She nearly fell upon the box in her stumbling, and when she saw what it held, she all but fainted outright.
"Syke! Syke, mah Gawd! You take dat rattlesnake 'way from heah! You gottuh. Oh, Jesus, have mussy!"
"Ah aint got tuh do nuthin' uh de kin'—fact is Ah ain't got tuh do nothin' but die. Tain't no use uh you puttin' on airs makin' out lak you skeered uh dat snake—he's gointer stay right heah tell he die. He wouldn't bite me cause Ah knows how tuh handle 'im. Nohow he wouldn't risk breakin' out his fangs gin yo skinny laigs."
"Naw, now Syke, don't keep dat thing round tryin' tuh skeer me tuh death. You knows Ah'm even feared uh earth worms. Thass de biggest snake Ah evah did see. Kill 'im Syke, please."
"Doan ast me tuh do nothin' fuh yuh. Goin' round tryin' tuh be so damn asterperious. Naw, Ah ain't gonna kill it. Ah think uh damn sight mo' uh him dan you! Dat's a nice snake an' anybody doan lak im kin jes' hit de grit. "
The village soon heard that Sykes had the snake, and came to see and ask questions.
"How de hen-fire did you ketch dat six-foot rattler, Syke?" Thomas asked.
"He's full uh frogs so he cain't hardly move, thass how Ah eased
up on m. But Ah'm a snake charmer an' knows how tuh handle 'em. Shux, dat ain't nothin'. Ah could ketch one eve'y day if Ah so wanted tuh."
"Whut he needs is a heavy hick'ry club leaned real heavy on his head. Dat's de bes' way tuh charm a rattlesnake."