RATTLERS 133 
which Conway and I found a few feet from the door 
of our tent. We were retailing the incident with a 
sense of importance. This was Bert’s opportunity: 
‘““You want to be careful every night,’’ he re- 
marked casually, ‘‘to look in your bed. Them rat- 
tlers is shore tickled to git in a feller’s blankets. It 
warms ’em up like. Of course, if you git in with 
’em and rile ’em enny they might hurt ye. It’s al- 
ways best to look.’’ 
We must have looked depressed, for Bert seemed 
pleased. After a moment he resumed: 
‘‘Ef you only had a horsehair rope with you all 
it’d be safer. Stretch one of ’em around a tent and 
a snake’ll never cross it. I rec’lect how a partner 
of mine a’most got bit for not doing it once.’’ 
Of course we clamoured for the story. We had 
to, in self-defence. 
“¢ Twa’n’t much,’’ disclaimed Bert, ‘‘as it turned 
out. We wuz ina snake country and I’d been sleepin’ 
with a hair rope round my bed just to be on the 
safe side. My pardner, fellow-by-name-of-Jenkins, 
laughed at it. He warn’t afraid of no snakes, not 
him. 
‘‘Well, come a moonlight night a few evenings 
later, and I couldn’t sleep nohow. Jest tossed one 
way an’ another all night. Long about one or two 
o’clock, I reckon it was, I looked over at Jenkins, 
sleepin’ peaceful like. Thar in the moonlight, right 
at the head of his bed, I see something bright a- 
shinin’ an’ glistenin’. 
