tom swift among the diamond makers

 Dixon loved snakes he remembered the first time he had caught one of the creatures trying to eat the pet rabbits that he had borrowed from the village butcher but now his excitement had increased his heartbeat in his chest like a sledgehammer he saw the prize sunning itself on a rock in the cool glade where he fished a blue rattler its three fangs poking out the sides and front of its mouth and old one Dixon thought as he grabbed his fishing getting ready to thrash it over the head once with the long willowy pole he untied the string and shifted his body into a favorable position in which he could run away if need be but he had never yet missed and he wasn't going to now this will be better on my table than any fish he though he rose his pole and smacked it on the empty rock where the snake had been he bolted up and jumped into a tree reflex as fast as a cat pulling himself up he glanced down and saw the rattler a blue streak coming straight for the tree dixon scrambled onto the oak branch and lept for a higher branch but it was to late the blue rattler tail whipped up grabbing his foot in a deathly strong grip