Nobody was surprised when, on the morning after the affray, a corporal
of chasseurs and half-a-dozen men came to escort Nicholas, Le Grand,
and me to the commandant's quarters in the camp. Nicholas had his head
swathed in rags, and limped more than slightly with the left foot;
Le Grand showed a beautiful pair of black eyes and confessed to a
racking headache. Every part of my body felt its own particular pain,
my right eye was closed up, and I had an ugly cut on the forehead, the
scar of which still remains. When we arrived at the place of inquiry,
we found every officer in the camp, our own officers and those of
the chasseurs and Turcos, assembled around the commandant. For a few
moments there was silence, while they eyed us and we looked steadily at
the commandant. At last this officer spoke, slowly and in a quiet tone:
"The affair of yesterday was serious, indeed serious." He fixed his
gaze on Nicholas. "You, I hear, bought all the drink and tobacco from
the sutlers. Did that lead to the quarrel?"
Nicholas saluted respectfully and asked permission to make a statement.
When it was accorded he began to tell all the story, just, indeed,
as it happened, or almost as it happened. In narrating the dispute
between the rivals he placed all the blame upon the Greek, for he
knew at the time that the Greek was dead and therefore could not be
punished. He said nothing, however, about certain encouragement that
Apollo had received before and during his vainglorious parade through
the camp with his new love on his arm; nor did he mention certain
sarcastic expressions concerning the Portuguese which he himself had
uttered in the hearing of the Cooloolie girl; also, he seemed to forget
that these very expressions were used most frequently and with most
infuriating effect by her when she was sitting, almost lying indeed,
in the Greek's arms just before the fight. No; he told the truth, but
not all the truth, and he told everything in so open and candid a way
that Le Grand and I were almost deceived. He let fall the nickname
Apollo, as it were by accident, and then, turning respectfully to the
captain of chasseurs, who could not be supposed to know the man, he
explained: "We called him so, monsieur le capitaine, because he was so
handsome." "Quite true, quite true," acquiesced the commandant; "he
was a veritable Apollo." Afterwards we heard that the cavalry officers
went to see the Greek as he lay stripped in the hut of the dead, and,
although the face was disfigured out of all human semblance by the
horse's hoof, yet the beautiful curves and splendid proportions of
his body, marked even as it was by countless bruises, proved that the
nickname was well deserved.
One good effect was produced by Nicholas' statement. Everything was so
honest and straightforward, so natural and true-seeming, that anything
he might afterwards say was likely to be believed. Moreover, though the
officers had not seen the parade of the lovers through the camp, yet
they had evidently heard of it; and, again, the _sous-officiers_ could
be brought to prove the truth of that part of the story.
When the Russian was asked about the buying of the sutlers' property
for the use of only one company, he again begged leave to make a
rather long statement, partly, he admitted, about himself, but chiefly
about the customs of the corps. He said that without such a statement
the business could not be clearly and thoroughly understood by the
officers, especially by those officers who did not belong to the
Legion. Again leave was granted to him to tell his story in his own
way, and the commandant was graciously pleased to allow Le Grand and
me to stand at ease; he even said to Nicholas: "You need not stand
altogether to attention, make gestures if you wish, speak freely, just
as if you were telling a story to your friends." Nicholas bowed with a
courtier's grace; he wore no kepi, being a prisoner at the tribunal;
the chasseurs looked at one another in astonishment, wondering at the
aristocratic air that could not be concealed even under a private
soldier's tunic or by a bruised and battered face. Ah! little they
knew of the wrecked lives, the lost souls, that came to us from every
country in Europe, that made the Foreign Legion, if I may say so, a
real cemetery of the living.
