The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-04-02
MAJOR moNrFoRp's ODD STORY.


the etheric double said Major Mont
ford. when Nine. Blavatsky Mrs. Eddy.
Colonel Olcott and all the modern adopts
had been discussed, Il don't profess 10
understand anything about occult science
and l am prompted to confess that one
little experience | had in India"
If you tell that story, major. III quit
the room. You know that I can explain
away your whole theory. That AarjheeJ
adept was all right. 1t was the fault Of
the camera or something. -
Now, come, come. Annei Don't spoil
the story. Try your hand at a Welsh
rarebit if you don't like TO hear il, bur
let me tell il my own way first. You can
add all the trimmings afterward.
So the sweet little lady pouted ike a
sweetheart at the ford beau who had
been her husband for five years and left
the room.
4 was quartered at Marjhett that year
with my squadron Of the Household Cav
airy II was our first tFy-out in the
tropics. and every jolly officers, line and
staff, was dying Of ennui.
Well, we were hard put 70 tifor recre-
alton until Ensign Pitcairn, a wierc-
faced, inQuisitive young chap. began TO
give US all the creeps with his stories
about occultism. astral bodies, spo0ks
and manifestations Well, Dinwiddie and
Pitcairn and / kept up the best mess in
the garrison who had the entTee sponged
eff our hospitality. So when they were
all worked up with the ensigns story
hit upon the canny idea OF getting up
one of the Indian adopts. as Pity called
them, 10 give a Seance in our garden.
SO Pity arranged matters with his
sorcerer and I sold tickets TO the enter
tainment at two shilings. English money.
Except for the colonel and the major
surgeon We had no chairs, and the audi
ence squatted around in a circle upon the
sand. We borrowed A few torches from
the Guarter-m though We didn't
need them, as il turned out, for the
moon was well over The low roof Of my
quarters before Pitcairn, as self-import-
ant as Mrs. Jarlsy herself. came in with
Ali Beg. the Wanted mystic, who alone
could make sure my personal guarantee
that the entertainment was worth the
/ fee Pity led his adept into the center
! OF the ring, a space about twenty feet in
diameter, and introduced him with q
pompous salutatory and a general wave
of the hand The Tommies, who had no
/ respect for anything native hooted the
miserable Indian, who almost groveled
before them, calling him Alley beggar'
and asking him, ''Aven't you any hap
/ paratus?' The performer, who was al
/ most a skeleton, had brought with him
none Of the paraphernalia which Euro
pean 'magicians' always have about
them, though he wore upon his skinny
shoulders dirty, drab-cOlored cloak
which he unwound and dropped upon the
/ sand as he saluted Colonel Dinwiddie
and the ribald ring of 'sahibs' round
about
But hear what Ali Beg did before our
unbelieving eyes. Having dropped his
cloak upon the sand, he unbelted a crook
ed soimitsr that hung by his side and
laid 1t behind him. Then with strange
exclamation he fell upon the cloak, rolled
it between his fat palms, padded it
smoothed II and peeped beneath its hem
as It seemed suddenly to swell and
spread. The silence OF curiosity. If not
Of respect, fell upon u.s. but I confess
that my hair stood on end and I could
feel the goose-nesh on my spine, when
the wizard jerked away the cloak and
disclosed chubby, brigt-eyed, naked In
dian boy sitting squarely before us upon
the sand. 1t could have been no ordinary
Authorization, fer the child leapt nimbiy
to his feet, chattering to his creator, Ali
Beg, as we exchanged cries of wonder.
I'm afraid I'm telling 1t very badly, am
l, Amer" CThis to Mrs. Montford. who
had come TO listen at the doorway. But
she said: NO it's all right. Oonly don't
so past the place where come in, please,
Harry"
All right, Anne. Then, let's see Oh,
yes, the boy was there as real as any
boy I ever saw at night by the light of
either moon or torch. The adept bowling
and grinning like a pleased Chimpanzee
now dropped the cloak again. went hys-
terically TO work with his lean hands
! turning from his task only twice TO look
at the boy who stood silent beside him
gazing about at the white faces of the
fascinated audience When the cloak be-
gan to assume the form and size that
seemed to satisfy the adept he whipped il
away again, and there, as plain as HIM
self or the boy, yawning as If just awak-
ened, its mean, furtive, yellow eyes dart
ing lurid glances upon US, lay a full
grown leopard, the hair on his tawny
back rising angriy as Ali kicked him in
TO standing posture, his goetid breath
coming 10 our nOstrils as he snarled with
rage, his tail whipping the sand into our
faces as he dashed ii about. oh, it was a
real leopard, 1 think. At ali events,
remember some of us who happened to
have them slipped out our pistols
But IL was the climax OF the weird
spectacle which followed. BY a series Of
vindictive kicks and cuffs the adept was
working the sinister beast into a fury
The great cat was snaring and swapping
leering and striking at him, when he sud
denly furled the cloak round the boy.
who, all calmness and silence was stand
Ing near. Then thrusting the drab mass
Of boy and cloak at the creature. All
stepped aside and stood motionless while
the brute fell tooth and claw upon the
covered boy. There was a roar. q f0unt-
ain Of sand. the men Jumped up some
scared. some furious, some ran 10 the
house for weapons. and il would have
gone hard with Ali Beg and his diaboucal
beast II Pitcairn had not jumped up
cool as veteran on dress parade 70 re-
store order. But we were all standing
excited and panic-stricken. over the boys
fate. when the howing oriental suddenly
laid his hand on the leopard Withdrew
tile cloak and showed Us that the boy
was gone. Devoured2 Vanished
Il don't know. gentlemen said Major
M0nttord, Il can't tell what became of
the little black fellow. All Beg had no
sooner made his low obeisance tthey cah
it 'salasm) TO Colonel DinRiddsa and the
circle than he waved the empty cloak 4
few times. spread Il above the leopard
head and covered that chop-liCiing de-
mon. AS We looked the cloak dropped
down. down. till IL lay fat and spread5ug
on the sand. The leopard was gone.
picked MP the ili-smelIng cloak my
self, and Il the earth had opened and
swallowed the beast, II could not have
disappeared more Thoroughly. Well. that
nearly all ~ the supernatural part ~
The story. we repeated il till every man
IL the station was half dany about mvs-
ticism and bankrupt with paying admis-
sion fees. We'd have 6ll become BI18-
hists. I guess. Il one fine day Coioaei
Dlnwiddies niece hadn't come aiolg,
touring India with party n English
folks and camera. she was the rret
test, dal1tiast--
Vow stop Harry cried Mrs Mort
e. q H.n