in haste. Lin explained that
she was "skeered nearly to death. I wus yar all alone an' they kum
draggin' him in. I tried to talk with him but he's plum out of his head.
His mother an' his pap an' me an' all of us hes warned him time an'
'gain that that mewel would be his death, but he jus kept a-devilin'
aroun' hit; now ye see what kum of hit. He's jus like he had a stroke of
palsy, hit's a wonder the mewel hedn't killed him stun dead. Ef hits
palsied him he mought jus es well be dead."

Thus Lin ran on as the old doctor carefully looked the patient over. The
doctor had long practiced in Brownsville. Tomato vine poisoning cases
were rare. Alfred's ailment on this occasion was common. He made no
mistake in diagnosing the case although he did not inform the family of
his conclusions. However, he assured them that "the boy would be all
right in a day or two. His appetite might not come to him at once but he
would be all right in the morning. Just let him sleep, don't wake him,
and when he gets out caution him to--keep away from the mule," added the
doctor dryly.

Lin said: "Be durned ef hit ain't the queerest case I ever seed.
Alfurd's jus es sick es he kin be an' the old doctur didn't gin him
nothin'."

A few days later it was whispered among the neighbors that Alfred and a
number of the tan-yard hands broke into Bill Wyatt's cellar and drank up
all his liquor and Alfred, "little as he wus, drinked more'n eny of em."
George Washington Antonio Frazier 'lowed that Alfred "drinked so much he
wouldn't want another drink fer a month. I wouldn't ef I'd hed his
cargo," he concluded.

Lin threw her head up in disgust as she denied this rumor: "Huh, all ole
Frazier is peeved 'bout is bekase he didn't git his ole hog belly filled
up fur nuthin'."

Alfred slept he knew not how long. It was night when he awoke. Half
awake, he would doze and dream--now he was carrying gourds of water to
Uncle Joe, hastening back to get a gourdful for his own parched lips. He
would invariably drop the gourd or have some other mishap--he never got
the water to his lips.

He realized that there were others in the room, the lamp was too low to
distinguish them. He listened endeavoring to hear what they were talking
of. The old clock down-stairs struck two, then the little clock on the
mantelpiece chimed twice.

A figure arose, softly crossing the room and a hand was laid softly on
the boy's forehead. His eyes were closed but he knew it was his m