The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-04-04
MAJOR CROss,s PRETTY WEE.

him as the man who always sat in the
same corner, smoking Trichinopol
cheToots. He was very neat as to his
dress, and l detected at once that al
some time or other he had been in the
service. His hair was perfectly white,
and the man appeared worn out with
some secret grief, some mysterious
trouble. l made Major Fowler's &C.
quaintance on one Christmas Eve, after
having dined little better than usual,
and l was coTrespondingly elated, and
felt | must talk to somebody; 80, Jdul
de mielLr, talked to him. Generally al
the Rice and Curry, when a member
whom we have not been introduced to
addresses us, we put on a wronged an
indignant aIr-as a rule, we don't an
swer: if we do we make the man who
has thus daringly addressed us under
stand his mistake. 1t is thus we assert
our superiority. Perhaps this is why we
have the reputation of being cliquey.
Why it was do not know. There is
no other word for tive "chummed, u
literally chummed, at once. We had
both served in the same presidency, we
had met the same people, but MAJOR
Fowler was senior to me. He had been
| IbIOuBi tnS hullu1S L hdu nOls ~ WE
a rather ghastly affair, and cannot see
why he should have confided it to me.
At any rate this is what he told me
was only lieutenant then-a lieu.
tenant in the -th Bengal Native Infan-
try. The mutiny had already broken
out in our presidency, but our regiment
was supposed to be particularly well af-
fected. Kerimabad was a wretched
place; it was one of the dullest and hot.
test stations in the presidency. We were
very hard up for European officers
some were on leave-of course, they
were hurrying back az fast as the P. &
o. boats could carry them: some were
one detachment duty, others away or
special employment, but the bulk oi
them were on the sick list, for KerIma
bad was unhealthy hole, although its
strategic Importance was too great tC
allow of its being unoccupied. and tC
our regiment had fallen the duty of oc
cupying it. From the circumstances
have mentioned Major Cross, who wal
in command, and myself were the only
two men on the effective list. Cross wa'
a martinez; he had risen from the ranks
and was extremely religious. We nat
urally saw a great deal Of each other.
Major Cross was married ,and his wife
was the only white woman on the sta
tion. Not six months before, Majol
Cross returned from furlough with hi
bride. OF course we all fell In love with
her. What she could have seen in Cross
| cannot make out, why size married
him, Heaven knows. Cross, though 6
most deserving officer, was perhaps
hardly what would be called a gentle
man; but his wife was a lady and very
beautiful. She must have been in hel
2lst year then. She was blonde snd
petite, with dreamy blue eyes and masses
of curling hair. which gave her girlist
beauty an air of recklessness which wal
but and additional charm. Her greates
delight was horse eXeI else. AT early
morning Mrs. Cross was certain to be il
the saddle; in the afternoons, as soon al
the sun was low enough, the major'i
wife might have been seen on her dap
pie gray Gulf Arab flying across The
country, attended by one or more of hel
husbands subordinates.
| had been in love with her from the
| first; but am not an excitable man
and perhaps it wasn't genuine love, ,aftel
all. know that there was not the faint
est shadow of improperly in the love
if we must call it so, that felt for the
MAJORS wife. True, was her willing
slave, her constant cavalier. Perhaps
pitied the girl mrrried to a man twict
her age, a man with but two ideas in hil
head-drill and discipline. They say
that pity Is akin to love-perhaps it is
but had not the least idea of running
away with Rosa Gross, not the remotest
my affection for her was purely PlatoniC
at least it was until the fatal afternoon
we we rode out together for the lasI
time at Kerimabad.
Our horses were walking, their brides
on their necks, our native gooms some
fifty yards behind us on the sandy plain
Jack" she said to me unfortunately
we were Jack and Rosa now, II shan't
be able to bear it much longer. The
mail was in again this morning; all my
friends are urging me to go down to
Calcutta at once, don't think it's fair
of the major to make poor little wo-
man live with her heart always in her
mouth. o Jack ~ she sobbed, and the
tears ran down her face, IL am so afraid
Of the nasty blacks !"
Now, this particular remark was pc
cuiarly irritating to Major Cross Com
manding, as he did. a native regiment.
he naturally disllked the expression. So
angry had he become that Rosa never
dared to use her favorite expression in
her husbands presence.
"Of course it's very rough on YOU, but
| don't see any way out Of it. You are
The only European in the station, Cross
and are the only two men here: we
can't leave the place, But you should
not let it worry YOU: the regiment il
well affected enough"
"Its not true. Jack. Only this MORN
ing nv husband told me that the regi.
ment l. on the point of mutipy."
The bruteI No doubt he had told her.
"Then he was a fool for his paIns Ii I
replied.
'sIts very hard ~ sobbed the girl: for
she was but a gIrl. though she was INV
commanding officers wife.
Perbaps I remembered the frat fact
and forgot the second when took her
hand. and. looking into her ewes. swore
that | would look after her. and that
there was no danger.
She returned the pressure: she was
but acting, as found out afterward.
All women are actresses, I suppose; but
did not dream that the pressure OF her
finger tips, the trusting, loving glance
which she flung upon me through her
tears was but the cursed bait which was
to lure me to my destruction.
''Ah, If he would only let me 20 I" she
said: "by morning / should be out of
danger. am too young to die here,
Jack, and to die as should have die ~
she added, with shudder.
There was a great deal in what abe
said. The major trusted her just as Far
as you could swing a tiger by the tail,
and never let her out of his sight, save
when l took her out riding as / was do
ing now; he was but a selfish ruffian af-
ter ALL II didn't much matter il he and