The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1904-05-05

my sepoys without your aid. and I'll
give you a front place on the platform
where you can take in the whole and
make grand account of it for your
friends i'll the seats of the mighty
How much more he intended or could
have accomplished l don't know. Pos
sibly he could even have found way
to give me Balaya's medicine. He was
Ominously civil and kept me close to
him on the raised platform.
''Balaya was blindfolded and bound
to post little to our right. AS far
on our left stood a line of regulars and
in front of them one poor sepoy, his
cap, covered with deep. white pug
gerry which almost hid his face and
fell in heavy folds over his shoulders
and around his throat, the native in
sigma Of mourning The sepoy regi-
ments were drawn up next, to receive
the full force of the object lesson, and
behind them the home regiments.
THE colonel made brief address,
and not a bad one, on the duty of the
soldier to defend the queen and en-
press even against his own father and
mother. Then the poor sepoy in white
stepped three PAGES forward and threw
his rife to his shoulder We could
only see his eyes through the folds of
his puggery, but they were riveted on
the colonel, watching for the signal,
when he counted three and dropped his
handkerchief-whic was to be the
fatal sign.
1T was tiendish-hideous! And the
eyes of that poor sepoy seemed to fash
fire through the white folds of the pug
gerry. | thought of the woman and
looked about for her, but she was not
there. 1t would have been dangerous
for her to have spoken then. | thought
how fortunate that she had realized 1t
more likely that what she said to me
was but the poeticsimagery of oriental
fiction. Yet cold perspiration dripped
from my forehead, and l shut my eyes
as the colonel said Three and drop
ped the handkerchief.
THE report of the rifle was followed
by a groan, heavy fall on the raised
platform and gasp of horror from
those about me. l opened my eyes to
see the colonel shuddering in death ag-
ony at my feet and, like the hand
writing on the wall, to hear again:
The voice of woman will speak to
him. He will hear it, and he will heed
it. He will bow his forehead in the
dust to me- Verify. he heard and
needed!
Before soul could recover from the
shock, Khabeer Khan's savage followers
burst upon our rear with their blood
curdling battlecry. Led by the khan they
had crept up close, under cover of the ex-
element.
I'VE were fortunate in being able to
make a successful retreat with only a
heavy loss to report. Balaya, his wife
and brother disappeared l simply re-
ported the colonel among the dead. It
was quite sufficient.
"Quartermain was promoted for valiant
conduct, which he foolishly credited TO
the reports which 1 sent home. The con-
duct was his. Nothing but the reports
was mine.
Not another soul knew that 1t was
Balaya's beautiful wife, disguised as his
sepoy brother, who fired the shot, and
did not see it. My eyes were shut There
would have been no sense in my rakinG up
the ungodly facts as l knew them. 1t
would only have reused III timed indigna-
ton at home. The colonel was dead and
he alone was to blame.
"Quartermain deserved promotion. as he
has shown ever since. 1t was the voice of
a woman that saved him. if he was really
in danger and you can tell him | said So"