Free electronic library

After many comings and goings of orderlies
and underlings, he told me very little in complicated and reluctant
language. Captain Vauvenarde had resigned his commission in the
Chasseurs d'Afrique two years ago. At the present moment the Bureau had
no information to give as to his domicile.
"Have you no suggestion, Monsieur, to offer?" I asked, "whereby I may
obtain this essential information concerning Captain Vauvenarde?"
"His old comrades in the regiment might know, Monsieur."
"And the regiment?"
He opened the _Annuaire Officiel de l'Armee Francaise_, just as I might
have done myself, and said:
"There are six regiments. One is at Blidah, another at Tlemcen, another
at Constantine, another at Tunis, another at Algiers, and another at
Mascara."
"To which regiment, then, did Captain Vauvenarde belong?" I inquired.
He referred to one of the dossiers that the orderlies had brought him.
"The 3rd, Monsieur."
"I should get information, then, from Tlemcen?"
"Evidently, Monsieur."
I thanked him and withdrew, to his obvious relief.


Pages:
171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195