| Show OL J JAKE PAYS p YS OFF OF of Giant Pine Snake Returns Friendship Aged Hermit Who Saved Its Life 1 aa y sr a- a r J n I 01 Ol Jake the pine snake nake came through a crack In the floor and immediately Immediately Im im- im I mediately cave gave battle to the rattlesnake while Jud lad looked on with horror By WILLIAM WILLIAn HORNE READING the headlines IN of North Carolinas Carolina's newspapers newspapers newspapers news news- papers not so long ago you may have seen Recluse of Dismal Swamps Held Captive Captive Cap- Cap tive Jve of Deadly DiamondBacks DiamondBacks Diamond DiamondBacks Backs Until Rescued by Pet Snake But this short hort two-inch two item that gave ave mention to the harrowing ex ex- of one Jud Baker aged hermit of the Drummonds Lake district district dis dis- of Dismal Swamps did not touch ouch the colorful side lide of this strange drama Irama that depicted strange to toay ay say say the character of a snake make It w as as more than a year ago when Jud ud Baker first saw JaW the six foot pine snake make he later named 01 Jake ake Jud had Just paddled his bateau from rom across the lake to the landing a few yards down from his hi cabin As he be stepped on to the bank a darting dartIng dartIng dart- dart Ing form whirred upward on glistening glis ening wings from the bushes that bordered ordered the opening Jud turned and looked It was the fluttering form of an enormous snake nake hawk It came back down again gain Into the bushes with a crash seemed to struggle there a moment moment mo mo- ment then strove to take the air again gain I Puzzled Jud went to the edge of the he bushes to investigate He lIe found the big bird of pre prey hovering a few feet from the ground wings beating beat I ing lag the air powerfully and In its Us sharp talons was a pine snake Hawk Is I. Snakes Snake's Equal The reptiles reptile's torso writhed about the roots of a tree the snake hawk doing its utmost to tear the hold holdaway holdaway holdaway away and lift it into the air ah Now the pine snake is a power power- ful ul constrictor and one snap from Its ts mighty jaws Jaw can almost sever severa a mans man's wrist No reptile In all the wilds can cao conquer it in combat combat combat com com- bat and and the steel like muscles of lit its glistening body can crush the bones of a wildcat or a dog But the sn snake ke hawk is its equal in swiftness and In hi strength andIn and andIn andin in all aU outdoors the only living thin thins that it fears True the snake hawk does not Immediately kill the snake with claws claw or beak Instead it flies flees toan to toan toan an enormous height releases the prey and lets Jets it crash to Its death far tar below where it eats It at lei sure Jud Baker knew this and with a astick astick stick sUck he drove the hawk away and captured the snake and took it i with him to his cabin The rippling skin of the snake was torn in a dozen dozen doz doz- e en places Blood oozed from deep lacerations where the snake hawks hawk's talons bad had torn tom in For days day afterward Jud Baker thought his snake would die The live mice and frogs he placed Inside In In side the improvised cage were left untouched the snake lay prone and motionless 01 Jake Moves Alons In In But with passing days came Improvement improvement Im provement and after two weeks the big reptile crawled about in his Ct get One night he escaped through a crack in the door lie He disappeared and Jud saw nothing of him for a month But then he be came pack back ack again and again and stayed From then on he made his nome nom e there with the old recluse He lie became be became came a pet lie He would crawl on t to o Jud Bakers Baker's dining table while th the theman theman e man ate his meals he would cot coil on his bunk and sleep through th the thel e l tang ling ne hot days day of at summer ummer It was during the month of March Marc h that he be disappeared Days passed paned and finally Jud decided he be ha had d either strayed off oft and found a mate mat e and had bad forgotten or a snake hawk haw k had at last captured him Ju Jud d searched for tor his strange tranee pet bu but t never found him so he be finally gave gan e up It was two Iwo months month after 01 Ol Jake Jak e had disappeared when the firs first t warm days dau of summer ummer came t ti to r Drummond Drummonds Lake that Jud Baker Bake opened his hi eyes one morning to a strange sound lound at et the little window winds w lest jet above his bis bunk Jud Jod Hears Terrifying Sound For a long time he het lay there blinking bUnking his eyes What made that strange sound It had seemed odd ly Iy familiar and nd yet he couldn't quite place it Then suddenly it came again