Page:Christopher Wren--the wages of virtue.djvu/304

 T the bottom of the alley, le bon Légionnaire Tou-tou Boil-the-Cat encountered Sergeant Legros. … A bright idea! … Stepping up to the worthy Sergeant, he saluted, and informed him that, passing the notorious Café de la Légion, a minute since, he had heard a terrible tohuwabohu and, looking in, had seen a crowd of excited Legionaries fighting with knives and side-arms. He had not entered, but from the door had seen at least one dead man upon the ground.

The worthy Sergeant's face lit up as he smacked his lips with joy. Ah, ha! here were punishments. … Here were crimes. … Here were victims for salle de police and cellules. … Fodder for the peloton des hommes punis and the Zephyrs. … Here was distinction for that keen disciplinarian, Sergeant Legros.

"V'la quelqu'un pour la boîte," quoth he, and betook himself to the Café at the pas gymastique.

At the sight of the knife buried in the broad naked back of the Italian, the silence of horror fell upon the stupefied crowd.

Nombril de Belzébuth! How had it happened?

Sacré nom de nom de bon Dieu de Dieu de Dieu de 270