"Is she? Ay, she got adrift at high tide. I'd better go after her at once." But Rowan didn't seem much interested in his boat! "Me--ew!" A furry ball suddenly sprang onto the fishermen's shoulder, purring delightedly! "Hullo!" Rowan was now quite wide awake, and stared around him. "Where did you come from, Bunch?" "We found her in the boat--do you know whose she is?" asked Nancy, and even Toby looked anxious. "Ay, that I do! My little grandchild has been breaking her heart all day over Bunch. She's a cripple, you see. Miss, and the kitten's company for her. It must have followed me to the shore this morning and gone to sleep on the nets. Matty will glad to find it!" "Shall we take Bunch home to her?" asked Nancy, sighing at the thought of parting with her treasure-trove. "It would be real kind. Miss." She was glad she had offered, when she saw poor Matty's face beam at the sight of her only playmate. A QUEER SNAKE. BY MARY E.Q. BRUSH. It was the Dalton children's first year in Florida. They enjoyed the sunshine, the balmy air and fragrant flowers very much. There was only one thing to mar their pleasure and that was their dread of snakes. Tilly, the little colored girl who used to play with them sometimes, had big stories to tell. "Dar's rattlers in de pine woods, hidin' on de sunny sides of stumps: and dar's a pow'ful sight o' moccasins down amonst de water-hyacinths near de bayou. Youse bettah look out, honey, or dey'll cotch youalls, shuah!" Mabel, Tom, Hetty and Charlie talked the matter over very seriously, almost solemnly. "Do you s'pose they'll crawl into the house?" Hetty said, her eyes large and round with fearful anticipations. Tom shook his head gravely. "No telling! I heard a missionary from India say once how those awful cobras in that country used to drop right down from the ceiling." Mabel drew a long breath. "My stars! I'd hate to wake up in the morning and find a snake near my pillow!" "Guess we'd better keep a good lookout," was Charlie's emphatic suggestion. One day when papa and mamma and little Hal went in the launch across the river to see the new orange grove, and the children were left alone save for old Uncle Pomp who was hoeing in the truck patch, something happened that made quite a scare. Hetty went into mamma's room for a spool of white thread, and when she came out there was a frightened look on her face. "Oh, there's a snake on mamma's bed!" she exclaimed. Tom and Charlie sprang up so suddenly from their game of parchesi that counters and disks fell to the floor. Then all four children hurried to the door of mamma's room and peeped cautiously in. It was not very light in the room for the window shades had been pulled partly down to shut out the glare of the noonday sun, but sure enough, it could be seen very plainly that there was something on the bed--a half-coiled, bluish-green snake with brown stripes. Mabel uttered a scream. "It squirms--I saw it!" she cried.