The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-25
Aunty Toxin
By F. A. Mitchell


not been tempted to-
"Fo' de Lawd, Mars Doctor l haben't
looked nothin from yo' chicken house
at all"
I'm glad to hear that. Sam. princi-
pally on your account. I'm expert
menting on those chickens, and ii
would be dangerous for any one to eat
one of Them
Sam looked uneasy. "Wha' yo' mean.
Mars Doctor, by sperimentin' on emp"
THAT would be difficult for me to
explain to you, but I'll try. Do you
know what an anttoXin is?'
''No, Mars Doctor, never done heerd
about any woman at all by de name O
Toxin. l know Aunty Tucker, but
don't know Aunty Toxin"
IAN antitoXin isn't woman, Sam
It's something TO be given to head off
disease. We put something containing
the germs of the disease into a rabbit,
guinea pig or some other animal, and
this gives it the disease Then we
take something from the body of the
animal and inject it into the body of a
person who has been exposed to the
disease, and this prevents that person
from having the disease. Having no
rabbits or guinea pigs, / have placed
fever germs In one of the chickens in
my henhouse."
Laws a-massy, Mars Doctor which
oh Ia nhinEnnc rnt
onY"
"The little speckled hen"
Sam rolled his eyes about, at last fix
ing them imploringly ON the doctor.
Mars Doctor, l reckon l been ex-
posed to de fever. Can't yo' glib me
some OBJ de antitoxin?"
"What makes you think you have
been exposed to the fever?"
"Why, Marse Doctor, las night when
was comm home from de cake walk
i passed by 20 chicken house, an I
sor yo' little speckled hen settin' on de
roost. She looked SO purity dat 1
couldn't help putin ma hand in an
smoothin' de feathers"
THAT wouldn't give you the fever,
SAM" said the doctor reassuringly and
with twinkle in his eye. However,
to make sure, I'll look into your blood
and see If any fever has got into
you"
"Yo' look in ma blood, Marse Doc
tor? How yo' do dat?"
did you ever hear Of the X ray,
Sam?'
mo, Marse Doctor, l neber hearn OBJ
de X ray. Yes, / did too; l sor pic.
lures in book OBJ mans hand show
in all the bones"
THAT'S 1t. I'm going to look inside
Of you to see If the fever is there"
The doctor was a specialist. and ev-
cry one who has ever consulted spe-
cialist knows that he is equipped
with devices for looking into every
crevice In the human body. Strap
ping an electric light to his forehead.
he told Sam to open his mouth wide.
Then, putting lens in his own eye.
he held down the darkey's tongue with
an instrument designed for such pur-
pose and looked down his throat.
"Sam," he said, there's chicken meat
in your stomach
Sam turned pale, but said nothing.
"If there was nothing the matter
with the chicken you ate you're all
right
But supposin'," gasped Sam, dat
de chicken had de fever?"
Sam trembled. At the same time he
was thinking of what the doctor had
told him.
"Marse Doctor" he said at last. "you
said dat you glib de fever to de chick
en-, didn' yo?"
Eyes"
AN you glib de chicken to de nus-
son wha' hab been exposed to de fe
ver?"
YES"
II was exposed to de fever by
smoothin' de little speckled hens fed
ders. Yo' glib de fever to de little
speckled hen; den yo' glib de little
speckled hen to me-
You mean, Sam, you took the hen
without asking for her"
"Ennyway, Mars Doctor. can't git
de fever, cause why got de anti
toxin"
The doctor surveyed the darky with
evident amusement
SAM" he said. there are those who
maintain that the negro is inferior in
tellectually to the whites. You have
proved yourself more than a match for
me. If your honesty We're equal to
your intelligence and your capacity for
work equal to either you would be a
homo sapiens."
"Wha' dat. Mars Doctor?"
The highest grade of human Seing
That will do, Sam. You may go"
Sam walked languidly to the door.
but turned. with his hand ON the
knob.
MARS Doctor. air yo sure eatin' dc
speckled hen will keep away de fever
wha' yo' glib de hem
Not absolutely. Let me know il
you don't feel we'll"
Sam went out. but in an hour return
ed in n bad fright
Laws a-massy. Mars Doctor. | got
de fever sho',"