Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1891-01-23
BY WORD OF MOUTH.
AN INDIAN STORY. BY nUDyAnD KrrLIso

This tale may be explained by those
who know dow souls are made aud
where the bounds OF the Possible are
put down have lived long enough in
this country to know that it is best to
know nothing. and can only write the
story as it happened.
Dumoise was our ciril surgeon at Mer-
idki, and we called him ~Dormouse. >
because he was a round. sleepy little
man. He was good doctor and never
quarreled with any one. not even with
our deputy commissioner. who had the
manners of bargee and the tact Of a
horse. He married girl as round and
as sleepy looking as himself. She was
a Miss Hillardyce, daughter Of Squash >
Hillardyce of the Berars, who married
his chiefs daughter by mistake But
that is another story.
A honeymoon in India is seldom more
than a week long; but there is nothing
to hinder a couple from extending il
over two or three years. This is a de-
lightful country for married folk who
are wrapped up in one another. They
can live absolutely alone and without
interruption--just as the Dormice did.
These two little people retired from the
world after their marriage and were
very happy. They We're forced, OF
course, to give occasional dinners, but
they made no friends thereby, and the
station went its own way and forgot
them, only saying, occasionally. that
Dormouse was the best of good fellows,
though dull A civil surgeon who never
quarrels is rarity. appreciated as such.
Few people can afford to play Robin
son Crusoe where-least of all in
India, where we are few in the land,
and very much depended on each others
kind offices. Dumoise was wrong in
shutting himself from the world for a
year, and he discovered his mistake
when-the epidemic of typhoid broke out
in the station in tile heart Of the cold
weather, and his wife went down. He
was shy little man, and five days were
wasted before he realized that Mrs
Dumoise was burning with something
worse than simple fever and three days
more passed before be ventnred to call
on Mrs. Shute. the engineers wife, and
timidly speak about lis trouble Nearly
every household in India knows that
doctors are very helpless in typhoid.
The battle must be fought out between
death and the nurses, minute by minute
and degree by degree. Mrs. Shute al
most boxed Dumoise's ears for what
she called his criminal delay" and
went off at once to look after the poor
girl. We had seven cases of typoid in
the station that winter. and as the aver.
age of death Is about one in every five
cases, we felt certain that we should
have to lose somebody. But all did
their best The women sat up nursing
the women and the men turned to and
tended the bachelors who were down,
and we wrestled with those typoid cases
for So days and brought them through
the valley OF the shadow in triumph.
Bat. just when we thought ali was over,
and were going TO give dance to cele-
brate the victory. little Mrs Dumoise
got relapse and died in week, and
tile station went to the funeral Dumoise
broke down utterly at the b ink Of the
grave and had to be taken away.
After the death Dumoise crept into Hi
own house and refused to be conaforted
lie did his duties perfectly. but we ali
felt that he should go on leave, and the
other men Of his own service told him
80. Danoiee was very thankful for the
suggestion-he was thankful for any
thing in those days-and went to Chin
on q walking tour. Chini is some q
marches from Simla, in the heart Of the
hills and the scenery is good If you are
ia trouble. You pass through big. still
deodar forests and under big, still cliffs,
and over big. still grass downs swelling
ike : ms breast; and the wind
across tie grass. and the rain among this
dsodars say: -Hush--hush So LITTLE
Dumois vas packed of to Chini, to weal
down hs grief with full plate camera
and rifle. He took also useless
bearer. because the man had been hi.
wife's favorite servant He was idle
and thief. but Dumoise trusted every
thing to him.
On his way back from Chini, Dumofse
turned aside to Bagi, through the Foresl
Reserve. which i on the Spur Of Mount
Hui1oo. Some men who have Travelled
more than little say that tie marcl
from Kotegarll to Bagi Is one OF flle I'm
est ia creation Il runs through th.
dark vet sssesk and ends suddenly il