Chapter 5

NICK JASNIFF'S VISIT

The announcement that Roger had his leg caught between the rocks and that a rattlesnake was about to attack him filled Dave with alarm.

"Oh, Roger, are you sure it's a rattlesnake?"

"Yes! Yes! Come down and help me! Quick!"

"I will. Can't you hit him with a rock or something?"

"I will if I can. But hurry up�and bring that axe or something with you!"

When leveling parties, as they are officially called, go out, one man often carries an axe with which to clear away any obstructions which may prevent a clear sight. On this occasion Roger had been carrying the axe, as well as the chain, and the implement now lay close to where our hero stood.

Grabbing up the axe, Dave lost no time in scrambling down the rocks. As he did this he heard a stone strike on some rocks below and knew that Roger was throwing at the snake.

"Oh, Dave! Help!" yelled the senator's son, "He's getting ready to strike!"

With one wild leap Dave came down to within a few feet of where his chum stood between two rocks which reached up to his waist. One leg was fast between the rocks, and while the unfortunate youth was endeavoring wildly to extricate himself from his predicament, he was shying one loose stone after another at a snake that was coiled up in something of a hollow less than a dozen feet away. The hollow was so situated that exit from it could only be had in the direction occupied by the young civil engineer.

As Dave approached he saw that it was indeed a rattlesnake that his chum had disturbed. The reptile was at least five feet in length and of corresponding thickness, and was now coiled up as if ready to strike.

It was a moment which called for immediate action, and without stopping to think Dave raised the axe and sent it whirling forward toward the snake. His aim fell short, but this shortness proved to be thoroughly effective. The handle of the axe came down with a thud on the rocks, sending the blade flashing in a semicircle. The sharpened bit of steel caught the snake in the very center of its folds, inflicting several deep cuts.

Instantly the reptile's attention was taken from Roger. It whirled around swiftly in search of the enemy that had struck it and whipped angrily at the axe.

"Oh, Dave! can't you shoot him?" gasped Roger. "I dropped my pistol when I came down over the rocks."

In that wild territory it was the custom of every one of the engineering gang to carry firearms. Dave had a small automatic pistol in his hip pocket, and this he now brought into play.

Crack! Crack! Crack! went the weapon three times in rapid succession. The first shot did not take effect, but the second and third hit the mark, and the rattlesnake twisted and turned in its death agony. Then, placing the pistol back in his pocket, our hero raised up a stone almost as large as his head and with it put the reptile out of its misery.

"Oh, Dave, is he�is he dead?" panted Roger. His face had gone white, and his whole attitude showed how unstrung he was.

"He's as dead as a door-nail, Roger," was the answer, after Dave had made a brief inspection of the remains. "He'll never bother you or anybody else again."

"I felt sure he was going to bite me!" went on the senator's son with a shudder.

"You certainly had a close shave, and I don't wonder that it scared you, Roger. Think of facing a snake like that and not being able to run away!"

"He was down in this very hollow where my leg is first. Then he glided over to the other hollow and began to rattle and coil up to strike. If you hadn't come down as you did, he would have struck me sure;" and the senator's son shivered again.

"I think we had better wipe off that axe-handle, and the blade, too," remarked Dave. "He may have gotten some of his poison on it."

"Yes, wipe it off very carefully," answered Roger. "But first of all I've got to get my foot loose. It does beat all how I got stuck."

"You didn't hurt your leg or your foot, did you?"

"I scraped my shin a little, but that doesn't count."

An inspection was made, and finally Dave had to bend down and unlace Roger's shoe before the limb could be gotten out of the space between the two rocks. Then the footwear was recovered, and the senator's son put it on once more. In the meanwhile, Dave took up the axe rather gingerly and also tied a bit of string to the tail of the lifeless rattlesnake.

"We'll take it back to the camp to show the others," announced our hero. "They wouldn't believe our story unless we were able to show the snake. Besides that, we can keep the rattles if we want to. Some people prize them quite highly as trophies."

The axe was wiped off with care, and then, after Roger had recovered his pistol and also the steel measure he had dropped, the pair scrambled up the rocks to where Dave had left his flag and the leveling-rod. He waved the flag in the air as a signal, and presently an answering signal came back from the other members of the leveling gang, who had been wondering what had become of the two assistants.

