“O, kill it! do kill it!” cried Kate, running back a few steps from the scene of danger.
“No, I shan’t—you said I lied, and now you want me to commit murder, do you?” retorted Ronald.
“Pooh! it’s nothing but the cast-off skin of a snake,” said Otis, lifting it upon a stick, and tossing it toward Kate, who dexterously dodged the missile.
“That was the skin of a black snake, wasn’t it?” inquired Oscar.
“Yes,” replied Ronald, “and a pretty large one, too.”
“I saw a black snake all of six feet long, that summer I was down to Brookdale,” said Oscar. “Jerry and I were on a high rock, and saw the snake in the field below us. He was coiled up, and was watching a squirrel that was a little way off. We got some stones, and pelted him, but I believe we didn’t hit him, for we couldn’t find anything of him.”
“I killed a large black snake, all alone, down in our meadow, not more than a month ago,” said Ronald.
“Is that one of your yarns, or do you expect us to believe it?” inquired Oscar.
“It’s the truth, sir, I’ll leave it to Marcus, if it isn’t,” replied Ronald.