Читать книгу Dew Drops, Vol. 37, No. 17, April 26, 1914 - Various - Страница 2

It was the Dalton children's first year in Florida. They enjoyed the sunshine, the balmy air and fragrant flowers very much. There was only one thing to mar their pleasure and that was their dread of snakes.

Tilly, the little colored girl who used to play with them sometimes, had big stories to tell.

"Dar's rattlers in de pine woods, hidin' on de sunny sides of stumps: and dar's a pow'ful sight o' moccasins down amonst de water-hyacinths near de bayou. Youse bettah look out, honey, or dey'll cotch youalls, shuah!"

Mabel, Tom, Hetty and Charlie talked the matter over very seriously, almost solemnly.

"Do you s'pose they'll crawl into the house?" Hetty said, her eyes large and round with fearful anticipations.

Tom shook his head gravely.

"No telling! I heard a missionary from India say once how those awful cobras in that country used to drop right down from the ceiling."

Mabel drew a long breath.

"My stars! I'd hate to wake up in the morning and find a snake near my pillow!"

"Guess we'd better keep a good lookout," was Charlie's emphatic suggestion.

One day when papa and mamma and little Hal went in the launch across the river to see the new orange grove, and the children were left alone save for old Uncle Pomp who was hoeing in the truck patch, something happened that made quite a scare. Hetty went into mamma's room for a spool of white thread, and when she came out there was a frightened look on her face.

"Oh, there's a snake on mamma's bed!" she exclaimed.

Tom and Charlie sprang up so suddenly from their game of parchesi that counters and disks fell to the floor.

Then all four children hurried to the door of mamma's room and peeped cautiously in. It was not very light in the room for the window shades had been pulled partly down to shut out the glare of the noonday sun, but sure enough, it could be seen very plainly that there was something on the bed—a half-coiled, bluish-green snake with brown stripes.

Mabel uttered a scream.

"It squirms—I saw it!" she cried.

"No you didn't either," said Tom. "You just thought so, because you're so scared. But it is a snake, sure enough and it's asleep. Guess we'd better not arouse it."

"Somebody ought to kill it," Hetty whispered, her teeth chattering. "One of yon boys'd better get Uncle Pomp; have him bring his hoe or something."

"I'll go," said Charlie quickly.

"Let's all go," suggested Mabel.

Tom hesitated a little. He was the bravest of the lot, though the youngest.

"Say, somebody ought to stay and watch that snake; if it crawls down, we want to know where he goes to. I'll stay—only get Uncle Pomp soon's you can."

But the children couldn't find the old darkey. So the children came trooping back to the house. But when they peeped into mamma's room again, there was no snake on the bed! Nor was there any Tom to be seen!