The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1901-04-17

tied too.
Barclay turned around, with q spring.
Perhaps ron didn't hear that e he de-
manded-
Hear what2' asked Macintosh pa
tiently .5s
He brought the candle, and Barclay
took it IN his hand and put it almost
at the raised and darling head of a rat
tier. Maybe you don't see noWr he.
triumphed.
Macintosh felt like dancing as the
tenderfoot does when the cowboy
shoots at the floor beneath his feet. He
wondered if his and Barclays leggings
and boots were surely fangproof. His:
teeth clicked together, but he only
reached out and took the candle away.
Come to bed. old fellow" he insisted
once more. QUILL be all right by day.
light &
The sympathy of his tone worked.
Barclay to frenzy. He got into the
middle of the room. fairly staggering.
The candle. held high in MaeIntosh's
hand, threw circle of vague light, and.
y in the circle were no less than eight
snakes. some coled. some moving, some.
raising evil heaas. some writing away
into the gloom beyond. do you mean
to say you don't see those? His hand
swept an unsteady circle.
Macintosh steeled himself and said
that he only saw the floor.
The other stared at him wildly for a
moment. then gave a howl of terror
that froze the blood in MacIntosh's
temples and 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
if the fellow were to go insane here in
the midst of the desert. in a forsaken
settlement, with only hundreds upon
hundreds of rattIesnakes 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 a snake shot up its head
and ratified Then in patch Of light
which fell on the wall a centiped, big
and fat and long, began to crawl, slow
zly at first and more swiftly. His eyes.
fixed themselves upon it, 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 here y
What thfngs?s said Macintosh, He
looked forward over the seven or eight
hours Of darkness yet to come and
wondered whether he or Barclay would
GO mad a!.. first Or i not that ls then which
would first be stting, But there was
ilo way out Of 1t how, no way but to
make an eternal enemy, a fool Of hinl.
self and a fizzle of the whole attempt,
not TO speak of losing his bet. Besides.
he was doing a good act.
So he 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 the
snakes and Insisting that there were
no snakes there.the while he laid quiet
Ing hands on the trembling form and
looked about him to see that no cent?
peds or scorpions should come near.
Hescould have given Dante and Milton
paints.
But when morning approached he led
Barclay. a broken. quiyering 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 turned to
him Would you like to go back, now
that it's lighter. and see for yourself
that there was nothing in there?" he
asked If Barclay were to accept, it
would spoil the whole thing probably,
but that siad TO asp. CHANGED.
! No said Barclay and smiled wan
/ ". I'll take your word for it. 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 a gun AS the sun rose. how
ever, his courage rose also inch by
| inch. And at last he spoke in quite q
normal ways so that Macintosh drew a
/ long breath of relief. See here, Mac.
Intostl.'' he said; ..I'il make a bargain
with you. II you'll never tell this or
! me. I'll never take a 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 oWI
| power Of will, Miss Cunningham to hel
| influence 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 it was probably just Wha1
| be deserved. -Argonaut.
l5y#9
First Inference.
First Politician Did you see thai
| N.eisaker has been announced to dis
cuss a few public questions from {