"Say, you fellows have got to attend to business during working hours!" cried Frank Andrews, when they met. "If you want to��Great catfish! where did you get that snake?" and he broke off short to gaze in wonder at the rattlesnake tied to the string that Roger exhibited.

"You have to break off business when you get an unexpected caller like that," replied Dave dryly.

"Do you mean to say that rattler attacked you?" questioned Larry Bond quickly.

"He started to attack Roger."

"And Dave threw the axe at him and then shot him," explained the senator's son.

"Some rattler! that's what he is!" was the comment of John Hixon. "If he struck for you he certainly meant business;" and he examined the remains of the rattlesnake with much interest.

"We thought we heard several shots, but we were not sure," remarked Frank Andrews.

"I guess you didn't hear them very well because we were in something of a hollow," answered Dave; and then he and Roger gave the particulars of what had occurred.

"You can be mighty lucky that you weren't struck," declared Hixon emphatically. "When I was out in the gold mines in the northern part of this state I knew a man who was struck twice by a rattler, and he came about as close to dying as any man I ever saw."

The adventure had so unnerved Roger that Frank Andrews excused him for the rest of the day, and he went back to the construction camp, taking the remains of the rattlesnake with him. Here the story about the reptile soon spread; and that evening all the men connected with the camp came in to view the rattlesnake.

"I'm very thankful that you got out of this as luckily as you did," remarked Mr. Obray to Roger. Then he told all of his men that they must be very careful when they went among the rocks and through the bushes. "Because, you know," he explained, "where there is one rattlesnake there may be more. I was told by those who made the first survey for the railroad that they saw no snakes of any kind in this vicinity. Evidently, however, there was one snake that they missed."

"And I hope he's the only one," put in Frank Andrews.

The snake scare was the main topic of conversation for several days, and it is safe to say that no one went anywhere without having his eyes wide open for a possible appearance of some reptile. But no more snakes�rattlers or otherwise�put in an appearance.

Phil had written that he would come out to Montana in about a week and would stop at the construction camp before going to the Endicott place. Dave and Roger, of course, looked forward to the visit with much pleasure.

"We'll have to ask for a day off just to show Phil around," said Dave.

"That's so. And among other points of interest we can show him the spot where you killed the rattler," answered his chum, with a grim smile.

"Yes, we can do that."

"I hope Shadow Hamilton comes with him. I could even stand it to hear some of Shadow's oldest chestnuts of stories," went on Roger. "It would seem like old times at Oak Hall."

"Let us trust that Shadow has a new batch of stories to tell," responded Dave. "We haven't seen him in such a while he has had plenty of time to gather in a new crop."

Several days went by, and the young civil engineers were kept so busy that they had little time to think about the coming of Phil Lawrence and Shadow Hamilton. Once or twice they thought of Nick Jasniff and asked Mr. Obray if that individual had shown himself.

"Not yet," was the manager's reply. "Maybe he got wind that you were here and that is keeping him away."

On the afternoon of the fourth day following the killing of the rattlesnake, Dave and Roger were hard at work in Section Five when one of the general utility men around the camp came riding up on horseback and leading another steed by the halter.

"Mr. Obray sent me for you," he announced to the chums. "You are to take these two horses and ride down to the office as fast as you can. Some young man is there that you wanted to see�the fellow who came here some days ago looking for a job."

"It must be Nick Jasniff!" exclaimed Dave, and lost no time in leaping into the saddle. He was followed by Roger; and both hurried off along the trail leading to the construction camp.

"Let us sneak up to the office by the back way and listen to what Nick Jasniff has to say," suggested Dave while they were on the way.

This suited Roger, and coming into view of the camp they left the horses at the shed and hurried along past the bunk-houses to the rear of the office. Here a window was wide open, and, looking through this, they saw Mr. Obray at a desk, and sitting near him was his visitor, hat in hand.

"There is no mistake about him. It's Nick Jasniff," whispered the senator's son.

He was right, it was indeed the former bully of Oak Hall, the rascal who had been sent to prison for the robbery of Mr. Wadsworth's jewelry works. Jasniff was talking very earnestly to the manager of the construction camp.

