Two Enemies Become... Less Bitter Enemies?

 

cover art by Hubert Rogers

I've reviews a couple of J.D. Newsom's Foreign Legion stories in the past (HERE and HERE) and I find that I simply can't get enough of them. It's amazing how much good story-telling Newsom drew out of the same "down-and-out guy or criminal joins the Legion and fights in North Africa" premise. He was able to vary the characterizations and the battle sequences enough to always keep his next story enthralling.

"An Enemy of Society" was published in the February 1, 1929 issue of Adventure. The protagonist this time is yet another American on the run from the law after killing a man in the States. His name is Bill Mason and he is definitely no friend of society. Legion discipline doesn't really take with him--he gets drunk a lot and tends to get into trouble.

This annoys the other American in his unit. Thomas Haywood was the first mate on a freighter until his perpetual drunkenness led to him wrecking the ship. Unable to face his family after this, he abandoned them and joined the Legion. 

But Haywood has (mostly) given up drinking and--with a burst of self-righteousness--he tries to get Mason to do the same. But Mason has no desire to be reformed. The two end up hating each other. And, while Haywood reacts well to Legion discipline and makes corporal, Mason ends up doing two years of hard labor for disobeying orders and attacking Haywood.

After his prison term, Mason ends up back in Haywood's unit. He now has plans to kill the man, but their unit ends up in combat before he can bring this desire to fruition.

The story can be found online HERE, so I won't spoil the ending. It's kind of predicatable that one of them would save the other during the fighting, but where things lead from there is a bit of a surprise. In terms of plot, the resolution may be just a little bit contrived. But in terms of characterization, all the right notes are hit and the final paragraphs have a real emotional impact.