Nicholas explained that, when a man had money, he was bound by all
the rules of the corps to spend it with the men of his squad; that,
when the money was more than usually plentiful, he was supposed to
entertain his section; that, in the rare cases when thousands of
francs--how the chasseurs opened their eyes at this!--were in a man's
possession, all the rules of regimental etiquette obliged him to spend
the money royally and loyally with his comrades of the company. Beyond
the company one could not go. Were one as rich as a Rothschild one
could not do more than give a few francs to a man of another company
if he were a fellow-countryman--all, or nearly all, had to be spent
with one's comrades of the company. Our officers recognised the truth
of this, they understood our unwritten laws, and again Nicholas added
to his reputation for veracity. But he said nothing at all about
giving a percentage to the sergeant-major, nor about the taxes levied
by the sergeant of the section and the corporal of the squad. The
sergeant-major, who was present, looked relieved when this part of the
Russian's statement came to an end--for were not two hundred francs
of the Russian's money in his pocket at the time? Nicholas knew what
to tell and what to keep back; there would be no use in alluding to
the money which he was practically compelled to give to his superior
officers; it would only cause anger at the time and produce trouble and
a heavier punishment for us afterwards.
Nicholas went on to state that he had received a large amount of money
from a friend in Europe, and that he had at once resolved to pay for
a good spree for his comrades. For a joke he called the affair a
wedding _déjeuner_ in honour of the Greek and the Cooloolie girl. He
thought--at least he said he thought--that the other company would not
mind; they knew the rules of the Legion as well as he; a little fun
about the new connection ought to hurt nobody except the Portuguese.
But, poor, misguided fellow that he was, he had never calculated the
damage that might be done by a woman's tongue; he, simple, ignorant
baby, thought that we should have a couple of hours of jollity and
drinking and that then all would go quietly back to quarters. He had
always held the men of No. 4 in great respect; he would, indeed, be the
last in the world to insult them, or in the slightest degree to make
little of the company. He admitted with sorrow--the hypocrite--that
his action had been injudicious--it would have been all right only for
the woman; he had paid for drink and tobacco, but not for insults to
any man or men of No. 4; it was the woman who insulted people; he did
not want to fight with anybody, least of all with the men of No. 4,
but, when his company became engaged in an affray, he would have been
indeed a bad comrade, nay, a coward, had he remained out of the fight.
We wished for only the drink and the tobacco; we soldiers had no desire
but to enjoy ourselves in peace and quietness in the evening after the
hard work of a hot and dusty day; we had no malice, not even now did we
harbour evil thoughts, towards our fellow-soldiers of No. 4; but what
will you? who can stop a woman's tongue?--we could not even expostulate
with her without insulting our good comrade Apollo; if she drove
the others to attack us by her ugly words, were we, men not afraid
of death, to tamely surrender? That, they all knew, was impossible.
Without actually saying it he flung the whole blame for the fight on
the woman's shoulders. I thought at first that this was not quite fair,
but I soon saw that Nicholas was really doing his best to save us all.
Everybody knew the wild way she spoke and acted before the first blow
was struck, but Nicholas knew quite well that nobody would hold her
accountable for her language, while everybody would admit that the
men of No. 4 had reasonable grounds for attacking us, and, of course,
we when attacked were quite justified in defending ourselves. This
was what the Russian was aiming at all along: to put the blame on the
Cooloolie girl, who in the first place could not be court-martialled
for a soldiers' quarrel, and in the second would most undoubtedly be
sympathised with for the loss of her lover. At the same time, a case
of extenuating circumstances was made out for No. 4 Company, and we,
the attacked party, who did not apparently seek to provoke an attack,
would be adjudged guiltless of offence because we merely resisted. It
was a splendid plan--it saved us--but we had, in addition to becoming
reconciled with our comrades and getting some punishment, to volunteer
for the war. That, however, will be told of in its own time and place.
When the Russian had finished his statement a few questions were asked
of him, not in the nature of a cross-examination, but for the evident
purpose of clearing up matters that were not quite understood by the
hearers. He answered these with readiness and to the point, preserving
always the bearing and language of an aristocrat, with the tone and
temper of a simple soldier in presence of his superiors. When they had
done with him the commandant questioned first Le Grand and then me, but
we merely corroborated our comrade's story. Not that there was at the
time any doubt in our minds that Nicholas had desired a fight and had
paid for the gratification of his desire, but who can give evidence
of what has passed in another's mind, and who would betray a generous
comrade?
