condition for climbing.â
In a moment Joe Hardy was working his way nimbly up the gray rock wall. Frank and Chet followed close behind. Above them, the cave mouth was a black opening in the rocks.
Soon Joe reached a narrow cross ledge about a third of the way up. As he pulled himself onto it, however, he was suddenly staggered by a stone that crashed into his forehead.
âLook out! Above you!â Donner shouted.
Other stones came bouncing down at the climbing boys, narrowly missing them. Looking up, they saw a tall, lean figure at the top of the hollow. He kept hurling the dangerous missiles.
âItâs Simon!â cried Donner. âWatch out!â
The mute boy waved his arms threateningly.
âHeâs trying to stop us from coming up,â Joe said grimly. âWell, heâs not going to succeed!â
Though his head was bleeding, the plucky boy crawled upward again after Frank, who was now in the lead. Chet was climbing at a slower pace behind them. Seeing the trio advance, the strange boy redoubled his barrage.
One stone bruised Frankâs forearm. Another skipped off his back. Dodging, the determined boy crawled steadily upward. He reached the ledge at the mouth of the cave, then he turned, and with a skillful pull and twist, hauled his brother up beside him.
Abruptly the stoning ceased. Frank and Joe turned to face the cave itself. The next instant they froze in their tracks. Barely three feet from their faces a deadly timber rattler was coiling to strike!
At that moment two more of the venomous snakes slithered out of the cave itself!
CHAPTER IX
Setting a Trap
THERE was no escape for the Hardysâthe ledge was too narrow. They were trapped by the deadly reptiles. The steep drop below the cave cut off all chance of rapid descent. While the two rattlers slithered toward their exposed ankles, Frank and Joe raised their arms in an attempt to ward off the strike of the reptile coiled just above them.
Crack! The shot of a pistol was followed in a split second by the unmistakable smack of a bullet hitting home. The snakeâs long body exploded straight upward, writhing, and then fell with a thud at the Hardysâ feet. Startled, the two other rattlers retreated into the cave.
âOff the ledge, quick!â cried Frank.
Scrambling backward, both boys hung for an instant by their finger tips from the ledge. In another moment they were grasped firmly by Chet Morton and Walter Donner, who had climbed up the steep rock face. Donner held in one hand the smoking, long-barreled pistol which had ended the life of the deadly snake.
When the four climbers were back on the ground, Sheriff Ecker wiped his brow in relief. âA close call,â he declared, still shaken. âWasnât a thing we could do!â
âLucky for us you decided to come up, Mr. Donner,â Joe addressed the tall man gratefully. âAnd even luckier you can shoot so well.â
âWeâre certainly thankful you were near enough to shoot,â Frank added. âYour bullet must have caught that rattler right in the head!â
Walter Donnerâs face, usually so good-natured, had become serious, and even stern.
âIâm glad I happened to be here,â he answered. âI hate to think of what would have happened otherwise. Suppose you boys had gone rushing up to that cave, without looking where you were going, and I wasnât around? It would have been a terrible tragedy!â
Putting one arm around Chetâs shoulders, and another around Joe, Donner continued, âIf you ever listened to anything, listen to me now. You canât be too careful in the woods! You never know where danger is going to come fromâsometimes under your feet, sometimes over your heads. Snakes like to sun themselves on dry, rocky ledges. Donât climb around carelessly. Once you are in the wilderness, rememberâcaution, boys, always caution.â
âMr. Donner,â one of
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