‘No, sir, ain’ no snakes traipsin’ roun’ this time o’ night, Mister Tim. They all in bed an’ asleep. Reckon it was a turkle. Lots of turkles in this ol’ swump.’ ‘You mean turtles. Anyway, I guess snakes do crawl around at night, because I’ve heard them.’ ‘You is?’ Harmon’s tone held doubt. Then: ‘Mister Tim, was I ever tellin’ you ’bout Sawyer Beeson an’ the rattlesnake?’ ‘No. Who’s Sawyer Beeson?’ ‘He’s a colored man what use’ to work with my pa in the chair fac’ry. He ain’ livin’ roun’ here no more. Please, sir, let me tell you ’bout him an ’at rattlesnake.’ ‘Go ahead,’ said Tim, yawning. Harmon laid a couple of branches on the small fire and hunched himself forward, hugging his bare black knees. ‘This here Sawyer Beeson was a mighty lazy, no-coun’ nigger, Mister Tim. Times he’d work a li’l’ in the fac’ry an’ times he wouldn’ do no work at all. You knows Mister Sam Glendon ’at lives up at the Park? Well, one time this Sawyer Beeson was doin’ some sort o’ work for Mister Glendon up at his house and Mister Glendon he say to Sawyer, “Sawyer, you fotch me a rattlesnake, an’ I pays you five dollars.” “My goodness, Mister Glendon,” Sawyer say, “what you-all wantin’ with a rattlesnake?” “I wants him for a specimens,” Mister Glendon tell him. “You go catch one an’ brung him to me ’live an’ I hands you five dollars.” ‘Well, sir, Sawyer was needin’ five dollars ’bout ’at time an’ so he ponders awhile. And then he goes an’ gets him a gunny sack and cuts him a forked stick and goes lookin’ for Mister Rattlesnake. He clumb up on Coop’s Hill where the water-tower’s at, but he ain’ fin’ no snakes at all. Then he goes on back a piece over roun’ ’at place where the ol’ quarry used to be, an’ after a while he sees him a rattlesnake. Mr. Rattlesnake ain’ doin’ nothin’ at all but ’joyin’ the weather outside his home, an’ he kin’ o’ sleepy, maybe. So Sawyer Beeson he done crup up on ol’ snake an’――bam!――he put ’at forked stick down over his neck! Mister Rattlesnake he twis’ an’ he turn an’ he flip an’ he flop, but ’twan’t no use at all. Then Sawyer he spread out ’at there gunny-sack an’ he say to Mister Rattlesnake, ‘You go on in there ’fore I busts you’ head for you!’ Then he sort o’ eases up on ’at forked stick an’ Mister Rattlesnake he crawls right at ’at gunny-sack! First his head goes an’ then his middle an’ then his tail an’ then his rattles, an’ when his button’s done out o’ sight Sawyer he grabs up the gunny-sack quick by a string what he’s got aroun’ the top of it and he pulls it shut mighty sudden!