At last the commandant sent us away, and we returned under escort to
the place where our company lay under guard, hungry, thirsty, without
change of clothing, and every man aching all over, and cursing as the
effects of the fight began to make themselves felt. The other men
crowded around us to learn what had happened. Nicholas, in the centre
of a ring of eager, interested listeners, told exactly, without change,
addition or omission, in a loud voice so that all might hear, the
tale of the inquiry. All were satisfied so far, many, indeed, gave up
their preconceived beliefs, and thought that the Russian's account of
the affray and what led up to it was "the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth." We, Le Grand and I, confirmed the account, we
made no secret of our belief that all would yet be well, we swore it
was the woman who led our good friends of No. 4 to assault us, and
surely no one could blame us for defending ourselves.
After some time Nicholas called Le Grand and me apart, and we held a
consultation for nearly a quarter of an hour. The others marked us,
they noted the earnest words and persuasive gestures of the Russian,
they watched the eager, attentive looks of Le Grand and me. When we had
settled the matter to our own satisfaction apparently Nicholas led the
way to the centre of the little camp--prison I should call it, for the
sentries looked inwards and not outwards. In a moment, as it seemed,
every man that was able to drag himself forward was in a group around
our little party. Nicholas waited until a hush fell upon the meeting,
and then addressed them somewhat in the words that follow. I have no
doubt about the essence of what he said, but I cannot hope to reproduce
the eloquent language, the expressive features, the seductive tones,
above all, the general air of the born orator that Nicholas assumed.
From time to time he appealed to Le Grand or to me for confirmation of
his words. There was, indeed, no necessity, the men were at his will
before he had spoken for two minutes.
In brief, this was what he said:
"My comrades, we have had an ugly quarrel with our fellow-soldiers of
No. 4, and we cannot, I think, blame them for attacking us, nor can
they with justice blame us for defending ourselves. But there is no
doubt about the real origin of the affair. The woman used to belong
to one of theirs; she chose, as she had a right to do--that everyone
admits--to give up her lover in their company and to give herself to a
man of ours. Well, we must acknowledge that she and the Greek were not
discreet, and I will confess that, for my own part, I did not act with
discretion either, but what could I do when I had money in my pocket
but spend it with my companions of the encampment and the battlefield?
If there had been no jealousy about a woman, we should have had a
peaceful, enjoyable evening; if there had been no money in the company,
the jealousy would have been settled by a fair fight between the rivals
in the usual way that we all understand and appreciate, without four
or five hundred men being drawn into the quarrel. We are under guard
and are sure of punishment; in all respects they are faring, and will
fare, no better than we. Let us try, now that the Greek is dead and the
Portuguese, as I hear, is dying, to become reconciled to our comrades
of No. 4. Trust me, if we can settle the matter amongst ourselves,
so that all may understand that we shall not renew the quarrel, the
officers will be only too glad to have an excuse for passing over the
affair as lightly as possible. What I recommend then is this: let a
deputation of four be appointed from amongst us; let us ask permission
to visit the prison camp of No. 4; let us ask them to appoint four of
their number to confer with us; believe me, we shall soon, for the
sake of the men of both companies, come to a satisfactory arrangement,
and we all shall be friends again, and, indeed, be better friends than
ever before, because we have learned to respect one another."
The Russian's proposal was agreed to on the spot. Someone said that
Nicholas ought to be chief of our embassy, but this he would not agree
to. He would be a member, if they wished, but only with the same rights
and the same responsibilities as the others. Le Grand, a Hungarian, and
I were chosen as his partners in the delicate business, and some way or
other we all seemed to be satisfied that our troubles would soon come
to an end.
