The Penn's Grove record., 1896-01-24
AT THE OPEN DITCH.

- its in the flesh, Glynf' asked
Jimmy Bellew, as we sat smoking n
evening In his quarters.
laughed. WHAT John James Chris
TOPPER Benjamin BinnsT' l quoted.
"That sort Of thing, ehf Certainly not.
I do believe, though, In disordered
nerves and liver. the cure for which Is
q blue pill and q blue ribbon. Why dc
you askf"
Because" said he, Is solemn as a
Judge, ION two separate occasions I've
seen with my own eyes q person ! knew
to have been dead and buried for
years"
Jimmy was going to be married the
following week, which accounted Tor q
sertain amount Of guinness on his part
But to take such q at of the jumps-the
night before our races, too-was a little
too much.
who was 1t, man or womanr /
asked.
Woman" he answered naturally. III
was a queer business. I've never men-
toned 1t to any human being, but I'd
rather like to tell you. Glyn, II you
don't mind listening"
Fire away"
At met her at Simla," he began slow
~. 81 was doing A. D. O. to Featherly
then. One of the best looking women
YOU ever saw; magnificent eyes-butse see
for yourself" taking from a dispatch
box beside him q leather case, which
he opened and handed to me. "Hand.
some face, eh? And exactly like her"
nodded. "A beautiful devil, as bad
as they make 'em," was my mental e
dict.
at was the usual Kipling business"
he was thinking aloud, in short, dis
jointed sentences. "She began 1t, l
fancy, out Of sheer deviltry-there was
some one else-a nice young girl-she
couldn't bear to see another woman"
A pause. Don't you think, though,
that / blame her; l was just as ready
to be made a fool of as she was to make
a fool Of me. 1t was ar infatuation-
regular case of possession-while II
lasted. We were ~inseparable at Slmla.
Later they were at u station-good
place for snipe-not far from headquar.
ters-she came in to the balls-I took
to snlpe shooting. And so, for the best
part of eighteen months 1t went on, un'
til-welli that sort of madness was
bound to wear itself out. l began to
recover my senses-she grew keener
as I cooled of-made scenes-whatever
1t had been at the beginning. 1t was the
real thing with her then. Finally came
the climax. She wasn't violent. She
only said that. as no longer cared for
her, we had better part. What was 10
be done? OF course 1 perjured myself
freely-to no purpose. She wished me
good-by.
although we may never meet
again. she said-I car hear her speak
ing now-'you are mine, only mine. l
shall never give you up. Remember
that. Never attempt to put another
woman in my place, for If you do.
warn you, 1 shall come back, no mat.
ter where / may be, even from the
grave, to claim my rights
1.-THE next morning she was found
dead in her bed. An overdose OF chloral
she took it for neuralgia-accidental
ly, so they said. I'd give Ave years OF
my life even now to be able to think So"
He shivered. "It's an awful thing to
feel a woman's death at ones door. ]
try to think she wasn't responsible"
Couldn't have BEEN" l Interrupted
decidedly.
He sighed. perhaps not. Anyhow,
1t gave me a shock. I was on the high
road to D. T. or a lunatic asylum, when
Featherly got sent to Burmah and took
me with him. The spell of active SER
vice made another man of me. l start
ed for home at the end of 1t pretty well
myself again. 1t a then she came To
me-" His voice sank almost to a whis.
per. II was on deck n evening, talk.
ing to a girl-we'd been dancing-when
1 looked around. There she stood by
my side, the moon shining full on her
face. l jumped back: the steamer
gave a lurch, and overheard 1 went.
They picked me UP, but / had
a narrow shave Of brain fever, and, as
you'll remember, reached home .
wreck"
l nodded. We had all noticed the
extraordinary change In poor Jimmy
when he rejoined. He went away full
of life and spirit, the best of company.
He came back morbid, morose, without
a word to say to his old pals, and II
was ages before he became his CHEEKY
self again. 6ut Jimmy hadn't finished.
"The next time was three years later
at Rathcoolan." he was saying, when
1 had dismissed the whole business
"a a hallucination. We were out shoot.
ing. / had just scrambled W a fence
and was holding out my hand to help
Miss Bourke, when / felt a touch on my
arm, distinctly. There she was again.
I believe she pushed me away. Any.
how. I slipped up, my gun went flying
into the ditch. caught in a bramble,
went of, and lodgedsa charge of shot In
my thigh-but you remember?-you
were there at the time. And now what
do you think of it? II it were fancy II
was deuced strange that ones nerves
should play n the same trick twice.
without the slightest warning. ehT'
mot at ALL" l declared. 1.-THE Rath
roolan accident, at all events. was the
most natural thing In the world. YOU
were making strong running with Miss
Rourke tshe was a pretty girl. and rhsl
match, looked on 1t, l know, as a set.
led thing; you'd got the other woman's
hreat In your mind; with your usual
Ilood-curdling carelessness-it's a mar
rel to me you've not shot yourself a
hundred times over-there you stood on
! slippery bank, with your gun at full
rock. A twig touched you, you started
md tripped up, Then with your weak
lead. In the go Of fever that followed.
rouc oncocted u Of your fancy a cock
lnd-bull story, and ended by believing
I. And I've not the slightest doubt
rery much the same thing happened Cd
BOARD ship"
Jimmy shook his head. II tell myself
Ill that. and for a time 1 managed to
ielude myself Into believing 1t. Still,