
Zarâila
,
and
the
toast
of
every
mess
throughout
Algeria
,
was
as
indispensable
as
the
champagnes
.
