“Alligators, rattlesnakes and boa-constrictors.”
“Ugh!” came from Sam, with a shiver. “Deliver me from a boa-constrictor. I saw one once in a menagerie. They fed it on live rabbits and the sight was enough to make one sick.”
“The professor says the rattlesnakes are more to be feared than anything,” went on Mark. “He says the alligators and the boa-constrictors generally keep their distance, but the snakes strike you through the tall grass before you can realize what is up. I can tell you what, we’ll have to keep our eyes open when we get down on the hunting ground.”
CHAPTER XVIII
A BITTER DISCOVERY
Hockley sat up on the bed and stared around him in stupid bewilderment. For the moment he could realize nothing but that he had a bursting headache and felt wretched all over.
“It was the drinking and smoking that did it,” he thought and gave a low groan. “Oh, my head!”
For several minutes he sat almost motionless, trying to collect his senses. Then he gazed around the room and at last realized that he was in the apartment which Dan Markel had engaged.
“Markel!” he called out. “Markel, where are you?”
Receiving no answer, he dragged himself to his feet. He was all in a tremble and soon sank down in a chair by the barred window. He saw that the sun was up and that the street was alive with people.
“It must be pretty late,” he muttered, and felt for his watch to note the time. “Oh, I forgot. The watch was stolen, and so was my roll of bills. This is a pretty how-do-you-do, anyway. What will the professor say when he hears of it? But I don’t care—he ain’t my master, and I’m going to do as I please.” He put his hand to his forehead. “Oh, how everything spins!”