Читать книгу The Boy Scout Pathfinders; Or, Jack Danby's Best Adventure онлайн

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“Ye see,” Old Sam said, “owin’ to the late spring, all the snakes hasn’t left their snug bedding places in the rocks, but when the men comes around with their blastin’ the durned reptiles thinks it’s ’bout time fer them to be movin’. Ye wouldn’t believe it,” he went on, “but some o’ them critters curls up in a great big bunch durin’ the winter so’s they kin keep warm, and when they gits their walkin’ papers, it’s as easy as rollin’ off a log to ketch ’em, they take so long to get untangled.”

“But how do you catch them?” Jack had asked eagerly. “Isn’t there great danger of your being bitten?”

“Not much; ye have to be pow’ful keerful, that’s all. Ye see, I gets behind one o’ them snakes and sticks the two ends o’ this here pole in the ground, one on one side o’ his neck jest below the head, an’ the other on t’other side. Then I stoops over and picks him up by the neck, and drops him head first into this here leather bag. Then when I gets him home, I kills him and gets the ile.”

This interested the boys intensely, and they could not wait to see it done. They stood awhile watching the blasting when they had reached the quarry, and then Old Sam suddenly cried out: “See that? Look over there by them rocks! No, this way! That’s right! Now d’ye see that reptile? Come along, and I’ll show you how I kin ketch ’em.”