The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01

"Oh, pappy! Jim's killed a snake
We're goin' to make a belt out his
skim
GO on till you all git bited to deathr'
shouted Job holly. Leave it be-dyou
hear me?"
He began to run toward her. his heart
throbbing with fear. Jim. aged IL, burst
| from the underbrush carrying a stick
| from which dangled the limp. brownisf
| length of the rattlesnake. Warm wealth
er always brought them. Jim, a health
| Ter duplicate of his parent. grinned from
| one freckled ear to the other and poke6
| at the snakes tail with a bare foot. Jof
shuddered. ~
Fl you don't quit chasin snakes, !
shant let you way from the house. y
said he. Did you know snake piser
killed your ma? l amt never told you
| that before. An me without drop o
whisky here in case o. bite. 'Taint nc
wonder I'm half loony. How'd I know
woods when I'm aloft nights? Be jest
| like you
| Guilty fushes stained the cheeks of his
| children.
I'VE amt went fur" said Jim. Hon.
est, pappy''
Joe wriggled his feet because the
| corns were palnlng
| "At least I'm goin' to git some whisky
brought said he querolously. "That'l
be one relief
| The tender left a demijohh on Jobs
order. He shifted at the contents
''Reckon's whisky all right" he de-
cided. "Ain't smelled none since 80. Tn
goin' to take one whole night when
I'm retired an git so drunk I fall down
| It's comm to me. Lord-I dunno how
| stood it like I hevl"
The demijohn was stored in the light
| house.
Job marked off the remaining days OF
his tenure of office with the charrrec
end of match. He grew more nervous
| every hour. Twenty years, all but a few
days.
'Mebbe they haint anything left fun
me when 7 do git away he said one
midnight watching the night birds. at
| tracted by the light carom blindly
against the glass, then veer off into the
gloom
| He took to brewing coffee several times
| between darkness and dawn. drinking j
in gulps. 1t warmed his senses tempo
rarily, but headache and a jumpiness h
could not control followed. When h,
rolled into his bed in the shack near tn,
light he could not sleep.
He had four days to work when jim
stepped on a RATHER while leaping over
| sun-heated stretch of coquina. Job
| reused from a restless doze. flew for thu
| whisky, and administered 1t copiously t,
Jim, lying white and whimpering unde
| a bay tree. Job sucked the infected spo
ard poured the liquor into Jim until thu
boys stomach refused to hold it.
BY o'clock Jim was seemingly recov
| cred, but Job was afraid to believe hi
good fortune. The tender. making a lat
| trip whistled as it passed. Job sgnalet
| and the boat ran in. He told the cap
| tain about jim
Now I've took board an rooms a
your cooks house in town." said Job
az asst you to tote my kids across RICH
now an git doctor for Jim. Then sen,
a niger in a rowboat to femme know il
the mornin'."
'I'll do It, Job, sure" said the cap
| tain cordially. Get 'em ready. An
don't you worry. We got a doctor aboar,
who's taking a cruise with us today.
Job arrayed his children and sen
them, much pleased with the move
jaunt, to the mainland Next morning
messenger came in launch to tell hin
that Jim was quite safe.
-Four days more" sighed Job. '"The
I'm through with this chunk of coquina
I'll be where green things grow out O
regular dirt
At 9 that night he resolved to sampl
the whisky, After 20 years abstinenc
a man is not an expert. job tasted ono
and again in an effort to pronounce
good or bad. BY II o'clock somethn
was wrong with the machinery and tn
light ceased to revolve. job lay on tn
floor in a stupor The sun had rise
when he staggered out. carrying tn
demijohn, and plunged into the palmet
tos, intending to hunt snakes. He di
not return.
, fruit steamer going north wa
wrecked at 2 on the following mornin
and small fishing smack went to piece
on a reef in sight of the Lighthouse
There had been no light for two night
"Thish mush be my lash day whis
pered Job. when the captain of the ter
der discovered him at the bottom of tn
BIT, stairway clingng to an empty dem
john. "Twen'y years-an' git tn per
sibn"