she took out her jack-knife,--inseparable companion,--scientifically
cut a wedge from a short limb above her, and broke off the weakened
branch. Recovering her balance, she reached out with this flexible
club, but could not touch the snake, now roused to accelerated
activity.

Holding her weapon between her teeth, Anna worked her way nearly to
the end of her tough support. Throwing out her right hand, she was
able to catch the big limb, at the base of which Willie, almost
insensible, still huddled. Then she swung, pendulum-like, by her
hands, increasing her momentum. At the right moment she released
the redwood bough and flung her light body full upon the young oak.
Grasping the limb with both hands, she hauled herself up beside the
terrified boy.

The snake, shaken by the tumult above, wavered and stopped. As a
rule, a rattlesnake, conscious of his defense, makes a good fight;
but here the conditions were unusual and confusing. On level
ground, where he could have coiled, and where his sensitive under
surface could have slid comfortably over smooth earth, he would not
have shirked combat when cornered. Now, with his enemy mysteriously
above, his one idea seemed to be escape.

Willie jabbered an idiotic welcome.

"He can't strike until he gets clear here," Anna reassured him. "He
can't coil."

Her rapid blows still further dismayed her antagonist. He bit
viciously at the stick, touching it more than once; for the