"Yes, I am working over at the Double Eight Ranch," Jasniff was saying. "I've been there now for quite a while, but I don't like it very much. You see, I've been used to office life, and working around the construction of skyscrapers, and things like that. I had a pretty good job out in San Francisco and another one in Seattle. I would much rather work for a concern like yours than to stick to cow-punching."

"How long have you been at Double Eight Ranch?" questioned Mr. Obray. He was doing what he could to put in time until Dave and Roger might arrive.

"Been there nearly three months."

"And did you come directly from San Francisco or Seattle?"

"Oh�I�er�came from Seattle," responded Nick Jasniff hesitatingly. "I was�er�out of work for about six weeks."

"And how long did you work in Seattle?"

"A little over a year. I would have stayed there longer, only the firm that employed me went out of business," continued the fellow who had been in prison glibly.

"Ever been in the East�in New York or Philadelphia?"

"No, sir. I never got any farther East than Chicago."

At this reply from Jasniff Dave poked Roger in the side and both looked at each other knowingly.

"He's the same Jasniff," whispered the senator's son. "He always did have a smooth tongue."

"Yes. And that smooth tongue of his got him into more than one difficulty," responded our hero.

The pair remained silent for a minute or two longer listening to the questions put by Ralph Obray and the answers made by Nick Jasniff. Finally the questions became so personal that the fellow who had been in prison commenced to grow suspicious.

"Well, will you have an opening for me or not?" he demanded at last, arising to his feet.

At that moment Dave and Roger glided around the side of the office and tiptoed in through the doorway. They came up directly behind Nick Jasniff before he was aware of their presence.

"Here is the fellow if you want to talk to him," said Mr. Obray quickly; and thereupon the visitor turned around, to stare in amazement at Dave and Roger.

"W�w�what��" stammered Nick Jasniff, and was unable to go on.

"You didn't expect to see us, did you, Jasniff?" declared Dave coolly.

"You were lucky to get out of prison so quickly," put in Roger.

"I�I�don't know you," faltered Nick Jasniff, and now his face grew purple while the heavy beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead.

"You don't know us, eh?" cried Dave. "Well, we know you well enough!"

"Even if you are traveling under the assumed name of Jasper Nicholas," added Roger slyly.

"See here! I don't know what you fellows are talking about!" cried Nick Jasniff, straightening up. "Is this some game or not?"

"It is a game�on your part," answered Dave, quickly.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh, come, Jasniff, what's the use of talking like this? We know your game thoroughly!" burst out Roger. "We have found out all about you, and Mr. Obray here knows about you, too. He just sent for us to identify you."

At this announcement Nick Jasniff wheeled around to confront the manager.

"Is that true? Did you send for these fellows to come to identify me?"

"I did." Mr. Obray's face took on a stern look. "They had told me all about you."

"They didn't have any right to do that!" blustered the fellow who had been in prison.

"Yes, they did. In fact, it was their duty to do so. We are all honest men in this camp, and we have no use for fellows like you. I wanted to make sure that there was no mistake. Now I am sure, and you can get out�and stay out."

"I think that Board of Pardons was very foolish to pardon you," Roger could not help remarking. "They should have let you stay in prison to the end of your term."

At this remark Nick Jasniff looked for a moment blankly at the senator's son.

"Now, see here, you��"

"Oh, we know all about how you were pardoned," went on Roger. "It was a big mistake. But now that they have let you go, I suppose you have as much right to earn your living as anybody."

"But we don't want you around where we are," added Dave.

"Huh, I'm not taking orders from you," blustered Nick Jasniff.

"No, but you are taking orders from me," interposed Mr. Obray sternly. "As I said before, I want you to leave this place. I don't want you to come here again�understand that;" and he arose to his feet to signify that the interview was at an end.

"All right�I'll go. But I won't forget that you had me come over here on a fool's errand," grumbled Nick Jasniff. And then, as he reached the doorway and passed outside, he turned around and shook his fist at Dave and Roger. "Just you wait! Some day I'll get square with you for this!" he cried angrily.

Then he ran swiftly toward the horse he had been riding, leaped into the saddle and rode away.