Short Story.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXXI, Issue 50, 27 June 1905, Page 2

Short Story .

LHDER THE YELLOW FLAG. 'How are yon? Came round to have a talk— if you're not top busy.' • , ; - .^©: r ;-man--';,to'->:wlibm i; ' ; -Ijhi3;.. l remark was addressed brought down his feet from the offige, tabla,v sat up, and welcomed the new* cbme*>^ha.grip of thehand. ; I * ; §it down, :old fellow; glad to see you. You'llstaytb tiffin? Khan AH, pegs lao. "Wilton, of the Telegraph -Department, did as he -was told. Settled himself in a long chair, -placed his topee on- the ground, and accepted the proffered cheroot. 'Came in' on business : something to do, you know. Can't atau d the ' longj long day.' v Had- enough in India, but it's a thousand times! worse here. Got any ice?' '.. Sorry the; new machine's smashed. These native fellows don't, understand working it. Goolzad has promised to get another up from Bombay if we will guarantee to take a certain amount.' 'You can put me. down for any quantity you like. Life may be worth living in some latitudes, biit it certainly isn't in- Persia without ice.' ;. , Here a, tall native appeared^ bearing nectar in the shape of whisky and soda, and for a time silence obtained. .Topics of conversation were few in Bushire. With the thermometer one iundred in the shade— -damp heat— any exercise of brains.is a weariness jtp the flesh. Besides nntil the next mail /arrived, ! every item of news-had been worn threadbare." . Pekon, of Mets? and Company's, placed nis legs on the table again, and resumed hie occupation of staring; at the rafters. , Presently Wilton remarked : •*■ My broth er is coming up next mail.' Arrivals were rare, bo for the moment Pehron was interested. .; l;& ; the-;Ihdian i Tßleig'rai)h, isn't he?' he asked. on earth has induced him to come here for the hot weather ?' ''You see we've never been separated all our lives. We were at school together, and came but to India together, and when I got transferred, to thia department, he said he'd *PP*y tojbe sent here too. His "application's just been granted, so he'll be up here tomorrow;. I'm awfully glad to have him, but he'll find it rather a change from Poona.' 'People never know when they're well off. ' I hated pur place in Fenchurch Street, but I'd given a good deal now to have a little London fog and mud instead of all this sand and glared and "Pelron thought regretfully of the day on which he consented, in consideration of his salary being trebled, to represent the firm of Metz and Company in the PersianrGulf. . . Another and longec-pause, and then Wilton enquired: , ..: - - ■"-.■■■ ■ >■■ ■' : ■\ Had aiy news from Bussbrah lately ?' 'Absolutely none- Price of- cotton going down/X believe.' ' /■''■-■ 'I saw in a private message that cholera had broken > out; pretty bad, too, but it hasn't been officially reported yet.' "" 'That means quarantine, I suppose; all one's letters smelling of some beastly ' fumigating stuff, and all the contents of one's parcels ruined.* ; 'If they'd only keep to^it, though,' said Wilton ■, who had been but longer than Pelron and knew what cholera meant ; 'but these Persians evade all quarantine regulations, never come near Bushire town at all, but land-at night in native boats lower down the coasts: One hasn't any hold over them.' ■■■•.■■v-i-:./ ::-■;■;,...■;..■■;,;■■■■■■ ;. . ■/--/. ■:.' ..-■. ' Oh, natives are such; cowards, they die of anything,' said Pelrori, who imagined that the characteristics of all. Eastern nations were the same. •-* You never catch anything if you're not afraid of it.' , 'There's a good deal in that, but still the bravest people don't always escape,' said .Wilton.f :^v:^:;::: I\v:v,,v-v:1 \ v:v,,v-v: ... ,;-'■ ..-.'■. ■'. Ku-r, ." : :^omQre:wa& fi^id, tilla^welcbrde diversion appeared in -theshape of Khan Ali with an [ attendant satellite to prepare tiffin. Another- .weary hour was passed away in i abusing Persian cookery, and then the two separated— Wilton to the telegraph offices, i five miles away, where he w as on instrument dplyall the evening^ and Pelron to afternoon tea with Mrs; Seton, ; a pretty grass-widow^ whose husband brayed the perils of the deep in -an Indian marine ship. Wilton^he younger arrived next day by the mail steamer and cholera, though it was not mentioned in the passenger list,_came a day later on board a native boat, in company -with a crowd of Whe^n it was fiwnly established, the authorities ordered a rigid quarantine, on the principle of locking the stable door after the steed has been stolen. .