THE MAN WHO WAS.

Bush Advocate, Volume V, Issue 354, 16 August 1890, Page 9

THE MAN WHO WAS.

Let it bo cleat ly understood llmt the Russian is n delightful person till ho tucks in his shirt. As an Oriental lie is charming. It is only when he insists upon being treated as the most easterly of western peoples instead of tho most westerly of easterns that he becomes a radioal anomaly extremely difficult to handle. The host never knows which side of his nature is going to turn tip. Dirkovitch was a Russian— a Russian ef the Russians— who appeared to got his bread by solving tho Czar as an officer in a Cossack regiment, and corresponding for a Russian newspaper with a name that was never twice alike. Ho was a handsome young Oriental, fond of wandering through unexplored portions of. the earth, and lie arrived in India from nowhere in particular. At least no living^ man could ascertain whether it was by way of Balkh, Badakshan, Chitral, Beluchistau, or Nepaul, or anywhere eleo. The Indian Government, being in an unusually affable mood, gave orders that he was to be civilly treated, and shown evervthrag that was to be seen. So he drifted, talking bad English and worso Freuch, from one city to another, till ho foregathered with Her Majesty's Whito Hussars, in the , cily of Peshawur, which Btands at the mouth of that narrow aworduut in the hills that men call the Khyber Pass. He was undoubtedly an officer, and he was decorated after the manner of tho Russians with little enamelled crosses, nnd he could talk, and .though this has nothing to do witli his merits, he had. .been given up as a hopeless task, or cask, by the Black Tyrone, who individually aud collectively, with whisky and honey, mulled brandy and mixed spirits of every kind, had striven In all hospitality to make him drunk. And when tho Black Tyrone, wh<» are exclusively Irish, fail to disturb the peace of head of a foreijiner, that foreigner is certain to be a superior man. The White Hu3sars were as conscientious in choosing their wiuo as in charging tho enemy. All (bat they possessed, including some wondrous brandy- was placed at tho ab.->oluto disposition oi Dirkovttch, and ho enjoyed himself hugely— even more than among the Black Tyrones. But ho remained distressingly European through it all. The White Hussars wcr« "Mv dear true friends." v Fellow-soldiers glorious ' and "Brothers inseparable. 5 ' He would unburden himself by the hout on the glorious future that awaited th« combined anus of England and Russia when their hearts and their territories should run sido by side and tho great mission of oiviHeing Asia should begin. That was uii satisfactory, bocause Asia is not going to be civilised after tho methods of tho west. There is too much Asia, and sho 13 too old. You cuunot reform a lady of tuauy lovers, and Asia has been iusatiablo in her flirtations aforetime. Sho will never attend Sunday school or learn to vote, s&vo with sword for tickets. Dirkovitoh knew thin as well as any one else, but it suited htm to t-ilkap-wLat-eorrusiiomlently and to made himseli' a* genial U3 lie could. Now und thoa he voiutiUioi-od 11 little, a vory little, information about hid own sotni;i. of Cojsaaks, left, apparently, to look after themselves somewhere at the b:i«Sc of lie~onil. Mo h.i-.l done rough work in Central Asia , nnd had «ccii r.ither mora"hclf!-your»o!t' righting lh:ui moat snem of his years. " But ho was c\> refill nuver to betray his superiority, and more t'um caivful to praise on all occasions tkd apperiramje, drill, uniform and organisation oi Her Majesty's White Hussuw, And indeed they wvjro n raiment to be admired. When Mrs. Durban, widow of Sir John Durgan, arrived iv their station, and after a short lime hud bix:u proposed to by every single man atmeas, sho put lho public sentiment very neafly when sho oxplQ.snc.vl tlwt they wero all so nice that unless sho could marry them all, including the colonel and some majors already married, sho was not going to content herself with 0110 hussar. Wherefore she wedded a littlo rain in a riflo regiment,., bsing by nature contradictions ; aud tha White Hussur were going to wear era pa on their arms, but compromised by attending the wedding iv full forco, and lining the aislo with unutterable reproncb. Sho had jilioil them all, from Basßet-Holmcr, the senior captain, to little Mildred, tho junior subaltern, who could gave given her four thousand a y«;ir aud ;i . title. Tho only persons who did not; share the general regard for the White Hussars wore a lew thousand geutlemeu of Jewish extraction, who lived across the border, aud answered to the name of Pathan. Thoy had once met the regiment officially, ami for something less thau twenty minutes, but the interview, which was complicated with many casutilities, had filled them with prejudice. Thoy even called the White Hussars children of lho devil, nnd sons of persons whom ifc woull bo perfectly impossible to meet in decent societ\\ Yel they wore