himself so boldly, paused not an instant. He was half-way across when suddenly and in a fraction of an instant, his big body gathered itself into a close, symmetrical coil, the slim neck bent back like an S, the evil head drawn within the circle of the body, the black-ringed tail, tipped with its ten rattles, pointing straight upward and vibrating so rapidly as to seem a mere indistinct blur.
Thirty yards away down the road a small brindled cur and, some distance behind him, a ragged negro boy of twelve or thirteen years were approaching at headlong speed. The dog was barking excitedly as he ran and looking up into the liveoaks bordering the road at a squirrel leaping nimbly from branch to branch. For some moments the snake could not see them because of an intervening clump of weeds. Possessing no external ears, he heard only faintly, if at all, the sharp yelping of the dog and the shrill shouts of the boy. It was the vibration of the ground which had thrown him upon guard, and had he wished to do so, he might easily have gained the shelter of the vine-clad bank beyond the road.
The snake, however, did not even consider a retreat. He was hungry and consequently in an evil mood, and the tremor of the soil under his sensitive scales inspired him with a terrible fury. He remained coiled in the middle of the road, his eyes
