Shaggo was so hungry that all he did for a time was to eat. He put his black nose down in the pile of hay and took a large mouthful. While he was chewing this he saw something long and thin suddenly thrust itself in between the bars of his cage. All at once Shaggo was much excited.
“A snake! A snake!” cried Shaggo in animal talk. “Oh, what a big rattlesnake! Here, get out of my cage!” he rumbled.
CHAPTER VIII
SHAGGO AND TUM TUM
Shaggo knew what rattlesnakes were, for sometimes, in the hot summers, they were seen in the National Park on the buffalo range.
He had heard his father and mother, as well as Wuffo, the old bull leader of the herd, speak of rattlesnakes, and tell what great pain followed if a buffalo were bitten on the leg or the nose by one. So when Shaggo saw the long, snaky thing stuck into his cage, near the bunch of hay, the buffalo cried:
“Get out of here!”
“Easy now! Easy!” answered a voice, which was almost as rumbly as his own, and not at all like the hissing talk of a snake. “I am not going to hurt you.”
“I don’t know whether you are or not,” answered Shaggo, shrinking back into a corner of his cage. “But I was always told to keep away from rattlesnakes; and, though you haven’t rattled yet, I’m sure you’re one of those crawling serpents.”