f cymbals.

"What have you got in your hands?" asked Smith; for, it being already
dark, it was hard to distinguish objects at a short distance.

"My boots," cried Fred, triumphantly.

"Are you barefooted?" asked the convict in surprise.

"Yes."

"Then if you value your life, put on your boots again, and keep them on
as long as you are in the mines. You are liable at any moment to step
upon a poisonous snake; and if bitten, no power on earth can save you.
The natives pretend to cure bites, but I have some doubts on the
subject."

Smith spoke seriously, and as there might be much truth in what he said,
Fred willingly complied, although he groaned with pain as he drew on his
boots, and once more hobbled along beside the team.

"About three months ago, I was freighting a party up to the mines," said
Smith, "and a youngster became foot-sore. He took off his boots,
although I told him there was danger of treading upon snakes in the
dark. He laughed at me; but before his mirth had ceased, he uttered a
yell, and sprang wildly towards the team, which I had suffered to get a
little in advance.

"When he started, I suspected the cause, and groping carefully about in
the dust with my whip, soon discovered a small snake, not larger in
circumference than my lash, but which I readily recognized as one of the
most poisonous in the country. The natives call them _capi-ni-els_, or
what signifies little devils. As the impudent scamp was hissing and
darting out his tongue at me, I gave him a blow on the head, ground him
into powder with the heel of my boot, and then passed on to overtake the
team.

"It had got some distance from me; but before I reached it, my young
passenger could no longer walk, and by the time I had checked the oxen,
he had swollen to twice his usual size, and was lying panting by the
side of the road, incapable of moving or speaking. I got a large
quantity of brandy down his throat; but it had no effect, and in twenty
minutes' time he was a dead man. We buried him where he fell, and I'll
show you his grave when we reach it."

"I for one shall take good care to keep my boots on," I replied, after
the convict had finished his story.

"Why do they frequent a road in preference to other parts?" asked Fred,
who seemed to have almost forgotten his lameness, while listening to
Smith's yarn.

"Because the light dust over which we are passing retains the heat of
the sun longer than the soil by the road. Snakes a