“He means rattlers,” interpreted Grace Harlowe.
“Oh, wow!” muttered the fat boy. “I think I’ll climb a tree.”
“You will take pot luck on the ground with the rest of us,” answered Tom rather severely.
“Me savvy lattler in blanket once,” declared the guide. “Lattler sleep plenty in blanket. Go away in molning. Lattler no hurt Chinaman,” explained Woo.
Signs of uneasiness were observable among the girls of the Overland party, and in Stacy Brown as well. Tom declared that Woo was “drawing the long bow,” and said that he never had heard anything of the sort about the Sierra trails.
“I have,” announced Hippy. “There are snakes all about here, but we are not going to lose any sleep over it. Besides, Stacy is getting the wiggles.”
“Yes. For goodness sake, drop the subject. You folks give me the willyjiggs,” shivered Emma Dean.
“I’m not getting the wiggles,” protested Stacy. “I reckon I’m not afraid of anything that walks.”
“We were not speaking of that kind,” reminded Nora. “We were speaking of reptiles.”
“How long do you figure that it will take us to get into the High Country?” asked Grace by way of changing the subject.