Part 6 (1/2)
Gladys and Migwan were dripping their way back to Ponemah, one on either side of Bengal Virden, who was entertaining them with tales of former years at camp, when they were startled to see Miss Peckham standing on top of a high rock wildly waving them back.
”Don't go near the tent!” she shrieked.
”Why not?” called Migwan in alarm, as the three girls stood still in the path, the water which was dripping out of their bathing suits collecting in a puddle around their feet.
”There's a snake underneath the tent, a great big snake,” answered Miss Peckham in terrified tones.
”Well, what of it?” demanded Bengal coolly. ”I've seen lots of snakes.
I'm not afraid of them. Come on, let's get a forked stick, and let's kill it.”
She stooped to wring out the water which had collected in the bottom of her bathing suit and then started forward toward Ponemah.
Miss Peckham, high on her rock, raised a great outcry. ”Stay where you are!” she commanded. ”Don't you go near that tent.”
Bengal kept on going, looking about her for a forked stick.
”Bengal _Virden_!” screamed Miss Peckham, in such a tone of terror that Bengal involuntarily stood still in her tracks, dropping the stick she was in the act of picking up. ”It's a deadly poisonous snake,” gasped Miss Peckham, beginning to get breathless from fright, ”a monstrous black one with red rings on it. I saw it crawling among the leaves. It reared up and menaced me with its wicked head. Don't you stir another step!” she commanded as Bengal seemed on the point of going on.
”What's the matter?” asked a voice behind them, and there was Miss Judy, just coming out of her tent with her wet bathing suit in her hand.
”There's a terrible poisonous snake under our tent,” replied Miss Peckham. ”I was just coming out of the door after my nap when I saw it gliding underneath. It's down there now, under the bushes.”
”How queer!” replied Miss Judy, looking with concern at her wildly excited cousin. ”We've never had large snakes around here. What color did you say it was?”
”It had broad, alternate rings of red and black,” replied Miss Peckham, with the air of one quoting from an authority, ”the distinguis.h.i.+ng marks of the coral snake, one of the seventeen poisonous reptiles out of the one hundred and eleven species of snakes found in the United States.”
”A coral snake!” gasped Miss Judy, in real alarm, while the other three, taking fright from the tone of her voice, began to back down the path.
Other dwellers in the Alley came along to see what the commotion was about and were warned back in an important tone by Miss Peckham. The timid ones took to their heels and fled to the other end of camp, while the more courageous hung about as near as they dared come and stared fascinated at the miniature jungle of ferns and bushes that grew under Ponemah to a height of two or three feet. Sahwah, whose insatiable curiosity as usual got the better of her fears, climbed a tree quite close to Ponemah and peered down through the branches, all agog with desire to see the dread serpent show itself.
”Come down from there--quick!” called someone in a nervously shaking voice. ”Don't you know that snakes climb trees?”
”Nonsense,” retorted Sahwah. ”Whoever heard of a snake climbing a tree?”
An argument started below, several voices upholding each side, some maintaining emphatically that snakes did climb trees; others holding out quite as determinedly that they didn't.
”Anyway, _this_ one might,” concluded the one who had started the argument, in a triumphant tone.
”What are we going to do?” someone asked Miss Judy.
”I'll get father to come and shoot it,” replied Miss Judy.
Just then there came an excited shriek from Sahwah. ”It's coming out! I see the bushes moving.”
The girls scattered in all directions; Miss Peckham, up on her rock, covered her ears with her hands, as though there was going to be an explosion.
”Here it comes!”
Sahwah, leaning low over her branch, nearly fell out of the tree in her excitement, as her eye caught the gleam of red and black among the bushes. Miss Judy scrambled up on the rock beside Miss Peckham.
There was a violent agitation of the ferns and bushes underneath Ponemah, a sort of scrambling movement, accompanied by a m.u.f.fled squeaking, and then a truly remarkable creature bounced into view--a creature whose body consisted of a long stocking, red and black in alternate stripes, in the toe of which some live animal frantically squeaked and struggled, leaping almost a foot from the ground in its efforts to escape from its prison, and dragging the gaudy striped length behind it through a series of thrillingly lifelike wriggles.