-■.;■; People who went;; through that weary summer never forgot ; it. :, The: heat was greater than had been \ known within the memory of man. .The yellow -flag waved gloomily over the to wn.rTand the natives died like sheep -^ith the rot. : Fora while no Europeans in the station were attacked, but. one morning the flag "half-mast high from the telegraph flag-staff f howed that a member of the community had died. It was Brown, a boy of seventeen, who had come out from the Manchester postoffice six months before. Too young and delicate to stand the climate, he had gone do^n before ( the first- breath of sickness, and 'after eight hours' illness had died. .. Brown' p death was the first to break the liirtle coterie who inhabited th« top rooms of the large telegi-aph bungalow. \ : There were.f bur of them—the two Wiltons, Brown, and Cooper— who chummed together; : three of these having known each other at home. •• Every evening they dined together in Brown's room, and wiled away -tho evening by^playing cards and talking over pros-, pects ot promotion. So Brown ceased from being, and the world wentori its way; but in a few days' time the younger Wilton sickened, and, after some days' struggle between life and death, through ; which his brother nursed him devotedly, he died. '•; Hia old Goanese servant, Pedro, who had bsen; with him since he , first landed in India, was terribly cut up by his young master's death. He went about, shaking his grizzled head, and lamenting: that it had not pleased the blessed Virgin to take him^ instead of ' chota Wilson sa hib;' ;•■• .-■_..- . .■■■:.. .;■ .. , . ;:..;■,.■■...•.■ Fiually the poor old man had recourse to the Ib'ttle to drown his grief, and by-and-by succumbed to a mixture of heat, apoplexy, and^alcohol. " , : ' Just as this time Cooper received hia long--1 expected leave, and sailed away down the Gulf rejoicing that he had not left his bones to bleach in a strange land. Wilton, sick of heart at hia brotier's death, left -the deserted -rooms' and went to : :live in Peli'on's bungalow, abouthalf- way^between | thetelbgraph buildinga and town. ;■•: Theiupper .part of the pi ice was shut up, but one night Douglas, one of the clerks, gpiiig across to the office on duty, noticed a light in" the upper vstbry. . Wondering who :-.■ it could be he went up the stairs, and look- ! ing into thevTobmsavv, so he asserts, three players seated round the card table. Two of | them hes saw distinctly, but the back; of the third was turned towards him. Frozen with horror he was unable to stir, and he saw the Wilton^' Goanese boy appear looking as he did in life, carrying a tray of refreshments. Then he made a desperate effort, arid,-hurry-ing away at the utmost speed, made straight for Jones's room, where he sank speechlesß into a chair, and could only be revived after .many;:.; applications ;of another form of Bpirits. ;; ■^•'_i' "■'-■,. .". • :• '■ - r : : .'•'. , Douglas, recounted what he had seen in itrict coiafidence to his greatest chum. 'I shouldn't like poor old Wilton to hear about itjLyou; knpWj'^ie said ; but in a .very ; short time the story was common /property of ; the station,^ The superintendent '. ; prp-: : feßsed ; absolute" disbeliefv and let fall a remark ■ that Douglas had probably been id i ui rig.' Which remark beibg duly" repeated to Douglas ;hui-t. : his feelings deeply. He. had never been more ; sober in his' life,; he |

declared, anijJie only hoped the auperin- :-" tendent might never behold the eight he had dean. The faces of th&?e dead men playing cards would, haunt ' him to his dying 'day.- ■■ . : - \' •• .■ f '-■'■ '■■ -'•. . .