154 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 



conquered race see a pale-face falter. Remembering 

 Deerslayer at the stake, Daniel Boone, and sundry 

 other brave white men without a cross, I set my 

 teeth, gripped the rough, cold, scaly body just back 

 of the crotched stick, and lifted. The great snake's 

 black, fixed, devilish eyes looked into mine. If, in 

 this world, there are peep-holes into hell, they are 

 found in the eyes of an enraged rattlesnake. As he 

 came clear of the ground, he coiled round my arm 

 to the elbow, so that the rattles sounded not a foot 

 from my ear. Although the rattlesnake is not a 

 constrictor, and there was no real danger, yet under 

 the touch of his body my arm quivered like a tuning- 

 fork. 



"What makes your arm shake so?" queried Jim, 

 watching me critically. 



"It's probably rheumatism," I assured him. 



Suddenly, under my grip, the snake's mouth open- 

 ed, showing on either side of the upper jaw ridges 

 of white gum. From these suddenly flashed the 

 movable fangs which are always folded back until 

 ready for use. They were hollow and of a glistening 

 white. Halfway down on the side of each was a tiny 

 hole, from which the yellow venom slowly oozed. I 

 began tremulously to unwind my unwelcome arm- 

 let, while Tin waited with the open bag. 



"Be sure you take your hand away quick after you 

 drop him in," advised Jim. 



"Don't you worry about that," I replied; "no 

 man will ever get his hand away quicker than I'm 

 going to." 



