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<v Speaker 1>The Snake Fiend by Farnsworth right. Even as a child,

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<v Speaker 1>Jack Creamy delighted in collecting reptiles, and he seemed to

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<v Speaker 1>absorb much of their venomous nature. His best loved pet

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<v Speaker 1>was a large black snake, But when it caused him

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<v Speaker 1>a whipping by crawling into his father's bedroom, he roasted

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<v Speaker 1>it over a slow fire in a large pot, listening

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<v Speaker 1>with glee to its agonized hissing, and pushing it back

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<v Speaker 1>with a stick when it strove to crawl out of

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<v Speaker 1>the searing container. It was no cause for wonder, then,

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<v Speaker 1>that his burning love for the girl of his dreams

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<v Speaker 1>turned to fierce hate when she became the bride of another.

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<v Speaker 1>Creamy's sentiment for Marjorie Bressey was aroused by her fine

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<v Speaker 1>Italian beauty, which reminded him of his mother. He could

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<v Speaker 1>have fallen in love with any other girl as easily

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<v Speaker 1>if he had set his mind to it in the

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<v Speaker 1>same way. By dint of comparing her with his mother's picture,

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<v Speaker 1>he conceived a great admiration for her. Then he wished

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<v Speaker 1>to possess her, to be her lord and master, to

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<v Speaker 1>marry her, gazing on her every day with this thought

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<v Speaker 1>in his mind, his admiration grew to a burning passion.

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<v Speaker 1>Of all this, he said nothing to Marjorie, and then

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<v Speaker 1>it was too late. Marjorie loved and was loved by

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<v Speaker 1>Alan Jimmerson, a young civil engineer. Creamy neither threatened nor cajoled.

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<v Speaker 1>He simply accepted the fact and meditated revenge. He was

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<v Speaker 1>all smiles at their wedding, and he gave them a

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<v Speaker 1>wedding present beyond what he could reasonably afford, while he

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<v Speaker 1>planned to tumble their happiness in ruins about their ears.

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<v Speaker 1>After a short honeymoon, Jimmerson departed with his wife to

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<v Speaker 1>take up his duties as resident engineer of some construction

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<v Speaker 1>work on the Western Railroad. Creamy, his face glowing with

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<v Speaker 1>friendship and goodwill, was the last to clasp Marjorie's hand

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<v Speaker 1>in farewell as the train pulled out of the station.

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<v Speaker 1>Write to me often, Marjorie, was his parting injunction. Send

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<v Speaker 1>me a letter as soon as you get settled, and

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<v Speaker 1>let me know how you are getting along. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to lose touch with either of you, and he

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<v Speaker 1>meant it. Marjorie was fond of the handsome, manly looking

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<v Speaker 1>Italian youth and liked him immensely as a friend, although

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<v Speaker 1>she had never been in love with him. No sooner

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<v Speaker 1>was she settled in her new home than she wrote

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<v Speaker 1>him a long letter telling of her husband's work, the

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<v Speaker 1>bleakness of the desert country, and the strange newness of

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<v Speaker 1>her life. She and her husband occupied a cabin together

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<v Speaker 1>up from the bulk housing of the construction camp in

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<v Speaker 1>the sagebrush region of northern California, not far from the

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<v Speaker 1>Nevada border. A fierce joy and exultation leapt in Creamy's

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<v Speaker 1>heart when he read Marjorie's letter. You would like this

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<v Speaker 1>country better than I do, she wrote, for it is

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<v Speaker 1>infested with rattlesnakes. The bare desert rocks on the ridge

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<v Speaker 1>four miles from our cabin are swarming with them. Uugh,

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<v Speaker 1>they sun themselves in tangled masses, Alan says, But truly,

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<v Speaker 1>I can't bring myself to go near the place. I

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<v Speaker 1>get quite too much of snakes without that, for we

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<v Speaker 1>are constantly killing them in the sagebrush. This country has

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<v Speaker 1>never been settled, and except for an occasional prospector, there

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<v Speaker 1>was nobody to kill them before the surveyors came. The

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<v Speaker 1>Indians never bothered the snakes, but passed by them on

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<v Speaker 1>the other side of a sagebrush and leave them in peace.

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<v Speaker 1>Creamy scored these in red ink, word by word, as

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<v Speaker 1>if to blazon them on his memory, and he drew

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<v Speaker 1>little pictures of snakes on the margin. He burned out

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<v Speaker 1>Marjorie's signature with acid, spitefully watching with minute care as

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<v Speaker 1>the letters faded, and gleaning a savage satisfaction from seeing

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<v Speaker 1>the paper run away under the venomous bite of the poison.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he fed the paper to the flames as he

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<v Speaker 1>had roasted the black snake years before, and watched the

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<v Speaker 1>missive burn into black ashes and crumble slowly away, page

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<v Speaker 1>by page into gray dust. Followed Creamy's pursuit of the pair.