The first thing to be done was to get permission to go across, under
escort be it well understood, to the prisoners of No. 4. This was
obtained by the aid of our sergeant-major. He must have spoken very
strongly to the commandant, for the latter came down to us in a great
hurry, asked Nicholas point-blank whether we were serious in the
attempt to settle the affair amicably, and if he thought we had any
chance of succeeding. Things were bad enough, heaven knows, as they
were, but it was rather risky to keep nearly 400 fighting men without
their weapons and ammunition in the very centre of the scene of the
recent operations. Had the Kabyles attacked the camp on the night after
the quarrel, they would have slaughtered us, the unarmed ones, like
sheep, and in all probability would have easily carried with a rush the
little fortification that had been set up around the huts. Therefore
the commandant was only too glad to get a chance to put us under arms
again, if he could only believe that we would not use them against one
another. The quarrel was an ugly thing, but that could be explained,
and we should in any case receive punishment, but a disaster to his
command would spell ruin for his chances of promotion. He was pleased,
therefore, when Nicholas laid his hand upon his heart and promised upon
his honour--yes, he said upon his honour--that we would do our best to
settle matters, that we would in no way again raise the anger of the
men of No. 4, and, finally, that he was himself prepared to apologise
for his part in the affair. This expression, I am sure, the commandant
took to refer to the buying up of all the drink and the tobacco; we,
who knew better, remembered the irritating speech that the Russian had
made after the _nouveaux mariés_ had pledged each other.
Well, after a little hesitation he let us go across. We were escorted
this time by the men of our own company--soldiers of the first class,
who had taken no part in the fight, and soldiers of the second
class who had been either on guard or on camp picket. The escort
was under the command of our sergeant-major, and I am sure that he
was sent so that the commandant might get a trustworthy account of
the negotiations. We could not object to any arrangement; we were
very well satisfied to get the chance of making it up again with our
fellow-soldiers, for, as I have already said, the nights are cold in
Algeria, and we feared that news of the quarrel might have already
spread amongst the Kabyles, and we knew that the exposed position
in which we were placed left us completely at their mercy, should
they make up their minds to attack. Moreover, the soldier, even in a
peaceful country, hates to be deprived of his weapons and his belts;
how much more then did we, in a hostile land, dislike the deprivation
of them!
When we arrived at the cordon of sentries around No. 4 Company we
were halted, and Nicholas, standing slightly in advance of us, his
fellow-ambassadors, told them why we came and asked them to be so
kind as to appoint four men of theirs to confer with us, so that the
dispute might be settled and the companies be at peace with each other
again. He was listened to with attention, and when he had finished his
message he said that we four should wait, with the sergeant-major's
kind permission, for half-an-hour to give them time to deliberate and,
if they should agree to the proposal, to select their delegates.
Before the half-hour was over the men of No. 4 Company had made up
their minds to accept the proposal, and at once appointed four of
theirs to arrange matters with us. Two of the four were Alsatians, one
a Lorrainer, and the fourth, and, indeed, the most important--their
Nicholas, as I may say--a bronzed, sharp-eyed and sharp-witted Italian.
As soon as these ambassadors were nominated, our sergeant-major took
the eight of us away a short distance from the escort and told us that
we might speak freely, as he and the sergeant-major of No. 4 would be
the only listeners, and they would in every way respect our confidence.
The second sergeant-major said the same thing: "Speak freely," he
continued, "and, for the love of God, settle the affair for ever. It
is not pleasant to see so many brave soldiers without arms in such a
region; who knows when the Kabyles will attack?" The hint was not lost
upon us, and I believe that the seven others felt, as I did, that the
sooner we were again good friends and under arms the better.
Nicholas made the first speech, and said in almost the same words what
he had already told the commandant. He did this, I believe, purposely.
