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The Shake King

The Shake King image
Parent Issue
Day
27
Month
May
Year
1887
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

It was i sultry August morning,and John Maston waa np . early . lie had a loiy ride before hlm to Pyramid, and nis young wifo urged him to start vvith t lie risin sim, and return late in the afternoon, in order to avoid the midday beat. The Matson plantation stretched for miles along the Alabama river. The ne.irest white neighbor was ten miles off, and it took thrce houra to reach the vilJage of Pyramid. Matson and his wife stood on the broad piazza, looking down the slopinglawn to theroad, where Black Tom was waiting witli the horse and buggy. Par away to the rightwreathsof dense fog indictcd the winding course of tl:e river. Xot a breath of air stirred the semi-tropical foliage of the trees, and the atmosphere was laden with the perfume of tliousands of ilowers and aromatic planta. "What does this mean?" said Maftson, as several negroes turned in froni the roa:l, and the house, bearing in their etrong arms a limp and motionless figure. "Oh, John, it is a dead man!" exclaimed httle Mrs. Matson. Tlie planter ran down to meet the men. They were all field hands, and he knew every black face in the eroup. "Helio, Sam, what is the matter? What is up he asked the leader. "Ter teil do troof, Marse Boss," replied Sam, nervously scratching his head, "I'se so plumb done put out 'bout di; ting dat I dunno nuffin. Dis ver white man must be sickerdead, dunno which. We found him down by de landin', an we jist brung i him erlong." "Is he dead?" gasped Mrs. Matson. "No, but he is unconsi;ious," said her husband, who had been examining the stranger. "We must takecare of him, of course. I hate to go off to town now, but I can't help it. I 11 wait half an hour or so and see what turns up." The man was carried to a large and comfortnble room and carefully put to bed by Sfini and another negro. Thcn Mr. Matson feit his pulse and took a good look at lihn. Thestrange-looking, sallowface, lean to the point of emaciation, with the tam;led black hair around it, hai a weird look with its background of whitepillows. A smalldose of brandy was f o reed throuali the tightly closed moutii, and the man suddenly opened his eyes. They were such shining black oibs that Sam feil back mut tering: "Fo' de Lawd!" Half an hour later Matson went to his wife and said: "Well, I must go. Aunt Lucy is looking after our patiënt, and yon will do the best you can. The case does not require a doctor. Some beef tea to-day and something solid row will bring the iellow up. He is nearly dead trom exposure and starvation." "But who ?" "Oh, yes," answered Matson, "you want to know who he is, where he is from, and why he ia in this fix. It is no time to qnestíon him now. líe Iooks like a foreigner, a Cuban or perhaps a Gypsy. líe speaks a little English.and that is all I know. Yonneed not be afraid of him. He is as feeble as an infant, and a little withered old chap with the queerest little head in the world. It is long and n,avrow,and looks more like a snake's head than anything else." "Oh, John, you frighten me!" "But it does," remarked John laughing, "and now that I think of hissnaky eyes andhissinuous motion, it strikes me that snaky is the best description that could begiven of him. Ughl It makes my flesh crawl to look at him. But that is neither here nor there. When I get back 111 attend to him." And giving his wife a kiss, Maston ran down to the buggy, jumped in and dashed off on his way to Pyramid. Lelt alone, so lar as white faces were concerned, with a mysterious stranger in the house, Mrs. Matson felt a peculiar nervousness which she could not shake olï. For awhile she busied herself superintending household affairs, but ímally she could not resist thetemptationto pass the door of the sick man's room and look in. There he was, swarthy and wrinkled, and looking more like a snake than ever. The serpentine head raised itself with an arching motion, and the little black eyes sparkled like beads as poor Mrs. Matson glanced into the room. As for Aunt Lucy, she followed hermistress into the hall. "De Lawd hab mussy," she said, "but Marse John otter .slay at home stidder trapein' off ter town. Dat man in dar skeer me ter defï." The lady of the house said something reassuring, and went into the parlor, where she vainly tried to amuse herself in various ways. "How time drags!" she exclaimed, as she went to a window and looked out in thedirection of the river. Did she see a snake basking in the sunshine directly under the window? She looked intently for a moment. It was a thick, ugly looking moccasin, fully five feet long. While sho wasgazing the vicious intruder raised its head, and returned her stare with a look of intelligence.It was a moccasin