ctively
looking around for the insect. As he approached one corner of the
foundation, the sound increased in strength, and less resembled the
grasshopper than something like the shaking of a bag of marbles. One of
the Indians was approaching the structure and as the sound caught his ear
he broke into a run with a deep guttural exclamation, at the same time
motioning to Jack to keep away from the foundation.

"Snake," he said. "Mooch bad. Killum."

He picked up a stake lying beside the platform and began to poke around
beneath it. As he reached forward to push the stake underneath, something
struck like a flash at the back of his hand, and at the same moment a
large rattlesnake uncoiled and slid from underneath the boards out into
the short grass. With a blow of the stake the Indian broke the snake's
back and then began to suck the two punctures on his knuckle, at the same
time keeping the hand tightly closed and the skin drawn tight.

For a moment Jack was horrified. Then the instincts of the Scouts and his
quickly working brain ran rapidly over the instructions of "first aid."
With a shout that brought the other boys and Swiftwater on the run he drew
from his pocket a small cord, doubled it into a slipnoose and placing it
on the Indian's wrist drew it so tight as to cut off the circulation. At
the same time he called to Rand to bring the medicine case. The miner, as
soon as he comprehended what the trouble was, also disappeared in the
direction of the tent. When Rand returned he had in his hand a solution of
permanganate of potash and a vial of strong ammonia. With each of these he
saturated the wound with some difficulty, however, as the aborigine
insisted for a time in keeping his lips to the wound as his own theory of
first aid. The hand and wrist had now swollen so much that the cord had
practically disappeared in the flesh and the Indian was evidently
suffering much pain. At this moment Swiftwater appeared with a small
gallon demijohn, from which he poured for the Indian a large tin cup full
of neat whisky. The red man swallowed it without a quiver and the miner
poured out another of similar size which the Indian also drank.

"That'll fix him," said Jim, "but I'm very glad you thought of that cord
Jack or we'd have been an Indian short. Those drugs you have will
neutralize the poison and I don't know but they would have been
sufficient, but I'm takin' no chances. This" (indicating the demijohn),
"is the old rel