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Amongst Whist Gavin Griffin came back after relieving himself off the back porch with a small garden snake, showing everyone on the sly except for Uncle Barnard Sweeney, who was shuffling the cards slowly waiting for his grand-nephew's return, and then placed it by the old man's elbow. "Look Unc!" Gavin shouted. "By Jesus!" Uncle Barnard yelled, jumping away, joining the laughter to cover the God-awful fright he had felt; having the constitution of a fifty year old though he was eighty-two years old and still strong as an ox. Gaining
his composure, after shuffling for three minutes - while wry comments
about whether he was stripping the queen naked in order to hurry him
up were bandied about - Uncle Barnard turned to his right to speak to
the
man next to him, who had been teacher to all his grand-nephews and Feeling sorry for snakes, Johnny nodded; liking these people of the California Settlement in Northern New Brunswick; thinking to himself now he knew why there were no snakes in Ireland. He put his USA dollar in the pot. It was quickly taken by a native who replaced it with a Canadian one. Johnny nodded as he looked at all the crumpled bills resembling mangled snakes of various kinds waiting to be pocketed by the winner ....
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