The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-09
THE ADVERTISERS DAILY SHORT STORY

| Wun Sock leaned over the hearth and | drew with his bow a melancholy tune out | or an old violin. Again and again he
 drew the bow across the instrument hold | ing particularly deep note, bending for ward slightly and looking intentiy at a spot on the hearth. The room was dimly
 nghted by tallow dip. Weird enough were the surroundings-the figures of
 dragons on the walls, Joss perched on a sneif, the giant shadows cast by the flick ering hght-without the accompaniment
 or unearthly music. Twenty minutes, half an an aour; n forty minutes and then. with
 laid the violin down, took up a large cork rom the shelf, fitted 1t in a hole in the hearth and blew out the tallow dip, and
 after few puffs at the resistless pipe threw himself on his cot and slept.
 A few minutes later Chip In opened the door of the little joint and tiptoeu softly
 Tn. Lighting the tallow dip and seeing the violin lying there, he began where Wun Sock left off. first taking the cork
 out of the hole in the hearth. Chip In drew forth the same monotonous tune
 even more dismally than his predecessor
 Twenty minutes. half an hour, forty min utes, and then. with an execration, he re-
 peated Wun Socks actions, throwing him. self on the cot next to his worthy con- temporary, while that gentleman emitted a snort which may have signified gross
 displeasure at the confusion aroused by Chip In. or intense confusion at some LdI.dclndtion superinduced by the pipe.
 W nllc w un SOCK was muLLeTlnS lncO- herent monosyllables to hims slf. in stalk ed Sip Gin, and. judging from his waver- ing gait and the reverse position of his hat, he had been a partaker of the cup
 that inebriates hut does not inevitably cheer, He made his way unsteadily over
 the. hearth by the light of the street lamp, and looked about in bleared sort of way. accidentally touching the violin gotten injunction. he took up the instru- laents bong he drew the bow across the strings and long he held the monotonous tape with the tenacious bow playing, how the others, The light from the street lamps shown dimly through the little square panes Of glass to the hole In the hearth. Sip watched closely with only wall and moan. Then from the hole emerged an object, moving almost indis- cernibly first it's head, then neck, and finally writhing its whole form out upon the hearth. standing erect and almost touching Sin Gin with its nose--a cobra of immense size Sin continued to draw the bow as imperceptibly as possible. Sud- deniy with a movement as quick as flash of a sabre, he dropped hoth bow and violin and grabbed the reptile just be- hind the head With a shriek he awoke Wun. Sock and Chip In, while. the strug- gles of the infuriated monster. together with Sips already too unsteady head, nearly carried that gentleman off his bal ance.s light being produced, he regained his equilibrium, while his compatriotS ut tered exclamations of Intense qualification at the victorious although somewhat in- ebriated Sip.
 In his rage the serpent's. head was fiat- tened out, resembling a hood, on the back of which were the spectacle-llke marks. and the brownish-olive form wriggled in a desperate effort to escape. Quickly 1t was thrust into a vox, and while 1t was venting it's rage on the interior Sip pulled himself together and adjusted his dishev- eled. raiment. The rest of the night they sSt 1lp te discuss a conspiracy
 sWuRt Sock conducted a prosperous laun- dry near the barracks. his business hav- hg increased with the infiueX of the Amer leans. Sip Gin was an all-around sport. who spent most of his time and money in the gambling joint which Is at present the scene7 of this narrative, and of which Sip Gin was said to be the sole pFoprie- tor. Wun Sock had by artful competi- ton forced Hop Hi. rival laundry man, to the wall for which piece of mercantile courtesy he incurred that Celestiafs un- mltiGated enmity. Hop having migrated toI Bombay, returned the compliment in the form of this cobra. neatly ensconced In q box, which Wun Sock. in delight and ig- norance of it's contents, took around to
 Sundays story. SECOND COUSINS ANI