Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1903-01-16
By Captain Harry |. Wells


Captain Harry L. Wells
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
When Colonel Twlller appeared at
the door Of his apartments in the Ma
gasaki hotel, he saw that Nellie was
standing at the window looking out
over the crowded harbor and drum.
ming impatiently upon the glass with
her fingers. Now. the colonel had not
been the guardian and sole mentor of
that young lady since her tenth year
without learning the signs of the times,
and he read In that drumming the ex-
istence of a mental condition that was
better permitted to work itself Off
through the fingers than through the
lips So he stole In as softly az the
stiffness of his cork leg would permit
and seated himself In a low bamboo
rocker to await the turn of events,
The colonel's other leg had been left
at Gettysburg, and when he was well
enough to go home Nellie's mother, g.
who had refused him whole before he
enlisted, married the remaining three
fourths of him and seemed glad to get
the chance. The colonel was glad also,
and when Nellie was born he was still
more glad. His happiness continued
about ten years, and then the death Of
his wife robbed him Of It until the
budding of his daughter into woman
hood, an exact counterpart In form,
feature and disposition of the lost
wife, restored II to him. He had be-
come an nbiect slave of this impulsive,
changeable, petulant warm hearted
copy of his wife, and that was the
cnly reason why he was now 5000
miles away from his native land
Nellie had said she absolutely must
go over to Japan to see those cunning
japanese girls In their own homes, and
the colonel had said, Eyes, of course"
though he very well knew that sh0
cared no more for the cunning Japa-
nese girls than she did for the woman
who Is supposed TO keep company with
the man In the moon. He knew Bha
simply wanted to get as close as possi-
BILE to Lieutenant Jack Carter, who was
fighting In the Philippines and whom
Jack was the son OF the cOlOnePs old
chum, who had been NO badly wounded
at the time the colonel lost his leg that
he only had lasted through few years
OF suffering and then had left his little
curly headed boy an orphan In the care
OF his cOmrade In arms. The two chill
dren had grown up together and loved
each other. but Nellie had some roman
tic notion about heroes such as her ia
ther with his cork leg, which Jack did
not seem to I'LL He was only Jack 30
she refused him without knowing how
much 1t hurt her, and he, when the war
broke out, enlisted, still without know
ing how much II hurt her.
Her pride at the thought that per
haps Jack would become hero after
all was mingled with fear that the
price of the heroism might be more than
a mere cork leg. and this idea the colo
mel stimulated upon every occasion that
offered. As time went on news from
the Philippines became more Startling,
and that IL why she told her father she |
wanted to see those cunning little Jap |
anese girls In their own homes and So
lected Nagasaki, the nearest port to |
Manila, but the poorest for seeing Jap |
anese life, us her point Of observation.
As Nellie stood at the window drum |
ming she saw the sampans darting |
about the harbor. the men-of-war lying |
at anchor. the large merchant steam |
ers. the whalers and the many fishing |
boats and Just under the window the |
long row of Jinrikishas backed up |
against the sea wall In front OF the |
hotel, the rickshaw men looking like |
animated mushrooms In their sugar |
bowl hats and knickerbocker trousers. |
She was especially Interested In an ar
my transport that had steamed slowly |
into the harbor a few minutes before
with the stars and stripes floating from
the stern. and now as she watched the
group Of khaki clad officers disembark
from sampsn and climb the long
stone steps to the buDd she drummed
still more lmpatiently and remarked
spitefully:
'"They make me tired"
"WhoT queried the colonel from the
depths Of his chair.
"Why, those officers with their nice,
clean unifOrmsl What right have these
officers to come away from Manila
when Jack is over there fighting those
horrid savagesf | should think they'd
be ashamed 10 do It,"
perhaps they would II they knew
Jack was there all alone"
Now, popsie, you stop making funl |
You know they have no right TO come |
home unless Jack does. Just know |
he's been sick all the time. None
OF them has been fighting night and
day as he has. wish you would
go over to the club and zee II those
good for nothing officers know how |
soon Jacks regiment Is going to be |
sent home. You'll find them there, for
they are certain 10 be all standing In |
front OF the bar drinking those horrid |
Scotch sodas"
VERY well, my dear" said the colo
mel. rising, but I want to call your at
tention to the fact that young officer
who IL sick all the time could not DO |
fighting savages night and day. You'd
better decide upon one thing or the
other as the reason why he ought TO be |
sent home" And the colonel chuckled
az be stumped down the hall and the
broad flight Of stairs to the hotel en-
trance.
The colonel had very dignihed, mill
tary carriage, the dignity being accen.
tuated by his desire to conceal the
presence Of the cork leg, and when he
made his stately appearance on the
hotel steps there was a rush Of rickshaw
men. bowling low with hat In hand, 70
tender their services. Selecting one, he
stifiy mounted into tho seat and was
soon trotted 10 the door OF the English |
club, where, as predicted, he found |
double row Of officers and Scotch and |
soda glasses aligned for business.
Upon invitation he Joined them, but |
before he could ask any questions his
eye happened TO catch sight OF some
clippings on the bulletin board. He
was soon absorbed In what they had 10 |
say. They were tukeu fran tho Manila