When leveling parties, as they are officially called, go out, one man often carries an axe with which to clear away any obstructions which may prevent a clear sight. On this occasion Roger had been carrying the axe, as well as the chain, and the implement now lay close to where our hero stood.
Grabbing up the axe, Dave lost no time in scrambling down the rocks. As he did this he heard a stone strike on some rocks below and knew that Roger was throwing at the snake.
“Oh, Dave! Help!” yelled the senator’s son, “He’s getting ready to strike!”
With one wild leap Dave came down to within a few feet of where his chum stood between two rocks which reached up to his waist. One leg was fast between the rocks, and while the unfortunate youth was endeavoring wildly to extricate himself from his predicament, he was shying one loose stone after another at a snake that was coiled up in something of a hollow less than a dozen feet away. The hollow was so situated that exit from it could only be had in the direction occupied by the young civil engineer.
As Dave approached he saw that it was indeed a rattlesnake that his chum had disturbed. The reptile was at least five feet in length and of corresponding thickness, and was now coiled up as if ready to strike.
It was a moment which called for immediate action, and without stopping to think Dave raised the axe and sent it whirling forward toward the snake. His aim fell short, but this shortness proved to be thoroughly effective. The handle of the axe came down with a thud on the rocks, sending the blade flashing in a semicircle. The sharpened bit of steel caught the snake in the very center of its folds, inflicting several deep cuts.
Instantly the reptile’s attention was taken from Roger. It whirled around swiftly in search of the enemy that had struck it and whipped angrily at the axe.
“Oh, Dave! can’t you shoot him?” gasped Roger. “I dropped my pistol when I came down over the rocks.”
In that wild territory it was the custom of every one of the engineering gang to carry firearms. Dave had a small automatic pistol in his hip pocket, and this he now brought into play.
Crack! Crack! Crack! went the weapon three times in rapid succession. The first shot did not take effect, but the second and third hit the mark, and the rattlesnake twisted and turned in its death agony. Then, placing the pistol back in his pocket, our hero raised up a stone almost as large as his head and with it put the reptile out of its misery.