The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-15
THE sERPENT'S TRAIL
pY oa,ACE e. BosTwICK.

8X GRACE o. BOSTW1Ck. Copyright, 1908. by Daily Story Pub. Col What's ailin' you, lad? You look AS if something was suclin' the bloo1 out of your veins"
 Dutton put his hand to his head nerv- ousiy. "Me?'' Oh, I'm all right and he laughed rather foolishly and then locked suddenly, fearfully, out of the window. He sat at the window most of t'e tune. I had noticed it on my last visst-lets s see that had been nearly three weeks before. . I looked him over sharply, noticing the wild. bloodshot eyes, with the dark smudges underneath. the yellow tint oi | the skin and the raised hand thas trem- hled and shook as he wiped the perspira' | ton from his damp forehead.
 "Dutton, lad" said, as gently as ! could. for he was little more thao boy and his youth was of the apealing sort l I'm going to send you away from here | You're going back with me tonight ard | I'll send 6 new man out ths frs. thing | in the morning. You can go up in the hills and find the lady"
 He stared at me with a look of horror on his face. His lips moved several times | before he spoke thickly:
 ''rn never leave this hole alive. Tt | tell me-" and he looked over his shoul- der out of the window with l peculiar cxpi ession of expectancy.
 There, there, old boy, never mind | Wen see that you get away all right. pG. cnt my hand to touch nis shoulder reassuIirgly, and the poor de 'l grabbed it and clung to it. sobbing tea;iess,y in way that touched my heart.
 | I went out to mix him up "a bracinl
 drink and when I came back ne was fir ger.ng hls old jewshap. We al laughed at Isuttor when he drew that out and | comme Iced droning tunes from it tho | first night of his stay among us in this | cursed country. He could req msIsc tho old thing hum. It was worth lsstsn'
 ing to. if you cared enough for music mol
 to bs too particular.
 He paid nc attention at all to my rres' l ence Eut sat there. muttering and mum
 biiaS to himself caught a few word
 hero end there, broken and fearful iI | their expT ession. ''Will she come?
 What if Oh, God! Shut the dool
 she can't what i:
 see the shine how cod
 My God! End it!'
 He laughed shriily, horribly. and his
 head dropped between his hoi.1ers aid l began swaying from side to slie. stcod
 still, staring at him in amazement. A
 shiver of foreboding ran thro lgh me al | the grewsome sight. He was beyond any words of mine. I cursed myself for my
 carelessness in leaving him al)re for SC
 long a time without company of auy sort There is something in the atm 'sphere-
 hot and heavy-and the sounds one heays
 when alone:-God! yes! the sounds one ! hears! that rasp on ones nerves like tie 1 shriek of a dull fle-even on mine, strong man that I ann
 I hunted around till I found the cid I violin that he kept there for my use, and
 went out on the veranda, hoping to sothe
 him with the melodies he loved so well.
 The sun dropped behind the hiis and darkness was closing down like a heavy
 mist. The hoarse dirge of the frogs rose
 in a sudden tumult. It is one thing to I sit in the cool quiet of the evening 'r
 Gods country and hear the soot hing
 chorus of the frogs; quite anoth sr to !is-
 ten to the same sound here. irs not the
 same sound here. It's not the sanls sound
 anyway. It seems to call you and lnaIts
 you think of the things down theie iD the dark and damp. Ugh!
 1 I drew the bow over the strings. IT, geriugly, trying the tone, and as | did
 so l heard again Dutton's awful laugh through the low window. $rz.
 I began playing softly. slowly. Annie
 Laurie. that old, love of the Fng:ish- speaking world, and my eyes closed fin
 my enjoyment of the old-fashioned mel