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{{frabfp171.png}} || eagles of the sky ||

but always ready to give you a sly stab and I've
been told they are so poisonous that even if a man
didn't die after being struck, his wound would
never heal properly and his life become a burden
to him. Give the critters a wide berth always,
partner."

ocr>   "Huh! you jest better believe I will, Jack-never
fix>   "Huh! you jest better believe I will, Jack--never
ocr>   did care much for snakes, even the harm-less
fix>   did care much for snakes, even the harmless
kinds an' I'd jump three feet in the air when
out West, if ever I heard a locust buzz, thinkin'
it must be a rattler. Me an' the crawlin' breed
don't mix, that's what."

Hardly three minutes after Perk had given
expression to his dislikes, Jack caught him by
the arm and with a trace of excitement that was
really foreign to his nature, pointed to some
object close to the trail they were following.

"Jeru-salem crickets!" gasped Jack, possibly a
bit louder than discretion would warrant but
Jack felt there was some measure of excuse for
his outburst.

There a monstrous diamond-back rattlesnake,
fully five feet long and as thick through the body
as a good-sized man's thigh, had just raised its
enormous flat head and opened its jaws to display
its terrible fangs. Even as the two stood there
and stared, the rattle began to whirr its deadly
warning.

"It's all right, Perk," said Jack soothingly, not

[[171]]

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