“Didn’t—didn’t—get bitten! Roy, I don’t understand—”
“Look!”
He motioned to his sister to bend down and peer under the car. As he did so Roy’s hand reached out—and there followed that same “whir-r-r-r” they had heard before.
“Get it?” Roy exclaimed, his laughter starting up again. “This—this piece of tin under the running board! See? When I hit it, it whirs. Teddy’s hand scraped it, and it buzzed and scratched his hand. And we thought it was a rattler! Oh, baby, what a couple of saps! Wait till dad and Nick hear about this!”
“He didn’t get bitten?” Belle repeated, hardly able to realize what had happened. “There wasn’t any snake?” she questioned incredulously.
“Nary snake—just this tin! That’s all!”
With a sob of relief, Belle threw her arms around her brother’s neck.
“Oh, Teddy!” she gasped. “I’m so glad—so glad! Oh, Teddy, I thought you were going to die! And when you were bending over with the gun, just thinking about killing the old rattlesnake, I—I—”
“Hey, sis, come out of it!” Teddy said a trifle shakily. He kissed her full on the lips. “Thought you’d have to play jokes on Roy all alone after this, did you? Well, I’m still here—and we won’t forget how he teased you the other night on the porch, either! We’ll get him for that! I got a great idea—only he’s listening now. When we get home—”
It was just this that was needed to calm Belle. The strain she had been under had been terrific, and it is no wonder that, when it was over, she broke down. But now she dried her eyes and raised her head.