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<v Speaker 1>His arrival was not expected by either Jimison or Marjorie,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was nonetheless welcome for both of them. Like

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<v Speaker 1>the genial, companionable Italian life on the edge of the

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<v Speaker 1>desert had few distractions at best, Creamy's eyes lit with

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<v Speaker 1>genuine pleasure at the sight of his prospective victims. The

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<v Speaker 1>joy on both sides was sincere. No, this isn't a

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<v Speaker 1>pleasure trip, he explained to them, although I expect to

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<v Speaker 1>have pleasure enough out of it before I get through.

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<v Speaker 1>I have turned from collecting reptiles to studying their lives

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<v Speaker 1>and habits. I intend to write a monograph on rattlesnakes.

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<v Speaker 1>When I got your letter, Marjorie, I knew that I

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<v Speaker 1>could do no better than to come here. I expect

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<v Speaker 1>to become very well acquainted with that ridge you wrote about,

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<v Speaker 1>where the snakes sun themselves in tangled masses. Marjorie shuddered,

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<v Speaker 1>and Creamy laughed. Well, don't bring any of your snakes

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<v Speaker 1>around here, she said. I turned cold, and something grips

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<v Speaker 1>at my insides every time I hear one rattle. Creamy

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<v Speaker 1>built himself a small cabin about a mile from the Jimmersons,

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<v Speaker 1>in the direction of the rattlesnake ridge he had during

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<v Speaker 1>the shack tastefully, and Marjorie's deft hand gave it a

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<v Speaker 1>distinctively feminine neatness and charm to its appearance. He became

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<v Speaker 1>a frequent visitor at the Jimmerson's cabin, and evening after

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<v Speaker 1>evening he read to them in his melodious, well modulated voice.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes the draftsman or transitman would come in and Creamy

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<v Speaker 1>would join in playing cards until late at night. He

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<v Speaker 1>seemed to take pleasure in the company of Marjorie and

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<v Speaker 1>her husband, and his face always lit up at the

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<v Speaker 1>sight of them, especially when they were together. But it

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<v Speaker 1>was the joy of a boy who sees the apples

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<v Speaker 1>ripening for him on the neighbor's tree and knows that

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<v Speaker 1>they will soon be ready for him to pluck. He

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<v Speaker 1>was almost happy when he was meditating his frightful revenge.

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<v Speaker 1>As his preparations drew near their end, he often spent

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<v Speaker 1>whole hours gloating over the fate in store the couple.

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<v Speaker 1>For Marjorie, in loving Jimmerson had aroused him to insane jealousy,

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<v Speaker 1>and Jimmerson, having robbed him of his heart's desire, was

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<v Speaker 1>included in Creamy's fierce hate of the girl who had

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<v Speaker 1>crossed him. Then one evening, Marjorie and her husband happened

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<v Speaker 1>in at Creamy's cabin. Marjorie expressed her horror at the

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<v Speaker 1>thought of Creamy wandering among the snake infested rocks of

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<v Speaker 1>the Rattlesnake Ridge. The snake hunter seated her on a

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<v Speaker 1>box that contained a twisting knot of the venomous reptile. Marjorie,

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<v Speaker 1>serenely unaware, talked on blithely, and Creamy's merry laugh pealed

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<v Speaker 1>out at regular intervals. He was in right jovial mood

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<v Speaker 1>that evening, for he was ready to spring the death

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<v Speaker 1>trap prepared for his two friends. He only awaited a

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<v Speaker 1>favorable opportunity to strike. The opportunity came when the surveyor's cook,

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<v Speaker 1>crazed by bad whiskey, smashed up the kitchen. Jimmerson discharged him,

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<v Speaker 1>and the cook buttered threats of a horrible vengeance. Shut up,

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmerson ordered, this is the third time you've been seeing snakes,

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<v Speaker 1>and now you've wrecked the cookshack. You ought to be

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<v Speaker 1>sent to jail or a lunatic asylum. It's you that'll

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<v Speaker 1>be seeing snakes. The cooks fluttered, you and that Italian

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<v Speaker 1>wife of yours will see plenty of them, red and green,

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<v Speaker 1>and Jimmerson struck him across the mouth and set him

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<v Speaker 1>on his way. This was in the evening. The draftsman

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<v Speaker 1>and the rodsmen went to town the next day to

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<v Speaker 1>hire a new cook, while Jimmerson and Marjorie went on

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<v Speaker 1>an outing at the headwaters of the Feather Creek. It

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<v Speaker 1>was Sunday, and they intended to spend the day together,

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<v Speaker 1>Cramini declined their invitation to accompany them. It was the

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<v Speaker 1>molting season, he explained, when the snakes were casting off

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<v Speaker 1>their skins. He could ill afford to lose a day

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<v Speaker 1>of observation at this time, for he had several perplexing

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<v Speaker 1>points to clear up before writing his monograph. Cramini walked

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<v Speaker 1>fearlessly from rock to rock of the Rattlesnake Ridge, chuckling

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<v Speaker 1>to himself the tangled, massive snakes of which he had

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<v Speaker 1>been told existed only in rumor. Although there were snakes

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<v Speaker 1>in plenty if one looked for them. Tangled masses would

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<v Speaker 1>serve his purpose later, but he had gathered them here

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<v Speaker 1>and there, one or two at a time. By noon,

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<v Speaker 1>the little cluster of cabins occupied by the engineers was deserted.

