"My, what a whopper!" cried Joe. "He must weigh at least seven or eight pounds!"
"He felt as if he weighed about forty when he was in the water," returned Darry, a little crest-fallen that the catch was not larger.
"That's the biggest fish I've ever seen taken out of this stream," said the young captain. "You can be proud of it, Darry. But to hold on when that snake was behind you——" He shook his head.
"Oh, I knew you'd come up and take care of that, Cousin Will."
"But I might have been too late."
"Was it a poisonous one?"
"Some claim they are poisonous, but the surgeon up at the fort says not. Still I wouldn't want to risk a bite."
"Perhaps there are more around," suggested Joe.
"No, the peculiarity of this variety of snakes is that they always travel alone. If they meet they fight until one or the other is dead."
"Did you ever see such a fight, Will?"