not above making their avorsion fill their money belts. The regiment possessed carbines — beautiful Martini-lleini carbines, th.it would lob a bullet into an enemy's camp at oue thousand yards, and ware even handier than tho long r fie. Therefore thoy were coveted all along the border, nnd since demand inovitably breeds supply, they were supplied at the risk orlifeand limb tor exactly their weight in coined Bilver— seven and one-half pounds weight of rupoes, or sixteen pounds sterling, reckoning -the rupee at par. They wero stolen at night by the snakyhaired thieves, who crawled on their stomachs under the nose of tho sentries ; they disappeared mysteriously from locked armracks, aud in the hot weather, when all the barrack doors and windows were open, they vanished like puffs of their own smoke. The border people desired them for family vendettae and contingencies. But in the long cold nights of the Northern Indian winter thoy were stolen most extensively. The trafftcof murder wasliveKestamong tho hills atthat season, and prices ruled high. The regimental guards ware first doubled and then trebled. A trooper does not much care if he loses a weapon — Government must make it good— but ho deeply resents the loss of hia a-'eep. The rogirnent grow very angry, nnd one riflethief bears the visiblo marks of their anger upon bim to this hour. That incident stopped the burglaries for a time, and the guard 9 were reduced accordingly, and tho regiment devoted itself to polo with unexpected results ; for it beat by two goals to one that very terrible polo corps, the Lushkur Light Horse, though the latter had four ponies apiece for a short hour's fight, as well as a native officer who played like a lambent flume across the ground. They g<rve a dinner to celebrate the event. Tho Lushkar team cumo, and Dirkovitch came, in tho fullest uniform of a Cossack officer, which is as full as a dressing gown, and was introduced to the Lushkars, and openod hia eyea as he regarded. Thoy were lighter men than the Hussars, and they carried themselves with a Bwing that is tho peculiar right of tho Punjab Frontier Forco, and all Irregular Horse. Like everything else iv the service, it has to bo learned, but, unlike many things, it is never forgotten, and remains on the body till death. The great beam-roofed in ess-room oi tho Whit Hussars was a sight to bo remembered. All the mess plate was out on the long talnc — tho same table that hud served up the bodies of flvo officers after .a foryotlnu tight, long and long ago— the dingy buttered standards faced tho door of entrance, clumps of winter rosei lay between tho silver candlesticks, and tha portraits of eminent officers deceased lookod down on their successors from between the heads of sambhur, nilghui, murkhor, and, prida of till tho mesa, two grinning snow leopards, that had cost Bassct-Holiner four months' leave that he might have spoilt in Ifoghind, instead of on tho road to Thibet and tho itaily risk of his life by ledge, snow-slide, and grassy slope. The servants, in spotless whito muslin, and the crest of their rogimeute on the brow of their turbans, waited behind their masters, who wi-ro clud iv tho scarlet and gold of the Whito Hussars, and tho cream and silver of tho Lushkar Light ll.orso. Dirkovitch's dull green uniform" 1 woa the only dark spot at tho board, but hU big onyx eyes made up for it. Ho was "' fraternising oiWivily with tho captain of the Lushkar team, who w^is wondering hmv many of Dirkovitch's Cossacks his own long, lathy, down-couuiryuu-31 could account for in a fair charge. But one does not speak of those things openiy. The t-ilk rose higher and higher, and the regimental biuid played between the courses, us is "the immemorial custom, till all tongue:; ewiscd for a. moment with tho removal ofc the dtnners'ipß and the first toast of obligation, when the Colonel, rising, said: " Mr. Vice, the Queen," and littlo Mildred, from tho bottom of tlu; table, answered: " Tho Queen, God bless her," and the big spurs clanked us tho big men heaved themselves up and drank the Queen, on whoso pay ihoy wero falsely supposed to settle their mess bills. That sucrament of tho mess never grows old, and never ceises to bring a lump into tho throat of tho listener, wherever ho bi>, by sea or by land. Dirkovitch roao with his "brothers glorious," I but ho could not umlerstsind. No one but an officer o/tn tell what tho toast moans, and tho bulk Jmvo movo sentiment tlum comprehension. Immediately after the little silence that follows on the ceremony there entered tho native officer who had played for Use Lush knr team. Ho could not, of course, cat with the moss, but ho cunvj in at dessert, «H six feet of him, with the blue and silver turbm atop, and tho big black boots bulow. Tho mess roan joyously as ho thrust forward tho hilt of j hia Bubro in token 01 foalty for tho Colonel of I tho White Hussars to touch, and dropped into ' a vacant chair a:uiJ shouts 01 " Rung, ho !

