Middletown transcript., 1902-10-04

across those years OIL
affection and close union between them
often wondered what had prompted
their intimacy in the first place. Blount
was some five years older than Cousins,
being staid, rather matter-of-fact man
of thirty at the time when fate threw
the two friends into the constant So
ciety Of Monica and Maudie Finlay, the
colonel's orphaned nieces. Blount, how
ever, was captain and Cousins merely
n lieutenant. He was extremely boyish
for his age, seldom taking anything ser
iously. The whole world seemed to be
to him eone huge joke" as he himself
expressed it, but it was his hearty
laughter, his mischievous pranks ana
his good-natured temperament that en-
deared him to all his fellow officers.
But first and foremost in the young
mans heart stood Maurice Blount. This
affection was fully returned, and they
were known as the 'Inseparables.
OF course it was almost foregone con-
clusion that the arrival Of Monica and
Maudie on the scene was bound to make
q difference to one or other OF the two
officers, although they had hitherto been
known TO declare that neither intended
to marry, and that each found all he
could desire in the close comradeshlp o.
the other. But it was more than un-
fortunate that they should simultan-
eously lose their hearts over the younger
of the sisters, Maudie. Monica was, Il
anything, lovelier than Maudie, her
gray eyes were full Of winsome visit
fulness that won the hearts of every
one of us, always excepting those OF
the '1nseparables. 1t was apparently
to be in their affairs of the heart as
in all things-Cousins followed in his
seniors footsteps, laying his hand and
fortune at the feet of Maudie Finley.
1t was a puzzle how they came to
pass over the sweetsr, gentler, elder
sister, to fall victims to the boisterous,
rather tomboyish charms of the younger.
Maudie only tossed her head at them,
delighting in their devotion, which was
clearly of the faithful-dog-fetch-and-
carry order, merely because it gratifed
her vanity, she having previously been
well informed that neither Captain
RIount nor Lieutenant Cousins had ever
bshn known to fall in love before.
/ was on sick leave at the time
this was happening, but l heard it all
with somewhat exaggerated details, wheA
I rejoined, and the odd part of the
Business appeared to be that both ap-
parently saw through the girl they
worshipped!
The elder man had been heard re-
buking the younger for bis foolishness
in allowing himself to be played with
by the heartless coquette, and the
younger man had been seen persuad-
ing Blount not to GO near the fasci-
mating Maudie on various occasions. 1t
was mysterious, to say the least.
At dances they We'd with each other
in obtaining the greatest number from
the younger Miss Finley. At picnics
they outdid each other to the best of
their abilities in carrying tempting dishes
to Miss Maudie, in seeing after her
comfort in every possible way. Neither
of them entered for the '"Thread and
Needle Race" at the sports because
Maudie could not be partner to them
both.
And all this while Monica was prac-
tically left to herself, not that the en-
tire regiment behaved as idiotically as
the "Inseparables," but because Mon
lea, quite early in the game, gave the
others to understand she did not re-
quire their attentions. The fellows
chaffed me, saying it was only on ac-
count of my age that she tolerated my
presence SO graciously, that no one
would think if she was seen about
with man old enough to be her father.
About the time that we received our
marching orders l noticed that Monica
had become rather paler than usual;
naturally I wondered at it and whether
our move to Egypt had anything to
do with it. Then one day saw
Blount looking at her; Monica's face
was half turned from him, and the view
he had of it was perfect, I felt sure.
knew her profile go well and could
fancy any mans heart being stirred
by its beauty; for all that was puz-
zled by the look in Blount's eyes and
his lips were set in a hard straight
line across his teeth. Then, for one
brief moment Monica lifted her sad,
gray eyes to his, and-he sighed. The
next-she was gone, and Reggie Cousins
slipped his arm through that Of his
friend, pulling him round with jerk,
and they both laughed. The laugh /
thought nervous one.
Soon after that we sailed.
The campaign of 189-was the first
active service young Cousins had ever
seen, and was interested in him and
his impressions more than in those of
our fellow officers. He was wildly ex-
cited on the voyage out, and by con-
kast his very excitement appeared to
make the captains manner more staid.
reserved and unobtrusive. They were
not however, quite SO much together
as they had been formerly, and it nat
urally became the subject of comment.
"Blount is jealous, l believe" said
one.
"More likely Cousins has been bitten
by the green-eyed monster. If they
are both in love with Maudie Finlay
l should say that the captain would
stand the greater chance of winning
her, and Cousins knows it," said an
ether.
Already we spoke of the love affair of
the 'Inseparables' with an eff"
Cousins, like every subaltern leaving
home end England for the first time. had
his ambitions dreamed his ,raor.. ~