"Are you safe?" called out those at the top of the cliff.
"I—I guess so," came in a panting answer. "But two of them did did their be-best to bite me!"
"Bring the horses around while you are about it," said Tom, and then the three on the cliff walked around to rejoin Songbird. When they reached him, they found the poetic youth trembling from head to foot.
"Never had such an experience in all my life," said he. "Why, I came down almost headfirst on those snakes! I never want such a thing to happen again."
"I've got no use for snakes," said Tom. "I don't know what they are good for, excepting to scare folks."
"I believe they rid the land of many insects."
"Say, Songbird, I tole you vot," put in Hans, with a twinkle in his eye now that the danger was past. "You vos make a nice poem up apout dem snakes, hey?"
"A poem on snakes?" shivered Songbird. "Ugh! the idea is enough to give one the creeps!"
The rain had now ceased completely, and soon they were leading their horses forward as before. It was very wet in the brushwood and, as far as possible, they kept to the open spaces. The out-
