The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-03-06
.-car whaty asked Macintosh pa.

,iSuNS.
lie brought the candle. and Barclay
took it in his hand and put 1t almost
at the raised and darting head Of a rat
tier. Maybe you don't see poww he
triumphed
Macintosh felt like dancing as the
tenderfoot does when the cowboy
shoots ut the floor beneath his feet. He
wondered if his and Barclays ieggings
9nd boots We're surely fangproof. His
teeth clicked together, but he only
reached out and took the candle away.
Come to bed, old fellow" lie insisted
once more. you'll be all right by day
light"
The sympathy Of his tone worked
Barclay to frenzy. He got into the
middle nf the room. fairly staggering.
The candle, held high In MacIntosh's
hand, threw a circle Of vague light. and
III the circle were no less than eight
snakcG, some Ioiled, some moving. some
raising evil heads, some writhing away
into the gloom beyond. 'Do you iIiefii
to say you don't see thuse?' His hand
swept an unsteady circle.
Macintosh steeled himself and said
that he only saw the floor.
| The other stared ut him wildly for n
| moment, then gave Il howl Of terror
that froze the blood In MacIntosh's
temples 1iiii made him wish that he
had left Barclay to go mad in his own
chosen way. Horrible thoughts began
to come to him Of what would happen
II the fellow were to go insane here in
the midst OF the desert, In forsaken
settlement, with only hundreds upon
hundreds of rattlesnakes everywhere
| around.
"Get me out Of this; OH. get me out
of this" pleaded Barclay, starting for
the door and stopping short with hiss
Of fright as snake shot up its head
and ratified. Then in patch Of light
which fell on the wall centiped. big
und fat and long, began to crawl, slow
ly at first and moro swiftly. His eyes
fixed themselves upon 1t, CLASSY, and
he stood perfectly still, his breath COM
ing In sobs and gulps. When the
crawling thing had disappeared into a
crack, he turned deliberately about
His face showed livid and aged and
lined. ION your word Of honor, Mac.
Intosh," he said, with painful quiet
"are none Of those things hereY'
"What things?" said Macintosh. He
looked forward over tie seven or eight
hours OF darkness yet to come and
wondered whether he or Barclay would
go rad first or, If not that, then which
would first be stung. But there was
no way out of it now, no way but to
make an eternal enemy, fool Of him.
self and fizzle Of the whole attempt
| fO ne 4, ,i,1 hot
he was doing q good act.
So lie got Barclay up on top of the
bar, and he lit one candle as another
burned out, and all through the night
he kept alternately poking up tho
snakes and insisting that there were
no snakes there, the while lie laid quiet
ing hands on the trembling form and
looked about him to see that no cent?
peds or scorpions should come near
He could have given Dante and Milton
points.
But when morning approached he led
Barclay, broken, auiverIng man, out
into the empty street and caught the
horses and saddled them, while Bar.
clay sat huddled on the ground. AS
the day began to break he TUNED to
him. "Would you like to go back, now
that it's lighter, and see for yourself
that there was nothing In thereY he
asked. If Barclay were to accept. II
would spoil the whole thing probably
ut that had to be chanced.
No." said Barclay and smiled wan
ly; "l'll take your word for 1t. Only
| just get me home"
So they mounted and turned back by
the road they had come, for It had got
beyond all question of Barclays han
! ding gun. AS the sun rose. how.
| ever, his courage rose also inch by
inch. And at last he spoke In quite @
normal way, so that Macintosh drew q
long breath Of relief. "See here, MAC
Intosh," he said; "I'll make bargain
with you. If you'll never tell this or
me, I'll never take drink again."
And he kept his word. and MacIn
tosh won the hundred. and everybody
was happy all around. Barclay and
Miss Cunningham were married and
lived happily eyermore. But Barclay
ascribed his reformation to his own
pow er Of will. Miss Cunningham to hel
inAdence over him. and the others were
divided between these two views.
And MACINTOSH got no credit from
anybody, as is usually the case with re-
formers, and 1t was probably just what
he deserved-Argonaut,