ned Tom. "Hi, Songbird!" he called
out. "Coming?"

"I--I guess I am stuck!" was the gasped-out answer. "The rocks are
too slippery for me."

"We'll give you a hand up," sang out the fun-loving Rover, and got
down at the edge of the rocks.

"Look out that you don't slip over," came in a warning from Fred.

"Of you go ofer, you land dem snakes your head on," put in Hans.

The words had scarcely been uttered, when there came a wild shriek
from Songbird. The poetic youth had lost his hold and slipped to the
ground below. He came down directly on top of three of the snakes,
and with an angry hissing they whipped around him.

"Songbird has fallen on the snakes!"

"Run for your life!" sang out Tom. "There goes Wags!"

And Songbird did run the moment he could regain his feet. One snake
got tangled up in the boy's legs and was carried along, whipping one
way and another. But it soon lost its hold and then wiggled through
the grass to rejoin its fellows. In the meantime, the dog had
disappeared.

"Are you safe?" called out those at the top of the cliff.

"I--I--guess so," came in a panting answer. "But two of them did--did
their be-best to bite me!"

"Bring the horses around while you are about it," said Tom, and then
the three on the cliff walked around to rejoin Songbird. When they
reached him, they found the poetic youth trembling from head to foot.

"Never had such an experience in all my life," said he. "Why, I came
down almost headfirst on those snakes! I never want such a thing to,
happen again."

"I've got no use for snakes," said Tom. "I don't know what they are
good for, excepting to scare folks."

"I believe they rid the land of many insects."

"Say, Songbird, I tole you vot," put in Hans, with a twinkle in his
eye now that the danger was past. "You vos make a nice poem up apout
dem snakes, hey?"

"A poem on snakes?" shivered Songbird. "Ugh! the idea is enough to
give one the creeps!"

The rain had now ceased completely, and soon they were leading their
horses forward as before. It was very wet in the brushwood and, as
far as possible, they kept to the open spaces. The outlook was
certainly a dismal one, and the boys felt in anything but a good humor.

"Our little trip to Mr. Denton's ranch isn't panning out so beautifully,
after all," remarked Fred. "I thought we were going to have the nicest
kind of an outing. All told, I rather think I would prefer to be back
on the houseboat."

Presently t