I warned you to get away from there. Never stand
in brush, in the Rockies, unless you've looked before stepping.
Were you struck?"

"I believe something did sting me," Reade admitted, remembering
that smarting sensation in his left leg.

"Which leg was it? demanded Rutter, halting beside the cub.

"Left---a little above the ankle," replied Tom.

"Take off your legging. I must have a look. Hazelton, call to
one of your chainmen and send him back to make sure of my pony."

Harry hastened to obey, then came back breathless. Rutter, in
the meantime, had turned up enough of Tom's left trousers' leg
to bare a spot on the flesh that was red. There were fang marks
in the centre of this reddened surface.

"You got it, boy," spoke Rutter huskily. "Now we'll have to go
to work like lightning to save you."

"How are you going to do it?" asked Tom coolly, though he felt
decidedly queer over the startling news.

"Hazelton," demanded Rutter, turning upon the other cub engineer,
"have you nerve enough to put your lips to that wound, and draw,
draw draw as hard as you can, and keep on until you've drawn all
the poison out?"

"I have," nodded Harry, sinking to his knees beside his chum.
"I'll draw all the poison out if I have to swallow enough to
kill me."

"You won't poison yourself, Hazelton," replied Rutter quickly,
as one of the chainmen came near with the recaptured pony. "Snake
venom isn't deadly in the stomach---only when it gets into the
blood direct. There's no danger unless you've a cut or a deep
scratch in your mouth. Spit the stuff out as you draw."

Having given these directions, Jack Rutter turned, with the help
of one of the chainmen to fasten a blanket behind the saddle to
make a sort of extra saddle. The blanket had been lying rolled
at the back of the saddle.

Harry, in the meantime, without flinching, performed his task
well. Had he but known it, Rutter's explanation of the lack of
danger was true; but in that moment, with his chum's life at stake,
Harry didn't care a fig whether the explanation were true or not.
All he thought of was saving Tom.

"I reckon that part of the job has been done well," nodded Rutter,
turning back from the horse. "Now, Reade, I want you to mount
behind me and hold on tightly, for we're going to do some hard,
swift riding. The sooner we get you to camp the surer you will
be of coming out of this scrape all right."

"I've never had much experience in horseman