The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-26


that you won't tell my wife,"
He got all that he asked for and left the
mouse while the table drank his health
what no did only he himself knows. A
taKlr hung about Bronckhorst's com
pound for 10 days. Then a mehter m
peared, and when Biol heard of him no
said that Strickland was an angel full
nedged. Whether tho mel o. made love
to Janki. Mrs. Bronckhorst's ayab, is a
question which concerns Strickland OK
clusively.
He came back at tho end Of three weeks
and said quietly: "You spoke tho truth,
biei. The whole business is put up from
beginning to end. Jove, It almost aston
ishes mel That Bronckhorst beast isn't
fit to live"
Thcro were uproar and shouting. and
Biei said: "How are you going to prove it?
You can't say that you've been trespassing
on Bronckhorst's compound in disguise!'
mo-" said Strickland. Tell your
lawyer fool, whoever he is, to get up some
thing strong about inherent improbable
ties and discrepancies Of evidence He
won't have to speak, but 1t will mako him
happy I'm going to run this business. "
Bel held his tongue, and the other men
waited to SEQ what would happen. They
trusted Strickland as men trust quiet men,
When the case came off, the court was
crowded. Strickland hung about in the
veranda of the court till no met the Mo-
hammcdan khitmatgar. Then he muir
INJURED fakir's blessing In his ear and
asked him how his second wife did. Tho
man spun round, and as he looked into
the eyes Of Estreeken Sahib his jaw drop
ped. You must remember that before
strickland WIS married no was, as have
told you already, a power among natives.
Strickland whispered rather coarse YER
naoular proyerb to tho effect that he was
abreast Of oil that was going on and went
into the court armed with O trainers gut
whip.
Tho Mohammedan was tho first witness,
and Strickland beamed upon him from the
back of tho court. Tho man moistened
his lips with his tongue, and, in his abject
rear OF Estreeken Sahib, the fakir, went
back on every detail of his evidences; said
he was poor man, and God was his wit
ness that he had forgotten everything that
Bronokhorst Sahib had told him to shy.
Between his terror of Strickland, the judge
and Bronckhorst ho collapsed, weeping.
Then began the panic among tho wit
nesses. Janki, the ayah, leering ohastely
behind her veil, turned gray, and the
bearer left the court. He said that his
mamma was dying, and that it was not
wholesome for any man to lie unthriftily
In the presence of Estreeken Sahib.
Bel said politely to Bronokhorst: "Your
witnesses don't seem to work Haven't
you any forged letters to producer" But
Bronckhorst was swaying to and fro in his
chair and there was dead pause after
Bel had been called to order.
Bronckhorst's counsel SOW tho look on
his clients face, and, without more ado,
NIT hnd Id
table and mumbled something about hay
ing boon misinformed. Tho whole court
applauded wildly, like soldiers at theater,
and the judge began to say what he
thought
Bel came out of tho place, and Striok-
land dropped trainers gut whip in the
veranda. Ten minutes later Biel was cut
ting Bronckhorst into ribbons behind the
old court cells, quietly and without scan
dal. What was left of Bronckhorst was
sent homo In carriage, and his wife wept
over 1t and nursed it into man again.
Later on, after Biol had managed to
hush up the oountercharge against
Bronckhorst Of fabricating false evidence,
Mrs. Bronckhorst, with her faint, watery
smile, said that there had been mistake,
but it wasn'J her Teddy's fault altogether
A1Ao Wouiu Nttit I'LL ner I6uuy came DaCk
to her. Perhaps he had grown tired of
her, or sho had tried his patience, and per-
haps we wouldn't cut her any moro, and
perhaps the mothers would let their chill
dren play with "littlo Teddy" again. He
was so lonely. Then tho station invited
Mrs. Bronckhorst everywhere, until
Bronckhorst was fit to appear in public
when he went homo and took his wife
with him. According to tho latest advices,
her Teddy did ''come back to her." and
thcy arc moderately happy, though, of
course, he can never forgive her tho thrash
ing that she was the indirect means of
getting for him.
What Biel wants to know is, "Why
didn't press home tho charge against the
Bronckhorst brute and havo him run in?"
What Mrs. Strickland wants to know is:
"How did my husband bring such lovely,
lovely Waller from your station? know
ali his money affairs, and I'm certain he
didn't buy it,"
What l want to know is, "How do
women like Mrs. Bronckhorst come to
marry men like Bronckhorst2'
And my conundrum is tho most unan-
swerable OF the three Rudyard Kipling.
A Slowly Acquired Art.
4 N