The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-21
A TALE OF TURGHUELA,

"Turghuela, Turghuela?" That's wher
Mamie Rhodes lives; and that settles tn
question. I'll go and chance it"
So Geoffry Dasent wrote OFF there AM
then to the colonial office, accepting tn
muniflcent offer OF the post of government
medical officer in TurghueIa at a salary O
goo year.
1t could surely be only the light o
Mamie Rhodes eyes that could attract
man from England to Turghuela, seeing
what remote, unknown scrap of a plac,
1t is, compared with which the other Wes
Indian islands are great continents astiI
with the hubbub of mighty issues.
In fact, it is so small that it is not men
toned by name in Whitaker" nor is il
otherwise indicated on a map than by 9
DOT, surrounded by dots equally nameless
but all bearing the general title of ''The
Virgin Islands," For fertile loyeliness il
is garden of Eden. its miniature ranges
of mountains are wooded up To the tor
with tamarinds, cinnamons, silk cotton
trees, and pouis, whose yellow blossoms
splash the sides in broad patches of gold
The air is thick with the scent of bananas
cIstard apples, sour saps and manages
that grow round the little homesteads; aud
the fields of tall. green canes. on the sugar
estate the island boasts of, rustic pleasant
~ in the cool sea breeze. The people, too,
seem picturesquely happy; the few whites
in their clean drill suits and straw hats,
the negro women with stately figures set
of by the erect ,pOise of their heads tied
round with handkerchiefs of gaudy red
and yellow, and the little niger children
running about, with naked little bodies
shining in the sun.
All of these things aroused Geoffry Da-
sent's delight as he landed in Turghuela
aud was shown round the place by the
vice president Of the island, versatile
gentleman combining the offices of stipend
larry magistrate. registrar commandant of
police and general dealer in home and colo
NAL produce, who welcomed him with
most sincere effusion, and put his house,
his servants and cattle at the service of the
new conner. Dasent was in such a whirl
of new sensations that it was some time
before he found an opportunity for inquir
ing after Miss Rhodes,
Dear meP exclaimed his new friend.
'The idea of knowing any one herel
suppose you mean Mamie Rhodes that was.
She's married now. You never heard of
1t? A man called Conway-lucky beggar
Came over here year or two ago as over
and on the death of her father, came into
possession of the whole estate"
Dasent scarcely heard the latter part of
this little speech. The blue faded from the
sky and the glory from the hills Mamie
married. A vague sense of the futility of
things came over him, and he wished him
self back in England. But in Turghuela
he was, and in Turghuela he had to re-
main, and to learn the quaint ways of his
dusky patients, and to foregather with his
spiritual colleague, Rev. NJ. Jones, who
otficiated in the tinest little stone church
covered all over with the bell apple vine,
and to meet Mamie as if nothing had ever
passed between them, and to dine at her
husbands table, and finally, TO keep stiff
upper lip while working out like a man the
lot he had apportioned unto himself
surprise even more disagreeable than
the news of Maimie's marriage was his in
PRODUCTION to her husband Mountains
meet sometimes, says the proverb, and then
earthquakes follow There was no earth
quake in this case at Turghuela, but the
two men glared for a moment at each other,
until Conway put out his hand, and with
an assumption of rough geniality, said:
Come, we mustn't be bad friends here.
Let bygones be bygones."
Aud then DaSent had perfOrce to accept
the olive branch protfered in the shape of
the great sun glazed hand although he
felt the ashes of an almost forgotten dis
gust burst into flame within him.
Mamie received him with glad well
come she hardly strove to hide. She was
still the same sweet, unsophisticated little
girl he had fallen in love with two years
before in England, in spite of a certain seri-
business of matronly dignity which seemed
TO him quantity homogeneous.
What on earth made You come out to
this heaven forsaken placer" she asked one
day. He had been dining at Mount Pleas
ant, and it being crop time Conway had
rushed off to the works, leaving the two
alone on the veranda.
81 don't quite think it is that" he re-
piled, lazily enjoying the moonlight and
the scent of the orange blossoms in the
garden. Il had no idea that Turghuela
was such q paradiSe-as far as God made
it.
You are as bad as woman. You at
tack side issues instead of coming to the (
point asked you why you came out"
He looked up quickly at her Her head /
was turned aside in critical contemplation /
of twig of jasmine she was twisting. |
Still he could not tell her the exact truth.
What makes men do silly things?"
Then it was simply your own folly that I
brought you here?"
"As it has turned out How have YOU I
managed to become so argumentative? /
When / knew you in England you were
the least logical of little girls"
Il have lived many years since then. | /
am az old married woman now" And
then, after a pause, Why did you never
write TO mei"
''Why did you leave England so sud
denly without letting me know? One Sun
day you were full of plans for enjoying
your visit, and the next, when had toiled
ten miles 10 see you, learned that you had
sailed away on Wednesday,"
Il know" she said rising suddenly and
throwing away the jasmine stalk, 1t WAS
a mistake. must go and see what Petre-
ma is doing with that coffee"
''It was mistake That was enigmat-
icaL DaSent walked homeward very
not without certain misgiv-
ings, which the sound Of Conway's voice
and that of a woman, raised suddenly in
angry alteration some yards in front OF
him on the road, did not allay.
Yes he, you black beast" said Con-
Ns, and his tone broke harshly upon the
stiffness
@'Ehether I'm black or whether I'm mu-
le5saE. don't Elake any difference. ThaI's
white people isn't good en9ugh to pull jig
gers out of black peoples foot. o me IA
theirs. Mr.. Conway, you're real bad.
When you're not drinking rum, you're
hanging around respectable peoples
Ca ghters and Door Miss Msimic I'D Vou-
der treated like dog"