that's for you to say, sir. Now then, Billy, out with yours
first."

"Nay, let's see yours first, matey."

"Come, come, I'm busy. We're going for a fresh excursion to-day. Now
then, Wriggs, what is it?"

"It's a little squirmy wormy thing as he ketched, sir, just as it come
outer its hole to curl up in the sunshine. Pull it out, Billy. He's
got it in his pocket, sir."

Wriggs slowly thrust in his hand and drew out a little thin snake, which
moved slightly as he laid it on the table.

"He says it's a wurm, sir," put in Smith, "I says it's a young
come-structor."

"What's that?" cried Oliver in a startled way. "Nonsense, it is full
grown."

"Couldn't ha' took long growing to that size, sir," said Smith,
grinning, as he held the bird he had shot behind him.

"But, my good fellows, don't you know that this is a very dangerous
viper?"

"What, that?" said Wriggs contemptuously, "there ain't nothin' on him."

"There isn't much of a wasp," said Oliver, "but his sting is poisonous
enough."

"That's true, sir, specially it you gets it near yer eye. But you don't
mean to say as that little chap's got a sting in his tail?"

"Absurd! Vipers have poisonous fangs--two."

"What, in their tails, sir?"

"No, man, in the roof of the mouth. I'll show you."

"But do you mean as that chap would ha' bit us and stung us, sir?" said
Wriggs anxiously.

"Of course I do, and you've had a very close shave. How did you kill
it?"

"Well, sir, he wouldn't let us kill him, but kep' on wrigglin' arter
Billy here had trod on his tail, and we didn't want to quite scrunch
him, because you're so partickler. He got a bit quiet, though, arter a
time, and then Billy nipped him at the back o' the head and put him in
his pocket."

"Look here, when you find a snake with a diamond-shaped head like that,
you may be pretty certain that it is venomous."

The two sailors scratched their heads in unison while Oliver turned the
little viper's head over, opened its mouth, and made it gape widely by
placing a little bone stiletto which he used in skinning the smaller
birds within, and then with the point of a penknife he raised two tiny
fangs which were laid back on the roof of the reptile's mouth, and
which, when erect, looked like points of glass.

"There!" he exclaimed, "those are the poison fangs. They're hollow and
connected with a couple of exceedingly small glands or bags of poison,
which shoot a couple of tiny drops of venom