Ned, Bob and Jerry on the Firing Line Part 3

"I don't mind getting shot at by a German," said a voice, "but I'll be jiggered if I want to be bitten by a snake."

"Shoot the snake!" came the cry.

"No, please don't, I beg of you!" pleaded the little man in a mild voice that, somehow, carried to the far end of the room. "Please don't shoot the most valuable snake I ever owned. Really she is quite harmless; aren't you, Ticula?" and he looked up at the swaying head of the snake that was weaving above him, as though to ask the serpent to speak.

"Ticula!" burst out Ned. "Is that her name, Professor Snodgra.s.s?"

The little man started, and peered through his gla.s.ses in the direction of the voice.

"Ha! It seems there is some one here who knows me," he said. "I cannot see him, but I seem to recognize the voice."

"I should think you would," chuckled Ned. "We've traveled with you often enough, Professor. But this is a new one--a pet snake as long as a la.s.so."

"And named Ticula!" added Jerry, with a laugh.

"Oh, that is only a name I made up for her out of her own proper, Latin one," explained the professor. "Her real name is _Python Reticulatus_; but I call her Ticula for short. And, unless I am greatly mistaken, it was Jerry Hopkins who spoke to me that time. Am I right?" and he peered about rather uncertainly, for the corner where the three chums were standing was in deep shadow.

"You are right, Professor," said Jerry. "And we are as much surprised to see you here as to 'meet up' with your snake, as the folks in the South say. What brought you here?"

Before Professor Snodgra.s.s could answer--and it has been, perhaps, guessed before this that he was the "spy" referred to--a sudden movement on the part of the snake made it necessary for him to devote some attention to his "pet" as he called her.

Ticula seemed uneasy at being stared at by so many eyes, and she began to writhe and twist as though anxious to escape. There was a sudden scramble on the part of the soldiers and officers in the barrack building, but the three chums, having faith in their old friend, the little scientist, did not retreat.

"There now, Ticula," murmured Professor Snodgra.s.s, in what he doubtless meant to be soothing terms, "no one shall harm you. You're excited on account of getting out of your box, I suppose. But I'll soon have you back there."

He reached up, and began to stroke the snake back of the weaving head, and gradually the forked tongue, that had been playing in and out with the quickness of lightning, was quieted. Ticula seemed to regain her composure. She settled down, wrapping a fold or two about the little man, who did not seem at all alarmed at the movements of the snake, though one officer murmured:

"Great Scott! he's taking an awful chance. That's a constrictor, and it can crush an ox!"

But Professor Snodgra.s.s gazed mildly through his gla.s.ses at those surrounding him and inquired:

"Are you all three there--Ned, Bob and Jerry?"

"All present and accounted for, Professor," answered Jerry, with a laugh. "And now that Ticula seems quiet, perhaps you'll explain what it all means."

"Yes, I think an explanation is very much in order," said the colonel, who had urged some of his men to shoot the snake.

"First let me get my pet back in her sleeping box," said the little scientist. "She will be quieter then. If one of you gentlemen will have the kindness to bring me the box you took away from me, I'll put Ticula to sleep."

"Bring in the box," commanded a lieutenant. "We caught this man, Sir,"

said the lieutenant, addressing the colonel, "hanging around the officers' mess hall with a box. We thought it contained an infernal machine, and that he might be a German spy. We brought him here to talk to him, and then we discovered the snake crawling around. The box is outside."

"Have it examined and brought in," said the colonel. "It is just possible," he added with a smile, "that the prisoner is what he claims to be--a naturalist. Is there any one here who knows him?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," answered Ned, Bob and Jerry in a chorus.

"Come forward and explain," ordered the colonel.

The three chums advanced and saluted. Professor Snodgra.s.s seemed to be having a little trouble quieting the snake, which had again raised her head and was hissing at the crowd in front of her. Some explanations were necessary, it would seem, and Ned, Bob and Jerry seemed the best qualified to offer them.

"We know Professor Snodgra.s.s very well, Sir," said Jerry. "He has often traveled with us, and we have helped him in his collection work.

He is connected with some of the largest museums, and goes about getting rare specimens for them. He is no more a German spy than we are."

"Glad to know it," commented the colonel. "Do you know anything about this mysterious box he had?"

"No; but it is probably what he says it is--a cage for this snake, Sir," explained Jerry. "He has any number of specimen boxes and cages when he travels."

By this time some of the men had brought in the box in question. It was painted green, and was about three feet long--in itself rather a good load for one man to carry, not so much on account of its weight as because of its shape, but with the big snake inside, one man could not have lifted it.

"That's a snake box," said Jerry, after he had examined it, "but it is a new one--I never saw it before."

"No, I had it made especially for Ticula," explained the professor, who had again succeeded in quieting the serpent. "Now, my little pet,"

he went on, "I'll put you to bed."

The box was brought forward and set down on the floor in front of the professor. The man who brought it dropped it quickly and made a hasty retreat at the nearer sight of the reptile.

Then the scientist gently lowered the serpent's head toward the box, which was lined with cloth. The snake seemed to recognize her quarters, for, without hesitation, she coiled herself down in the case, the perforated lid of which was then closed.

"There, now she is all right," said the professor. "I shall not let her loose again until to-morrow, and then----"

"What?" yelled a lieutenant. "Are you going to turn her loose around here _again_?"

"Why not?" asked the professor. "The observations I hoped to make to-day as to her feeding habits in the open have been spoiled because you arrested me as a spy. I could not conclude my experiments, and I must continue them to-morrow. But do not be alarmed. Ticula, though rather large, is perfectly harmless to man. Indeed, she has not yet gotten her full growth. She is only fifteen feet long, and her kind often grows to twenty-six feet and weighs nearly two hundred pounds.

Ticula is a mere baby."

"Some baby!" murmured a voice, and even the colonel laughed.

"And now I suppose I am at liberty to go with my property?" asked the professor, looking around inquiringly.

"Well, since it seems that you are not a German spy, I fail to see that we have any reason for holding you," returned the commandant. "As for the snake, I think the men--and I may say myself--would feel obliged if you did not turn it loose again."

"Well, I suppose I can select some other place for my experiments,"

murmured the professor, in rather disappointed tones. "But this spot was ideal. There are so many rats and mice about a camp of this sort that a snake or two would be very beneficial."

"I have no doubt," said the colonel dryly. "And yet, somehow, I think I prefer the rodents. But I should be glad to have you explain further just what your experiments are in reference to your reptile. I am interested. I shall be pleased to have you lunch with me," he went on, for, now that he had a chance to observe, he saw that Professor Snodgra.s.s was a cultured gentleman, as well as, he presumed, a devoted scientist. The colonel was something of a student himself.

"I should like to lunch with you," said the professor, "but my three friends--Ned, Bob and Jerry--are here and----"

"We'll see you later," whispered Jerry. "We're enlisted men and can't mess in the officers' quarters. You must dine with the colonel and we'll see you later."

"All right," a.s.sented the professor, and accepted the colonel's invitation. "Help me carry Ticula out to my auto and I'll see you after dinner," he went on to the boys.

"Have you an auto here?" asked Bob.

"Yes. I left it just beyond the confines of the camp. I have an old friend of yours with me, too," he went on. "He helped me carry my snake here."

"An old friend?" murmured Bob.