CREATURES OF MYSTERY 
143 
Unfortunately, he was alone, and with no one to administer 
£rst-aid he lost control. Hastening on foot to the nearest resi¬ 
dence his heart beat was stepped up and the circulation other¬ 
wise hastened with the result that death overtook him before 
he had covered more than a quarter of a mile. 
A third son of Uncle Dave escaped by a split-second, and as 
a result of the close call would never thereafter return to the 
hunt. The dangerous work entailed in hunting this particular 
one down had been accomplished already. This son, evidently, 
grew careless at the task. He, together with another brother, 
was holding the bag with ungloved hands, while their father 
was lowering the reptile into the sack. As has already been 
mentioned—too often perhaps—craftiness is an attribute which 
should be eternally associated with the rattler, and all serpents, 
as for that. Surely no one should ever underrate the keenness 
with which they sense a situation. The young fellow, of course, 
was unaware that the rattler was eagerly watching his hand 
as he was being lowered into the bag. When he reached the 
level of the hand he had been watching he made a savage side 
thrust. The little pole to which he was tied, being unseasoned 
and consequently quite flexible, yielded to the thrust. The in¬ 
tended victim, being quite alert, observed the treacherous at¬ 
tack and dropped the bag in time to escape the blow. The 
fangs of the diamond-back sank deep into the folds of the bur¬ 
lap bag where the same had been gripped by the boy’s hand a 
split-second before. His hands and whole front were literally 
showered with venom, the presence of which upon his person 
defied all effort to get his mind back on his snake hunting until 
he had returned to his home for a bath and a complete change 
of clothing. 
As the days, weeks and months passed, this narrow escape 
seemed to gather added horror for the young man who escaped 
by such a narrow margin, resulting in his final abandonment of 
the chase. Few, of course, would criticize him for further 
hazarding his life in such a dangerous sport. One must be pos¬ 
sessed of nerves of steel who would continue his membership 
in this “Suicide Squad” once he had heard and actually wit¬ 
nessed one’s determined effort to bury their fangs in the living 
flesh of a companion. 
