Another foot ahead and Smoky would be seeing his last of daylight, the colt had one leg raised to make that last step when there's a rattling buzz comes from the foot of the rock, a four foot rattlesnake stretched out and reaches for Smoky's nose and that one leg which was raised to go forward went back instead. It was all that saved him. The lion had figgered on his victim a jumping to one side at his leap, and he'd allowed for that, but the way it happened this time was that the snake caused Smoky to jump away just as he'd started which was a little too soon according to the lion's figgering, and what's more Smoky went to the wrong direction about a foot with the result that he just got his claws full of Smoky's mane and no more. He scrambled in mid air and done his best to get a hold in Smoky's neck but even with all the action he put in his trying he struck mostly air, and then hard ground. [Illustration: The lion had figgered on his victim a jumping to one side at his leap, and he'd allowed for that.] Smoky never waited to see if that flying shadow of sharp claws was after him or not, he'd started at the sound of the rattler and had kept a moving mighty fast ever since. A few feet of drop in the scenery only helped him make more speed and the short cut from the trail he'd left to the trail his mammy and the bunch was on was covered in no time. He lit in the bunch a running, and the bunch getting a hint from his wild eyed actions that all wasn't well started a running too and for a ways they all went as tho the devil was after 'em. But the devil (if that ain't too mild a name for the lion) wasn't after 'em. He knowed the colt had too much speed for him and never even thought of following him, and as it was he was just a lashing himself with his long tail and mad clear thru at the thought of missing such a nice fat yearling colt as Smoky was. From that day on Smoky dodged high rocks unless he could see the top of 'em, pine trees with stout lower limbs had him a circling too, or any other place where a lion could perch on and spring from. The little horse was gradually getting so he was satisfied to be more with the bunch and not do so much investigating, besides he'd got first hand acquaintance with most all that prowled the range, and everything in general was getting to be less of a puzzle to him. It all kept a getting to be less of a puzzle to him till finally there come a time when Smoky got so he thought he knowed it all. He figgered he had the world by the tail and with a downhill push. Like all the other colts of his age he was just where conceit had the best of him, he got strong headed and full of mischief, and then's when the older horses figgered him to be a regular pest and begin knocking on him. [Illustration: He got strong headed and full of mischief, and then's when the older horses figgered him to be a regular pest.]