An And d Jud Bakers Baker's form stiffened the ba baon hairon hair hairon on hi his scalp prickling It w. w was the tin angry whir of a rattlesnakes rattlesnake's rattles rattles rat rat- ties and it came from just just a bare yard from his face on the low sill m of if the open window Two wicked beady eyes stared at him ilm from a small flat fiat head A tiny forked tongue flicked in n and out jut the mouth Jud Baker stared into those eyes and his blood seemed to freeze in his veins After Alter several long Jong moments he moved his head slightly Instantly the tail tall that lay In the center of the coiled colled reptile jerked up and wriggled spasmodically T The There h e r e came the whir of ot rattles Jud Baker Daker lay motionless lest Jest the deadly fellow fel fel- fellow low suddenly decide to strike downward downward downward down down- ward in hi his straining sweating face tace An age seemed to pass before those rattlers quieted down and another another another an an- other eon to go by before the old man ventured to move again Rattlers AU All Around Him lie He held his breath and slowly moved one foot toward the edge of the bunk If It he could only slide noiselessly to the floor beyond reach of those deadly fangs things would be well But he never quite managed managed managed man man- aged it it for as his foot slid did slowly to o the very edge of ot the bed there came a new sound to his roaring ears the sound of another set of rattlers from the floor just Jus beneath the edge of the bed I Jud Baker stiffened lie He groaned in abject terror Cold sweat beaded beaded beaded bead bead- ed his leathery face lIe He strained his eyes to glance at the floor toward that new menace and what he saw brought a gasp to his drawn lips Ups Beside the bed on the floor lay four diamond diamond backed backed rattlers Each was coiled tolled Each snakes snake's tongue flicked in and out while the rattles gave angry warnings I The sun went on down behind the timber line to the west Shadows lengthened Suddenly the five rattlesnakes rat began their song of warn warn- ing The din kept up In hi a steady drone and the theman man on the bunk roused himself from a halt half stupor Then through the corners of his eyes he saw it That glistening rippling shadow that came through the crack beneath the door of ot the cabin In Nick of Time The long shining length of sinuous sinuous ous black and white torso glided like a shadow across the floor Slow Rippling And ominous And deadly dead ly in its Us purpose The four tour rattlers on the floor kept up their hellish din and the lone Jone reptile on 00 the window sill tensed in its coil and prepared to strike And the big pine snake lay In an S S form torm on the foot of the bunk with its tall tail braced against the wall Inan in inan n nan an attitude of certain defense atthe at atthe atthe the first hostile move And it St came From the snake on the window sill Like lightning it shot down toward 01 Ol Jake like a coiled spring and as quick as it was 01 Ol Jake was quicker The rattlesnakes rattlesnake's mouth gaped open and two needle-like needle fangs glistened glis glis- glistened in the evening light And the big pine snakes snake's mighty open jaws met those open jaws in midair with witha a sickening crunch Instantly both snakes snake became a writhing mass and tumbled from the bed to the floor amid the other waiting rattlers Battle to Death And then bedlam tore loose Jud Baker leaned from his bed and watched that fight He saw the four remaining rattlesnakes attack the big twisting form of Ol 01 Jake with gleaming fangs He lie saw those tangs fangs sink link again and again into that rippling rip rip- pling hide bide and he sa saw w the big pine snake writhe and tie its muscular l length into a dozen contortions about the floundering rattlers The battle batUe couldn't have lasted more than three or four tour minutes Jud Baker lay Jay there above it it rigid rigid in fascination And suddenly the forms form grew still affil only the knotted l length of the big pine snake slowly releasing its Us crushing holds from the dead forms of its lb enemies True enough venom must have been injected into 01 Ol Jakes Jake's length to klU a d dozen Zen snake nake nv is men But Bu a P pine piM immune to a rattlers rattler's ven vent cm cm om and presently the big fellow crawled loose and made his hi w way slowly across the floor and out the d door crack to Into the hr e evening sunlight sun sun- light t. t Jud Baker was free He lie Jay lay on nil his bunk and watched matched his bis friend blend glide majestically from sight be neath the door Ol 01 Jake had haJ come home And had paid paid a debt he owed C 0 Bed |
