four, or five years. Those enlisted for four or five year' have the
right to choose their arm of the service, subject to conditions.--
10
Argoval
THE twilight of evening was coming near from the direction of the
country, and a gentle breeze, soft as a whisper, came with it.
In the houses alongside this rural way--a main road, garbed for a
few paces like a main street--the rooms whose pallid windows no
longer fed them with the limpidity of space found their own light
from lamps and candles, so that the evening left them and went
outside, and one saw light and darkness gradually changing places.
On the edge of the village, towards the fields, some unladen
soldiers were wandering, facing the breeze. We were ending the day
in peace, and enjoying that idle ease whose happiness one only
realizes when one is really weary. It was fine weather, we were at
the beginning of rest, and dreaming about it. Evening seemed to make
our faces bigger before it darkened them, and they shone with the
serenity of nature.
Sergeant Suilhard came to me, took my arm, and led me away. "Come,"
he said, "and I'll show you something."
The approaches to the village abounded in rows of tall and tranquil
trees, and we followed them along. Under the pressure of the breeze
their vast verdure yielded from time to time in slow majestic
movements.
Suilhard went in front of me. He led me into a deep lane, which
twisted about between high banks; and on each side grew a border of
bushes, whose tops met each other.
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