Middletown transcript., 1898-11-26

and dlSpOSing or ner mulGlGnulhOuS
hand luggage IN the places best suited
to their varied and wonderful shapes.
BY the time We got to Perth the two
were as thick as thieves, and / ceased
grumbling at The preseEce Of the old
girl, for she broke the sombre blackness
Of Algy's gloom.
At the Perth station, where lunched,
he looked after our fellow-traVeller
with such tender care that, although
there was now plenty of room in the
train, she utterly declined to remove
herself and her luggage from our car
riage. Algy had drunk lot of that
beasily champagne you get at Perth.
noticed that be was very much flushed
and excited when he returned to our
carriage. He began giving our travel
ling companion details of his career,
borrowed largely from the pages of
Rudyard Kipling, the most blood-curd-
link adventures followed each other in
rapid succession, while sat furious in
my corner, cursing him for a fool. The
old lady was completely fascinated. and
kept on saying 1t sounded like a
which, indeed, itdidl There
really was nothing Algy hadn't done;-
be had been in Jameson's raid, he had
fought at Suakim, he had held fort
with handful of men against
thousands of Afghans, he was one of
the three survivors of the wreck Of the
Drummond Castle. -. wondered
how much the old girl would stand,
but he swallowed it all down like milk,
and when we got to Edinburgh, where
we parted, she begged Algy to tell her
his name. To my disgust, l saw him
hand her his card, and she warmly en-
treated us both, if we were ever in
Edinburgh again, to come and see her
in Drumsheugh Gardens.
thought Algy was going altogether
too far, giving his name, with the regi-
ment and all, to be discredited like this
for the sake of silly joke, and I pitch
ed into him well as the train numbered
out of Waverley station.
Algy laughed boisterously. 81 didn't
give her my name, you old duffer," he
said, II gave her PercivaPs. 1 hap
pened to have card of my immaculate
Cousins in my pocket, and I handed it
over to the old girl. Percival will be
rather surprised if he meets her some
day to hear that he is the hero of a
hundred fights that he has only read
of in the newspapers.
/ saw that it was no use saying any
more, SO buried myself in my cigar and
railway rug. After bit, the effect of
the champagne beginning to wear of,
Algy grew more more morose again
and raved against fate and PerciYal
and old Lafone until finally he dropped
off to sleep, to my great relief, and ]
was at last allowed to do the same.
A day or two after we had rejoined
Algy came into my room In the bar
racks with face as white as a sheet,
and letter in bis hand. 1t seemed he
bad thought better of his conduct to
old Lafone, and had written and tele-
| graphed, imploring Maude to forgive
him. And now she had written to say
that the separation must be final, that
| on knowing him better she felt she
couldn't trust him, and that marriage
would not be for their happiness. Algy
must take this as final.
| l read the letter over, and told him ]
thought she meant it. And so it turn
ed out, for no humbling in the dust or
the part of Algy had any effect. Il
was all at an end. The poor chap WA
frightfully cut up; the whole thing wal
his own fault, which, of course, wasn'
soothing refecti n. There was moth
ing to be done, however. but to try ani
bear it. SooE after he applied to ex
change into the White Lancers, and
for some time | saw nothing of him
They didn't care fer him in the Whit
I.ancers, and christened him ''Melan-
choly Jaques.n Although I confes,
that fate had been bit rough on him
I thought he should have shown more
pluck. What made things worse fo
Algy, Percival was going in strong fol
Maude Lafone, although her people die
not encourage him much, as he wa
even worse off than his cousinl
Que day Percival came into the mes
with an expression of utter bewilder
ment on his face and long blue enve
lope in his hand.
II say, you fellows" be said, "here'
; the most extraordinary thingl
Did any of you ever hear of Mrs
Ellen Macfee. of No. 6 Drumsheugl
Gardens, Edinburgh"
l looked up. Surely had heard tha
name before but where? :.
!. Suddenly it flashed across nj
that it was our old acquaintance of th
I trainl
"W H." continued Percival, "I'v
just had letter from firm in Edin
burgh-writers to the signet, whateve
that may mean: something like a solic
itor in England, suppose-to say tha
Mrs. E len Macfee is dead, and has lef
me the whole of her fortune, amount
ing to 5000 a yesrl / never set eye
on the woman in my life-never eYeI
heard of her. But here it is, all correc
ITO Captain Percival Mainwaring, O
Her Majesty's Grey Horse It's ont
of those things no fellow can under
stand; but did any one ever hear of sucl
an extraordinary piece of luckl''
7 xa1.KI, l,to. GtDkz .