"One day, when we was camped on the Rio Grande, water call had jest gone, an' we'd all started out from our tents to water our horses an' picket 'em out on fresh grass. I was walkin' a few steps behind Nesbit when I heard the whiz-whir of a rattlesnake in the direction of the man, an' as I looked to'rds him I was horrified to see a big rattler that seemed to have hold of one of his ankles an' was a-jerkin' an' squirmin' an' wrappin' itself all 'round his leg; but, as I found out afterward, the snake had struck at his ankle an' caught a mouthful of the roll of Nesbit's trousers an' got his fangs tangled so's he couldn't git loose but hadn't touched the leg at all.
"Well, sir, I was nearly paralyzed with fear an' was tryin' to think of some way I could help the man but didn't see how. He never said a word, but just reached down as cool as ef he was goin' to pluck a flower, grabbed the snake right back of its head so close it couldn't turn to bite his hand when it got its fangs loose, then pulled its fangs loose from the roll of his trousers an' pulled the snake away from where it was wrapped around his leg. It coiled itself around his arm an' kep' its rattle a-hummin', and I couldn't imagine how he was goin' to get rid of it without gettin' bit.
"Well, it all happened quicker'n scat, an' while I was a-tryin' to study out some way I could help him out he knew just what to do an' was a-doing it without asking anybody's help.
"He just reached for his belt with the other hand, pulled his butcher-knife, sliced the snake's head off clean—taking a slice out of his finger in doing it, shook the snake loose from his arm an' dropped it, stooped down an' dug a little hole with his knife, raked the snake's head into it an' covered it up so's nobody would tramp on it with bare feet an' get pizened, wiped his knife on his britches' leg an' returned it to the sheath, tore a piece off his ol' hankercher an' wrapped his cut finger up, an' went on an' 'tended to his horse—all without sayin' a word or makin' any fuss; an' when I got my breath enough to say, 'Nesbit, that was a close call,' he merely remarked indifferent like: 'Yes, but you know a miss is as good as a mile.'
"It had all been done so quietly an' quickly that the other men passin' by hadn't noticed what was goin' on.
"Well, sir, I count that one of the coolest, grittiest things I ever saw done, an' when I got back to camp I went an' told the orderly sergeant about it, an' he had to go an' tell the captain; an' then the captain sent for me, an' I had to tell him all the particulars; an' when I got through all the ol' man had to say was, 'He'll do,' but I could see that the captain was mightily pleased with the raw recruit.
"Well, the upshot of it was the next evenin' at 'retreat' the orderly sergeant published an order to the company to the effect that 'Private Nesbit is hereby appointed corporal an' will be obeyed an' respected accordingly.'
"You see, the captain saw from that little affair of the snake that Nesbit was something more than a 'bump on a log,' an' so he give the man a lift to start him, an' in a little while he was made sergeant; an' then, when the ol' orderly sergeant's time was out an' he was discharged, Nesbit was made first sergeant right over the heads of us old hands who'd been in the service a heap longer. But he deserved it, an' I never begrudged him the promotion, for he made one of the best orderly sergeants I ever knew—always the same quiet, cool, nervy Nesbit."
"I always told you," remarked Jack, "that it won't do to set a man down for a fool 'cause his clo's don't fit him.
"Changin' the subject," said Jack, "it's about five miles from here up to Charley Rath's ranch, at the mouth of Walnut Creek; ain't it, Tom?"