Show THE COMMUNE TURCO A JL wr war sketch from the itte rr nela or of I alphonso nn he was a little drummer belonging in to the native sharpshooters sharp shooters g his name was badour he came from the triba tribe of was one of the handful of turcos burcos who had thrown themselves into saris in in tile train of the army of he had gone through the entire campaign from wissembourg to champigny darting over the fields I of f battle like a storm bird with his iron iron drumsticks drum sticks and his der bonka arab drum so quickly so restlessly that the balls could not hit him but when the winter came on this little piece of african bronze reddened in the fire of canister shot was unable to bear the nights of guard duty and motion les aness in tile snow so s one january morning they found him on F the bank of the tile marn marne twisted by the cold and with his feet frozen i he ile remained a long time in the hospital etwas it was there I saw him for the first time timp r f sad and patient lika a sick hound bound the turco looked around him with great gentle eyes N when addressed he L trailed smiled and showed ebow ed his teeth this was all he c could do for our language wai was unk unknown to him and he be with difficulty spoke the sabir that algerian dialect composed of Pro provencal veneal italian and arabic made up of variegated words gathered like shells all along 11 the latin seas to ro amuse himself badour had only his der bonka from time to time tirrie when he gre grew w too impatient it was brought to his bed and he be was permitted to play on it but not too loudly because of the other sick men then this poor dark face fam so dull so faded looking amid the yellow daylight and the sombre winte landscape visible without grew animated grimaced and followed all the phases of the music now he sounded the charge and the flash of his white teeth gave place U to wild laughter now his eyes moistened at some strain his nostrils di and amid the nauseous odor I of tao the hospital the vials and the I rom compresses r he be again L saw the groves of fidall alidah loaded with oranges and the young moorish girls coming from the bath enveloped in white and perfumed with vervain two months passed thus many things had happened in paris di during these two months but badour suspected nothing he ile heard the returning army weary and disarmed med passed beneath his window later ho he heard card the cannon dragged about rolling from morning until ev evening ening i then the tocsin jie he cannonade cannonading canno nadi dr P he understood nothing of at all t this except that the war was still in in progress and that he could now JO join n the fray since his limbs were cured he departed his drum on his back inquest in quest of hii hij company he ile did not search long some communists who were passing took him to the flace place after much question questioning ill ns as lie I e could draw nothing from tim him but unintelligible phrases the general in command gave him ten francs and an omnibus horse and attached him to his ills staff there was a little of every everything thin in those staffs of the commune rea red coats polish cloaks hungarian jackets marines blouses gold vel I vel spangles and lace with his blue vest yest embroidered with yellow hia his turban and his derbon der bonka lia the I turco completed the masquerade 11 filled with joy at finding himself in such fine company intorica intoxicated ted by the sunlight tile cannonade the t noise of the streets the conf confusion eslo n of weapons and uniforms per persuaded in in addition that it was the war against prussia which was continuing with he be knew not what accession of life and freedom this unconscious dl arter joined innocently in the great parisian riot and was a celebrity of the moment everywhere upon his passage the co communists in received him tion sand feted him something however was wanted to complete Ka kadoura dours happiness he wished to fight to make the powder talk so one morning in the month of may the turco was awakened by fusillade the tile ministry was in jn commotion ever everybody was running fleeing afe mechanically chani cally he be did like the rest leaped upon his horse and followed the staff the streets were full of I wild bugle blasts and battalions fleeing helter people were tearing up the pavements and erecting barricades evidently something t nung extraordinary was going on the nearer one approached the the more distinct became the ZU duay asil nia lade debbe the greater the tumult upon the font pont de la concorde ka dour lost losi the staff A little further on his horse was taken from him it was for a kept with eight gold cords in a great hurry to go to see what was passing at the clotel hotel de ville ina in a state offery of fury the turco began to run in the direction of the conflict As he ran he loaded his and said between hia his teeth macach bono Bris sieu I ss in his view it was the prussians who had just entered the city already read v the balls whistled about the obelisk and among the foliage of the tuileries Tail Tuil eries at the barricade of the hue rue de rivoli the aven av engers ers of flourens Plou rens hailed him ho ile 19 turco I turco I but twelve of them were left and badour alone was worth an entire army standing upon the barricade I I I I proud and gaudy audy g as a flag lie fought with leahi and cries beneath a storm of ot canister sOot atone at one moment the curta curtain in of smoke which arose from the street parted a little between two cantio nades and allowed him to see the red pantaloons massed in the champs then rhen everything was again confused ho ile thought lie had been becil mistaken ell and made his powder talk in its loudest tones suddenly the barricade grew silent si the turco did not stir in ambush ready to leap lie firm firmly IV fixed his bayonet and awaited tl tho 10 pointed helmets the line arrived amid the hollow tramp of the charge the officers called out surrender for a moment the turco was stupefied fied then lie sprang forward his eun gun in the air bono bono fran cese I lie cried va vaguely bely in his wild way he be thought thought that this was tho the army of deliverance of faidherbe Faid berbe or chanzy hence how happy lio lie was how he laughed at them showing howin b all his white teeth in an instant tile barricade was stormed badour was surrounded and seized show your gun his ili gun was still it warm alln sh show gun your ur hands d his ha hands yd were e ar e b black ck w ith powder the turco show showed ed them P proudly ro adly still it laughing then lie W was pushed ab d against a wall and crunch n I w went e tit a bayonet he ile died without understand understanding in Z why they killed him |