Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-09-21


vile. the cook. was bu~yiue himself over
a camp oven. a little farther still
could ~cc the two black boys engaged
after the manner of their people wan
dering about tomahawk in hand from
tre. o. tree evidently with an eve 55
po-suu. ga isuaua or sugar bag
as they call d hive Of bees Suddenly.
when passing e fallen log. l saw eue q
them give a skip and @ jump and heard
him sing ont To his fellow:
Vary, Vary. look out Big fellow
snakei
Even from where / stood II could l.,
seen. for II was an enormous tiger
snake. One could see the patches Of vel
Tow cleaning amid the horrible. sinuous
folds II coiled itself mp and stood en-
tho defensive Yarry promptly cut of
Us retreat in another direction. Il had
thrown itself at SNOWFALL and narrow
y missed that gentleman's hare shins.
| cut stick as ! ran. intending % kin
it. f1- bushmen invariably dispatch a
snake upon principle There Is not
much 70 fear from one if You keep wen
in front and keep cool II il is a good
fighter. there Is Just enough danger 70
give a certain relish 20 the entertain
meut But the sporting bent Il my na-
ture was not to be INDUCED. Miss Mae
kenzie threw down the book she had
been reading and cried. "Savile. hand
me Your wsip and tie mp the dogs
Here. miss. cried the cook. run
ming toward her with IT, Savile was
courtesy itsslf where the female s. was
concerned But don't get too close .
he's an ugly chap.
AT the same moment Yarry sang --t
to me, You wait a bit; white fellow
missis-that one white Mary-@he kill
m plenty quick-that fellow kin m
snake.
l stood still and waited. things were
growing interesting. l had seen girls IN
the bush kill snakes. bat she was the
first had seen practice upon one with
stock whip. which was evidently her
contemplated mode II warfare This
strange girl had pinned up her riding
habit. 50 rs not 70 interfere with her
freedom of action, and took the whip
from the hands of the cook
Now. be careful. Noraht'' her father
cried But il was evidently no new
sight 20 him he sat cooily on a camp
stool and watched what was going for
ward.
She ran into the open until she was
within a few yards Of the snake. which.
with body coiled and with head and
neck reared and swaying from side 60
side, looked the very incarnation of
wickedness. As most readers know. the
handle Of a stock whip is short. perhaps
not more than 81 inches in length az
the outside. while the lash Is ; or . feet
long; il requires skillful handling. And
now the light. 1.-THE figure Of the girl
stepped closer TO the snake. her head
being ever s., slightly inclined forward
observed heightened color steal into
the delicate olive Of her cheeks. As /
watched those great. inscrutable dark
ewes Of hers. IN which some uncanny
kind OF Glamour seemed 20 lie. | thought
of the snake fascinating the bird. but /
also Thought that the snake had met
more than its match this time There
was something very like n smile upon
her lips as she watched IL She drew
the soft, plant body Of the whip through
the palm Of her left hand and then.
raising her right arm. the lash described
an airy circle round her head With a
forward and downward motion IL cut
through the air a sharp report like the
crack Of a pistol right over the snake :
head was the result / never before had
seen girl handle a stock whip a. she
did. With eyes that seemed TO blaze
with fury the snake threw itself half of
its own length toward her and struck
at her with a lghtninglike rapidity.
NY heart was in my mouth At the
same moment one Of the blacks sprang
forward as if 10 deal the angry reptile a
stroke with a stick But he never touch
ed it, for swiftly the long lash whizzed
through the air. the girl made a quick
but deliberate step backward. and Snow
ball experienced slight nip somewhere
in the neighborhood of the right wrist
He dropped his stick as if he had been
bitten by the snake and with howl Of
terror skipped quickly out Of harm ;
way.
Now then. SNOWFALL. cried the
gypsy looking girl. "baal i had been
tell IN you kill en- snake. What for
you touch him.
The quaint blacks pigeon English
came from her lips as trippingly as If
she had been a black gin.
my word. plenty coolah that fellow
missis. - said Snowfall by way Of re-
lieving his feelings and imparting in
formation. at the same time ruefully
rubbing his wrist.
The snake coiled itself back into po-
sition again. as if waiting for round
number two. And now the girl and the
snake seemed 10 be gazing into each
others eyes. could see the snake ;
scintillate Suddenly and before it
threw itself at her a second time the
long lash curled through the air, and