d still in the
path, the water which was dripping out of their bathing suits collecting
in a puddle around their feet.

"There's a snake underneath the tent, a great big snake," answered Miss
Peckham in terrified tones.

"Well, what of it?" demanded Bengal coolly. "I've seen lots of snakes.
I'm not afraid of them. Come on, let's get a forked stick, and let's
kill it."

She stooped to wring out the water which had collected in the bottom of
her bathing suit and then started forward toward Ponemah.

Miss Peckham, high on her rock, raised a great outcry. "Stay where you
are!" she commanded. "Don't you go near that tent."

Bengal kept on going, looking about her for a forked stick.

"Bengal _Virden_!" screamed Miss Peckham, in such a tone of terror that
Bengal involuntarily stood still in her tracks, dropping the stick she
was in the act of picking up. "It's a deadly poisonous snake," gasped
Miss Peckham, beginning to get breathless from fright, "a monstrous
black one with red rings on it. I saw it crawling among the leaves. It
reared up and menaced me with its wicked head. Don't you stir another
step!" she commanded as Bengal seemed on the point of going on.

"What's the matter?" asked a voice behind them, and there was Miss Judy,
just coming out of her tent with her wet bathing suit in her hand.

"There's a terrible poisonous snake under our tent," replied Miss
Peckham. "I was just coming out of the door after my nap when I saw it
gliding underneath. It's down there now, under the bushes."

"How queer!" replied Miss Judy, looking with concern at her wildly
excited cousin. "We've never had large snakes around here. What color
did you say it was?"

"It had broad, alternate rings of red and black," replied Miss Peckham,
with the air of one quoting from an authority, "the distinguishing marks
of the coral snake, one of the seventeen poisonous reptiles out of the
one hundred and eleven species of snakes found in the United States."

"A coral snake!" gasped Miss Judy, in real alarm, while the other three,
taking fright from the tone of her voice, began to back down the path.

Other dwellers in the Alley came along to see what the commotion was
about and were warned back in an important tone by Miss Peckham. The
timid ones took to their heels and fled to the other end of camp, while
the more courageous hung about as near as they dared come and stared
fascinated at the miniature jungle of ferns and bushes that grew u