“It’s a snake!” he thought. “It’s a snake! If I dare to move it will sting me! Can it be a rattler?”
He was on the point of screaming, but could not bring himself to do it. The cold beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. In those few seconds he lived an hour of anguish. Then he made a swift clutch at the object through the blanket, and leaped out upon the floor.
“A snake! A snake!” he yelled. “Help me! Shoot him, somebody! A snake has me by the leg! He’s stinging me this minute! I’m a dead boy!”
CHAPTER IX
AT A DEER HUNT
In a moment there was a wild commotion throughout the lodge. All of the others sprang up, and reached for their weapons.
“What is it, a bear?” gasped Harry.
“A snake! a snake!” screamed Fred. “Save me, before he stings me!”
The lantern had been turned low. Now Joe turned it up, while Joel Runnell kicked the fire into a blaze. In the meantime, Fred pulled both the blanket and the reptile from him, and cast them upon the floor.
“Let me get at him,” said old Runnell, and he stepped into the sleeping room as the snake crawled from under the blanket and started across the floor for a hole in the corner.
Bang! it was a hasty shot, and in that confined space it made the ears of all the boys ring. For the time being, the smoke was so thick nobody could see, and more than one began to cough.