nsettled. Alas! it was so with both of us.
Mine had been dark for days past; and his--what was his, poor helot?

But even in the gloom of sadness the mind has its moments of joy.
Nature has not allowed that grief may be continuous, and at intervals
the spirit must soar above its sorrows. Such an interval was upon me
then. Joy and gratitude were in my heart. I had grown fond of this
slave,--this runaway slave,--and was for the moment happy in his
companionship.

It was natural our conversation should be of snakes and snake-roots, and
many a strange fact he imparted to me relating to reptile life. A
herpetologist might have envied me the hour I spent upon that log in the
company of Gabriel the Bambarra.

In the midst of our conversation my companion abruptly asked the
question, whether I had killed the snake that had bitten me.

"No," I replied. "It escaped."

"'Scaped, mass'! whar did um go?"

"It took shelter in a hollow log,--the very one on which we are seated."

The eyes of the negro sparkled with delight.

"Dam!" exclaimed he, starting to his feet; "mass' say snake in dis yeer
log? Dam!" he repeated, "if do varmint yeer in dis log, Gabr'l soon
fetch 'im out."

"What! you have no axe?"

"Dis nigga axe no want for dat."

"How, then, can you get at the snake? Do you intend to set fire to the
log?"

"Ho! fire no good. Dat log burn whole month. Fire no good: smoke white
men see,--b'lieve 'im runaway,--den come de blood-dogs. Dis nigga
daren't make no fire."

"How, then?"

"Wait a bit, mass' Edwad, you see. Dis nigga fetch de rattlesnake right
out ob 'im boots. Please, young mass', keep still; don't speak 'bove de
breff: ole varmint, he hear ebbery word."

The black now talked in whispers, as he glided stealthily around the
log. I followed his directions, and remained perfectly "still,"
watching every movement of my singular companion.

Some young reeds of the American bamboo (_Arundo gigantea_) were growing
near. A number of these he cut down with his knife; and then,
sharpening their lower ends, stuck them into the ground, near the end of
the log. He arranged the reeds in such a manner that they stood side by
side, like the strings of a harp, only closer together. He next chose a
small sapling from the thicket, and trimmed it so that nothing remained
but a straight wand with a forked end. With this in one hand, and a
piece of split cane in the other, he placed himself flat along th