Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1897-05-20
weIl.brought.up boy learns q

Sometimes he learns it at his mothers
knee, sometimes on his father's-face
down. Otherwise he receives physical
demonstration from a bigger boy
From which it would appear that the
youngsters gaZetted to the lrreprcssi-
bles were not well brought up. At all
events. they had the reputation Of be-
ing the most rOwdv crew in the army
list. Now, in India, n reputation Is only
gained by being deserved. And it was
in hill-statiOn that the subalterns of
the IrrcprCSsibleS reached the loftiest
pinnacle of their folly. The affair was
hushed up afterward. for the honor of
the regiment, as such things should be.
The Irrepressibles were unlucky in
their quarters that year. They were
fixed on the plains at time when there
was nothing to do, no game, no society,
no anything In Il case like that they
were thrown back on themselves, and
the result was unfortunate. Mems tenn
perS began to give way under the strain,
and. from the commanding officer
down 10 the smallest boy capable of
beating II drum, there was not one who
did not curse the hour he was born at
least seven times II day.
The trouble came. 1t all arose out of
the Junior Subaltern going out fishing
one day or out of the fact that he
caught nothing. Coming back, how
nVnr In DiuGt MAIDS IuIp anpnsS "a
which. with his usual foolhardiness.
he duly forked and transferred alive
ana wriggling into his creel. Thence,
on arrival at quarters, ii was removed
to Il perforated box and tenderly fed
Two of the Subnlterns began to de-
vclop Il most astonishing degree of ha-
tired the one for the other. They were
two men sufficiently alike in character
and capabilities to he either the frmest
of friends or the blttereSt of enemies.
As n matter of choice they were the
latter. Jealousy was at the bottom of
the trouble no doubt In the natural
order of things, this little feeling didn't
make life any the plcasantrr for the
i'NNs ~ llNl u W lN ll'ulNNl dS u Wtl-
come diversion. and for II time the 9th
cr youngsters used 10 take IN artistic
pleasure in tanning the quarrel. fore
most being the Junior Suhaltern.
What was originally variation Of
the monotOny of life, however. soon
came to be Il nuisance, ana the Irreprcs-
Siblcs began to feel very sick. Then
they got to wishing that one or both of
the men would die. This is not nice
sentiment to entertain toward any
man, especially If he is brother-of-
iiccr. But, most of all each of the men
wished that the other would go out. and
this was even worse.
At last matters came TO head. The
two SubalternS had u regular row one
night after mess. They would have
come to blows If it hadn't been for the
interference of the older men. There
were six men present, all Subalterns
except one, and it would have been bet
Ter II they had let the two fight II out
then aud there, Probably the difficulty
might have been settled finally. But
peace was patched up for about three
days, and then they broke out worse
than ever, and said things that half n
century ago would have led to pistols
next morning. In the meantime. the
Junior Subaltcrn and -four other inns
ot mlschiet had matured II plan by
which they hoped to tiN up the matter
once for all. And in this plan. natural
ly enough, the snake took some part.
1t was grim enough practical joke at
the best, and they ought to have pos
scSSed more sense between the five of
them than TO think of such thing.
The idea was nothing more or less
than TO propose to the two men to
spend night together. and with the
cobra, in a diSuScd room in quarters.
They were to be locked in and left TO
settle the matter among themselves
during the night, and in the morning
the rest of the party would release the
survivors, II any. OF course there was
no thought, even for moment. of let
thug loose the corha in that way. but.
aS the Junior Subaltern said: at won't
do them any harm TO think 1t out. and
perhaps with reelection will come an
increase of wisdom"
While the two men were still In the
heat of anger, the Junior Subaltern pro.
pounded to them his idea of settling
their difficulty by means of the snake,
He and his COnfplpratas InnEnd r,,
rowly at the men, and fancied they
blanched slightly at the prospect This
must have been imagination, however,
for, as with one breath, they both
agreed, and even seemed anxious TO
have the matter settled They must
have been very mad.
The affair being thus decided. dis
used room was chosen as the scene of
the ordeal and WAS hastily clenred NJ