Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-03-23
DAILY SHORT STORY
The Bet of a Woman Halter.
IOriginal.l

les and such annoyances to young men
who go to college for fun, woke up one
June morning and found himself In
possession of diploma.
Bob determined to do some more
studying abroad. He was professed
woman hater, and before he left the
girls poked fun at him by betting him
q box of cigars against hundred
yards of brussels lace that he would
bring back wife with him, and one
little mink declared that she would be
black Bob offered TO take hundred
such bets, but his teasers were quite
content with one.
Six months after his departure Bob
was in India. He was dining one
evening with n party of Americans
and British officers when the subject
of the suffice or burning of widows
with the bodies of their husbands was
introduced. rood IS 1foW
That's stopped now" said British
captain, ''by a treaty with the British
government"
"Sahib," said an Indian servant,
''there will be suffice tomorrow morn
ing at sunrise. The young widow OF
the prince of Pingpore will be burned
with her husband"
1.-The deuce you sayr'
The servant being questioned said
that the prince was a very old man,
who had married the wife when she
was twelve years old. She was now
fifteen. The party became much in
tereSted, but as there was no English
garrison near it did not seem that any
thing could be done to prevent this
outrage against civilization. Bracket
proposed that the party constitute
themselves Il posse to do so. The
Englishmen were hard to move until
they had had number of brandy and
sodas. Then they chimed in with
alacrity. The party arose from the
table and, guided by the servant, went
to the place where the pyre had been
set up in the court of a ruin. On the
pyre was the body of the old prince,
guarded by heather HindOos.
II have scheme said Brackett-"a
real out and out Yankee scheme. Wen
conceal ourselves in what is left of that
apartment on the other side of the wall
from the pyre. 1t isn't more than thir-
ty feet from the pyre to the room. Sup
pose we dig a tunnel to Il point beneath
the pyre, remove the material from I'M
der where the widow will lie and let
her down and out before the flames
touch her."
Good" said every one, and the Hin
doc servant was dispatched for spades
and a wheelbarrow. With a will they
set to work, all of them young strong
men, and in three hours q spade broke
through the ground and struck the
wood of the pyre. Then commenced the
more difficult work of locating the re-
quired spot and removing that part of
the pyre directly under the spot where
the widow would lie. However, it was
at last accomplished, the wooden plat
form being left supported by pieces of
timber that could be removed at will.
In the morning there was great din
of the funeral procession approaching.
A troop of Brahman priests, their
shaved heads uncovered, carrying torch
rs, followed by a concourse of natives,
came bowling into the court. In their
midst was the young widow. The party
of AnglO-SaXons had pushed the NOR
tar from a chink in the wall, through
which they watched the proceedings.
AT the foot of the pyre the widow was
stripped of all her clothing except a
fine silken undergarment. To see the
young thing stand there, looking about
her with a bewildered stare, then at
the pyre with q shudder. was enough
to move stouter hearts than the Eng
lish and Americans. Bracket took one
look through the peephole, then dashed
into the tunnel and to the bottom of
the pyre, where he stood ready. When
the widow assembled the pyre and lay
down and q cloud of smoke concealed
the bodies, the signal was given by a
British officer at the peephole. Renov-
ing the supports, Bracket lowered the
living body, receiving it in his arms.
The widow, frightened at this unex-
pected occurrence as well as the flames
swooned and was easily carried through
the tunnel to the ruined chamber.
When she came to, hand was clapped
over her mouth, and she was forced to
remain quiet.
1t was not till night that the party,
dressing the widow in the costume of
their servant, Bob Bracket sacrificing
his beard to conceal her features,
ment and return to their quarters.
The widow, knowing that if found she
would be spurned by her people and
compelled to again go through the
dread ordeal to its completion, begged
her liberators TO take her out of the
country. AS none of them could go
where he liked except Bracket, he
was assigned the post of honor. 1t
was on a long journey on a p. and o.
steamer to England, sitting with her
daily on deck. talking of her past life
and telling her of the western world,
that Bracket lost his heart. The con-
sequence was that when they reached
England the widow of the Prince Of
Pingpore became Mrs. Bob Bracket
On the arrival few weeks later of
the steamer Lucania at New York
Brackets girl friends, who had heard
of biC ms rriooa with an Tndian xynrn