The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1899-11-18

the milk. De Silva smiled.
The snake tapped up the rest Of the milk
and in twiukliug slithered away again.
De Silva went back to his shelf, and Ralp
went to bed.
But he could not sleep. Above his head
that night and every night he could hear
the scamper OF rats on the ceiling cloth,
and after them the rush Of the snake, and
then a faint, fcrlorn squeak, and he knew
that Magog was doing bis duty as col
onial house cat The snake may have
been doing his duty, but Ralph would not
hear the thought of its nearness. He tried
to conquer the feeling, hut he couldn't.
Poor Magog, used to being petted by it's
last master, would peer out from the cell
ing cloth for hours in the evening, while
Ralph was trying TO read, aud Ralph would
look up from his books and SEE its black
head and quiet, watchful eyes, and be hor-
riied. Between its noise by night in the
roof and its presence in the evening, Ralph
grew so nervous that in spite Of De Silva's
warning and wishes, he tried to kill the
snake.
He sat one evening at his table with
revolver in hand, and when Magog APP
peared as usual, he took fair aim and fired.
The bullet went into the wall; Magog
Withdrew like flash. De Silva came
rushing.
81 think hit the brute" said Ralph,
and pointed to a spot OF blood on the white
washed wall.
80! honorable dore," said De Silva,
superstitious as his kind, sit was tie luck
of the bungalow say it right? Ny last
dore said Magog was the luck Of the bun
galow."
And he went away to his kitchen a-sor-
rowing, but Ralph felt as if he had done
good deed and rid the world of q hideosity
No more came Magog to plague the
young sinnadore For many nights the
rats scampered over the ceiling cloth with.
out any pursuer. Ralph, in his lonely
evenings, looked at the vacant crack and
congratulated himself.
| must have killed the horrid brute"
said he, ''and good job, too. Probably
the rats avenged themselves by eating
him"
SO the young sinnadore rested and told,
when he was at the periadore's bungalow
for dinner, how he had made marvelously
good shot at the snake and Jidded himself
Of an intoIerahle nuisance.
lyon ouchtn't to have done that" said
the peradore," smoking his cheroot and
smiling upon the boy.
''Why not? hate snakes-I abhor
them
''Mayhe, but they have their uses" said
the ptriaaore. 'I'll kill cobra or tic.
po!onga quick as anybody, hut | would
not kill a harmless ratsnake, which is
poisonIcss, and which, my lad, has been
cleaning ont the 1ats and nice frcm your
bungalow for years To put it mildly, (is
was not only cruel, but q mistake Mari
gold, Your predecessor cherished Old
Magoa. He used 10 tell me the brute was
boss of the house and that AIagog were not
there thc rats would MAKE his life not
worth living"
''les hut the beast was so familiar
coming out Al dinner 70 hang thare -us.iug
for milk-ughn'
IAN right, old chap said the peria-
dore; it's your bungalow, not mine"
Within week of the night when Ralph
shot at the snake, there came one of those
tumultuous transforms which aTrn ever seen
anywhere except in the tropical rainy sea
sons.
Try aud picture to yourself the day of
Judgment with the whole heavens tumbl-
ing in, like a falling roof on top OF you,
with all the naviea OF the world firing
tuTret guns at you, with all the lightning
Of the skies concentrating upon you, with
not soul, white or black, near you, with
out single tongue to cry ''Here" when
your tongue cries Help" without hand
to reach out to touch youTs-try and pic
ture yourself scene like that, and You
have some idea of the tempest in which
Ralph ore lonely night in his bungalow on
the mountain went to bed and slept-slept
utterly tired out from working up the
mountain with the periadore and the coolies
to strengthen the dam which guided the
hill stream from its natural path to irrigate
the low-lying land.
Ralph's bedroom was off the sitting
room, under the same ceiling cloth, and
and bis bed lay close to the wall He was
utterly tired, but he dreamed, and in his
dream somehow Magog the snake was
mixed up.
He dreamed the snake was following
him revengefully; he dreamed it came up
to him, running; lie dreamed it caught
him; he dreamed that he tell down; he
dreamed that the snake coiled and struck
at his chest. He woke up with the yell of
ightmare-half choked, horrible. And it
was true! AS he awake, Magog the great
snake, dropping from the ceiling, fell on
him and swiftly glided away out of the
door.
Ralph was on his feet instantly, and