the
mud, and I had a good laugh at him--afterwards. Chris killed
that snake. It was a short, thick snake and about as pretty
as a Bologna sausage, but its mouth opened five inches and
its long, needle-like fangs were dripping with venom. I am
hungry all the time and enjoy our bill of fare very much,
although it is only bacon, grits and coffee, morning, noon
and night. We are traveling light, for we carry all our
baggage on our backs. We see deer and wild turkey every day
and it's pretty hard to keep my hands off my rifle, but I
promised Dad not to shoot anything out of season. In three
weeks the law will be off and then it will be bad for the
first buck I meet. Chris says it's good for me to see a lot
of deer before I shoot at any. He says I won't be so likely
to miss or only wound them when I really hunt them. I guess
he's about right, for when I first saw a deer--it was a big
buck and only twenty yards away--I had a regular attack of
buck ague and I couldn't have hit the side of a house even if
I'd been inside it. Now I can look at one, point a stick at
him and say _bang_, with my nerves just as quiet as if it
were a cow. I have seen a few bears, but they are very shy.
We'll turn loose on them, too, when we get round to hunting,
but in the mean time we are sticking to our timber job for
all there is in it.

An old alligator hunter is camping beside us to-night. He is
bound for Boat Landing, with a lot of alligator hides and
otter skins, and I am finishing up this letter to send by
him. Just as soon as this surveying business is over I am
going to have a glorious hunt. If only you were here we would
start out by our lonesomes and have all the adventures we
ever talked about. Probably Chris will go with me. I haven't
quite the pluck to try it alone, as I know you would do in my
place. I may brace up to it, though. Dad has given me
permission to do just as I please. He says he trusts me not
to be foolish or foolhardy and to keep him informed of my
plans. Isn't he a good Dad? Come if you can. Come when you
can.

Always and forever your chum,

NED.
#/

Dick's mother read Ned's letter and was quiet and sad all the rest
of the day. After Dick had gone to bed she went into his room, sat
down on the bed beside him, kissed him and said:

"Dicky boy, mother wants you to take a good, long vacation. You've