Hira Singh !" (which, being translated, mean 3 " Go in and w n !") " Did I whack you over the knee, old man f" " Eeasaiilar, Sahib, what the devil made you play that kicking pig of a pony in tho last ten minutes?'' " Sliabash, Eessaidar Sahib !" Then the voice of the Colonel, " The health of llessaidar Hira Singh !" After the shouting had died away, Him Singh rose to reply, for he was tho cadet of a royal house, the son of a. king's son, and knew what was due on thnao occasions. Thu3 ho spoke in the vernacular :— " Colonel Sahib and officers of this regiment. Much honour have you done mo. This will I remember. We came down from afar to play you. But wo were beaten." (" No fault of yours, Ressaidar Sahib. Played on our own ground, y' know. Your ponies were cramped from the railway. Don't apologise.") " Therofore, perhaps, we will come again if it be so ordained." ("Hear! hear ! hear, indeed ! bravo ! hah !") "Then we will play you afresh"—" happy to meet you" — " till there are left no feet upon our ponies. Thus far for sport." Ho dropped one hand upon hia swordhilt, and his eye wandered to Dirkovitch lolling back in his chair. But if, by the will of God, thcio aiises any game which ia not the polo gamo, then bo assured, Colonel Sahib and officers, that wo will play it out side by Bide, though thoy," again his eyea 6ought Dirkovitch, " though they, 1 Bay, have fifty ponies to our ono horse." And with a d«ep-mouthed Hung ho ! that sounded like a musket butt on flagstones, he sat down amid looping glasses. Dirkovitch, who had devoted himself steadily to the brandy— the terrible brandy aforementioned—did not understand, nor did the expurgated translations offered to him at all convey the point. Decidedly Hira Singh's waa the speech of the evening, and the clamour might have continued to tho dawn had it not been broken by the noise of a shot without that sent every man feeling at his defenceless left side* Then thoro was a Bcuffle and a yell of pain. " Carbine-stealing again," said the Adjutant, calmly sitting back in his chair. " This comes of reducing the guards. I hope the sentries have killed him." The feet of armed men ponnded on the verandah flags, and it was as though something was being dragged. ii Why don't they put him in the cells till the morning:" said the Colonel, testily ''See if they've damaged hi.n, Sergeant," The meas Sergeant fled oat into the darkness and returned with two troopers and a Corporal, all very much perplexed. 1 1 caught a man stealiu' carbines, sir," said the Corporal. " Leastways 'c was crawlin' towards tho bavrickts, sir, past tho main road sentries, an' the sentry, 'o so/., Bir " Tho limp heap of rag 3 upheld by the three men groaned. Nevor was seen so destitute and demoralised an .Afghan. He was turbanleas, shoeless, c-iknd wii.h dirt rind .'ill bit t)on:l with rough handling. HiraSinifhstarro'l slightly at tho sound of i he man'? j.'&iu. DiYkuvi'-uh took another glass of brandy. "What does the yon try ssiy:" :<.'ii'.l the Colonel. "Said 'o speaks Vwiglish, yir," .-.till the Corporal. ■ ''tin v r>u brought- him inlu moss mh!>xu! of handing him over to t lin cv.-rgoiiia .' If he spoke all tli:j tongues of the lV.»Mtecu->t you've no bu3ineti3 — " Again the bundle groaned and muttered. Little Mildred lial risen from his plane to inspect. He jumped back as though he had been shot. " I'erlnpa it would bo hotter, sir, to s-:-n J the men away," £ai-i ho to the Colonol, iov ho was a much-privileged f.ukiUwn. ilo j-ut his arms round the rag-bound horror as ho spoke and dropped him int<"> a oliair. It may not have bfen explained th.it the littleness of Mildred lay in his being six feet four and big in proporti jn. Tho Corporal, seeing that an officer w;is diapo3ed. to look after the capture, and thai the Colonel's eye was beginning to bla/e, promptly removed himself and his moi). The mess was loft alone with