jority of these creatures are not
furnished with poison fangs. I was in doubt, myself, at first, but the
fact that the puncture was so large, and unaccompanied by another--
venomous snakes being furnished with a pair of fangs that they have the
power to erect--was almost enough to prove to me that what we saw was
only produced by a thorn."

"I beg your pardon, doctor," said Sir James, grasping him by the hand.
"I could not help thinking you were dreadfully callous and cool over
what has been agony to me. I am afraid I was horribly disbelieving and
annoyed."

"Don't apologise, sir," replied the doctor. "I did seem to treat it all
very cavalierly, but I had a reason for so doing. I wanted to put heart
into my patient to counteract the remarks which were being made about
snake bites and treating them by amputation. Now, Mark, do you feel
well enough to handle your gun again?"

"Oh, yes, quite," cried the boy, starting up; and getting possession of
his rifle he raised it up, fired the remaining cartridge, and then
opening the breech held it up, to treat it as a lorgnette, looking
through the barrels.

"There are no snakes in here now," said the boy, speaking quite
cheerfully, "but the night damp has made a lot of little specks of
rust."

"Let me clean it, sir," cried Dan. "I'll wash out the barrels and give
it a good 'iling."

"Yes, do," said Mark, who began to suck his finger.

"Why, I say, Mark," cried Dean, "I never thought of it before: that's
the finger you asked me to get the thorn out of that day after we got
back from my slip into that hole."

"Eh?" exclaimed Mark, looking at him doubtfully.

"Why, of course! Don't you remember?"

"No," said Mark. "I feel quite stupid this morning, after this."

"Try to think, my boy," cried Sir James impatiently. "It would set all
our minds at rest."

"Why, to be sure, Mark," cried his cousin. "Don't you remember? You
said you could not do it yourself because it was in your right finger
and it was such a bungle to handle a pin with your left hand."

Mark stared at his cousin for a few moments, and gazed round at those
who were waiting to hear him speak; and then a gleam of light seemed to
dart from his eyes as he cried excitedly, "Why, of course! I remember
now; and you couldn't get it out with the pin, and you said it was a
good job too, for a brass pin was a bad thing to use, and that we would
leave it till we could get a big needle from Dan, such as