The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-04-25
.-.THE..-.
PHANTOM RlCksHAw.
RUDYARD klPLyNG.
RUDYARD F<lPLyNG.


NY 10 III Sell. L, Jack ramsay, am In
Simla, and there are no ghosts here
It's unreasonable of that woman to pre-
tend there are. Why couldn't Agnes
have left me alone? Inever did her any
harm. 1t might just as we'll have been
me as Agnes. Only I'd never have come
back on purpose to kill her. Why can't
l be left alone-left alone and happy 2"
1t was high noon when first awoke,
and the sun was low in the sky before
slept slept as the tortured criminal
sleeps on his rack, too worn to feel fur
Their pain.
Next day could not leave my bed.
Heatherlegh old me in the morning that
he had received an answer from Mr.
Mannerlng, and that. thanks to his
| (Heatherlegh friendly offices, the
story of my affection had travelled
through the length and breadth of
Simla, where was on all sides much
| pitied.
.tAnd that's rather more than you
deserve, he concluded pleasantly,
"though the Lord knows you We been
going through pretty severe mill
Never mind. Well cure you yet. you
perverse phenomenon.
declined firmly to be cured. .sYou
have been much too good to me already,
old man, said l, s'but don't think /
need trouble you further. !"
In my heart knew that nothing
Heatherlegh could do would Tighten the
burden that had been laid upon me.
With that knowledge came also a
sense of hopeless, impotent rebellion
against the unreasonableness of it all.
There were scores of men no better than
whose punishments had at least been
reserved for another world, and l felt
that it was bitterly, cruelty. unfair that
alone should have been singled out
for SO hideous fate. This mood would
in time give place to another where it
seemed that the rickshaw and / were
the only realities in world of shadows; ;
that Kitty was a ghost; that Manner
ing, Heatherlegh and all the other men
and women knew were all ghosts. and
the great, gray hills themselves but
vain shadows devised to torture me.
From mood to mood I tossed backward
and forward for seven weary days, my
body growing daily stronger and strong
er until the bedroom looking glass told
me that had returned to everyday life
and was as other men once more. Curl
ously enough, my face showed no signs
of the struggle had gone through. 1t
was pale indeed, but as expressionless
and commonplace as ever. had ex-
pected some permanent alteration-visi-
BILE evidence of the disease that was eat
ing me away. found nothing.
On the 18th of May I left Heather
leghs house at 1 4 o'clock in the morn
ing, and the instinct of the bachelor
drove me to the club. There found
that every man knew my story as told
by Heatherlegh, and was, in clumsy
fashion, abnormally kind and attentive
Nevertheless recognized that for the
rest of my natural life should be
among but not of my fellows. and en-
We'd very bitterly indeed the laughing
coolies on the mall below. lunched at
: the club and at o'clock wandered aim
lessly down the mall in the vague hope
Of meeting Kitty. Close to the band
stand the black and white iveries join
ed me, and heard Mrs. Washington g
old appeal at my side had been ex-
pecting this ever since came >out. and
was only surprised at her delay. The
! phantom rickshaw and went side by
side along the Chota Simla road in 81
lence. Close to the bazaar Kitty and a
man on horseback overlook and passed
us. For any sign she gave might have
been dog in the road. She did not
even pay me the compliment of quick
ening her pace though the rainy after
noon had served for an excuse.
So Kitty and her companion and !
and my ghostly light O. love crept
round Jakko in couples. The road was
streaming with water, the pines drip
ped like roof pipes on the rocks below
and the air was full of fine. driving
self saying to myself almost aloud
'I'm Jack Pansay on leave at Simla-
at Simla everyday. ordinary Simla!
mustn't forget that mustn't forget
that. " Then would try to recollect
some of the gossip had heard at the
club, the prices Of So-and-so's horses
anything. in fact, that related to the
workaday Anglo Indian world knew
so well. even repeated the multiplied
ton table rapidly to myself to make
quite sure that was not taking leave
of my senses 1t gave me much com
fort, and must have prevented my hear
ing Mrs. Washington for a time.
Once more YEARLY climbed the con-
vent slope and entered the level road
} Here Kitty and the man started off at
canter. and was left alone with
Mrs. Washington. "Agnes," said I,
"will you put back your hood and tell
me what it all meansf" The hood
dropped noiselessly, and / was face to
face with M dead and buried mistress
She was wearing the dress in which
| had last seen her alive; carried the
same tiny handkerchief in her right
hand and the same cardcase in her left
A woman eight months dead with a
cardcase had to pin myself down to
the multiplication table and to set both
hands on the stone parapet of the road
to assure myself that that at least was