Watching his chance, he pulled the trigger twice,
sending both bullets straight through the reptile's body. Then
Sam fired again, and the mangled head fell to the ground.
But dead or alive the body still encircled Aleck, and the
contraction threatened to cave in the colored man's ribs.
"Pull him off somehow!" he gasped. "Pull him off!"
Crack! went Tom's pistol once more, and now the snake had
evidently had enough of it, for it uncoiled slowly and fell to the
ground in a heap, where it slowly shifted from one spot to another
until life was extinct. But neither the boys nor the colored man
waited to see if it was really dead. Instead, they took to their
heels and kept on running until the locality was left a
considerable distance behind.
"That was a close shave," said Tom, as he dropped on the ground
and began to nurse his lame ankle once more. "Ugh! but that snake
was enough to give one the nightmare!"
"Don't say a word," groaned Aleck, who had actually turned pale.
"I vought shuah I was a goner, I did fo' a fac'! I don't want to
meet no mo' snakes!"
The two boys reloaded their pistols with all rapidity, and this
was scarcely accomplished when they heard Cujo calling to them.
Soon the native put in an appearance. When told of what had
happened he would not believe the tale until he had gone back to
look at the dead snake.
"You werry lucky," he said. "Him big wonder um snake didn't kill
all of yo'!"
Cujo had made an important discovery.
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