"I guess I did get a lot the worst of it," conceded Mickey. "But if they only stung your heads, it's funny you didn't know where to put your mud!" "Well I'll tell you," said Jud earnestly. "On your head they hurt worst of all. They hurt so blame bad, you get so wild like you don't know where you _are_ stung, and you think till you cool off a little, you got them all over." "Yes I guess you do," agreed Mickey. The boys were slowly putting on their clothing and Junior was scowling darkly. Jud edged close. "Gosh!" he whispered. "I thought it was only a little spring! I didn't think it was a quicksand!" "You cut out anything more!" said Junior tersely. Jud nodded. After a while they started home, walking slowly and each one being particularly careful of and good to Mickey. When he had rested, he could see that it was only an accident; such an astounding one he forgot his bites and could talk of little else. They made another long pause under a big tree, and Mickey felt so much better as they again started home, that Junior lagged behind, and Jud seeing, joined him. Junior asked softly: "Have any more?" Jud nodded. "What?" whispered Junior. Jud told him. "Oh that! Nothing in that! Go on!" So they struck into the path they had followed from the swamp to the woods, when suddenly a warm, yielding, coiling thing slipped under Mickey's feet. With a wild cry he leaped across the body of a big rattlesnake that had been coiled in the path. As he arose, clear cut against the light launched the ugly head and wide jaws of the rattler, then came the sickening buzz of its rattles in mad recoil for a second stroke. "Run Mickey! Jump!" screamed Junior. "What is it?" asked Mickey bewildered. "Rattlesnakes! Sure death!" yelled Jud. "Run fool!" But Mickey stood perfectly still, and looked, not where the increasing buzz came from, but at them. They had no choice. Jud carried a heavy club; he threw himself in front of Mickey and as the second stroke came, he swung at the snake's head. The other boys collected their senses and beat it to pulp, then the dead mate it watched beside. Junior glared at Jud, but when he saw how frightened he was, he knew what had happened. Mickey gazed at the snakes in horror. "Ain't that a pretty small parcel to deal out sudden death in?" he asked. "And if they're laying round like that, ain't we taking an awful risk to be wading through here, this way? Gee, they're the worst sight I ever saw!" Mickey became violently ill. He lay down for a time, while the boys waited on him, and at last when he could slowly walk toward home, they went on. Jud and Sam left them at the creek, and Junior and Mickey started up the Harding lane. Suddenly Mickey sat down in a fence corner, leaned against the rails, and closed his eyes. "Gee!" he said. "Never felt so rotten in all my life." "Maybe that snake grazed you." "If it did, would it kill me?" asked Mickey dully.