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.” 