the carbine- thief, who laid his head ou tho tu bio and wept bitterly, hopelessly and inconBolably, as little children weep. • Hira Singh leaped to his feet. " Colonel Sahib," said he, " that man is no Afghan, for theyweopAi! Ai ! Nor is ho of Hindustan, forthoy weop Oh ! IIo ! Ho weeps after the fashion, of the white men, who say O\v ! Ow !" "Now, where tho dickens did you get that knowledge, Hira Singh ':" said tho Captain of the Luahkar team. "Hear him-!" said Hira Singh, simply, pointing at the crumpled figure, that wept as though it would never cease. " He said, 'My frod !' " said little Mildred. " I heard him say it." Tho Colonel ami tlie ines3-room looked at the man in silence. It ia a horrible thing to hear a man cry. A woman can sob from the top of her palorate, or her lipa, anywhere else, but a man must cry from the top of his diaphragm, and it rends him to pieces. "Poor devil!" said the Colonel, coughing tremendously. "Wo ought to send him to hospital. He' 6 been man-handled." Now, the Adjutant loved his carbines. They wero to him as his grandchildren, tho men stand in the first place. He grunted rebilliously ; " I con understand an Afghan stealing because he's built that way. But i can't understand his crying. That makes it worse." The brandy must have affected Dirkovitch, ! for he lay back in hia chair aud stared at tho ceiliug. Thoro was nothing special in the ceiling b--yond a shadow aa of a huge black cofliii. Owing to some peculiarity in tho construction of the mess-room this shadow was always thrown when the candles were lighted. It never disturbed the digestion of the White Hussars, They wero in fact rather proud of it. "Is he going to cry a>l tiii^ht 'r" saiil tho Colonel, " or are we supposed to sit up with little Mildred's guest uuhl he i'eela bettor 'r'' Tho man in the chair threw up his head and stared at the mess. "Oh my God !" he said, and every soul in tho mesa ro<se to his feet. Then tlio'Lushkar Captain did a deed for which ho ought to have been given tha Victoria, Cross -^distinguished gallnntry in a light against overwhelming curiosity. Ho picked up his team with his eyes as tho hostess picks up the ladies at tho opportune moment, and pausing ! only by the Colonel's chair to way, " This isn't our affair, you know, sir," led them into the verandah and the gardens. Hira Singh was the lust to go, and he locked nt Dirkovitch. But Dirkovitch had departed into a brandy paradise of his own. His lipa moved without sound, and he was studying tho coflSin ou tho coiling. " White— white all over/ said BaasetHolmcr, tho Adjutant, " Wfi:it a pernicious renegade he mustlw ! I wo:.'.iur where he came from." The Colonel shook tlm mnn fjontly by the arm, and " "Who are you V" s;»M ha. There was no iinswor. The m:v.\ stared round the mess-room and smiled in tho Colonel's face. Little Mildred, whn was always more of a woman thivn a man till " Boot v.r,d Saddle," was sounded, repeated the question in a voice that would have drawn confidence:) from a geyser. The man only amiled. Dirkovitch, at the f:ir end of tho tablo, slid gently I'io;u bin chair to tho floor. No son of Adam in this present imperfect world can mix tho liussars' champagne with the Husxars' brandy, by five and ei^at glasses of each, without. remembering tho pit whence he was oiggad and doicoudii'g ihithor. The band began to pl:iy tho tune with which tho White Hussars from the dal-j oi their _ format ion have concluded all their functions. They would sooner be diskin-lod than abandon that tune; it is a part of thoir system. Tho man straightened himsitlf in his chair and drummed on the table with lii.s fingers. "I don't sco why wo fhmiltl entertain liiuaticrf," said the C'uloik.-I. ''Call a giiMfl ami send him off to tho i'o!h. We'll l.«r>k into tho busiuesa in tho mornini,-. <Ji\\> him a yl.i.