Springing to his feet he made a wild jump
upward and, as luck would have it, caught at the branch of a tree
above his head, and, getting a firm grasp, drew himself up just as
the dog, with its teeth snapping, sprang at him.
"Crickets!" said the boy to himself, "but that was a close shave,"
meantime climbing up into the tree to a more comfortable perch.
"I don't know which of them I like the least. It looks as though
there was going to be something doing now."
So intent had been the dog in its pursuit of Pepper that he did
not see the snake until he had run onto it as it lay coiled upon
the ground when, with a cry of alarm, the dog bounded into the air,
clearing the snake by half a dozen feet. Apparently forgetting the
quarry which it had been so eagerly pursuing, the dog now turned
its attention to the snake, which was the largest that Pepper had
ever seen.
For a few moments Pepper was too fascinated to move, as he watched
the strangest combat that he had ever seen going on beneath him. A
combat in which neither of the combatants seemed desirous of assuming
the aggressive.
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