The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-05-17

| thought over the words in the hot, still
nights, and half the hate he felt toward
| Losson he vented on the wretched pun
kah cody.
Losson bought parrot in the bazaar
and pct it into little cage and lowered
the cage into the cool darkness Of well
and sat on -she well curb shouting bad
language down to the parrot. he taught
it to say, Simmons, ye so-oor, which
means swine, and several other things
entirely unfit for publication. He was
a big, gross man, and he shook like a
jelly when the parrot caught the SEN
tence correctly. Simmons, however,
shook with rage, for all the room were
laughing at him-the parrot was such
disreputable puff Of green feathers
and looked so human when it chattered.
Losson used to sit swinging his fat legs
| on the side of the cot and ask the par
rot what it thought Of Simmons. The
parrot would answer, Simmons, ye
so-oor. ssGood boy Losson used to
say, scratching the parrots head. eye
'esr that, Sim?'' And Simmons used to
turn over on his stomach and make an
swer: ...I ear. Take eed you don't ear
something one Of these days.
In the restless nights, after he had
been asleep all day, fits of blind rage
came upon Simmons and held him I'll
he trembled all over, while he thought
in how many different ways he would
slay Losson Sometimes he would pic
ture himself trampling the life out of
the man with heavy ammunition boots,
ana at others smashing in his face with
the butt, and at others jumping on his
shoulders and dragging the head back
till the neck bone cracked Then his
mouth would feel hot and fevered, and
he would reach out for another sup OF
the beer in the pannikin.
But the fancy that came to him most
frequently and staid with him longest
was one connected with the great roll
of fat under Losson's right ear. He no
ticed it first on moonlight night, and
thereafter it was always before his eyes
It was fascinating roll of fat. A man
could get his hand upon it and tear
away one side of the neck, or he could
place the muzzle of a rife on it and
blow away all the head in fash Los
son had no right to be sleek and con-
tented and well to do when he, Sim
mons, was the butt CT the room. Some
day, perhaps, he would show those who
laughed at Simmons, ye so-oor, joke
that he was as good as the rest, and
held mans life in the crook of his
forefnger. When Losson snored, Sim
mons hated him more bitterly than ever.
Why should Losson be able to sleep
when Simmons had to stay awake hour
after hour, tossing and turning on the
tapes, with the dull pain gnawing into
hisright side and his head throbbing
ana aching after canteen7 He thought
over this for many nights, and the
world became Improbable to him. He
even blunted his naturally fine appetite
with beer and tobacco, and all the while
the parrot talked at and made mock
of him
The heat continued and the tempers
wore away more quickly than before.
A sergeant's wife died of heat apople1y
in the night, and the rumor ran abroad
that it was cholera: Men rejoiced open-
ly, hoping that it would spread and
send them into camp. But that was
false alarm.
1t was late on Tuesday evening.
and the men were waiting in the deep
double verandas for "last posts, when
Simmons went to the box at the foot
of his bed, took out his pipe and slam
ned the lid down with bang that
echoed through the deserted barrack
like the crack of a rife Ordinarily
speaking, the men would have taken
no notice, but their nerves were fretted
to fddlestrings- They jumped up, and
three or four clattered into the barrack
room only to find Simmons kneeling by
his box
GOVT It's you, is its'' they said
and laughed foolishly "W,e thought
twas
Simmons rose slowly. If the accident
had so shaken his fellows, what would
not the reality do7
''You thought it was, did you? An
what makes you think?' he said, lash
ing himself into madness as he went on
"To hell with your thinkin. you dirty
spiesl''
Simmons ye so-oor, chuckled the
parrot in the veranda. sleepily recogniz-
ing a well known voice. And that was
absolutely all
The tension snapped Simmons fell
back on the arm rack deliberately-the
men were at the far end of the room
and took out his rifle and packet of
ammunition. Don't go playing the
goat, Sim!' said Losson "Put it
down But there was quaver in his
voice Another man stopped, slipped
his boot and hurled it at Simmons
head. The prompt answer was shot
which, fired at random, found its billet
in Lessons throat Losson fell forward
without word, and the others scat
tered.