"Do you s'pose they'll crawl into the house?" Hetty said, her eyes large
and round with fearful anticipations.

Tom shook his head gravely.

"No telling! I heard a missionary from India say once how those awful
cobras in that country used to drop right down from the ceiling."

Mabel drew a long breath.

"My stars! I'd hate to wake up in the morning and find a snake near my
pillow!"

"Guess we'd better keep a good lookout," was Charlie's emphatic
suggestion.

One day when papa and mamma and little Hal went in the launch across the
river to see the new orange grove, and the children were left alone
save for old Uncle Pomp who was hoeing in the truck patch, something
happened that made quite a scare. Hetty went into mamma's room for a
spool of white thread, and when she came out there was a frightened look
on her face.

"Oh, there's a snake on mamma's bed!" she exclaimed.

Tom and Charlie sprang up so suddenly from their game of parchesi that
counters and disks fell to the floor.

Then all four children hurried to the door of mamma's room and peeped