fellow in his way, and I
don't want to say a word against him, but still, it must be owned that
he wasn't exactly the kind of man to stand firm in the midst of a rabble
of wild Mohammedans, all howling and flourishing their knives at once
under his very nose. To tell the plain truth, he was frightened out of
his wits; and the only thing _he_ thought of was how to shift the
responsibility on to somebody else's shoulders as fast as possible. So
he said (and it was very lucky he did, as it turned out) that Latour,
being in government employ, must be tried by military law; and he
packed them all off to the commandant, who, as I've told you, was no
other than Colonel de Malet.

"It was no easy matter for the colonel to get at the facts of the case,
for all the rascals kept shrieking at once, one louder than another; but
at last, bit by bit, he managed to get a pretty clear idea of what had
happened; and then he said, very solemnly, 'A French officer does his
duty, let it be what it will. You have come here for justice, and
justice you shall have.'

"There was a great roar of triumph from the crowd, and poor Eugene
looked as blank as a thief in the Salle de la Police.

"'Before I pass sentence, however,' pursued De Malet, 'I wish to ask
this young man' (pointing to the son of the dead Arab, who was the
ringleader of all the mischief) 'whether he will accept of any
compromise.'

"'No, no!' yelled the young brigand--'life for life!'

"'So be it,' said the colonel gravely, 'and you, by Mussulman law, are
your father's destined avenger. Therefore, let the engineer be taken
back to the very spot where his victim was standing, and do you go up to
the top of the parapet and _jump down upon him_!'

"_Tonnerre de ciel!_ what a roar of laughter there was! The very Arabs
couldn't help joining in. As to the young villain himself, he stood
stock-still for a moment, and then flew out of the court like a madman;
and that was the last of him. We gave Eugene a famous supper that night
at the Cafe Militaire in honor of his escape; and the story was in all
the papers next morning, headed 'A Judgment of Solomon.' And from that
day to the end of his life Colonel de Malet never went by any other name
among us but 'Solomon the Second.'"

DAVID KER.

STARLIGHT

How dark against the sky
Loom the great hills! Over the cradled stream
They lean their dusky shadows lovingly,
Watching its happy dream.