“Yes; it’s different to home,” I said.
“This is home,” replied Morgan, stolidly—“home now. I’ve set and tended many a lot of eggs; but I say, Master George, only think of a thing like that coming out of a new-laid egg. Do rattlesnakes!”
I could not help smiling at the idea, but my face felt strange, and there was a twitching about my temples as the last words fell upon my ears.
“Halloa! What’s the matter, lad?”
“You—you said rattlesnakes,” I whispered hoarsely.
“Well, what of it? This is ’gator country. Rattlesnakes, they tell me, likes the high, dry, hot, stony places.”
“Yes—father said so,” I replied in a whisper, as I looked cautiously round.
“Well then, what are you looking for?”
“Indians,” I whispered, for I had recalled how the savages had surrounded us while our attention was taken up by the last noxious creature we had attacked.
At my words Morgan made a bound, and then began to move past a tree. But he stopped short, and returned to my side, looking wildly round the while.