-■■■ ,-.:'. \:".;'.V . The. summer wore on its weary course. The pestilence increased, reached its zenith, and then mercifully -waned, and "when the end of September came, the" cholera had ceased. Although a great number of natives had died from it, no other Europeans had fallen yictims. . The upper part of the telegraph bungalow remained timnhabited ; no one would live there. The room had been allotted to three young fellows from India, country bred. They declined to inhabit the rooms, preferring the discomfort of with their friends or the expense of a. bungalow outside the buil dings. Like the Frenchman, they did not beliye in ghosts, but were, horribly afraid of them. ; Young^Brown's goode^and chattels were sold by?auiitioni the proceeds being just sufficient to pay his bills. Pelron : bought several of the things, amongst others a mirror; which, he sent his servant to fetoh away. Tho boy appeared carrying it, and # in a state of agita tion and alarm. . "" " ' ' Sa"hib/ he began, ' Ihave seen a dreadful sight. Inshallah I may see no more such. I went into the room of Brown Sahib to fetch, the mirror. It was neatly dark, btit atill enough light io make one's "way. The room also waa empty. I. reached the thing down and -f turned' to go,' fwhen behold there was alight, and I saw vie three dead Sahibs seated playing card?.' , ' Tiires dead Sahibs ! What are you raving about ? Two only died. What folly is ..-this?- ' : ' .-::,.- . . ' -■■■:■/■.:.. • / 'Theee dead Sahibs I beheld, nevertheless. The face of the third was the face of-Jthe burra Wilton Sahib, but 'by Allah it wa3 face of a corpse.' . • ; 'Son of a burnt3father,:goand see no more' visions, and if I hear this nonsense repeated you shall have sticks;'" "■■■ = ' Sahib, I obey ; but what is written is written.' ■'; /, ' You look fagged, old fellow,' -remarked Pelron to Wilton a few days later, as the two safe at dinner.- • Get the" doctor to give you a pick-me-up of some aprt. Thank the. gods the heat is over at last.' v Wilton certainly did look fagged and ill. There was a scared, hunted look in his eyes, too, like that of some trapped animakexpecting'its death blow. - ' It's not that,' he said at last. 'You'll only^think'mo a fool if I tell you^ but I shan't gee the year out.' :^ ■-".'"^■J 'Nonsense.! Why, the heat's; over, and so's the ..cholera. Quarantine taken oif too, ■ and every one beginning to live_again.' , 4 It isn't because of the heat or .the cholera "either. • I knew it would come ever sjnee poor Charlie did; Wo were never separated, you know, and he won't b 9 happy /without me. They want me to make up the rubber.' - ■•.; : :.:::^:i : ..'.-;vT|r-- ; ; . .-■■■■ •■, : Pelron laid down his knife and fork and gave a whistle. : 'Old boy, you're going off your head. For goodness-s ake, see" the doctor- at' once.' •'■■■■ ";'■■■• .. . • /■'■. r ..' ■ . .'"■.."•■ . .'.■':. •;: >■; 'It's all very well ; you may: laugh as jmich as you likej Pelron:.*— Pelron had beennever further from laughter in his life-— • but. there are more things in heaven and earth, you know. It's all very wellrfbr you to be a. materialist and all that, but some things you can't explain away. You know that story thatjDouglas told ?' -■ , ; '■■■'-. ; - ■'■" "'The impossible yarn spun by that idiot! He was probably half seas over- at tne time/ .:. ; ", .■,■■' .'■•.■/o;. .' : ■''■:'■/: ... ■■'■....: > ;;' And there isn't a servant or native anywhere who will go into these rooms after .. dark.'.:;, „-.. ' ': ■;/. : - : '; ' : :^y-;-\: :-.■'••;■" :.■" ' OK ! if you've got to that, believing; a native's word, you're, in a bad way,' said Pelron, with disguatfld scorn. .v r ( I tell you it was long before Douglas or anybody else said anything those A rooms. : And as for believing a native's word, why, I know, them as well as you do. ! What I'm going to tell you is Gospel truth, orjl'll' affirm it, if that seems more solemn to you. It was just about a week after poor Charlie's death, in the evening and dark, when somethins:—l don't know what— made me walk past the bungalow. I didn't want td, but I fielt impelled to go upstairs, and it was "bo dark I could hardly feel my way. Anyhow, Igroped along till I reached Brown's room ;■: I opened the chick doors and went in. It was still pitch, dark, ;but all of a A sudden a , light seemed)" to come in the'middle ■■ of the j room. I don't know what caused it, f or : there wasn't any lamp. Poor Charlie and Brown were sitting at the table, just as we j used to sit, . and there were two em pty chairs^ and behind stood old Pedro with the glasses. It looked so real that I forgot all abput the '! cholera and stepped forward to take a hand, ■but Charlie said : Not yet! W"lien the time" comes we will j send for you. And then I saw that his; ieyes wero fixed and his jaw dropped, just as on the night he died.' j ' Haliucinatibn or not, I saw it all dis tinctly. Arid that is hot all ; as I continued looking I saw myself sitting on one of the ; chairs, but -I was dead, too, and my eyes fiied like the others. My time will come soon. -Every night- 1 lie awake I wonder when they will send for me.' ■ ' 'No wonder, man, you see visions, and dream dreams if you lie awake, Sleeplessness is enbugn ■ to account for "every- ' giost under the sun. I'll give you some stuff -.the doctor made up for . me. the other day, and I'll engage you don't get any summons from the lower regions.