n the middle o' the pond, jumped three feet in the air,
and run down the embankment yellin' and kickin' and throwin' his arms
about in every direction, and at last he fell down on the ground a
good distance from the pond.

"Amos and Uncle Jim was so taken by surprise at first that they jest
stood still and looked. Amos says, says he: 'The man's gone crazy all
at once.' Uncle Jim says: 'He's havin' a spell. His father and
grandfather before him used to have them spells.'

"They run up to him and found him shakin' like a leaf, the cold sweat
streamin' out of every pore, and gaspin' and sayin', 'Take it away!
Take it away!' and all the time he was throwin' out his left foot in
every direction. Finally Uncle Jim grabbed hold of his foot and there
was a red and black necktie stickin' out o' the leg of his pants. He
pulled it out and says he: 'Why, Sam, what's your Sunday necktie doin'
up your pants leg?'

"They said Sam looked at it in a foolish sort o' way and then he fell
back laughin' and cryin' at the same time, jest like a woman, and it
was five minutes or more before they could stop him. Uncle Jim brought
water and put on his head, and Amos fanned him with his hat, and at
last they got him in such a fix that he could sit up and talk, and
says he:

"'I took off my necktie last night and slung it down on a chair where
my everyday pants was layin'. When I put my foot in my pants this
mornin' I must 'a' carried the necktie inside, and by the time I got
to the pond it'd worked down, and I thought it was a black snake with
red stripes.'

"He started to git up, but his ankle was sprained, and Uncle Jim says:
'No wonder, Sam; you jumped about six feet when you saw that snake
crawlin' out o' your pants leg.'

"And Sam says: 'Six feet? I know I jumped six hundred feet, Uncle
Jim.'

"Well, they got him to the house and told Milly about it, and she
says: 'Well, Sam, I'm too sorry for you to laugh at you like Uncle
Jim, but I must say this wouldn't 'a' happened if you'd folded up that
necktie and put it away in the top drawer.'

"Sam was settin' on the side of the bed rubbin' his ankle, and he give
a groan and says he: 'Things has come to a fine pass in Kentucky when
a sober, God-fearin' man like me has to put his necktie in the top
drawer to keep from seein' snakes.'

"I declare to goodness!" laughed Aunt Jane, as she laid down her
trowel and pushed back her calico sunbonnet, "if I never heard
anything funny again in