Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1901-03-07

Macintosh went for the candle, walk
ing circuitously to avoid something
coiled and beginning to stir, and there
by disturbing yet one more. which
ratified, too
Barclay turned around with spring.
perhaps you didn't hear that?" he de-
manded.
Hear what?" asked Macintosh,
patiently.
He brought the candle, and Barclay
took it in his hand and put it almost
at the raised and darting head of
rattler. Maybe you don't see now,"
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 fang
proof. His teeth clicked together, but
he only reached out and took the
candle away. Come to bed. old fel-
low" he insisted, once more; you'll
be all right by daylight"
The sympathy of his tone worked
Barclay to frenzy. He got into the
middle of the room, fairly staggering.
The candle. held high in MacIntosh's
hand, threw a circle of vague light,
and in the circle were no less than
eight snakes-some coiled some mov-
ing, some raising evil heads, some
writhing 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
tempes 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 for
saken settlement with only hundreds
upon hundreds of rattlesnakes every
where around.
Get me out of this-oh. get me out
of this!" pleaded Barclay, starting for
the door and stopping short with a
hiss of fright as snake shot up it's
head and ratified. Then, in patch of
| light which fell on the wall, cent?
pede, big and fat and long, began to
| crawl, slowly at first and more swiftly.
! His eyes fixed themselves upon it,
| CLASSY, and he stood perfectly still, his
breath coming in sobs and gulps.
| When the crawling thing had disar
peared into a crack he turned deliber-
| n CD wi
and aged and lined. con your word of
honor, Macintosh" he said, with pain
| full quiet, "are none of those things
here?"
What things?" said Macintosh. He
looked forward over the seven or eight
hours of darkess yet to come. and
wondered whether he OF Barclay would
go mad 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, a fool of himself,
! and a fizzle of the whole attempt, not
to speak of losing his bet. Besides, he
| was doing good act.
So he got Barclay up Oh 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
quieting hands on the trembling form
| and looked about him to see that no
centipede or scorpions should come
near. He could have given Dante and
Milton points.
But when morning approached he
| led Barclay. broken, quiverng man,
| out into the empty street, and caught
the horses and saddlei them, while
Barclay 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 your
self that there was nothing in there?"
he asked. If Barclay were to accept,
it would spoil the whole thing probably.
but that had to be CHANGED.
NO" said Barclay, and smiled wan-
ly. "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
handling a 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
long breath of relief See here, Mac
Intosh," he said. "I'll make bargain
with you. If you'll never tell this on
me, I'll never take drink again"
And he kept his word, and Macln-
| tosh won the hundred. and everybody
was happy all around. Barclay and
! Miss Cunningham were married and
| lived happily evermore. But Barclay
ascribed his reformation to his own
power of will, Miss Cunningham to her
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
reformers-and IL was probably just
what he deserved.-San Francisco
/ Argonaut.