266 The Cranes 



involuntary creepy feeling; but when that cable 

 moved, as it presently and distinctly did, the creepy 

 feeling flashed into the had been. In its stead 

 surged up a sprinty, a get-to-shore-p-d-q sort of a 

 sensation which carried me to terra firma in three 

 astounding prances. Hence, it is possible to 

 traverse quaking bog, if one's speed be sufficient. 

 Still, I had my bird, and upon turning to look at 

 the few spots I had touched during the final spurt, 

 there was a shiny black head, a wicked-looking 

 eye, and a goodly length of animated garden-hose, 

 to remind me that the pond was a favorite haunt 

 of a lusty breed of black snake. 



The next thing to do was to quote a few 

 stanzas from " The Hanging of the Crane," in- 

 serting the more expressive word for the ladylike 

 " hanging." Then the prize was carefully killed 

 and hung on the weeping-willow tree, while I 

 sought the river for a very necessary house-clean- 

 ing. I was a bit anxious about the wound in the 

 leg, for I suspected that the swamp matter might 

 cause trouble later. However, a thorough wash- 

 ing and squeezing, a plugging with tobacco, held 

 fast by a good long bandage from the only place 

 where such long bandages grow on a man, served 

 for temporary treatment, and, although the wound 

 was sore for a time, it caused no serious trouble. 



