The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-06-27
IN THE PRIDE OF YOUTH.

When was telling you of the joke that
the Worm played off on the senior sub
altern promised a somewhat similar tale
but with all the jest left out. This is that
tale.
Dicky HIATT was kidnapped in his early,
early youth--neither by landlady's daugh-
ter, housemaid, barmaid, nor cook, but by
a girl so nearly of his own caste that only
a woman could have said she was just the
least little bit in the world below it. This
happened a month beforehee%alne out to
India, and five days after his one-and-twen-
tieth birthday. The girl was nineteen-six
years older than Dicky in the things of this
world, that is to say-and, for the time,
twice as foolish as he.
Excepting always falling off a horse
there is nothing more fatally easy than
marriage before the registrar The cere-
mony costs less than fifty shillings, and is
remarkably like walking into pawn shop.
After the declarations of residence have
been put In four minutes will cover the
rest of the proceedings attestation
and all. Then the registrar slides the blot
ting pad over the names, and says grimly
with his pen between his teeth: ''Now
ourinto the street, feeling as if something
were horribly illegal somewhere.
But that ceremony holds and can drag
man to his undoing just as thoroughly as
the long as ye both shall live" curse from
the altar rails, with the bridesmaids gig
Cling behind, and THE Voice That
Breashed DER Eden" lifting the roof off. In
this manner was Dicky HIATT kidnapped, and
he considered it vastly fine, for he had re-
ceived an appointment IN India which car
ried a magnificent salary from the home
point Of view. The marriage was to be
kept secret for year. Then Mrs. Dicky
HAITI was to come out and the rest of life
was to be golden mist. That was how
they sketched 1t under the Addison Road
station lamps; and after one short month
came Grevesend and Dicky stsaming out
TO his new life, and the girl crying in a
thirty-shil lings-a-w bed-and-hving room
in a back street off Montpelier square near
the Knightsbridge barracks.
But the country that Dicky came to was
a hard land, where ''men" of q were reok
oned very small boys indeed and life was
expensive. The salary that doomed so
large 5000 miles away did not go far-par-
ticularly when Dicky divided it by two
and remitted more than the fair half at 10
to Montpelier square One hundred and
thirty-five rupees out of the $50 is not
much TO live on, but it was absurd to sup
pose that Mrs. HAITI could exist forever on
the e20 held back by Dicky from his outfit
allowance. Dicky saw this and reInitted
at once, always remembering that Rs. 700
were to be paid twelve months later for a
first class passage out for lady. When
you add to these trifiing details the natural
instincts of a boy beginning a new life in
new country, and longing to go about and
enjoy himself, and the necessity for Crap
ping with strange work-which, properly
speaking, should take up a boys undivided
attention-you will see that Dicky started
handicapped. He saw it himself for
breath or two, but he did not guess the
full beauty of his future.
As the hot weather began the shackles
settled on him and ate into his flesh First
would come lettsTs-big, crossed, seven
sheet letteTs-from his wife, telling him
how she longed to see him, and what
heaven upon earth wosld be their property
when they met. Then some boy of the
chummery wherein Dicky lodged would
pound on the door of his bare little room
and tell him to come out to look at a pony
the very thing to suit him. Dicky could
not afford ponies. He had to explain this.
Dicky could not afford living in the chVm-
merry, modest as it was. He had TO explain
this before be moved to a single room next
the Office where he worked all day. He
kept house On green oilClosA 1kalsle cover,
one chair, one chaFpoy, one photograph,
one tooth glass, very strong and thick,
seven rupee eightsnna filter. and messing
by contract at thirty seven rupees month
which last item was extortjon He had
no punkah. for punksh costs fifteen rupees
a month; but he slept on the roof of the
Office with all his Wite's letters under his
pillow. Now and again be was asked out
todinner, where he got both punkah and
an iced drink. But this was seldom, for
people objected to recognizing u boy who
had evidently the instincts of Scotch
tallow chandler and who lived in such
nasty fashion. Dicky could not subscribe
To any amusement, so be found no amuse-
ment except the pleasure Of turning over
his bank book and reading what it said
about 'losns on approved security That
cost nothing. de RENTED through a Bonn
bay bank, by the way, and the station
knew nothing of his private affairs.
Every month he sent home all he could
possibly spare for bis wife-and for another
reason which was expected to explain itself
shortly and useH4d require more money.