Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1896-07-03

captains wives peered under their eye
brows at the senior subaItern, and the
colonel's face set like the day of Judgment
framed in gray bristles, and no one spoke
for awhile.
Next the colonel said, very shortly,
"Well, siri and the woman sobbed afresh.
The senior subaltern was half choked with
tho arms round his neck, but he gasped
out: cts id lie. l never had
wife in my life"
"Dont swear" said the colonel "Come
into the mess. We must sift this clear
somehow" and he sighed to himself, for
he believed in his Shikarris did the colo
mel.
We trooped into the anteroom under the
full lights, and there we saw how beautiful
the woman was. She stood up in the mid
die of us all, sometimes choking with cry
ing, then hard and proud, then holding
out her arms to the senior subaltern. 1t
was like the fourth act of tragedy. She
told us how the senior subaltern had mar
ried her when he was home on leave 10
months before and she seemed to know all
that we knew, and more too, of his people
gray, trying now and again to break into
the torrent of her words, and we, noting
how lovely she was and what a criminal
he looked, esteemed him beast of the
worst kind. We felt sorry for him, though.
shall never forget the Indictment Of
the senior subaltern by his wife. Nor will
he. 1t was SO sudden, rushing out of tho
dark unannounced into our dull lives.
The captains wives stood back, but their
eyes were alight, and you could sec that
they had already convicted and sentenced
the senior subaltern. The colonel seemed
five years older. One major was shading
his eyes with his hand and watching tho
woman from underneath it. Another was
chewing his mustache and smiling as If
he were witnessing play Full in the
open space in the center by the whist ia
bles the senior subalter's terrier was hunt
ing for fleas. remember all this as clear
ly as though a photograph were in my
hand. 1 remember the look of horror on
the senior subaltern's face. 1t was rather
like seeing man hanged, but much more
interesting.
Finally the woman wound up by saying
the senior subaltern carried double +. M.
in tattoo on his left shoulder. We all knew
that, and to our innocent minds it seemed
to clinch the matter. But ono of tho
bachelor majors said very politely, II pre-
sumo that your marriage certificate would
be more to the purpose.
That reused the woman. She stood up
and sneered at the senior subaltern for q
cur and abused the major and the colonel
and all the rest. Then she wept, and then
she pulled paper from her breast saying
imperially, "Take that, and let my hus-
band-my lawfully welded husband-read
it aloud, If he darep'
There was hush, and the men looked
into each others eyes as the senior subal-
tern came forward in dazed and dizzy
way and took the paper. We were wonder
ing as we stared whether there was any
thing against any one Of us that might
turn up later on. The senior subaltern 8
throat was dry, but as he ran his eye over
the paper he broke out into hoarse cackle
Of relief and said to the woman, "You
young blackguard!'
But the woman had fled through door,
and on the paper was written, "This is to
certify that l. The Worm, have paid in
full my debts to the senior subaltern, and,
further, that the senior subaltern Is my
debtor, by agreemeE. on the 23d of Febru-
airy, as by the mess attested, to the extent
of one month captains pay in the lawful
currency of the India empire"
Then deputation set off for The
Worms quarters, and found him, betwixt
and between, unlacing his stays, with the
hat, wig, serge dress, ETC., on the bed. He
came over as he was and the Shikarris
shouted till the gunners' mess sent over to
know if they might have share of the
fun. think we were all, except the colonel
and the senior subaltern, a little disap-
pointed that the scandal had come to moth.
ing. But that is human nature.
There could be no two words about The
Worms acting. 1t leaned as near to a
nasty tragedy as anything this side of a
joke can. When most Of the subalterns
sat upon him with sofa cushions to find
out why he had not said that acting was
his strong point, he answered very quietly:
II don't think you ever asked me. l used
to act at home with my sisters" But no
acting with girls could account for The
Worms display that night. Personally
think 1t was in bad taste, besides being
dangerous. There Is no sort of use in play
ing with fire even for fun.
The Shikarris made him president Of the
regimental dramatic club, and when the
senior subaltern paid up his debt, which
he did at once, The Worm sunk the money
In scenery and dresses. He was good
Worm, and the Shikarris are proud of
him. The only drawback is that he has
been christened "Mrs. Senior Subaltern, "
and as there are now two Mrs. Senior
Subalterns In the station this is sometimes
confusing to strangers.
Later on will tell you of case some
thing like this, but with all the jest left
out and nothing in it but real trouble
Rudyard Kipling.