Morris tribune., 1913-07-25
A Mystery
Of India
BY GROVER ]. GRIFFIN


vouch for it, but there are certain fea-
lures about it that assure me that it is
not altogether improbable
Edgar Oldershaw, lieutenant in an
Irish regiment, went out to India with
his command. He was a great favor
tie with the Indian people and min
gIed with them as much as if not more
than with his own countrymen. So
great was his influence upon them that
before he was twenty-five he was Civ
en- command of a native battalion.
Oldershaw fell in love with a Eura-
sian girl, the daughter Of an English
woman and 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,
fascinating creature, combining Eu-
ropean manners with that peculiar
mysticism pervading all India.
Oldershaw married the girl, but
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 Tar as could be 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 spell. But there
was no evidence OF this. Indeed, Mrs.
Oldershaw seemed to be very much
attached to her husband and greatly
troubled about his condition. /. The only
reason. that his friends had for cOnsid-
ering her. to be a possible cause for
this condition was that her English
mother had died a few months after
the daughters birth, ana her death
had never been satisfactorily explain
ed. This was no reason at ALL 1t
merely indicated that Europeans had
no faith in Indians 4'a
Oldershaw was a lOng'swhile 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 be 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. Rae
Colonel Oldershaw lived 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 any light as to the cause
Of his death. This exonerated his
wife. if indeed she needed exoneration,
! for every one who knew her intimately
declared that she sincerely mourned
i her husband and was especially anx-
| ious that the cause of his strange ill
! ness should be determined.
Two years after this the Widow
Oldershaw married an American. one
! Edmond Baxter. a business man Of
Calcutta. No one 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.
! A 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
j., 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 news 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 took 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
geon of British regiment. hearing of
he case of Colonel OldershaI,, 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. her mother having died, the
subject of this story fell to the care of
a woman who made a poison girl of
her-that is. she gave the child small
doses Of poison, increasing them till
she could bear to take large quan.
tity and her breath was poisonous to
another. The outrage had been dis
covered and stopped. but not before
the child had partially become infected