GBATITUDE KECOMMENDED. 141 



my light weight, and then my thin shoes would 

 scarcely have been hard enough to crush his head. 

 So, Mac, old boy," and Norman gave his friend a 

 hearty smack on the shoulder, "you ought to be 

 very grateful that the danger befell you, and not 

 either Hawkes or myself." 



" That's one way of putting it, certainly," laughed 

 the good-natured fellow; "and now it's over, I don't 

 mind." 



The circumstance led that evening to a conversa- 

 tion on the subject of snakes, and the many narrow 

 escapes men had from them. 



The two seniors had several incidents to relate ; 

 and even young Hawkes was not without his 

 experience of the reptile so inimical to the race of 

 man. 



" It is wonderful how comparatively few get 

 bitten," said Mackenzie. " Considering the number 

 of venomous snakes that are to be found in some 

 parts, and that the natives' legs and feet are gene- 

 rally undefended, it seems marvellous that so few 

 should suffer." 



" In Scinde and some other districts, the list of 

 deaths from snake-bites is anything but scanty," 

 Norman replied. 



" And they do not go out of the way to attack, 

 do they ? " inquired Hawkes. 



