116 Old Days on the Farm 



reptiles jest hung on like a catamount to a deer. 



''Jim dropped his cradle an' came over on the 

 run an' all the fellows a-watchin' the contest came 

 too. They thought I'd gone suddenly crazy. 



'' 'Take his cradle away out of reach,' shouted 

 one o' the boys, 'or somebody '11 get hurt.' Then 

 seven or eight o' them closed in on me an' in a 

 second there was two dead snakes. 



' ' * Hurt, are ye, Jo ? ' asked one of the boys. 

 After I'd told them I was only scairt the bunch 

 laughed till I thought somebody would bust. 



"But I really believe them two snakes did the 

 trick fer me. I was mad — mad at the snakes, mad 

 at myself for makin' such a show, an' some mad, 

 too, at the boys for that side-splittin' laughin'. 



"I tuck up that cradle an' before Jim could 

 gather himself together almost made up his lead 

 an' — well, to make it short, I trimmed him by a 

 swath in spite o' bumble-bees an' snakes. 



"Five acres in ten hours was allowed to be a 

 pretty fair day's work them days," said Old- 

 Timer as he struck a match and started in to 

 cloud the atmosphere. 



"You haven't said anything about the brown 

 jug hid under the sheaf or how much water you 

 drank that day," I remarked. 



"Well, I've always held that there are some 

 things better not mentioned together an' to name 

 brown jugs an' snakes in the same story might 

 start folks talkin'," replied the old man with a 

 look that meant a whole lot. 



