ue was still going
at me, but I held it firmly and stood quite still.

"Drop it, drop it!" cried Miss Laura, in tones of distress, and Mr.
Maxwell struck me on the back, so I let the thing go, and stood
sheepishly looking about me. Mr. Wood was leaning back in his chair,
laughing with all his might, and Mrs. Wood was staring at her untidy
table with rather a long face. Miss Laura told me to jump on the floor,
and then she helped her aunt to take the spoiled things off the table.

I felt that I had done wrong, so I slunk out into the hall. Mr. Maxwell
was sitting on the lounge, tearing his handkerchief in strips and tying
them around the creature where my teeth had stuck in. I had been careful
not to hurt it much, for I knew it was a pet of his; but he did not know
that, and scowled at me, saying: "You rascal; you've hurt my poor snake
terribly."

I felt so badly to hear this that I went and stood with my head in a
corner. I had almost rather be whipped than scolded. After a while, Mr.
Maxwell went back into the room, and they all went on with their tea. I
could hear Mr. Wood's loud, cheery voice, "The dog did quite right. A
snake is mostly a poisonous creature, and his instinct told him to
protect his mistress. Where is he? Joe, Joe!"

I would not move till Miss Laura came and spoke to me. "Dear old dog,"
she whispered, "You knew the snake was there all the time, didn't you?"
Her words made me feel better, and I followed her to the dining room,
where Mr. Wood made me sit beside him and eat scraps from his hand all
through the meal.

Mr. Maxwell had got over his ill humor, and was chatting in a lively
way. "Good Joe," he said, "I was cross to you, and I beg your pardon It
always riles me to have any of my pets injured. You didn't know my poor
snake was only after something to eat. Mrs. Wood has pinned him in my
pocket so he won't come out again. Do you know where I got that snake,
Mrs. Wood?"

"No," she said; "you never told me."

"It was across the river by Blue Ridge," he said. "One day last summer I
was out rowing, and, getting very hot, tied my boat in the shade of a
big tree. Some village boys were in the woods, and, hearing a great
noise, I went to see what it was all about They were Band of Mercy boys,
and finding a country boy beating a snake to death, they were
remonstrating with him for his cruelty, telling him that some kinds of
snakes were a help to the farmer, and destroyed large numbers of field
mi