The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1896-04-11
Select gtOrp.
IN BRITISH GUIANA.
From Chambers Journal.

FROM thNnDefS Joutnal.
;'You fellows can believe it or not, as
you like, said Mackav, but | tell you
that for day and night have known
what it is to be dead .
.'Oh, come, Mae, that too much.
The major has given us some pretty tall
ones, but we can quite swallow that. "
Perhaps, suggested the major Mae
kay refers to state Of alcoholic saturation.
| have heard =
shut up, maiorI interrupted High
field ''Don be feeble .
'.Oh, all right, said Mackay. "0nly
you said it was my turn for a yarn, but of
course if
''Fire away, Mac. Never mind the
major He's an unbelieving jew when
his own tales are bested Well believe
you. Observe the childlike innocence of
our countenances
Very well, then, you shall have the
yarn.
Il happened out in British Guiana.
Phil Egerton and had been knocking
about that district in yacht. Phil was
bit of a scientist, had dabbled in the
ol0gies when he was at Oxford, and he
found something to interest him in the
shallow waters round the coast The buck
cts of mud and Shiny things he fshed up
weren very exciting for me, so put in
good deal of time hanging round the bars
and billiard rooms OF Georgetown. Poker
is a good game in the other hemisphere.
You fellows don rise to its possibilities
here
Take you on at half a SOY. ante, in-
terrupted the major.
NO, thanks, major You We been
there, I know I bar you.
81 don't think l could mention the
place, continued Mackay, that I've
spent more than a month in without con-
triving to make fool of myself over some
girl She was a barmaid this time, and,
by Jove she was pretty. We called her
The Queen, and never knew her by
any other name What nationality she
belonged to can tell you. think she
had dash of most Of them in her, but
English, Spanish and Indian were perhaps
the most prominent-English in business,
Spanish in love, but pure, undiluted In
dian in hate. 1t was dangerous mix
ture, but you We no notion how fascinat-
ing | wasn't by any means the only
fellow who suecumbed to her charms, but
believe | was the only one she cared
gin cocktail about. You'll admit that the
position had its dangers. OF course |
knew perfectly well that l was making an
ass of myself, but | couldn' help it. The
only thing for me to do was to bolt. If
staid another week | should marry her,
and then there be the deuce to pay
q Look here, Egerton, said one
night, You've got to take me away from
here. Leave those confounded weeds of
yours and let's weigh anchor and be off.
2" What the matter, Mac ? said Eg-
erton. Got the fdgets I'm sorry, old
man, but I've discovered new species
among those said weeds, and [ want to
work it up.
9 Well, Phil, my boy, if you won't
leave, you'll have to be my best man,
that s all
'sThat frightened him bit. told
him the whole story, and he saw there was
no time to be lost if / was to be saved
Phil Egerton knew me pretty well in those
days
:: IN tell you what We Il do, Mac, he
said You know Wilson, the sugar plan
ter. He tells me there is some capital
shooting to be had in the interior. ANY
amount of birds and chance at stray
jaguar or two. Hes going to have
month of it, and has asked me to join him.
We can take the yachts boat and go up
the Demerara until we strike the woods.
What do you say?
q Anything you like, so long as you
get me out of this mess.
s'We went in the morning and saw
Wilson about it. He was delighted, and
said he would start as soon as we could
get ready.
'.Of course any sensible man in my
position would have had the common pru
dence to employ the intervening time in
cleaning his guns and looking out various
odds and ends for the expedition; but, as
/ tell you, where women are concerned
L m not to be counted in the class of sem
sible men | went to see The Queen, and
naturally she wormed the whole thing out
ofme
q Phil, | said, when | got back, if
we can t start tomorrow we needn't go at
ALL 1t would spoil the party if took
wife with me-
{" We'll start tonight if you like, Mac.
I'm ready, and if Wilson ism he can fol-
low us. But whats the hurry? You
haven told her you re going, have you?
q Yes, l have, and that S why it won t
do for me to stay here longer.
Well Mac, of all the laundering
idiots it has been my privilege to know. |
do think you re about the biggest. Why
on earth couldn't You vanish quietly and
leave her to find out about it afterward
sg meant to, but when | started talk
ing to her, out it all came.
What possessed you to go there at
all today?'
:. oh, come, Phil, be reasonable.
You couldn't have kept away yourself if
you d been in my place
q You had scene, suppose !?
Well, slightly. She accused me Of
wanting to get rid Of her, trying TO run
away, in fact, and as it was perfectly true.