The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1889-05-11
Maj. CROSS WIFE.

tnS own NINA looked on MN as the man
'"o always sat in the same corner, smoking
rrich!mopoli cheroots. He was very neat rs
to his dress, and | detected at once that IL,
some time or other he had been in the ser
| riee. His hair was perfectly white. and the
man appeared worn out with some secret
grief, some mysterious trouble made Maj
| fowicrS acquaintance on one Christmas eve,
after having diNei n little better than usual,
and was correSpondingy clated, and felt
inust talk to somebody so, faut de mieuX,
| talked to him. Generally at the Rice and
| Carry, when member whom we have not
"eem introduced to addresses US, we put on
wromgcd and indignant air-as rule, we
don't answer, ii We do We make the man who
mas thus daringiy addressed us understand
'.i> mss,ake. 1t is thus we assert our superb
ri,y Perhaps this is why We have the
reputation OF being cliquey
| VIA, /. wus do not know There is no
ui:ri wurd for tive "chummcd," literally
r;ii;u,:n",!. at once We had both served in
The sane presidency. we had met the same
,,c pie, but Mag Fowler was senior to me-
~ !.:l been through the mutny, had not.
1t was Il rather CHASTITY affair, and ! cannot
-'*' wly nc should have conded it to me. AT
any rate, this is what he told me:
was only n lieutenant then-a lieutenant
III the -th Bengal native infantry The
lnutiny had already broken out in our prcs
'leiicy, but our regiment was supposed to be
| particularly well affected. kermabad was
wretched place. it was one of the dullcst
and hottest stations in the presidency We
were Very hard up Cor European officers;
some We're on lcave-of course they were
| hurrying back rs fast as the p a. D. boats
could carry them, some were on detachment
| duty, others away on special employment,
| but the bulk of them were on the sick list,
| Tor kerlnabad was an unhealthy hole, al
! though Its strategic Importance was too great
| to,liow of its being unoccupled and to oar
| regiment had fallen the duty of occupying
| it, From the circumstances ! have men
toned Maj. Gross, who was in command,
and myself were the only two men on the
effective list Gross was II martinez. he had
risen from the ranks, and was extremely re
lisi",ls. We naturally saw great deal of
each other
Maj Gross was married, and his wifo was
| the only white woman on the station. Not
six months before Maj. Cross returned from
fur!oush with his bride. of course, we all
fell in love with her What she could have
seen in Cross cannot make out why she
married him, heaven knows Cross, though
a most deserving officer, was perhaps hardly
what would be called n gentleman, but his
wife was a lady and very beautiful. She
must have been in her 2st year then. She
was blonde and petite, with dreamy blue
| eyes and masses of curling hair, which gave
her girlish beauty an air of recklessness,
which was but an additional charm Her
| greatest delight was horse exercise. AT early
| morning Mrs. Gross was certain to be in the
saddle. Ill the afternoon, soon rs ever the
sun was low enough, the ma jors wife might
have been seen on her ,lapplc gray Gulf Arab,
/ flying across the country, attended by one or
| more OF her husbands subordinates.
had been i'll love with her from the first
but am not an cxcitabla man, and perhaps
it wasn't genuine love, after all know
that there was not the iaintcst shadow of iln
| propricty i'll the love, if we must call it SO,
| that felt for the majors wife True, | was
her willing slave, her constant cavalier Per
haps pitied the girl married to man twice
her age, a man with but two ideas III his
head--drill and discipline. They say that
I pity Is akin to lovc-pcrhaps it is, but had
not the least idea OF running away with Ros;,
Cross not the remotcst, my affection for her
was purely platonic-at least it was till the
for the last time at kcrnnubad
Our horses were walking, their brides OH
their necks, our native groonls sotno fifty
| yards behind us on the sandy plain
| Jack" she said to the unfortunately we
were Jack and Rosa now, II slan't be able
to bear it much longer. Phc mail was in
again this nlorning. all my friends are urging
me to go down to Calcutta at once. don't
| think its fair of the maj jor to make a poor
little woman live with her heart always in
| her mouth. Oh, Jnclil" she sobbcd. and the
tears ran down her face, II ain so afraid OF
the nasty blacks!'
Vow, this particular remark was peculiarly
irritating to Maj. Cross Commanding, as he
did, Il native regiment, he naturally dislked
/ the expression. SO angry had he become that
| Rosa never dared to use her favorite expires
sion III her husbands presence.
"Of course its very rough on you but
don't see any way out of it You are tho only
European in the station, Cross and are the
only two men here, we can't leave the place
But you shouldn't let it worry you, the regi.
ment is well affected enough"
It's not true, Jack. Only this morning my
husband told me that the regiment is on the
point of mutiny."
The brute. No doubt he had told her.
Then he was a fool for his pains!" re-
Piled
Its very hard!' sobbed the girl, for she
was but u girl. though sho was my command
ing officers wife.
Perhaps remembered the first fact and
forgot the second when took her hand, and
looking into hei' eyes, sworc that | would
look after her, and that there was no danger
She returned the pressure, she was but act.
ing, as found out afterward. All women
are actresses, suppose; but did not dream
that the pressure of her finger tips, the trust
ing, loving glance which she flung upon INC
through her tears, was but the cursed bait
which was to lure me to my destruction
'Ah, if he would only let me go" she said
by morning should be out of danger
am too young to die here, Jack, and to di,
as should have to die!'' she added with q
shudder.
There was great deal i'll what she said
The major trusted her just as far as you
could swing tiger by the tail, and never lei
ter out of his sight save when took her ou,
riding as | was doing now. he was but q
selfish ruftian, after all. 1t didn't much mat
ter if he and were hacked to pieces, O,
verse. by the Sepoys; it was in the ordinary
way of business, and would doubtless be duly
mentioned in dispatches. But poor littlf
.;osa, not six mouths a wife, to be butcherec
i'll this lonely furnace to crafty a lnadnlan:
whim-it was hard.
Jack" she sid, as she leaned over hel
E-,mnel, her face almost touching mine, ''yor
c;..i save me, Jack.''
In that instant duty, honor, esprit dc corps
loyalty to my senior officer and all. vanished
AS felt her warm check against my own
my sympathy, my admiration for Rosa be
come in an instant converted into fierce
unreasoning love. My arm was round hel
waist in moment, and one sweet, sinful kiss
sealed the compact between me and the devi
who masqueraded as the guieless and timor
Gus young BRIDE
| y