* ;v . : Wilton obediently took the sleeping draught and consented, to seethe civil surgeon, who prescribed him a course of quinine and iron; The.autumn. gave place to winter. The cold weather,, just cold enough to make a good fire enjoyable, with its brilliant Biinshine gave .everyone a ;new lease of life. The gunboats stationed in the harbour did much towards enlivening /society, and cricket-matches and riding-parties ■were the order of the day. Wilton continued to put up with Pelron, but, since that nothing further was said j about hia vision.' 'Indeed, he appeared to j have completely forgotten it, and had quite I recovered hit spirits and health. He never his brother's name', and daily ox- j pected to have a year.'s. furlough granted,, eagerly making hia plans aa to how and where he would >pendiit.. The rooms in the telegraph_ bungalow, newly whitewashed anddone up," were given %b a fresh batch of tele , graphists imported from home by the cable steamer, and the ghost's seemed effectually ] laid. ;■■" At all events,' nothing more wa3; heard or eeen of them. . , . ••! One afternoon Pelron and Wilton, returning from a long ride, .were walking their horses over the Maidan just outside Bushire, town. They were {busily discussing] 'theirj prospects of success in the next day's cricket-: match— Bushire versus f The '-Navy; • Wiltony an enthusiastic cricketer, was 'expounding! his theory that no blue- jacket could ever"; be an expert bowler, " when he suddenly Btoppedhia horao, and left his sentence un • finished. : / ■_: *Pelron, \ a pace or two ahead, looked round. ' : / ; : 'What's'the matter P' he asked. . ~. Wilton sitting motionless on his horse, gazed fixedly at the sea beyond 1 . Mai- i danj and made no anawer. ; - ; 'Are you ill ?' asked Pelron. : ' Did you eeolhim?" he answered, in a low voice. '•;. ' ' .' :"■. . ■ '■: '■' ■' ". - '■■ 'See whom?' said Pelron," looking round. •■• What are you talking about ? Thorels no,body in sight.' ■. . ; v -■■.■;■.■'■'■ " ; \ ; ' They .were inthe centre of the Maidan, not a soul was visible' in that dreary es.pa.use of aand, and there wa3 no. cover behind which a dog could hider • JV ' } '•■■•■;,■' It's come ; at ; last, 'muttoredV; Wilton to ; himself, and . then aloud; to his companion : . ' If: was Pedro ' who stopped Jide ; he; took Hold of my horse's bridle and"( Said ;; ' Salaam, ■Sahib.'; - \:L\V_,:./ : "--^:/,-y V;^-o^- " *' Pelron looked at him closoEy, but he was still gazing far away into vacancy/ V • .; o ; ' Come on/ he said. ' "V^e shall). never reach Buahire at this rate.* \

No further words were spoken, and as soon as the town was reached, Pelron wont V to the civil surgeon's house. The doctor was out. so Pelron left a message 'asking him 10 come out at his earliest convenience to have a look at Wilton, who was, he said, a hit 'off colour.' __„ ' , That night, soon after dinner, Wilton, who had been in the best of "spirits, and had apparently forgotten the incident on the Maidan, said he was tired, and -would go to "bed. M want to be fit for the match tomorrow. Good night, old fellow.' An hour or so later the civil surgeon arrived, and after some talk and refreshment went to see.Wilton.. An exclamation a few seconds later brought Pelron to the room. The .bed; had not been disturbed, and Wilton, fully dressed, -was sitting in a chair. 'X found him. like this,' said the doctor ; * he must have heeu dead at least an hour.' There was a post-mortem, at which two doctors- from the gunboats 'in harbour assisted the civil surgeon. Being ur.able_to find-any cause whatever for Wilton sNleath, they, after much disagreement, prave.it as their opinion that he had died of heart disease. , ■; An English coroner's jury would probably j have given it, • Died by the visitation of i God.' '■■ ■■ ■■ -■. .-' ; -'- ■ '■■■ -•'■ ~ there are ' more thiags m heaven and earth than ate_dreamt of 'in our latterday science.— AH Year Bound.