Dancer rode back towards Green River Station and sighed as he thought of a warm bed and place to sleep for the night. He relished the idea of meeting new people and making new friends. He looked at the horse he was currently riding and patted its neck as it rode through dimming sun. He could see the town just in distance as he rode back. The horse suddenly jerked to a stop and Dancer sighed.
"What's wrong girl?" he asked petting her neck again. He looked over her shoulder to see a baby rattlesnake in the middle of their path freshly bleeding as if it was just caught and released by an eagle. He frowned and got off the horse and walked over the the snake and looked at it from a safe distance.
"You hurt?" he asked it. It squirmed as he talked to it. Dancer looked at the town and then at the snake and growled. He ripped a piece of his shirt off and got closer to the injured snake. It snapped at Dancer and he pulled back. "Now that's not very nice," Dancer looked at the snake and got a little closer and let the snake snap at him again this time hitting its mark, Dancer's wrist.
"Verdammt!" Dancer yelled he bit his lip and held back a cry of pain. The snake let go and dropped the short distance into Dancer's lap as he sat backwards. He quickly wrapped the piece of cloth around the snake gently and then ripped his shirt again and wrapped it above the bite on his wrist and tied it tightly. He then placed his mouth around the bite and sucked and spit our the blood from his mouth. After awhile of this he stopped and let it to continue to bleed and looked at the snake.
"You caused me some trouble," Dancer growled at it. "That mean I get to pick your name," he added. He thought for a moment and looked at it. "Diabalo," he smiled weakly. He took off his hat and carefully placed the snake inside the hat and then mounted the horse again. He let the snake ride in his hat and rode off to the station.
"Well this was one hell of a first run," Dancer muttered to himself. Blood slowly dripped down his hand onto the ground a small trail left behind him. He whipped sweat away from his forehed and when he got to the station he smiled dismounted and passed out.
© 2009 Ellie and The Five Dollar Mail
No comments:
Post a Comment