The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-07-05
HIS WEDDED WIFE.


Shakespeare says something about
worms, or it may DE giants or beetles,
turning If you tread on them too severely.
The safest plan is never to tread on a
worm-no5 even ont5le last new subaltern
from hcme, with HIS buttons hardly out of
eheir tissue paper and the red Of sappy
English beef in his checks. This is the
story of the WORN that turned. For the
sake of brevity we viii cal Henry Au-
gustus Ramsay Faizanne 1.-The Worm, F"
although he really was an exceedingly
pretty boy, without hair on his face and
with waist like q girls, when he came
out to the Second ''Shikar1is" and was
made unhappy in several ways. The "Shi
harris are high caste regiment, and you
must be able TO do things well-play
banjo, or ride more than little, or sing, or
act--to get on with them.
The Worm did nothing except fall off his
pony and knock chips out of gate posts
with his trap. Even that became monoto-
nous after a time He objected to whist,
cut the cloth at billiards, sang out of tune,
kept very much TO himself and wrote to
his mamma and sisters at home. Four of
these five things wereviceS>whiCh the "Shi-
harris" objected tc and set themselves to
eradicate. Every one knows how subal-
terms are, by brother subaltcrns, scftened
end not permitted to be ferocious. 1t is
good and wholesome and does no one any
harm unless te7nDers are lost; and then
there is trolE52e. There was a man once
but that is another story.
The E'5hikaJEis'' shikarred The Worm
very much, and ne bore everything with
ont winking. he was 50 good and so
anxious to leazn, and flushed so pink that
his education was cut short and he was
left to his own devices by every one except
the senior sEbdttern, who continued to
make life a burden to The Worm. The
senior subalteEn meant no harm, but his
chaff WAS coarse, and he diun't quite IN
derstand where to stop. He had been
waiting too long for his company, and
that always sours q man. Also, he was in
love, which made him worse.
One day, after he had borrowed The
Worms trap for a lady who never existed,
had used it himself all the afternoon, had
sent note to The Worm. purporting to
come from the lady, and was telling the
mess all about it. The Worm rose in MS
place and said, in his quiet, lady like voice:
''That was a very pretty SELL but I'll lay
you get your step thatIwork sell on you
that you'll remember for the rest of your
days, and the regiment after you when
you're dead or broke" The Worm wasn't
angry in the least, and the rest of the mess
shouted. Then the senior subaltern looked
at The Worm from the boots upward and
down again and said: Done, Baby" The
Worm took the rest Of the mess 90 witness
that the bet had been taken and retired
into a book with a sweet smile.
Two months passed and the senior sub
altern still educated The Worm, who be-
gan to move about a little more as the hot
weather came On. ! have said that the
senior sub2ltern was in love. The curious
thing is that girl was IN love with the
senior subalJern. Though the colonel said
awful things, and the majors sRorted, and
married captains looked unutterable wis
dom, and the juniors scofed, those two
were engaged.
The senior subaltern was so pleased with
getting his company and his acceptance at
the same time that he forgot to bother The
Worm The girl was a pretty girl and had
money of her own. Shedoes not come into
this story ut all.
Orcnight at beginning Of thehot weather
all the mess except The Worm. who had
gone TO his own rocTn tovrite home letters,
were sitting on the platform outside the
mess house The band had finished play
ing, but no one wanted to 20 in. And the
captains wives were there also The folly
of q man Ia love is unlimited. The senior
subalterl had been holding forth on the
merits OF the girl he was engaged to, and
the ladies were purring approval, while the
men yawned, when there was a rustic of
skirts in the dark and a tired, faint voice
lifted itself:
Where's nyrhuSSand2"
l do notyvlsh in the least to reflect on the
morality of the ''ShiI1arris,' but it is on
record that four men jumped up as if they
had been shot Three Of them were mar
ried men. Perhaps they were afraid that
their wives had come from home unbe-
knownst The fourth said that he had
acted on the impulse of the moment, He
explained this afterward
Then the voice cried: ''Oh. Iionelr' Ii
onel was the senior subalterp's name. A
woman came into the little circle OF light
by the candles on TIE peg tables, stretch
ing out her hands to the dark where the
senior subaltern was and sobbing. We
rose TO our feet feeling that things were
going to happen and ready to believe the
worst. In THIS bad, small world OF ours
one knows SO little OF the life Of the next
man, which after all is entirely his own
concern, that Oneis not surprised when q
crash comes.
Anything might furn up any day for
any one. Perhaps the senior subaltern
had been trapped ii his youth. Men are
crippled that way occasionally. We didn't
know; we wanted to hear, and the cap
tains' wives were as anxious - we. II he
had been trapped he was TO be excused, for
the woman from nowhere, in the dusty
shoes and gray travelling dress, was very
lovely. with black hair and great eyes full
of tears. She was tall, with a fine figure,
and her voice had running sob IN ii pitt
fal TO hear. As soon as the senior sub
alteTa stood M she threw her Grr-s rc1Sd