see much, I'm afraid."

"I see some grouse!" cried the shipowner's son, a few minutes later. "We
might bring some of those down and cook them for supper. We won't want
to wait to do it for dinner."

He pointed to some grouse far away, and all agreed that the fowls would
make good eating. They rode behind some bushes, tied their horses, and
went forward with caution. All fired together, and when the smoke
cleared away they saw that four of the game had been laid low. The rest
had flown away, and to follow them would have been useless.

"Well, four are all right!" cried Roger, and was about to rush forward
to pick up the grouse when of a sudden Dave yelled to him to stop.

"What's the matter?" asked the senator's son.

"A snake!" screamed Phil. And as he spoke all in the party saw what Dave
had first discovered. A rattlesnake had appeared from a hole in a tree,
close to where the dead grouse lay!

CHAPTER XXVI

AFTER DEER

"A rattlesnake!"

"Take care that he doesn't bite you!"

"My, what a big fellow!"

"He is heading this way!"

Such were some of the cries uttered by the young hunters and Sid Todd as
all beheld a large-sized snake crawling from a hole under the tree. That
it was a rattler there was no doubt.

All leaped back, for the sight momentarily stunned them. But then Dave
recovered his presence of mind and blazed away with his shotgun, hitting
the reptile in the middle, and inflicting several ugly but not mortal
wounds. The rattlesnake gave a hiss, glided under some leafy bushes, and
there commenced to sound his rattles.

"He's going to strike!" cried Phil, and as he spoke the shotgun in Sid
Todd's hands was discharged. He fired among the leaves, and whether or
not he hit the snake, nobody could tell.

"Don't go near him," called out Roger. He hated snakes about as much as
he hated anything.

All waited, and while doing so, Dave and Todd took the opportunity to
reload. They were just finishing when Phil, chancing to look behind
them, uttered a yell that would have done credit to an Apache Indian.

"Look out! One of 'em is behind us!"

The others all took his word for it, and leaped to one side. True
enough, a second rattlesnake had appeared, and now a third was coming to
light, from under a rock near by.

"It's a den of rattlers!" screamed Sid Todd. "Run for it, boys! No use
of trying to kill 'em off! They are too many for us!"

The boys were already running at top speed, and the