The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1897-06-04
rell-brought-up boy learns at

knee SDE'S--S1nE5 Oh lII1 ihli1-I s--ia't
down Otherwise DC receives physical
demonstration from a bigger boy.
From which it would appear that the
youngsters gazetted TO the Irrepressi-
bles were not well brought up. Al all
events, they had the reputation Of be-
ing the nost rowdy crew in The army
list. Now. in India, a reputation is only
gained by being deserved. and it WAS
in a hill-sfation that the subaltcrns Of
the TrreprcSsible8 reached the lOftieSt
pinnacle Of their folly. The affair was
hUshed up aftcrward, for the honor Of
the regiment. as such things should be.
The Irrepressibles were unlucky in
their quarters that year. They were
fixed On th~ plains at a time when there
was nothing To do, no game, no society,
no anything. In a case like that they
were thrown back on themselves and
the result was unfortunate. Mems tenn
pers began 70 give way under the strain,
and, from the commanding officer
down to the smallest boy capable Of
beating drum. there was not one who
did not curse the hour he was born at
least seven times day.
The trouble came. II all arose out Of
the Junior Subaltcrn going out fishing
one day, or ont Of the fact that he
caught nothing. Coming back, how
ever, he must needs run across cobra,
which, with his usual foolhardiness,
he duly forked and transferred alive
and wriggling into his 'crccl. Thence,
on arrival at quarters, 1t was removed
toa perforated box and tendcrly fed.
Two Of the subalterns began to de-
vclOp q most astonishing degree Of ha-
tired the one for the other. They were
two men sufficiently alike in character
and capabilities to be either the firmest
of friends or the bitterest Of enemies.
AS matter Of choice they We're 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 pleasantcr for the
rest. AT first it was treated as vel
come diversion, and for n time the 9TH
er youngsters used to take an artistic
pleasure in tanning the quarrel, fore
most being the Junior Subaltern.
What was originally variation Of
the monotony of life, however, soon
came TO be a nuisance and the Irrcprcs-
sbles began to feel very sick Then
they got 10 wishing that one or both of
the men would die This is not n nice
sentiment 10 entertain toward any
man, especially if he is a brothcr-of-
1lcer. But, most Of all, each of the men
wished that The other would 90 out, and
this was even worse
At last InatlcrS came TO head. The
two subaltcrns had Il regular row one
night after mess. They would have
come 10 blows if it hadn't been for the
interference" of the older men. There
were six men present, all subaterns
cXcer: one Hn1 it would have been bet
ter If they had let the two fight it out
tlicn ana 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 cTcr. and said things that half a
century Hg0 would have led 10 pistols
n"Xl morning. In the meantime the
-)ulllo" SuDaIinrn and ionr OH her imps
Of mischief had uaturcd a plan by
which they hoped to fix up the matter
'''
lN enough, the snake took some part.
IT was grim enough practical joke at
the best. and they ought 10 have DOS
srsscd 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 n night together, ana with the
cobra, in diSusrd room in quarters.
They were 10 be locked in ana left 10
settle the matter among themselves
during th" night. ana in the morning
the rest Of The party would release tho
survivors. If any. or course there was
IL" Thought. even for moment. Of let
ting loose the corba in That way. b,l,.
rs the Junior Subaltcrn said: .'It wont
90 them any harm IA think IT out, and
perhaps with reflection will come an
increase Of wisdom"
while The Two men were still in the
neat Of anger, the Junior Subaltcrn pro
pounded TO them his idea or settling
their difficulty by means Of the sIa.r,
The affair being thus decided. n dis
used room was chosen as the scene of
the ordeal, and was hastily cleared of
" nat III III tuIc WIS III ~. J. HIS bpl1lR
done, the two men, who had not
changed color during the scene. were
stationed at opposite corners of the
room, proppcd up in sitting positions.
with clear space between them of
something like fifteen feet
All prcliminHrcs having been AZ
ranged, the boy brought in the fatal
box and deposited ii in the center Of the
room, in such n manner that the lid
should open sideways. Here again his
ingenuity came into play. II was OBJ
Vlous that the box must be opened
when all except the principals were
outside the door. Luckily, the box had
a sliding lid, and the Junior Suballcrn
was able TO arrange it so that, by at
taching a piece Of string, any one
standing outside the door would be able
to slide back the lid and so release the
presumed occupant Of the box.
During all these arrangements the
five conspirators had felt very serious.
They began to realize that it was