-:s of wine first, though." Little Mildred filk'il a s^icrry-j-'luss with the brandy and thrust it over to th>: 711:111. Me drank :ttul the tune r.wi'li'iult'r and ho slr;ii;/iiicued himst'lf j r et inoro. Thou )io put out his loiiff taloned Imuds to a piucu or plutc .<pp< tsite and fingered it lovingly. There was a mystery connected with that piece of plate, in thu" shape of a spring, v»"hich converted what was >.i seven-branched candlestick, three spring •; on each side mid ono in the middl", into a sort of wheel-spoke candelabrum, 110 found the spring, presso.nt, and latighe.l wuakly. He ros« li'om ! his chair and inapectr-d a picture on the wall, then moved ou to another pioturo, the mess watching him without a word. When he tvnno to the mantel-piece h'j uh-jnk hij heal and seemed distressed. A piece of plato ropresnitin^ a monntod hussar in full uniform caught, his eye. He pointed to it, mill then to the mantel-piece with inquiry in his eyoj. "What is it,— Oh. -.vli.it. !s it?" srii-.l little MiMivd. Then, as a r.vthtT ;uisM. sp.-ak to a child, " That is a hnrs". Yes, a hor>r." Very slowly came the muwer, in :i. thic'-c passionless guttural — " Yes, I— have seen, lint — where is tho home;" You could have ho;r«l iho lieuh of the niesd heating, as the !ne:t drew brick to yivotho str'ingcr full room i:i lii.s wiinduring.s. There was no <jut>ition nf c liliiui' tho i^uanl. Agaiu he spoke — vc:t slowly, '* Where is our horso r" There is but one li^r^e in the White Hussars, and his portrait. hnn»s outsido the door of the mess-room. He is (,'ie pii;)).-ild drum-horss;, fbo kino; of tno re^iineiitjjl baiul, that, ser\*i«l tiio regiment for seveu-iMi-Mhirty yenra, ruitl in tho end waa shot i'or oil ago. Half tho tneas tore

tiia thing from its place and thrußt it into the man's hands. He placed it above the mantelpiece, it clattered on the ledge as his poor hands dropped it, and he staggered toward the bottom of the table, fulling info Mildred's chair. Then all the men spoke to one another, something after this fashion: "The drum-horse hasn't hung over the mantelpiocc since '67." "How does he know?" "Mildred, go and speak to liim again." " Colonel, what are you going to de ?" " Oh, dry up, and give the poor devil a chaneo to pull himself together." "It isn't possible, anyhow. Tho man's a lunatic." Little Mildred stood at the Colonel's side, talking in hia ear. " Will you be good enough to take your seats, please, gentlemen," he said, and the mesa dropped into the chairs. Only Dirkovitch's seat, next to little Mildred's, was bl.tnjr, and little Mildred hirarfelf had found Him Singh's place. The wide-eyed mess-ser-geant filled the glasses in dead silence. Once more the Colonel rose, but his hand shook and tho port spilled on the table as he looked straight at tho man in little Mildred's chair, and said hoarsely : ♦* Mr. Vice, the Queen." There was a little pause, but the man sprung to his foot, and answered without hesitation : "The Queen— God bless her!" aud as he emptied the thin glass, he snapped tho shank between his fingers. Long and long ago, when the Empress of India \raa a young woman, and there were no unclean ideals in the land, it was the custom of a fow messes to drink the Queen's toast in Woken glass, to the huge delight of the mesa contractors. Tho custom is now dead, because there is nothing to break anything for, except now and again tho word of a Government, and that has bean broken already. " That settles it," said the Colonel, with a gasp. " He's not a sergeant. What in the world is he V Tho entiro mess ochoed the word, and the volley of questions would have scared any man. Smafl wonder that the ragged, filthy intruder could only smile and shake his head. From under the table, calm and smiling, rose Dirkovilch, who had been roused from healthful slumber by feet upon his body. By the side of tho man he rose, and the man shrieked aud ; grovelled. It was a horrible sight coming so