locality, and Mrs. Matson did not care a snap of her finger for a few sr.akes around her front door. She was accustomed to find them in her flower beds, and sometimes they made their way into the house, but on t his particular morning she was not horsell. She turned her head and saw another snake. With an muoinfortable shudder the nervous little lady w'alked across the hall into another room, and looked out towards the garden. What was that dark thing just outside thofence? There could be no doubt aboutit. It was another snake. . By this time Mrs. Matson's blood was up. Calling Sally, one of the servants, she sent her to the kitchen to order the cook's boy Joe to make a circuit of the house and kill every snake in sight, In two minutes Sally returned with a face almost bleached. "Joe dono gono ter de fiel'," f-he said; "an' cook already killed two big enakes in de kitchen, an' done shet de do'. I see five uf um in de yard an' one under de steps." The situation began to assume a serious aspect. Mrs. Matson at once liad all the doors closed, and proceedcd to inspect tbo surroundinga írom every window in tlie house. What she saw appalled her. The fierce rays of tho aun made every obifect appear to pulse and tbrob, and balf-bunded as she was with the glare, ! t took sorne littlo time for her to I Batiíy herself tbat she was not j taken. Twisting and twining aniong the Sowers she counted at least a dozen serpents. They dótted the lawn In ' front of the house and wera crawling along the winding walks. In thesliady hack yard it tías atill worsa. Thelittle inclosnre appeared to be a living, wi íl: glingmass ofshioing scales and glittering cyos. Many of tlie snakes were running under the house, but howmany had airead y reachcd that place oí I Shelter the itighten 1 watcher was unable (o teil Mrs. Mateos retreated to the spacious hall and cjasped her hands over hor eyes. It was a peculiar noise i bat she heard. It souiuled liko a gentle hissin', mingled witn rustHug mul nu occasional muffled ild, flap! What could it bc? It was easy enough to answer the question. The noise could only have been made by the scores, and perhaps hundreds, of sqnirming, twisting reptiles under tile house. For the lir.st time in her lite Mrs. Matson was bhoroughly terrified. Obeyin! a sudden impulse, srw rushed into the room assigned to the invalid. Aunt Lucy stood cowerincr in onu corner, tremblingwith fearand unable to utter a word. Sitting upright in bed, wifch an unnatural ulitter in his eyes and dartins his odd little head froin side to side, was the unknown guest. "Ladee," he said in an nnfamiliar brogue, "bc not afraid. Xo harm ter dees house. Mesoon meself. Si r theengs alarm de ladee. Kets all right." Mrs. Jfatson waited to hear 110 more; she ran franticaHy to the parlor and bolted hersplf in. "Ladeel Ladeel" It was '. he voice of the stranger out in the hall. There was a sound as ;! somebody struggling, aod ;he mellovv voice of Aunt Lucy was uplifted in va in remons trance. "Missus,oh,missus," she cried. "Dis yer Mister Man hab done got on lii- clothes,an' is er takin' on pow'íul. lie says he bound fer ter j;o." "Ladee, good-bye'. I promised no harm ter dees house. ISo I go. bye, good-bye!" There waa another etrnggle, and a yell f rom Aunt Lucy, and then the opening and closing of a door feiynaled the nian's departure. From the back windows the mistress of the houseand the half-demented women saw the strangestsightthat mortal eyes ever beheld. Onward down the slope leading to the rivet walked or rather ,lided the stranger. From every clump of shrubberyand every tuftof grass ciarted a snaki?. The man snayed two and fro.whirling his arms.welco.niiiL' and beckoning the legión of serpents. Whizzing tlirouh thegrass, tossing their heads and hissmg all tbe while theexcited nioccasins soon closed in upon the man. They twined around his -li, girded his waist, hung upon his arms and sboulder8 and wrapped themselves about his ncck until he was a moving tower of snakesl Onward, down to the river whirled i this strange combination of monsters. The distracted watchers at the biy house strained their eyea to see the end of it all. The moving masa disappeared. There was a ph into the yellow waters of the bro r, and all was over! When Jolu. LT ,x1 retuvned late that afternoon, ho found a perfect bedlani at his house. From the 6ervints he could gather notliing but the wiklest and most incoherent tale. His fainting wife was in the first stages of brain fever, and it was manya long day before she could answer his questions. "It is such a blank business, the whole blank thing," said Jiatson to his family doctor, "that I'll w blanked if I care to say a blank word about it." The doctor was a sensible man. 1I; agreed with Matson that the bestway was to keep mum.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Ann Arbor Democrat