Our sergeant-major was very attentive, and Nicholas guessed, as all
did, that he would make a report to the officers, and it would be just
as well that the statement made then at this meeting should be on
all-fours with the statement made previously at the tribunal. But he
went further. He explained that he had made up his mind to give a good
evening to his company when money came to him from Europe, and surely
no one would blame him for that. Then he went on to say that he was
truly sorry for the affray and for any language or acts of his that
might have brought it about. Had he but remotely guessed what would be
the result, he would have burned the money sooner than let it be the
cause of strife between companies which had been so lately fighting
side by side against the enemy and which had never before fallen out
with each other. For his own part, he hoped and prayed that the former
good relations might once more exist between us, and he believed that
they would, and that we should respect one another more than ever on
account of the gallantry which No. 4 Company and his own had displayed
in that unfortunate struggle. Many other things he said to the same
effect, and when he had finished it was easy to see that all, with the
exception of the Italian, were satisfied. Not that the Italian desired
to prolong the disagreement, but he saw--what his fellow-delegates
either did not see, or, for the sake of peace, pretended not to
see--that Nicholas had deliberately resolved, when the money arrived,
to get up a quarrel between the companies through pure devilment and
love of excitement. The Italian wanted to show clearly to all that
he at least understood and was determined to publish his opinion,
and it must be admitted that he was quite within his rights in doing
so, though it would have been more discreet on his part to keep his
thoughts, for the moment any way, to himself. He developed his plan of
attack in a Socratic manner.
"Why," he questioned the Russian (I may mention that all through he
ignored the rest of us), "why did you not spend the money with all?"
"Because I never go outside my company," replied Nicholas.
"Very good; but why did you buy up all the drink in the two cabarets?
Why did you not leave some in one of them for us?"
"Because I thought that all would be scarcely enough for my own
comrades, and one thinks only of his own."
"True," continued the Italian; "but then why did you not give us
notice that you were taking all for yourself and your companions?"
"Because I thought that such a notice would be an insult and would
certainly provoke a quarrel, a thing which I was most anxious to avoid."
A low muttering of approval followed this, but Cecco only smiled like
one unconvinced. I was looking at Nicholas at the time; truly he had
the air and bearing of one who would suffer martyrdom rather than tell
a lie. He puzzled me. For a moment I almost believed him innocent, he
seemed so calm and steadfast, his manner was so open and ingenuous.
Here, a stranger might remark, is an upright, God-fearing man, whose
heart knows no guile, whose mind is lofty and self-respecting, whose
bosom swells with love and friendship for his fellow-man. Cecco's
comrades seemed almost to believe, but the Italian was too cunning, too
experienced in the world--above all, too full of knowledge of his own
rascality--to be convinced.
"Well, well, well," he said; "we were insulted, and you best of all
know it. Shall we not have even an apology? There cannot," he went on,
"be an excuse. No matter about the woman and her fickleness; no matter
about the wine and the tobacco; what can be said of the ugly words
spoken of us, the comrades of the Portuguese?"
"Ah," replied Nicholas in a tone of contrition and with an assumption
of sorrow that would have deceived Vidocq himself, "that is what wounds
me. I, alas! have been indiscreet. I confess that I was overjoyed when
I saw around me my comrades happy and free from care, and that in a
moment of excitement I said things which were altogether wrong and
uncalled for. Let me beg your forgiveness for my offence, and, as an
evidence of my regret and a proof of your forgiveness, let us spend,
both companies together, the remainder of the money sent to me by a
kind friend in my own country."
The admission that the Russian still had money, and enough too to
provide fun and pleasure for both companies, was quite sufficient to
settle the whole affair. Even Cecco was satisfied, as he remarked:
"What was the use of abusing one another for a thing that could not be
undone, when it was so much better to shake hands and clink glasses and
be good friends as of old?"
"What indeed?" assented the Lorrainer. "What indeed?" said we all.
We shook hands earnestly and gladly with one another, and each
quartette departed to its own company. All were pleased to hear the
report. The men of No. 4, indeed, cheered Nicholas as loudly as we
did. The commandant was satisfied; he knew well that the men were only
too glad to become reconciled, but he took care when the rest of the
Russian's money was spent that it was spent in the encampment and that
half-a-squadron of chasseurs were standing by their saddled horses
until the last man had gone quietly home to quarters. They were not
wanted, indeed, but the cunning fox was taking no chances, as a serious
renewal of the fight would, if not at once put down, be bad for his
military reputation.
So we became friends again. But we suffered a little, and judged
it best to volunteer for the war in Tonquin, for the soldier going
on active service, especially as a volunteer, generally gets his
punishments remitted, and is received back again into the favour of his
superiors.