The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-06-25

festatipns and the etheric
double" said Major Mont.
ford, when Mime. Blavat.
sky. Mrs. Eddy. Colonel OlcOtt and all
the modern adopts had been discussed
81 don't profess to understand any
thing about occult science and / am
prompted to confess that the little ex-
perience had in India-"
If you tell that story. major. I'll
quit the room. You know that ] can
explain away your whole theory. That
Marjheet adept was all right. 1t was
the fault Of the camera or something.
/"
Now come. come. Anne! Don't
spoil the story. Try your hand at a
Welsh rarebit II you don't like to hear
II, but let me tell 1t my own way first.
You can add all the trimmings after
ward"
So the sweet little lady pouted Ike
0 sweetheart at the 1orid beau who
had been her husband for FIVE years
and left the room.
Il was quartered with Marjheet that
year with my squadron Of the House
hold Cavalry. 1t was our first try out
in the tropics. and every jolly officer.
line and staff, was dying Of ennui. 1t
was too hot for golf, the ponies were
too sick with the fever to stand even
an inning at polo and there wasn't q
tolerable white woman within sixty
miles. We were all bachelors but
Colonel Dinwiddie. and he, for reasons
of his own. had left the madam In Biz
mingham and was glad Of it.
We'll, We were hard put to 1t for
recreation until Ensign Pitcairn. a
weird.faced. inquisitive young chap.
began to give Us all the creeps with bis
stories about occultism. astral bodies.
spooks and manifestations Well.
Dlnwiddle and Pitcairn and I kept up
the best mess In the station, and, OF
course. every buck in the garrison who
had the entree spopged Oh our hos
pitality. So when they were all
worked up with the ensign's story l
hit upon the canny idea Of getting up
one Of the Indian 'adepts.' as Pity
called them. to give q seance In our
garden. 1t wasI-t garden ut all. as
q matter Of fact. but sandy, hat bit
Of ground fenced In ut the back Of our
bungalow. with bower In the middle
made Of nothing better than hipped
roof. cane pillars and mosquito bars.
1t was a good place to play ecarte Of
hot night. but in the daytime 1t was
as hot as the fire box Of Tophet.
$50 Pity arranged matters with his
sorcerer and I sold tickets to the enter
tairment at two shillings, English
money. for the officers and one
for the soldiers. We wrote the
tickets out by hand on the backs OF
old playing cards. and they went like
not cakes. for the unlucky Tomm!es
didn't know what to do with
themselves day or night. and the
chance of a show was almost as wei
come as a letter from home.
Except for the colonel and major
surgeon We had NO chairs. and the
audience squatted around In o circle
upon the sand. We borrowed few
torches from the quartermaster
though We didn't need them. as ],
turned out, for the moon was well over
the low roof Of my quarters before
Pitcairn. as self.important as Mrs. Jar
ley herself. came in with Ali Beg. the
vaunted mystic, who alone could make
sure my personal guarantee that the
entertainment was worth the fee.
Pity led his adept into the centre OF
the ring. a space about twenty feet IN
diameter. and introduced him with Q
pompous salutatory and q grand wave
Of the hand. The Tommies, who hat
no respect for anything native hootet
the misera ble Indian. who almost grOv
eled before them. calling him ALLEY
beggar' and asking him. ''AveD't yol
any happaratus!. The performer
who was almost skeleton, hat
brought with him one Of the para
phernalia which European 'magicians
always have about them. though h
wore upon his skinny shoulders dirty
drab- b-colored cloak. which he unwount
aud dropped upon the sand as he sa
lu,ed Colonel Dinwiddie and the ribalt
ring Of 'sahibs' round about. Perhaps
some Of you have seen these strang,
necromancers OF the East! No. Well
they are quite past understanding
This one, like all have known. beini
as agile as he was thin, with deep-set
scintillating black eyes. skin like ,
faded yellow parchment and finger
like the talons OF a hawk.
But hear what Ali Beg did hcfor
our unbelievinS eyes and. If you eau
explain IL, for can't. Having drOppe,
his cloak upon the sand, he unbelte,
q crooked scimitar that hung by hi
side and laid 1t behind him. Tbel
with a strange exclamation he fel
upon the cloak. rolled it between Iii
fat palms, padded IL, smoothed it ant
peeped beneath its hem. as it seemed
suddenly to swell and spread. Th
silence Of curiosity. if not or respect
fell upon us. but confess tina. IN.
hair stood Oh end and could feel tn
goose-fesh on my spine. when tn
wizard jerked away the cloak and dis
closed a chubby. bright eyed, make