Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1913-09-04
A Mystery
of India
By GROVER ]. GRIFFIN

Colouel VI lue DrlClSn army. l 90 not
vouch for it. but there are certain fea-
lures about it that assure me that it is
not altogether improbable.
Edgar Oldershaw, Il lieutenant in an
Irish regiment. went out to India with
his command. He vas a great favor
lite with the Indian people and min
gied with them as much as if not more
than with his W countrymen. So
great was his influence upon them that
before he was twenty-five he was Civ
en- command of Il native battalion.
Oldershaw fell in love with a Eura-
sian girl. the daughter of an English
woman n an Indian nabob. She had
been brought up under Indian infu-
ences; but. being Of two races. it was
easy for her to incline to either. New
ertheless she was more Indian than
European. One thing was certain
that she was a very handsome girl,
a fascinating creature. combining Eu-
ropean manners with that peculiar
mysticism pervading all India.
Oldershaw married the girl, but
within a fewoweeks after the marriage
began to look pale and thin. The sur
geons of the British army could not
make out what was the matter with
him. He was "A man of excellent con-
stitution, temperate in his habits, and,
so far as could ne detected, each one
OF his organs WAS in a healthy condi-
ton. Nevertheless he seemed to be
under the influence Of some disease.
Some of his European friends were
inclined to believe that his wife was
holding him under a spell. But there
was no evidence Of this. Indeed, Mrs.
Oldershaw seemed to be very much
attached to her husband and greatly
troubled about has condition. The only
reason that his friends had for consid-
ering her to ba a possible cause for
this condition Was that her English
mother had died a few months after
the daughters birth. and her death
had never been satisfactorily explain
ed. This was 20 reason at all. It
merely indicated that Europeans had
no faith in Indians.
Oldershaw was a long while ailing.
Some one noticed that whenever he
was ordered off on some service where
his wife could not go with him he
gradually recovered his health and
that when he returned to her he re-
lapsed into his former condition. This
was talked about among Oldershaw's
army associates. or, rather, their wives.
but no one had the courage to speak
of it to the colonel. A friend suggest
ed to the invalid's medical adviser to
bring the matter before him. but the
surgeon politely declined.
Colonel Oldershaw lived a year after
his marriage. then died. having grad
ually succumbed to some influence,
weakness or mental trouble. No one
could give any definite cause for his
death. An autopsy was ordered. and
tests were made for poison. but with
out throwing my light as to the cause
OF his death. This exonerated his
wife. if indeed she needed exoneration,
for every n who knew her Intimately
declared that she sincerely mourned
her husband and was especially anx-
ious that the cause of his strange i'll
ness should he determined.
Two years after this the Widow
OlderShaW married an American. one
Edmond Baxter. Il business mar of
Calcutta. No Il expected that she
would long remain single. for she was
only twenty-one at the time of Older
shaw's death. and besides being beau
tiful she was rich.
\ month after his marriage Baxter
went to America on important bust
ness. it was said. leaving his wife in
Calcutta. He never returned. OF
course after awhile tongues began to
wag. people wondering if he might not
have discovered the secret of his pred
eceSSor's death. Be this as it may,
he remained in America. while his
wife lived in India. No one ever
heard of any divorce between the two.
but Mrs. Baxter did not take another
husband till new came from America,
nine years after her second marriage.
that her husband had died of an Or
binary disease.
The widow was still a handsome
woman. not much over thirty and rich.
Time had somewhat erased the early
reports Of some malign influence upon
the men she married. She tool a third
husband. this time an Indian. He
lived six years. when he died a per-
fectly natural death-at least, so read
the certificate.
1T seems that a young assistant sur
Seon of Il British regiment. hearing of
the case of Colonel OIdershaw, resolv-
ed to hunt up an explanation of the
mystery. How he learned what he did
would take too long to tell. When a
little girl. Der mother having died. the
subject OF this story fell to the care of
Il woman who made Il poison girl of
her-that is. she gave the child small
doses of poison. increasing them till
she could bear to take Il large uuan-
tlty and her breath was poisonous to
another. The outrage had been dis
covered and stopped. but not before
the child had partially become infected.
Each OF the cases pertaining to her
| h11Chn nHc I-n fJn,