The Cairo bulletin., 1910-11-06
A RETURN TO LIFE

fast.
Poor fellow!" / remarked. Rather
] should pity those who remain be-
hind"
They're better off than If he KEN
back. SIR
What do you mean?"
IL knew man onct who KEN back.
sir, and it was very inconvenienth
Tell me about it,
He did so, and listened to his story:
Pat Doan was laid out, with can
dies at his head and feet and covered
with sheet Pat had been in the best
of health till one mornln' he was
found lynn beside the road. dead.
That's what everybody who saw i'm
said, so his body was made ready for
the wake.
Now. Pat had been thrifty man
ana had put by good many gold
pieces, which he had kept in wooden
stockin' in the clock. He hadn't been
married, but was goin' to be to lusty
red headed girl. Bridget O'Toole, twen-
ty years behind i'm in age. The banns
had been published when Pat was
found dead Bridget would have been
satisfied with Pats death IL he had
died few days after instead of few
days before the weddin', for she pre-
ferred Tom Flannagan; but, KNOWN
of the gold pieces Pat had hid away,
she preferred em even to Tom.
"As Pat couldn't be buried till the
doctor returned and certified that he
was dead and the watchers, havin'
drunk deal of Irish whisky and hay
In been awake two nights In success
sion. on the third grew mighty sleepy.
Bridget was becomln' impatient. for,
since there was no relatives to claim
Pats gold and she was to have been
his wife. she was thinkin' of his for
tun aud anxious to get hold Of It,
About o'clock In the mornin' every
watcher except Bridget O'Toole and
Tom Flanagan was asleep. The two
set In u corner layin' plans for house
keepin' as soon as they had secured
Pats gold aud decent tonne had
gone by.
lin thinkln. Bridget said Tom,
'yed betther secure the forum ut
once There'll be crowd of relatives
afther it II ye give em tonne
What head We have on We, Tom
dear replied Bridget I don't know
where the gold Is, but Pat tould me
twar hid somewhere In the house
The watchers beln asleep. it's foine
tonne to look
with that they got up and hunted
the house high and low, at last comm
to the old clock Openin the door.
shown the weights and the pendulum
within. Bridget bent down. Tom bend
in over her, and drew up the stockin'
filed to the knee with the yellow
metal. Then. holdin' it up, they turn
ed to feast their eyes on II.
But their eyes saw another sight.
Pats shanty was on the banks of the
river, and there never was river that
didn't produce mosquitoes. 1t was a
beggarly little mosquito that spoiled
everything. While Bridget and Tom
was huntin' for a FORUM the little
beast was huntin' for somethln' to eat.
and at the moment they found the
gold 1t found blood. good live blood. In
the tip of Pats nose. Whin Bridget
and Tom turned to enjoy the sight Of
the gold they saw Pat sittin' up glar-
In at 'em.
Howly mtherp was the first sound
that broke the stiffness of death. and a
thud of the gold fallln' on the floor
was the second. The third was the
feet Of Tan ard Bridget patterin' as
they left ~he shanty
Nov. Pat, though he was ragin
had seen how aisy 1t Is for gold to
pass into other peoples possession, so
he grabbed the stockin' to kape 1t with
i'm. Then. gatherin' the sheet about
i'm. the only garment he had to kape
out the cold. he left the shanty to fol.
ly Tom and Bridget 1t was the gray
of the mornin', when everything looks
loike ghost anyway, and Bridget.
lookln' back. saw Pat maxim afther
'em. carsyin the stockin
"Oh Tom" she says, it's comm
wild the gold! I'm goin' to faint
"'Kape vi. darlin'.' answered Tom,
who was lolEe enough to faint himself
There's a bridge beyant. 1t can't
cross runulI' wather.'
ut couldn't be expected that Pat.
who had hes'n dead three days and had
nothin to sat or drink in the mean
time, could run as fast as them az
had been feastin' at his wake. BY the
time be reached the bridge he was
played out and, settin on the rail. rest.
ed awhile. then went slowly back to
his home. There for the first tonne he
took in the situation. The watchers
were stlll snnrin', the candles still
burnin'. Pat began to feel unaisy.
els 1t dead | ann he asked him,
self. 4 dnn't know. I'm powerful
weak anyway. I'll try a drap of the
bottle. If I'm Twin I'll know it by
the taste
"Pourin' ,ut a double dram Of spir.
Its. he swa llyed It,
81 don't know he said. whether
I'm on e1rth or In heaven. Like
enough, ju l1an' by me feelin's afther
the bracer. | might be In heaven Ill
try bit o.: the bread and pork
pat sat down at the table and. fll-