Bobby Blake on a Plantation; Or, Lost in the Great Swamp
Page 28
CHAPTER XXVIII
A GREAT DISCOVERY
Now that the snake was certainly beyond the possibility of doing themfurther harm, the boys could inspect it at their leisure. But even indeath the venomous reptile inspired them with horror. Fred shuddered ashe looked at him and thought of what might have been if the snake hadstruck a little harder or had overtaken him in that desperate chase.
It was about a yard in length, and the body was strong and thick. Theshort tail was provided with a row of shields and there was a hornyappendage at the end. The long triangular head had shallow pits on thenose and the mouth was very wide. The color was a coppery brown andthere were reddish brown bands on the sides that became wider on thelower end of the body, giving an appearance something like moccasins,and from these the snake derived its name.
What the boys specially noticed was a white band that ran round thecreature’s mouth.
“That’s what gives it the other name it’s known by,” explained Lee.“People call it the cotton mouth, because that white streak looks likecotton.”
“It’s the ugliest thing I ever saw!” exclaimed Fred. “I only hope Inever see another. You bet that I’m going to watch my step for the restof the time we’re in this swamp.”
“Once we get out of this, you’re not likely to see one again,” Leeassured him. “They’re mostly found in wet, marshy places and I’ve neverseen one on dry parts of the plantation. There are plenty of them in thelow-lying rice fields, and the darkeys stand in deadly fear of them.”
“I don’t blame them,” remarked Bobby. “But come now, fellows, let’s getalong. There’s nothing to keep us here any longer, unless,” he addedwith a laugh, “Fred wants to take this fellow’s head along as asouvenir.”
“Not on your life!” declared Fred emphatically. “I’ll see that headoften enough in my dreams as it is. Gee, Bobby,” he continued with asigh of relief, “it was a mighty lucky thing you had that hatchet alongwith you.”
“And luckier yet that he threw it just right,” put in Lee. “That’s whatcomes from being a good ball player. One learns how to throw.”
“Don’t give me any credit for that,” protested Bobby. “I might just aswell have hit him with the handle instead of the blade. Luck sure waswith us.”
They left the loathsome reptile and made their way to higher ground,picking their steps with exceeding care and avoiding as they would theplague anything that looked like a thick stick.
Bobby was going ahead as fast as the tangled vines and shrubbery wouldlet him, when he gave an exclamation and fell to his knees.
“What’s the matter?” asked his companions in alarm, running up to him.
“Stubbed my toe on something hard,” explained Bobby, rising to his feetand brushing himself off, “and barked my shins in the bargain as I wentdown. Kicked against a stone, I imagine.”
“That’s funny,” said Lee. “There are mighty few stones around here. Itmust have been a stump.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter much,” replied Bobby. “It brought me down allright, whether it was wood or stone. But just for curiosity, I’m goingto find out.”
He kicked away the grass and twigs and bent down to look.
“Why, that’s queer!” he exclaimed. “It’s stone, as I thought, but itisn’t a rock. It’s been shaped with a chisel and it looks as though ithad figures or letters on it.”
“How on earth did a thing like that get here?” asked Fred, in a puzzledtone.
“I can make out something like the letter C,” said Bobby. “C-A-R-T——why,Lee, I believe it’s your name!”
The next instant he leaped to his feet, as the full significance of hisdiscovery flashed upon him.
“Hurrah!” he shouted. “Glory hallelujah! Lee, we’ve found one of theboundary stones of your mother’s property.”
“What?” cried Lee, all a-tremble with excitement.
“Are you sure?” queried Fred, dropping on hands and knees beside hisfriend.
“It sure looks like it,” affirmed Bobby, digging away like mad touncover more of the stone.
The others followed his example and made the dirt fly, for all theworld, as Fred said afterward, “like dogs digging out a woodchuck.”
A few minutes of hard work, and enough of the stone was uncovered topermit them to make out the inscription. It was time-stained andweatherbeaten, but read as follows:
S.E. _Limit of property of_ N. CARTIER, _Laboulaye Parish, La._
Then followed some surveyor’s signs and symbols, which to the boys werelike so much Greek. Underneath these however was an arrow pointing in acertain direction, and Bobby studied this for several minutes with greatattention.
“What do you make of it?” asked Fred curiously, as he noted his friend’spuckered brow.
“This arrow means something,” replied Bobby, “and I think we’d betterfollow in the direction in which it points. I tell you what we do. Youstand here, Fred, and Lee and I will follow the line of the arrow. Ifyou see us getting out of line, you wave to us and set us right.”
This was agreed to, and Bobby and Lee set out. They had gone a distanceof perhaps two hundred yards, when Bobby’s keen eyes saw a rim of stonejust projecting above the ground. They cleared away the moss and rubbishabout it and found that it was another landmark, practically the same asthe first, except that in this case the arrow pointed slightly inanother direction, showing that the boundary line veered at that point.
They shouted to Fred and he quickly rejoined them.
“Now,” said Bobby jubilantly, “the rest will be easy. All we’ve got todo is to report the location of these two stones and a surveying partycan go from stone to stone and so trace out the whole boundary line ofthe property.”
“Look!” exclaimed Fred suddenly, pointing to the right.
They looked and saw a figure just vanishing behind a tree.