that has been careful or more fortunate, may have a dozen."

“Well, I won't undertake to catch you one, either big or little, but you can tell me how it is done; I may have an opportunity to enlighten some native who will risk his life for your money. I've seen several around here who looked as if they'd commit suicide for five dollars or less."

"I only know by hearsay, but am told it is easily done by pinning the creature's head down with a forked stick and slipping a noosed cord over its head, by which it can be dragged along. In the Pennsylvania mountains there are men who catch snakes for their oil'rattlesnake oil' being a standard remedy and they become so expert, or rather bold, that they do not hesitate, after pinning the head down, to grasp the snake by the neck and thrust it into a sack."

"Yes, but rattler's don't grow seven feet long and five or six inches in diameter in Pennsylvania! It may be easy enough, when you know how, but I never expect to know how."

"Well, I'll certainly make the attempt if I am ever lucky enough to have a chance; meantime my offer stands. Some man poorer or braver than you may earn the money."

The speakers were Will Orison and Tom Clute, who had been college mates, and were spending the winter at the Hotel Punta Gorda, Punta Gorda, South Florida.

The conversation took place on the hotel piazza, in the evening twilight, and had one unknown but most attentive listener, Jake Somers, who had been at the hotel trying to sell a string of fish. Fish were so plentiful, however, that the best brought only a few cents each, and twenty-five dollars was more money than Jake had ever seen at one time.

The Somers family, father, mother, and half a dozen young children, lived in a cabin down the bay.

They had come from "ol' Georgy" on account of "pap's" health, he having weak lungs. His life had been prolonged, no doubt, but money and strength had dwindled away, until now the family was supported mainly by Jake and Bob, sturdy youngsters, eight and ten years old, who worked the garden, peddled fish, ran errands, caught bait for the hotel guests, and in one way or another earned a good many pennies, but not enough for luxuries or to give the sick man, whose life was slowly ebbing, many comforts.

Perhaps their greatest deprivation was doing without milk and butter, which had been abundant in the old home. They had hoped to have a cow, possibly two or three, and sell milk and butter to the hotel people. But a cow would cost twenty-five dollars, and in pap's failing strength they had been afraid to spare so much at first, and later did not have it.

The hope lingered, however, and

the children still talked of the perfectly luxurious time they would have with a mug of milk apiece at meals, and of the delicaciessugar, syrup, etc.-that could be bought with the butter they would sell.

Only that morning at breakfast, "mam" had said, "Oh, if we only had a cow! How many nice things I could fix for pap! They'd make him better, I know."

When Jake heard Will Orison's offer, he went home thinking about it. Twenty-five dollars for a rattlesnake! Why couldn't he catch one? He wasn't, afraidthat much he knew—but even if he could find the snake, was he strong enough to hold a big one down with a forked stick and slip a noose over its head?

He didn't dare speak of it to his mother, knowing he would be forbidden even to think of it. He talked it over that night with Bob, however, the eight-year old brother, and, as he expected, found him "grit enough" to help make the attempt. Moreover, that very day Bob had seen the "trail" of a monster snake in the scrub, a mile or so away.

"We must keep mummer'n catfish about it, Bob, or pap and mam'll be scar't into fits. But if catching a measly snake'll get us a cow, let's do it, and not say anything till we fetch her home. What bothers me, though, is about that fork't stick, and pressing it on the critter's head. Unless the stick's powerful long, what's to hinder

the snake from striking? And 'spose the stick was to slip just as you went to put the noose on, and let its head come loose-they'd be the mischief to pay! We'll have to study up a better way'n that, at least for boys!"

"Let's make a trap for him, Jake," said Bob.

"But if we caught one in a trap, how could we ever get him out?" "We could take him to town in the trap, and let the man get him out to suit himself. We could give him trap, snake and all, for twentyfive dollars."

"Yes, but snakes ain't liable to go into traps, you know; they's sharp. Don't you remember the preacher talking only last Sunday about being 'wise as serpents?' Anyways, this snake man's liable to cut out from here, or some one else may get him a snake, and I'm thinking if we're going to yeern that money, we've just got to find the snake and catch him the best we can. Study on it, Bob; and tomorrow, being Saturday, we'll go gopher hunting, 'thout mam's suspicioning anything; and if we find a snake that'll give us milk and butter, why, we've just got to take him in, that's all!"

The next morning the boys were up early, and Jake had a plan ready: "I've got a way to do it, Bob, and its just as easy! The main thing's to find a snake of a twenty-five dollar size. If we can run acrost the one we saw last summer, he'd be big a plenty.”

"Yes, but we couldn't hold his

head down with no fork't stick, Jake. A grown up man couldn't hardly do it!"

"That ain't my plan, Bob. You know how a rattler does when he is riled. How he flings hisself into a coil, with his head raised to strike! Well, my plan's just to take a long fishing line and make a loop in the middle; then find the snake and rile him; then you holding one end of the line, we'll just drap the loop over his head, and there he'll be! All we'll have to do then'l be to pull on the line and draw the loop around his neck, and I can walk right into town leading him, you following behind and holding him back from running onto me or off sideways.'

"Yes, but what's to hinder him from choking to death, Jake?"

"I've thought that out, too. We'll make a small, tight loop, just big enough for the line to slip through easy, then tie a knot in the line to catch on the loop so's the noose can't draw more'n so tight around his neck, and when we let up pulling the noose'll give a little, enough to give him breath 'thout our letting it loose enough for his head to get out."

"Well, that sure ought to do! Anyways, we can but try it, Jake, if so be's we find the snake."

