cautiously in. It was not very light in the room for the window shades
had been pulled partly down to shut out the glare of the noonday sun,
but sure enough, it could be seen very plainly that there was something
on the bed--a half-coiled, bluish-green snake with brown stripes.

Mabel uttered a scream.

"It squirms--I saw it!" she cried.

"No you didn't either," said Tom. "You just thought so, because you're
so scared. But it is a snake, sure enough and it's asleep. Guess we'd
better not arouse it."

"Somebody ought to kill it," Hetty whispered, her teeth chattering. "One
of yon boys'd better get Uncle Pomp; have him bring his hoe or
something."

"I'll go," said Charlie quickly.

"Let's all go," suggested Mabel.

Tom hesitated a little. He was the bravest of the lot, though the
youngest.

"Say, somebody ought to stay and watch that snake; if it crawls down, we
want to know where he goes to. I'll stay--only get Uncle Pomp soon's you
can."

But the children couldn't find the old darkey. So the children came
trooping back to the house. But when they peeped into mamma's room