Bible scholars on the island were in short supply and Miss Abby was the definitive source for questions of conscience and parables. Though much respected and well thought of, the preacher was too busy with every day church business to provide any more than traditional spiritual guidance and regular Sunday scoldings - Miss Abby knew every chapter and verse of The Good Book by heart and recited the Bible stories with hellfire in her heart and a shotgun at her side. If one don't work against the devil, reckon the other will, she liked to tell folks when they visited, Have another biscuit.
On Saturday nights, Miss Abby lined up tin cans on stumps for target practice. Shading her eyes, she raised her old shotgun to her shoulder, set her body in a shooter's stance, and blew the bejesus out of every target. None of us could recall a time when she had ever missed - her aim, like her faith, was deadly accurate - and though the recoil often set her back a pace or two and once had even dislocated her collar bone - these were small prices to pay for being ready to fight the devil. Could be you only get one shot at ol' Satan, she warned us, Best to make it count.
During the day she raised rabbits for showing and kept honey bees. Some of the best of the good Lord's creations don't walk two legged, she advised us as she taught us how to approach the bee hives and clean out the hutches,
Rabbits and bees be every bit God's creatures as you and me. Serpents on the other hand, were clearly the work of the devil and she showed them no mercy, blasting them to kingdom come at every opportunity. Vipers! she snarled and took aim, Begone! She kept a small bible in her apron pocket at all times and often quoted just before shooting, Behold, unto you I give the power to tread on serpents! The dead reptile would be kicked aside, lifeless and unclean, and Miss Abby would tell us to fling it into the sea. I had no idea until that summer that my daddy, as gentle and tolerant a man as ever lived, had a powerful, debilitating fear of the unholy creatures. On hearing of Miss Abby's merciless treatment of them, he shivered and muttered, More power to her. Uncle Willie made one attempt to point out that even serpents served a purpose and Miss Abby gave him a long, dark look then ordered him off her property, Blasphemy! she snapped and reached for her gun. Uncle Willie wisely chose not to debate her.
Sitting in her old cane rocker with her shotgun beside her and her Bible in her lap, she read to us - the story of Daniel in the lion's den, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, Moses and the Red Sea - grand tales of miracles, faith and retribution, lessons in morality and the endless battles between good and evil. Let there be no serpents in your gardens, children. Have another biscuit.
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