"That was n't it. It was n't the snake at all," Mother said; "there was madness in the man's eyes all the while. I saw it the moment he came to the door." She appealed to Sal.
"Nonsense!" said Dad; "nonsense!" and he tried to laugh.
"Oh, of course it's nonsense," Mother went on; "everything I say is nonsense. It won't be nonsense when you come home some day and find us all on the floor with our throats cut."
"Pshaw!" Dad answered; "what 's the use of talking like that?" Then to Dave: "Go out and see if he's in the barn!"
Dave fidgetted. He did n't like the idea. Joe giggled.
"Surely you're not frightened?" Dad shouted. Dave coloured up.
"No—don't think so," he said; and, after a pause, "You go and see."
It was Dad's turn to feel uneasy. He pretended to straighten the fire, and coughed several times. "Perhaps it's just as well," he said, "to let him be to-night."
Of course, Dad was n't afraid; he said he was n't, but he drove the pegs in the doors and windows before going to bed that night.
Next morning, Dad said to Dave and Joe, "Come 'long, and we'll see where he's got to."
