Mabel drew a long breath.

“My stars!  I’d hate to wake up in the morning and find a snake near my pillow!”

“Guess we’d better keep a good lookout,” was Charlie’s emphatic suggestion.

One day when papa and mamma and little Hal went in the launch across the river to see the new orange grove, and the children were left alone save for old Uncle Pomp who was hoeing in the truck patch, something happened that made quite a scare.  Hetty went into mamma’s room for a spool of white thread, and when she came out there was a frightened look on her face.

“Oh, there’s a snake on mamma’s bed!” she exclaimed.

Tom and Charlie sprang up so suddenly from their game of parchesi that counters and disks fell to the floor.

Then all four children hurried to the door of mamma’s room and peeped cautiously in.  It was not very light in the room for the window shades had been pulled partly down to shut out the glare of the noonday sun, but sure enough, it could be seen very plainly that there was something on the bed—­a half-coiled, bluish-green snake with brown stripes.

Mabel uttered a scream.

“It squirms—­I saw it!” she cried.

“No you didn’t either,” said Tom.  “You just thought so, because you’re so scared.  But it is a snake, sure enough and it’s asleep.  Guess we’d better not arouse it.”

“Somebody ought to kill it,” Hetty whispered, her teeth chattering.  “One of yon boys’d better get Uncle Pomp; have him bring his hoe or something.”

“I’ll go,” said Charlie quickly.

“Let’s all go,” suggested Mabel.

Tom hesitated a little.  He was the bravest of the lot, though the youngest.

“Say, somebody ought to stay and watch that snake; if it crawls down, we want to know where he goes to.  I’ll stay—­only get Uncle Pomp soon’s you can.”

But the children couldn’t find the old darkey.  So the children came trooping back to the house.  But when they peeped into mamma’s room again, there was no snake on the bed!  Nor was there any Tom to be seen!

“Shucks!  I knew he wasn’t as brave as he pretended to be—­you see he’s deserted!” growled Charlie.

[Illustration:  “You see, he’s deserted.”]

Just then there was a chuckle from the other side of the bed and up popped Tommy who had been crouching on the floor there.  And if you’ll believe it, there was the reptile that had so scared the children around his neck!

“It wasn’t a snake at all!” Tom cried, grinning.  “See, it’s only little Hal’s necktie, that old blue and green, bias-cut silk thing that sort of twists up.  Weren’t we silly geese though!”

RAINDROPS.

     Little Pit and Little Pat
       Come out in stormy weather;
     They chase each other down the pane
       And then run off together.

TOODLES’ MISHAP.