Evening star., 1935-03-17
March II, 1895

CTOuched IN their seats and covered
some of them, on their knees; the
Rev'n' F. Douglas Simms warmed
TO it!
"Oh Lawd, if indeed that is your
Old-timey enemy. Satan, fixin' for to
do his devilment. then. oh Lawd,
please sub. give us sign! Oh Lawd.
shower down Your wrath, not on us,
Lawd. but on him! Open wide the
skies, Lawd. and shoot forth a
cracklin' thunderbolt for to save Thy
distressful people where they squats.
Split the floors of the Heavens wide
open. Lawd. and onloosen Your dead
liest lightnin' -
BULDOOIEi
Had dozen hapless buzzards been
used up in rehearsals, the thing could
not have been more exquisitely timed.
As the racketing. shattering deton-
ations of that earsplitting crash died
away on the riven air. a few bolder
ones dared raise their panic stricken
heads. inch by inch, but ready to duck
some more; they saw what the ter
rorized rest missed, to wit: A small
compact pufball of sulphurous-lo look
ing smoke which shredded away even
as their scared eyes fixed on it: but of
that turkey -buzzard neither bones nor
skins nor so much as one scorched
feather-end drifting down. Loss, total.
But with flesh crawling and with
nostrils twitching. everybody could
smell the fearsome brimstony reek
which fingered on.
From front row, the pale Birdie
May Rucker jumped up and, like a
startled filly, took the platform in one
leap. being moved to throw herself
into the protecting embrace of her
hero and press her quivering form
against his bosom. She missed him
though. or perhaps it was that he side
stepped her. The arms which she had
hoped might snuggle her up were
folded in triumph on a proudly ex-
panded breast, as he moved back
pace and. through his own inward agi-
tation. pleasantly contemplated the
curiously shrunken figure of the Mos
High Rev'n' Bishop who. with
chagrin, was still on all fours, trying to
get out from under the pulpit.
On the top step of the log stile
fronting the paternal estate sat the
great plotter. laved and Tapped in
happiness. High in the vault, like
golden bon-bon. rode the Planting
Moon of the Red Indians. and
scrooged up close beside him was his
just-pledged bride. Birdie May Ruck-
er. Birdie May was hugging her knees
and he was hugging Birdie May. And
with all the visible world, all was
radiantly we'll.
AN so." Birdie May was contin-
uing a sequence of confessions. "an'
so wild him gittm' above hisse'f that
sudden way. natchelly wouldn't be
de one to jine in wild no Do Fighters
a-tall.
"Sides, never did sho' -nuff keer
ary single smidgin fur him." went on
his fiancee, betraying a lingering
bitterness. MO specially didn't
keer fur him after ne 60 an git so
pop-skulled wild vanity. Still, he done
right well by his skinny sef. Come
lOpin' in yere to run a back-district
church an inside two months gifts
call frum de bigges' congregation
them ole Do Fighters got - de one in
Bummin'ham
AN even befo' then they starts in
calm him Sim Rasslin' Simms, wen
de fanciest entitlemint that pOmpious
big Elder Pomeroy ever got all de
yeahs he been preachifyin' is Ole
Sanity. Seem LAX after that happen he
amt got no eyes fur anybody 'ceptin
it's only hisself."
Il got kinder feelin' he amt gOin
last so awful long in that new charge
of his'n."
'Howcome he ain't?" she de-
manded. Amt he already haul off an
th'ow one miracle right down yonder
on de banks of Tupelo Creek, an me
sittin' there testifyin' to it wild my
own eyes?"
"Tha's the pint" he elucidated.
'He th'ow one, but kin he th'ow 'em
to order? got pursentiment that
purity soon them Bummin'ham folks
goin' call fur miracle, an then l
seems to see a little upstart frum de
high grass gittin' his walkin' papers"