“Please hurry!” she murmured.
A revolver shot was her answer and when next she looked down at her boot she shivered. The sight of the headless, mutilated body was sickening.
“Don’t look,” Jim whispered as he lifted Gale’s boot clear of the snake. “Did it bite you?”
“I don’t think so,” Gale murmured fighting to control her nerves. Now that it was all over she felt as if she must scream. It was the natural reaction and as she stood up she leaned weakly against the tree. “How did--you happen--along just in time?”
The cowboy replaced his revolver in the holster at his belt. It was the first time Gale had noticed that he wore a gun. How lucky it had been for her that he did!
“I came lookin’ for you for some more practice with yore rope,” he drawled, as he sometimes did.
“You saved my life,” Gale said gratefully.
“Shucks,” the cowboy said, flushing deep red. “How did the snake ever come to wind itself about yore leg?”
“I was asleep,” Gale said. “I’ll never forget the sight of that snake when I awoke. It was horrible!” She trembled involuntarily.
Jim patted her shoulder with clumsy kindness. “Do you reckon you can come back to the house now?”