He flung kisses to space, to the sky, to the sun.... Then, folding his arms, he took the leap.
SIDI-BEL-ABBES. The barracks of the Foreign Legion. An adjutant sat smoking and reading his newspaper in a small, low-ceilinged room.
Near him, close to the window opening on the yard, two great devils of non-commissioned officers were jabbering in guttural French, mixed with Teutonic phrases.
The door opened. Some one entered. It was a slightly-built man, of medium height, smartly-dressed.
The adjutant rose, glared angrily at the intruder and growled:
"I say, what on earth is the orderly up to?.... And you, sir, what do you want?"
"Service."
This was said frankly, imperiously.
The two non-coms burst into a silly laugh. The man looked at them askance.
"In other words, you wish to enlist in the Legion?" asked the adjutant.
"Yes, but on one condition."
"Conditions, by Jove! What conditions?"
"That I am not left mouldering here. There is a company leaving for Morocco. I'll join that."
One of the non-coms gave a fresh chuckle and was heard to say:
"The Moors are in for a bad time. The gentleman's enlisting."
"Silence!" cried the man, "I don't stand being laughed at."
His voice sounded harsh and masterful.
The non-com, a brutal-looking giant, retorted:
"Here, recruity, you'd better be careful how you talk to me, or..."
"Or what?"
"You'll get something you won't like, that's all!"
The man went up to him, took him round the waist, swung him over the ledge of the window and pitched him into the yard.
Then he said to the other:
"Go away."
The other went away.
The man at once returned to the adjutant and said:
"Lieutenant, pray be so good as to tell the major that Don Luis Perenna, a Spanish grandee and a Frenchman at heart, wishes to take service in the Foreign Legion. Go, my friend."
The flabbergasted adjutant did not move.
"Go, my friend, and go at once. I have no time to waste."
The adjutant rose, looked at his astounding visitor with a bewildered eye and went out in the tamest fashion.
Then Lupin lit a cigarette and, sitting down in the adjutant's chair, said, aloud:
"As the sea refused to have anything to say to me, or rather as I, at the last moment, refused to have anything to say to the sea, we'll go and see if the bullets of the Moors are more compassionate. And, in any case, it will be a smarter finish.... Face the enemy, Lupin, and all for France!..."
The End
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
