The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960, 1905-04-14

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| his bluntly triangular head in the di-
rection where the moving shadow indi-
Gated to his blurred vision the position
of his enemy. But on the resumption of
active hostilitites, he would begin again
his painful ascent.
"Ow-w-w-ch!" sounded howl from
above.
Looking up at the cry, Anna discerned
among the clustering leaves of the black
| oak huddled figure, with raccoon-fike
| eyes, peering down at the mounting
snake, to escape from which he had, in
| fact. climbed the tree.
Willie" she shouted, Jump! The
| snakes coming! Jump!"
"Ow-w-w-ch!" he continued to wall.
The snake stopped, confused, craning
| it's head upward at the new complica-
| ton, then downward at it's known ad-
versary. Its hesitation would make
Willie's escape practicable, if he could
conquer his crazy fear.
willie, break off a limb - beat it
back. | can rum"
The snake undulated few inches far
| ther The reiterated cry was Willie's
only response. Anna's quick eye saw
another chance.
There's that big limb of redwood.
You can reach it. Swing across It's
easy. You must" stamping. 20, Will
lie, do It! Do it,"
Her sailor father had often re-
proved Anna for her delight in climb
ing and swinging from tree to tree, by
| oc +, nd nti no
| hands.
1T iss not goodt for you to be a
monkey. mine Anna" he would say.
| Little girls need nefer to go to the
masthead. Thou hast no call to be
sailor Be only a grave kindchen, and
help our goodt mother wit the Dishes
His admonition would dissolve in an
unrestrained roar of laughter as she
wickedly "shinned'' up the porch post
to a coign Of vantage on the vine-cov-
| cred roof.
But she could not climb the tree
where the snake still clung. There was
| the neighboring redwood, huge -girthed,
smooth boiled with limbs out of reach,
yet the lowest bough almost touching
the limb on which Willie crouched, me-
chanically clutching the body of the
tree, but dumb with the horror of his
situation.
Anna hurriedly piled up large rocks un-
| der thick. broken branch-stump of the
redwood. which was at least eight feet
from the ground. Four times she leaped
upward and fell back wounding her
| tough little feet. She noticed blood
stains on the rocks as she heaped them
with a broader base for her fifth at
| tempt. The snake rested. waving his
head downward as if in query. Fortu-
nstely he was full and sluggish.
Once more Anna crouched and shot
upward Her right hand caught the
projecting stump her left easily fol-
| lowed. Clasping the deceased trunk OF
the tree in her slim, muscular legs, hang
ing also by her hands. she dropped her
head backward to take observation.
The snake hung out, also, toward her,
from his tree. then resumed his deiib-
crate climbing Evidently the task
was neither easy nor to his liking.
Anna hitched Dreathiessly up toward
the coveted limb. Reaching it. she took
out her jackkn!fe-inseparable COM
panion-scientihcally cut wedge from
a short limb above her. and broke off
| the weakened branch. Recovering her
| balance. she reached out with this deX-
ible club. but could not touch the snake,
| now reused to accelerated activity.
Holding her weapon between her
teeth, Anna worked her way nearly to
the end Of ber tough support. Throw
ing out her right hand. she was able to
catch the big limb, at the base of which
| Willie. almost insensible, still hud-
died. Then she swung, pendulum-like,
by her hands. increasing her momen-
tum. At the right moment she released
the redwood bough and flung her light
body full upon the young oak. Grasp
ing the limb with both hands, she hauled
herself up beside the terrified boy.
The snake, shaken by the tumult
above, wavered and stopped. AS rule,
a rattlesnake. conscious of defense,
makes a good fight; but here the condi-
ticns were unusual and confusing. On
level ground, where he could have coiled,
and where his sensitive under surface
could have slid comfortably over smooth
earth, he would not have shirked
comnat when cornered. Now, with his
enemy mysteriously above, his one idea
seemed to be escape.
Willie jabhered an idiotic welcome.
.sHe can't strike untirhe gets clear
here Anna reassured him. He can't
coil" s
Her rapid blows still further
mayed her antagonist. He bit vicious