swiftly upon Iho pride and glory of the toast that had brought the atrayed wits together. Divkovitch made no offer to raise him, but little Mildred heavod him up in an instant. It is not good that a gentleman who can answer to the Queon's toast should lie at the feet of a subaltern of Cossucks. « The hasty aotion tore the wretch's upper clothing nearly to the waist, and his body was seamed with dry black scars. Theie is only ono weapon in the world that cuts in parallel lines, and it is neither the cane nor the cat. Dirkovitch saw the marks and tho pupils of his eyes I diluted. Also his face changed. He said somej thing that sounded like " Shto ye takete," and the ru.in fawuiny answered, "Chetvre." " What's that r" said evurybody together. "His number. That is number four, you kuow," Dirkovitch spoke very thickly. "What has a Queen's officer to do with a quulitiud number"!"' said the Colonel, and there v.-iis an unpleasant growl round the table. '• How c;i.u I Uillir" suid the affable Orieutal, with ;i swo.it smile. "H« w a— How you have it?— oscivv.o, runaway, from over there." He lioddod toward the darkness of the night. " Speak to him, if he'll answer you> and speak to him gently," said little Mildred, settling the man in a'chair. If scorned .most improper to all present tliat Dirkovitch should sip br.uiily as he talked in purring, spitting Rushiaji to tli.! creature who answered so feebly and with such evident dread. But aiuce Dirkovitch appeared to understand no ouo said a word, tbey broathed heavily, leaning forward, in long gaps of tho conversation. The next time that thov h;ive no engagements on hand the White llus3ars intend to go to St. Petersburg in a body to learn llussian. " He does not know how many years ago," said Dirkovitch, facing the mess, " but he says it was very long ago in a war. I think that there was im accident. 2le says lie was of this glorious and distinguished regiment in the war." "The rolls! The rolls! Holmer, get the rolls!" said little Mildred, and tho Adjutant dashed off baro-hoad*d to the orderly-room, where the muster-rolls of the regiment weie. kopt. He returned Justin time to hear Dirkovitch conclude, " Therefore, my dear friends, I am most sorry to say there was an accident which would have been reparable if he r had apologised- to that our Colonel, which he had insulted. 1 ' Then followed another growl which the Colonel tried to boat down. The mess was in no mood just then to weigh insults to liussian Colonels. '•Ho does not- remember, but I think that thero was an accident, and so ho was not exchanged among the prisoners, but ho was sent to another place— how do you say j'— -the country. So, ho says, lie came bero. Ho doc 3 not know how he came. Eh V lie was at Chepany''— tho mau caught the word, nodded, and shivered — " at Zhiganak and Irkutsk. I cannot understand how ho escaped. Ho says, too, that ho was in tho forest for many years, but how many years he has forgotten— that with many things) Itwaaau accident, done because ho dkl not apologise to that our Colonel. Ah !" Instead of echoing Dirkovitch's sigh of regret it ia sad to record that tho White Husshm livelily exhibited unchristian delight and other emotions, hardly restrained by their soii3O ol hosaitalitv. liolraer flung -tho frayed and yellow regimental rolls on the table, and the men rbm-j themselves atop of theac. " Steady ! Fifty-six— fifty-five— fifty-four, said Ilolniur. " Here we -are : « Lieutenaut Austin Limmason. Missing.' Tkit was before Sebaatopol. What au infernal shamo! Insulted one of their Colonels, and was quietly shipped off. Thirty years of his life wip«d out." " lint lie' never apologwo-.1. .Said hod sec him rirst," chorused Uio meas. "Poor chap! i suppose he never had Ihe chan-'o afterward. How did ho come here r" said the Colouol. The dingy heap m the chair could giva no answer. " Do you know who you arc : It