The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1903-05-01

we were discussing this plausible
meaning of his hateful words the doc
tors telephone bell rang.
There's man here with the jim
jams," said voice from the police sta
ton. Hes awful bad"
1t was DR.. Graham's duty as city
physician to attend such cases, for in
those days we had no public hospital in
our city.
Its Patrick said the doctor. 81
won't go. won't see him."
Eyes, you will, too,' l said determin-
edly. You'll go, and I'll go with you.
Come, don't be a child"
By appeals to his pride and to his
professional if not his human interest
i'll the case l prevailed on him to go
with me-
Half a dozen policemen around the
station door were chatting one another
about their various bruises.
Il believe he'd "a fought off the
whole force" said the desk officer, eff
he hadn't been tapped"
Did you club him?" asked the doc
tor.
"Oh, not to hurt. Just to soften him
down bit. He had the jimjams aw-
full"
can we'll he might" put in a police
man, "for he had real snake in his
hand"
"Was it alive?" asked as we passed
through toward the cells.
'Sure! l killed it with me own foot"
Patrick had clung to the snake until
he was knocked senseless. Then the
serpent had slipped through his relaxed
fingers, and the policeman had stepped
on it.
When we reached the first CELL we
saw what l wish 1 had not seen. 1
shall never get the horror of it out of
my mind. Patrick was rushing about
the cell on his hands and feet like some
mad Orang outang searching with fren-
Zied eagerness over the stone floor, dig
ging in the dark corners with his fin
gers. When we could see his face, it
was a sight to freeze the blood. DIR.
Graham had indeed feebly pictured the
fiendish malignity of it. The eyes were
not merely like balls of fire. They
seemed literally to be flashes of green
hell fire. In spite of my determination
not to be nervous 1 shrank from the
glare of them.
'He's been that way ever since. he
come to-" said an officer.
Dr. Graham, whose professional in
tereSt was now thoroughly aroused,
was much more calm than l.
"Patrick!' he spoke sharply through
the grated door.
The inhuman thing inside stopped
and, crouching, turned toward us with
a glimmer of intelligence ON it's face.
Then, seizing the bars as if he would
tear them away, Patrick shrieked at
US:
"Where is he? Where is he? He
mustn't get away! 1 must choke his
serpent soul down-down-down
At each of these last words he
wrenched at the bar as if he meant to
crush it in his savage grasp.
"Whom do you want, Patrick?' the
doctor asked.
Him! The snake! Him that was
Dan Coughlin!' Patrick raved. "Him
that the angels turned to a snake and
set me to killv'
what did Dan do, Patrick" asked
the doctor quietly.
"Do? What did he do? He lay in
the grass at her feet and charmed her.
He was long and slim and straight,
and I was crooked. He lay at her feet
where she sat by the peat bog, and 1
saw him charm her with his eyes"
"What did she do, Patrick?'
"What could she do? He charmed
her. He lay in the grass at her feet
and fastened her sweet blue eyes with
his own What could she do?"
"And the angels turned him into a
snake, did they?"
"Yes. l saw it all. I saw the foot
that he moved in the grass turn to a