"They must be rather thick," he said soberly. "It's a wonder we haven't seen any along the road."
"Wal-l, yer see, it's a little late in the day fer 'em ter be out now. They mostly come out long 'bout nine o'clock in the mornin' and get back inter their holes afore the dew begins ter fall. Yer see, the dew gets their rattles wet and when they're wet they kinder stick together and don't work very well, in fact, yer can't hear 'em much more'n a mile away unless they're good an' dry."
"And how far can you hear them when they're in good working order?" Bob asked.
Slim looked at him a moment before answering. He was not quite sure that he was getting away with the yarn, but there was nothing in the boy's face to indicate that he was not taking it all in good faith, so he answered:
"Wal-l, o' course, it depends some on the way the wind's blowing. I had a pet snake last summer an' we used him ter call the boys home ter dinner an' sometimes they'd be all of five mile away, but o' course, him bein' a pet, we couldn't make him rattle very hard, 'cause they do that only when they're good an' mad."
"My but it must be pretty dangerous around here," Jack suggested.
"All depends on how quick yer are at dodging 'em. Yer know they can't jump more'n 'about twenty feet."
"But I always thought that a rattlesnake could only jump about its own length," Bob said. "You don't mean that they grow twenty feet long, do you?"
"Twenty feet ain't nothin'."
"How long was the biggest one you ever saw?" Jack asked.