"Mum's the word, then. We'll do up the chores, and start about ten o'clock, when snakes'll be sunning themselves."

At the hour appointed, armed with forty feet of heavy cotton cord, noosed as described, and a

gopher sack, the boys started for the scrub-a bit of white sand desert covered with scrub oak, rosemary, saw palmetto and stunted shrubs, where, if anywhere, snakes could be found, where Bob had seen the recent trail, and where, a few months before, the boys had seen, as Jake expressed it, "the father of all the rattlers." It was a good place, too, for gophers--in fact, Florida gophers and rattlesnakes are the best of friends and often live together in the same burrow.

Before reaching the scrub, by way of weapons, they cut stout saplings nine or ten feet long, with which they beat the bushes and palmettoes as they walked slowly through, twenty-five or thirty steps apart, stopping frequently to listen for the "singing" of a rattler, which would follow his being disturbed.

At last Bob was rewarded by a loud singing just in front of him, and in a bit of open ground saw the biggest rattler he had ever seen, unless, as was probable, it was the same one they had seen some months before.

"Here he is, Jake," he cried, "come quick!"

"I hear him. Don't let him get away, Bob!"

"He ain't a trying to, Jake. He's sure waiting, and ready to fight right now."

Jake hurried up, and there in front of Bob was the great snake, coiled for battle, with its warning rattles sounding furiously. It was

beautiful in markings of gray and gold and black, and glared at the boys fearlessly, as if conscious that it carried death for a hundred

men.

"I'm afraid he's going to die, Jake," said Bob.

"No, he's just tuckered out. Loosen up a little on the line, so's he can get some breath; and soon's

"No, Jake. he don't, and we'd better get him tied pretty quick, or he'll be after us."

"Well, I'll stand here, while you take this end of the line and go around him; then soon's I give the word, just drap the loop over his head."

So Bob walked around, lifting the line over the low bushes, till he got opposite Jake, when the loop dangled over the snake's head, as it turned to watch first one and then the other. Watching their chance, when they got it just right, Jake cried, "Now, Bob, drap her easy," and the loop was landed successfully. "Now, pull, Bob, hard and steady!"-and the next instant, with the cord tight around its neck, the monster was struggling fiercely.

towards town, and you just hold the line tight enough to keep him from running onto me when I ain't alooking."

"All right, Jake. All I ask is that you don't let him jerk the line aloose and come back at me.

In a few minutes signs of returning activity appeared, and Jake started off, dragging the struggling, writhing creature.

As an inert mass it would have been a heavy drag, but with its struggles and twistings around bushes and trees and frequent stops for it to get breath, progress was slow. Shortly after noon, however, the boys entered the town and took their way down the one long street, where all who met them turned back in a procession that followed to the hotel, in front of which they halted; and Jake

"Hold fast y'erself, Jake, and don't let him get onto me," answered Bob.

For awhile the boys had all they could do to hold the snake where it was, and at the same time keep it from fouling the line in the bushes. But the noose was tight enough to put considerable check on its breathing, and after ten minutes or so of fierce struggle it quieted down and lay quite limp.

"Why, bless my soul, Will, look what those boys have got!" exclaimed Tom Clute.

"Looks like a young boa constrictor from here," said Will; "and not so very young, either! Come on, let's see it closer," and they joined the wide circle that showed no disposition to crowd on the boys, for now, with the line relaxed, the snake had recovered breath and strength, and angry

and excited was coiled for striking, while its fierce rattling left no doubt as to what it was.

"That's your snake, Will; the one you were wishing for, only he is bigger."

"Where did you catch him, boys?"

"Caught him in the scrub, and brought him in for that twentyfive dollars you were talking about the other night," said Jake.

"You don't really mean to say that you kids captured that snake by yourselves?"

"Yes, sir, we did; Bob and me. I heard you say you would give twenty-five dollars for one more'n six feet long-which this one isand Bob and me just determined to yeern that money. So, mister, here's yer snake, if you'll just take him and give us the money." "You're in for it Will; no doubt of that! You see what comes of making rash offers in the dark. Of course, you've no earthly use for the beast, and can't carry it away with you alive. Get your gun and kill it; the hide will be worth the price, in evidence of the pluckiest thing I have ever known a couple of boys to do. I wouldn't have tackled that thing out in the scrub for twenty-five thousand 'dollars.'

"Well, but, Tom, I wasn't joking in the least and will willingly pay the money; you'll see, too, that I'll take the snake home alive. Boys, just hold him until I come back!" And running over to the tin shop, he was lucky in finding a

good sized pine box, over which he had a piece of wire netting nailed, leaving a flap that could be turned back at one corner. Returning with this improvised cage, he said, "Now, boys, the question is how we are going to get him into this?"

"We can pull him about till he's all tuckered out," said Jake, “and then two of you what's stronger'n us can lift him by the string and drap him into the box, having a board ready to clap over the hole soon's he's in."

That course was followed, and when limp and "tuckered out" his length was measured and found to be seven feet three inches.

When he had been safely caged, Will took the boys to his room in the hotel and got their story from them all about the sick father and the family longing for a cow; and how they had determined to "yeern" the twenty-five dollars, and take the cow home as a surprise.

"And do you know where a cow can be had?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, sir," answered Jake. "Mr. Jones has a herd, and will let us have a good one for twentyfive dollars."

"Well, we will go together and see Mr. Jones," said Will. And taking the boys back to the piazza he told their simple story to the guests, and finished by saying, "The boys deserve the best cow in Florida, and I am going to see that they get the best one that can be bought in Putna Gorda."

That evening, about milking