Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-05-04
MEM-SAHIB'S PROMISE.

| Thomas UrQuhart, captain OF the BLACK
Horse, pushed big chair up to the fire in
the anteroom, and sat down therein to en-
joy The Naval and Military Gazette, which
had just arrived He had the room to him.
self, for the entire regiment seemed to have
gone mad over the superb skating which the
continuous frost afforded the Inhabitants Of
Whnrneclifa
i There were one or two exceptions, how
ever; the orderly officer for the day was
lying on his cot. reading one of Whyte-
Melville's novels, and smoking the first lazy
pipe Of the fourteen hours Of wearying and
tedious work which constitutes the tina
known as being on duty; and before Urqu-
hart twice turned leaf, the door opened
and the colonel entered the room
"An alone, Urquhart:" he remarked,
cheerily.
aAll alone sir-cursing my fate little
that last months sprain won't let me think
of tine castle mere, outside edges, spread
eagles, and the like"
ANY news!' asked the colonel
'Sir John Farquhar is dead"
@Deadl All. Poor JACK Farquhar! A
better fellow and a drawer officer never drew
breath" the colonel said, sadly $50 he's
gone at last, after one-and-twenty years Of
misery. All, poor JACK, l never like 20
/ Il
joined he was the very life and spirit of the
old Black Horss-full of fun and play as a
kitten four months old OF a monkey that has
never felt cold weather. But a cruel blight
fell on him in 81, and Jack never held up
his head after. Poor Jackln
And how sir!r Urquhart inquired.
| iii tell You" said the colonel Jack was
just seven-and-twenty when ne joined He
wasn't a baronet, nor had he any hopes of
ever being one then, but was just Jack
Farquhar, with a modest income of six hun
drei year over and above his pay. Well,
| hadn't been two montas in the regiment,
and we were Just off to India then, VIXEN
Jack fell in Ioge-not only in love, but with
the youngest and loveliest daughter of old
Lord Saturn, who was, just his son is
after him, one of the proudest and haughti-
est men in England or out Of it
-Jack knew well enough that If he, with
| only his handsome face and his modest six
hundred year to recommend him, were to
go to old Lord Saturn and ask for the hand
of the Lady Mallory Starshine in mar
| riage-Lady Mallory, who was just 10,
ami destined to become a court beauty
he would BE- declined with thanks and
politely shown the exact position of the door
while measures would be taken effectualy to
| secure tie lady from any further communi-
! cation with him; and, as he didn't see the
good of such an arrangement-to himself, at
least-he just persuaded Lady Marjory to
| run away with him
Il don't think she needed very much per-
| suasion, for Jack was an amazingly hand
some fellow, and she was desperately fond
| of him. Anyhow, run away they did, and
| managed to get safely and legally tied up
and made man and wife
The Saturns were furious; but since all
| the clustering and fuss in the world can not
undo what the marriage ceremony has &C
| complished, they contented themselves with
| blotting Lady Marjory's name out of the
family tree, and blotting her once and for
ever out of the list of their acquaintance
"But Lady Marjory and Jack didn't care,
not button. She laughed when she heard
her name had been blotted out OF the family
India
I'VE went ronnd the cape, but Lady Mar
jory and Jack Farquhar never seemed to
find the voyage in the smallest degree
tedious or irksome.
Her absolute faith In Jack was wonder
full; she believed him capable of doing any
mortal thing better than any another human
being under the sun Sometimes the fellows
used to try and tell yarns too wonderful TO
be surpassed, and her great blue eyes would
open wide with the surprise and incredulous
stare of a child who hears Of some marvel
Gus fact for the first time, with never
doubt of its being as true gospel But it
was always the same in the end: when the
wonderful yarn came to a close, she always
pulled herself together and made answer,
oh, that's nothing TO what JACK did; ne
shot bear or a tiger, or perhaps what
then was fabulous number of partridges
We'll, we landed at last and went up
country to Muttrapore, where we settled
down, and where by-and-by Jack and Lady
Marjory had child born to them j girl
it was-a pretty little thing as babies GO
just like her, with big blue eyes and lot
of fiaxen fluff on its head Pom my word,
to see that pretty young thing stru. ting
about with her baby in her arins-she
scarcely more than babe herself-caling
ones attention to the length Of its eyelashes
and the closeness of its grasp or bidding
one declare it was the living image
of Jack, when the little souls |
own face was reproduced with a
fidelity which was perfectly ludicrous.
$50 the months passed over and the new
year came in--the year Of 81, 50 eveGtful in
the annals of India, SO long to be remem-
bered by the British people There we're
signs of the coming storm even then, symp-
toms of dissatisfaction and discoltent, muir
murings of fanatical hatred.
AT Muttrapore there was n big native
garrison, but they were quarterei quite on
the other side Of the town to the Black Horse
Our barracks and bungalows all lay on the
highest ground. most OF the officers living
pretty Close to the barracks
Only two We're at any distance, and these
were the bungalows of the doctor, oil Eitz-
gerald-you remember him-ani the Far
quhars.
The Farquhars was the farthest away,
being two miles at least from any house but |
th doctors, and was, IN fact, about equi- |
distance from the cavalry barracks ami tho |
native lines
4 remember when the news came that the |
mutiny lad really broken out at Meerut, |
that the trouble whicn had been shoulder
Noho.iy ta,ksd yerv murh about II hr. mn
looked at one another and the faces of the
women crew white and anYions tbongh
tbav hem. very c,,;e. ami s;,an, over Il o,iy
little Lady Mariorv seemed to have M
fesr-nona Mt ali
a.If W, were in n natixe rayinan. , shs
.xnlain.i one EVENING when one of tbs
o.L,. ;a1;,, r,,,arl.o5 49, ,,-o,-. -, -.
she wss-.if we ,yer, in :, native ra,iment I
shouId give mvse,f nm for lost at onca. Int
hare in tho m,dst of tho RIac, Horsa i fsnI
as safe as IL I were in the Tower os | on
a.,