Little Bighead 119 



head stamping and snorting at something 

 upon the sand near by. 



The dog was still thirty or forty feet away 

 when a huge rattlesnake reared its head 

 almost to the calf's nose and drew back 

 to strike. Without a second's hesitation, 

 although he well knew the danger, Shep 

 sprang between them and with a lucky 

 snap caught the snake by the neck just be- 

 hind the head. Some instinct told him 

 that his only safety lay in holding on, so 

 he sank his teeth deep in the rattler's neck, 

 and held on like the proverbial puppy to a 

 root. 



For a few seconds there was a lively time 

 upon the sand-spit. The snake writhed and 

 thrashed horribly, winding his body and 

 tail about the dog's neck and nearly shut- 

 ting off his breath, but by degrees the rat- 

 tler ceased his struggles, until at last he lay 

 perfectly limp in the dog's jaws. Then 

 Shep laid him down upon the sand and 



