.

Then I must have given up all hope, for I remember wondering vaguely
what had become of Ned, and what they were doing in school, and whether
my absence was noticed or not.

The cold water was rippling about my neck now, and the wild-cat was so
close that I could note the horrible colors of the glaring eyes, and
feel the hot breath in my face. I wondered how it would feel when
those two rows of needle-like teeth met in my flesh; and then, before I
could think any more, a deafening report filled my ears, and, through
the cloud of smoke that rolled over the creek, the wild-cat bounded
high in air, and fell into the water with a loud splash. That was all
I remembered then. The next thing I knew, I was lying in a grassy
hollow, alongside the creek, while Ned and an old farmer bent over me,
and threw water in my face. Ned's desertion was explained. He had cut
off the bend in the creek by running over the hill, and, accompanied by
the farmer, who happened to be down in the woods hunting rabbits, they
had arrived just in time to shoot the wild-cat and drag me out of the
water. That was the last time I played truant. I didn't lose my share
of the shellbarks, for Ned went down early the next morning and got
them, but I did lose the chestnut club, and what was worse, in spite of
my sore back, I spent a very unpleasant quarter of an hour out in the
woodshed, just two days later, and Ned, I am happy to say, passed
through the same edifying experience.

A STIRRING INCIDENT.

India is the home of the deadliest serpents and fiercest wild beasts on
the globe. When it is stated that more than twenty thousand persons
are killed annually by the snakes and animals of that country, some
idea may be formed of its attractions in the way of a residence. To
this should be added the fact that, during certain seasons, the climate
is like that of Sahara itself. For days and nights the thermometer
stands above one hundred degrees in the shade and in the city of
Madras, unacclimated persons have died at midnight in their beds from
apoplexy caused by the appalling temperature.

Among the venomous serpents of India, the _cobra di capello_ holds
foremost rank, though it is claimed that a still more deadly reptile
has been found in the interior, and I believe the British Museum has
one of these terrible creatures, whose bite brings death with the
suddenness of the lightning stroke. However, the cobra has been known
to strike two