They
gave him--what do you think?--two years' imprisonment! Why not the _Legion
d'Honneur_ while we are about it? Then there was the Italian--a
respectable Italian, for a wonder--who went out for a walk and was never
heard of again. The country was scoured for two months, but not so much as
a button was ever found--not a button! They had buried his body in the
sand. That's their usual system, cheap and effective. And the guide-books
say that Tunisia is as safe as the heart of France--ha, ha, ha! I wonder
how much they are paid for making that statement, and who pays it?"
"The hotel proprietors, with an occasional subsidy from the Government."
This from a bloodthirsty young extremist in gaiters and riding-breeches,
who had once been a _colon_, a farmer, but had given it up in disgust. "We
cherish these savages," he went on, "as if they were our uncles and aunts;
everywhere, that is, save in those districts which are still under
military rule. There you should see the natives stand up and salute you! I
am anti-military myself; but I maintain that this salute should be kept
up, as demonstrating the gulf that exists between ourselves and them.
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