UNCLE DAVE MEETS HIS MATCH—ALMOST 
Much has been said already about the giant rattler who had 
grown to such proportions, become so wise, courageous and 
self-confident that none would challenge him single-handed 
unless odds be in their favor by being in possession of firearms 
at the time of the encounter. It had always so happened that 
none who ever chanced to meet up with him were thus equipped. 
Many had positively declined to engage him in battle. The 
horseman, whose thrilling duel with him has been related in 
detail in an earlier chapter, freely admitted that dealing with 
the old wizard of the wiregrass was by no means a one-man 
job. On a half-dozen occasions men had come upon him face 
to face, bowing themselves out of his presence with the Jap¬ 
anese apology, “So sorry.” 
Strange as it might sound to the reader, Uncle Dave and 
this particular rattler had a few things in common. In the first 
place, according to the old gentleman’s best reckoning, they 
both first saw the light of day about the year of General Lee’s 
surrender. Their trails first crossed about the year 1880. 
During the sixty years which followed, their trails were des¬ 
tined to cross at frequent intervals, but as Uncle Dave put it, 
“I was always just a little early, or a little late.” Uncle Dave 
respected “01’ Diamond Joe,” as he had come to call him, and 
I suppose that if all the truth were known the latter respected 
him also. It is but natural that two such valiant fighters should 
respect each other; then, too, both were adepts at the art of 
fishing, and both great lovers of the chase. This old gentle¬ 
man’s keenness of observation enabled him to recognize his 
adversary’s trail each time he came upon it. Now, the ques¬ 
tion should not be asked how he knew for certain that it was 
the trail of the same reptile—he just knew. With the passing 
of time 01’ Diamond Joe continued growing in stature until 
his trail exceeded in breadth all of his fellow creatures of the 
wiregrass region, thus his trail became less and less difficult to 
identify. Now 01’ Diamond Joe did not go about deliberately 
courting any trouble with this old battler of rattlers, but if 
the latter thought for one minute that he would retire him from 
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