Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1905-05-09

You mean that he ruined yOlr ca
reer:"
"Well-er-ycs. suppose that de
scribcs tie position with fair accura
cy.'
"Was he a very great scoundrel"
"I!c vas ard Is"
Jenls srj';e with quiet bitterness
| Tic ::::'.'s wo:d.; Lad evoked sudden
| ;.o3l @: rcco lection. For the moment
i.c &, -. a0;:,c low lie had been
t..rrpd into s!c.k!n% Of himself. mol
| ii !e sve lie quiet content on Iris
| r:.;c wen Sc c:.citel the information
| t!.t Is cl.icf foe WAS man. A GER
TIA t.2:..!::... IS l.cs.;aIcy in her man
nor w,:cn ?l:e next spoke might have
w:rmc,, LA. but his hungry soul
cs-c: Only tie warm sympathy Of Lei
| w3:t..;. Which fell like rain OH parched
SCI,
You are tired" she said Wont
you smoke for little while and talk
to me!'
lie produced his pipe and tobacco.
THAT is first rate pipe" she de-
clared. MY father always said that a
straight stem, with the bowl ut n right
angle. was the correct shape. You evil
IDENTIFY agree with him."
Absolutely"
"You will like my father when you
meet him. He is the very best man
alive. am sure"
"You two are great friends, then"
Great friends! He is the only friend
/ possess in the world"
What. Is that quite accurate!
"O!!. quite. OF course. Mr.. jerks. l
can never forget how much ! owe to
you. | like you immensely, too. al
though you are $3.50 gruff to me at
times. But-but-you see. my father
and have always been together. l
haze neither brother nor sister, not
even cousin. My dear mother died
from some horrid fever WHEN was
quite little girl. My father is every
thing to me-"
Dear child" lie murmured. appar-
emily uttering his thoughts aloud rath-
er than addressing her directly. 80
you find NE gruff. eh?"
~ REGULAR bear when YOU lecture me.
But that is only occasionally. You can
lie very nice when you like. when you
forget your past troubles. And pray.
Why do YOU call me ch.ld:"
"iIave done so!'
Not moment ago. How old are
you. Mr.. jerks? l am twenty-twenty
last December"
And l." lie said. will be twenty
eight in August"
Good gracious" she gasped. II am
very sorry. but l really thought yon
were forty at least"
Il look it, no doubt. Let me be equal.
ly candid and admit that YOU, too
show your age markedly"
She smiled nervously. What lot
of trouble you must have had toto
to give you those little wrinkles in the
corners Of your mouth and eyes," she
said.
wrinkles. How terrible."
II don't know. think they rather
suit you. Besides. 1t was stupid Of me
to imagine you were so old. l suppose
exposure to the sun creates wrinkles,
anG you must have lived much In the
open air"
early rising and late going to bed
are bad for the complexion" lie de-
clared solemnly.
II often wonder how army officers
manage to exist" she said. They
never seem to get enough sleep. in the
east at any rate"
$50 you assume have been in the
army"
II am quite sure Of it,"
May | ask why?"
"Your manner, your voice, your quiet
air Of authority, the very way you
walk, all betray you"
"Then," be said sadly. II will not ut.
tempt to deny the fact l held COM
mission in the Indian staff corps for
nine years. 1t was hobby OF mine.
Miss Deane. to make myself acquaint-
ed with the best means Of victualing
my men and keeping them in good
health under all sorts Of fanciful en-
ditions and in every kind of climate,
especially under circumstances when
ordinary stores were not available.
With that object in view read up
every possible country in which my
regiment might be engaged. learned
the local names Of common articles OF
food and ascertained particularly what
provision nature made to sustain life.
The study interested me. Once, dur
ing the Sudan campaign, 1t was really
useful and procured me promotion"
Tell me about 1t"
"During some operations In the desert
1t was necessary for my troop to fol-
low up small party Of rebels mounted
on camels, which, as you probably
know, can go without water much long.
er than horses. We were almost with
In striking distance when our horses
completely gave out. but I luckily no
t:ced indications which showed that
there was water beneath portion OF
the plain much below the general level.
Half an hours spade work proved that
I was right. We took up the pursuit
again and ran the quarry to earth, and
got my captaincy."
WAS there no fightY
He paused an appreciable time be-
fore replying. Then he evidently made
up lis mind to perform some disagree
able task. The watching girl could
see the change In his face, the sharp
transition from eager interest to angry
resentment.
"Yes," he went on at last, there was
fight. 1t was rather stiff affair, be-
cause a troop Of British cavalry which
should have supported me had turned
back owing to the want Of water al
ready mentioned. But that did not
save the officer in charge Of the Twen-
ty-fourth lancers from being severely
reprimanded."