laughed weakly. "Do you know that you ore Limmason— Lieutenant Linnnason of the White Huas-irs'r" Swiftly as a shoteume the answer in a slightly Burpris«d lone, " Yea, I'm Limmason, of 0 >ursi?." The :i§ht died out in hia oyes nnd lie collapsed aj'rash, watching every motion of Divkovitch with terror, A flight from Siberia may tix a few olemenUrr facts in tho mind, but it does not seem to lead to continuity of thought. The man could not explain how, like a homing pigeon, he hud found hi 3 way to his own old mesa again. Of what lie had suffered or ac.'u he know nothing. Ho cringed before j DLrkovitch as instinctively as he had pressed the ! spring of the candlestick, s-jught the picture U ! the drum-horse and answered to the toast of the Queen. The rest waa a blank that tho dreaded Itussiim toague could only in part remove. His head bowed on his breast and he gigglod and cowered alternately. Thii duvil that lived in the brandy prompted Diikovit. h at this extremely inopportune !i>o:upnt !o make a apeou-h. He rose, swaying slightly. gripped the table odge, whilo hia eyes glowwl like opaK and bogan: " Follow soldier* glorious— true friends and bcsiutablos. It was an accident, and deplonible—most deplorable." Here ho smiled sweetly all round the mesa. " But you will think of this little thing. So little, is it not ? Tho f V.:i" ! Posh ! I slap my lingers— l snap my fhiscrs at him. Do 1 beliovo in him? No ! But in us Slav who has done nothing, him I b'.'liovo. Seventy— how much— millions no.ii.los that have done nothing— not one thing. PniJi! "vinpleim was an episode." He banged a liiind on tho table. " Hear you, old peoples, wv liavo done nothing i" tho world oi«: here. \H our work is to do." and it shall be done, old j»ont.!f3. Get away !" He waved his hand 1,,-nVriously, and pointed to tho num. "lon s.'ishim. He is not. Rood to sco. Hob:* just om> li'ikv-oli, so littlo— accident, that no one remembered. Now ho is That. So will you lm brother soldiers ao bravo -so will you bo. liut you will nuver coma back. You will :iil ••o w'licvo lio ia gone, or—he poiute.l to tho 'r-.vit ii.-sßin-shailow on the ceiling, ami inutte.rln<\ :l Seventy millions — gel away, you old l.W,'l,sS."i>llil»lCi. > p. '•'y-.vciM, nnd to tho point," said little Mil(lr.nl. " What's tho uso of getting wroth ? Lot's make tho poor dovil comfortable." But that was a matter suddenly and swiftly taken i'rnm the loving hands of tho White Hus-oiH. Tho Lioiitonanthadreturnudonly to go away again throe clays later, when tho wail of the '"• De-id March'' aud tho trarapofthesiiuadrons t-)l-l tho wondering Station, whosaw no gnpin the :iioss-table, thatanofticor of tho regiment had resigned his new-fomnl commission. " .Vnd Dirkoviteh, bland, supple, and always genial, wont away, too, by a night train Littlo .Uiluri'il and another man saw him off, for ho was the guost of tho me?s, and oven bad ho smitten thc'Coloncl with open hand, tho law of that m ess allowed no relaxation or' hospitality. "llood-byo Dirkovitch, and a pleasant journey," e;iid Mil f red, «• {,'( ivf,,i;'," said tho Itussin.it. '•lirK-il! But wo thought you were going ■ honut'r"' " Yes, but. I will oomo again. My dear friondi-, i.i that road shut:" Ho jxiintcd to wbcro tbo north star burned over the Khyber Pass. "By Jove ! I forgot. Of course. Happy to meet you, oM man, any time you like. Got 1 everything you want ? Cheroots, ico, badiling ?

That's all right- .-Well, an petoip, Dirkoviieh. " " Urn," said the other man, as the tail-Kghta of the train grew smalK " Of—all—the—unmitigated •" Littlo Mildred answered nothing, but watched tho north star and hummed a selection from a recent Simla burlesque that had much delighted the White Hussars. It ran : I'm sorry for Mi\ Bluebeaitl, I'm sorry to cause him pain ; Hut a torrible spree there's sure to lie When he comes back njrain. — Rudyaed Kipling, in MACJULiiAN'a;