The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1915-04-06
PAYS
BY FREDERICK WALWoRTH
BROWN.

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(Copyright.)
"Talkin' about snakes" said Ser
geant Hook irrelevantly, reminds me
of the time / got hunky with old Blue
Nose. He was our colonel till he wal
transferred for staff duty, an ram
pageous old porpoise he was, too"
Cut it out" said Corporal Toplatch
Don't know him? Amt took his
lip many's the time? Get along to the
snakes"
We'll, then, it was old Blue Noses
hip that brought on the riot We'd sal
| down in environments, an they sent us
a batch O. the rawest rockies that ever
signed away their souls for love o
their country. D company's draft was
a bunch to sicken steer. An Chisleti
set me to drillin' EN-.
Il drilled 'em an l drilled 'em an ]
drilled EN- till I'd wore the soles of
my boots. an they'd still go seven ways
for Sunday when gave 'em an order
Then along comes old Blue Nose stalk.
in cross the parade. with a look on
him like he'd bit on worm He stops
an watches the sheep l was herdin' an
then he steps nearer. l halts the
squad and comes to attention.
"How long have you had 'em, ser.
geant?' he says.
Three days, SIR tells him.
Well. you're darn poor drill mas.
ter, them says he, an tramps of.
We'll, say. could a. ct him alive
right then, an relished him. The rock.
les were snickerin' behind my back,
an | was wore to the raw with 'em
anyway; an. one thing an another,
just put that away on ice, In my cold
storage plant, an swore I'd get hunky
with old Blue Nose or die tryin'.
Later, d company was sent up in
the Bengalong district to keep the
peace. an after we'd been there a
spell along comes old Blue Nose an
allows he'll make us his headquarters
for while which we had no use for
him, but couldn't lose him. He brought
his wife with him, she havin' just come
out, an bein' crazy to see the coun-
try.
Say she had him cowed. He was
the little dog under the wagon. She
was pill, she was, with the sugar.
coatin wore off. An old Blue Nose
took it out on US.
We'll, anyway he brought her up to
Bengalong to pacify her, an after he
got her there he had to provide con-
tinuous amusement to keep her paci-
ned That's how it happened that he
picked up a Hindu snake charmer
down in the bazaar an hiked him an
his fang-drawed reptiles up to canton
ments
He was one O. these here dreamy
eyed little heather, with a sun-baked
complexion an a scraggly white beard.
happened to see old Blue Nose hik-
In this outcast from Injua's coral
strand down toward the officers row.
an ! recognized the beggar instant. I'd
watched him dom his stunts in the
bazaar.
Things were horrible quiet round
the barracks. an it seemed a shame
for to let such chance for excite
ment escape. Here was a Hindu
heather. with twenty-five or more per-
fectly venomous reptiles, right in our
midst. An here was the boys in bar
racks needin' something bad, to take
their minds off the thought O. bein'
sold into slavery for three years; an,
besides, I had that score chalked up
against old Blue Nose.
1T was case of your Uncle Jarvey
on the job. l sat down in the shade,
an studied how to get them two In
gradients o. turmoil properly mixed up
Well. | sat there for mebbe an hour
watchin' the veranda where the fakir
was doin' of his stunts, an the little
red an yellow reptile ever an anon
stickin' his tail in his mouth"
"Aw, cut it outl" came from the
corporal.
by an by the Hindu packed his
squirms in the basket again, made his
little salaam an backed off, On the
way he had to pass me. When he
came opposite held up a quarter to
him an motioned to him to sit down.
What l want to know is this, /
says. Are their fangs drawedT
Are their fangs drawed? says /,
an made out to pull one O. my front
teeth. Also showed him the quarter
again.
with that he reached into the bas-
ket, casual-like, an fetched out four
or five feet o. reptile by the neck. He
pried open its jaws an showed where
the teeth had been pulled.
Good says /. They look danger
Gus, but amt
Then | pointed out the barracks to
him an gave him his instructions. He
took his quarter, an made tracks with
dignity, while went off to pave the
way for doin's which was to paralyze
all the blue devils in environments, an,
at the same time, square up my &C
count with the colonel
Casey was with US then. You re-
member Casey, the little red-headed
Mick, who was game to fight anything
up to an elephant? Sure you do. Well,
l hunts up Casey. an puts it to him
straight He was shy at first. not lik-
in snakes, bein Irish, but / told him
they was toothless, an that I'd looked
in their mouths, so he came in at last,
an we framed up a program We felt
like philantliropists, for D company
needed diversions bad
.'Well, the boys was sittin' round the
barracks that evenin'. smokin' as usual,
when the fakir pokes his sead In, an
Casey gives a yell O. pure Joy. He
grabs the little man by the shoulder
an hauls him tenderly in, basket an
all, an the boys get up an begin to
rubber. So, presently, they had nice
little tight ring made, with the Hindu
In the middle. l was conspicuously
absent, it bein' my duty to disallow
such proceedin's.
Casey said they had gorgeous
time. The snakes come out O. the
basket one by one an crawled over
that old heather like grapevines on
an arbor. When 1t was over they took
up collection, an the fakir packed up
his pets, an then Casey give me my
cue. / ramped In immediate, boilin'
with rage. l ripped through that adj
mirin' circle like 1t was paper dolls
stead o. grown men, an l give that
basket one everlastin' kick that disin-
tegrated it completely an spread them
serpents like a summer shower all
over the place.
What you dom here?' l says to
the fakir, takin' him by the neck Git
out!' says, an give him shove to-
ward the door.