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<v Speaker 1>Marjorie and her husband had gone since sun up, and

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<v Speaker 1>the surveyors were all in town. Not a soul was

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<v Speaker 1>stirring in the neighborhood of the shacks, and the men

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<v Speaker 1>at the construction camp were mostly lying around in their

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<v Speaker 1>bunks playing cards. Cramenie nailed fast the windows of Jimmerson's cabin.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he entered and secured the bed to the floor

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<v Speaker 1>so that it could not be moved. He laboriously carried

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<v Speaker 1>his box of snakes a mile or more from his

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<v Speaker 1>room to the little gully behind the surveyor's cabins, and

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<v Speaker 1>hid them in the sage brush. Marjorie and her husband

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<v Speaker 1>came back from their tramp after dark that evening, dog tired,

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<v Speaker 1>Marjorie cooked a little supper, and by ten o'clock the

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<v Speaker 1>two were asleep. Cramini entered their cabin about midnight. They

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<v Speaker 1>were fast in the chains of slumber, and he did

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<v Speaker 1>not find it necessary to muffle his tread. He removed

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<v Speaker 1>the chairs, shoes, clothes, and even the hand mirror and

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<v Speaker 1>toilet articles. Everything that might serve as a weapon, no

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<v Speaker 1>matter how slight, he took away. Then he brought his

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<v Speaker 1>snakes from the gully and collected them in front of

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<v Speaker 1>the cabin. When he had assembled them all, he knocked

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<v Speaker 1>the top from the largest box, carried it into the room, and,

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<v Speaker 1>in the audacity of his certain triumph, he dumped the

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<v Speaker 1>twisted mass of rattlesnakes on the bed where Marjorie and

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<v Speaker 1>her husband lay asleep. The other boxes he emptied quickly

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<v Speaker 1>just inside the door and withdrew, for he had no

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<v Speaker 1>wish to set foot among the venomous serpents. Revenge is

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<v Speaker 1>never satisfied if the retribution overtakes the avenger, and Cromini

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<v Speaker 1>had no wish to share the fate of his victims.

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<v Speaker 1>He locked the door from the outside and battened it.

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<v Speaker 1>Then he removed the boxes that had contained the snakes

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<v Speaker 1>and returned to his cabin and peacefully went to sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>Marjorie awoke with the first rays of the sun and

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<v Speaker 1>lazily opened her eyes. Her heart leapt suddenly into her throat,

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<v Speaker 1>and she was white awake in an instant. A flat,

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<v Speaker 1>squat head of a rattlesnake was creeping along her breast.

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<v Speaker 1>Its beady eyes were fixed on her face, and its

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<v Speaker 1>red tongue flicked before her like a forked flame. For

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<v Speaker 1>a moment, she thought she was still dreaming, but the

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<v Speaker 1>familiar outlines of the room lying themselves in her consciousness,

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<v Speaker 1>and she knew that what she saw was real. Her

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<v Speaker 1>shriek rent the air as she threw back the bedclothes

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<v Speaker 1>and sprang to the floor. She stepped on a coiled serpent,

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<v Speaker 1>which sounded an ominous warning as it struck out. Blindly,

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<v Speaker 1>she quickly climbed back on the bed and stood on

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<v Speaker 1>the pillow, screaming. Her husband was beside her, at once

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<v Speaker 1>hazily trying to understand the import of the hysterical torrent

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<v Speaker 1>of words she was sobbing into his ears. For an

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<v Speaker 1>instant he thought she must be in the clutch of

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<v Speaker 1>some horrible nightmare. Then a quick startled glance around the

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<v Speaker 1>room turned his blood to ice. There was now a

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<v Speaker 1>continuous rattling, as of dry leaves blowing against a stone wall.

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<v Speaker 1>For Marjory's screams had galvanized the snakes into activity. The

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<v Speaker 1>room was filled with their angry din It sounded in

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmerson's ears like the crack of doom. The floor seemed

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<v Speaker 1>covered with the creeping reptiles. Some were coiled, the whirring

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<v Speaker 1>tips of their tails making an indistinct blur as they rattled,

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<v Speaker 1>and their heads swaying slowly back and forth. Others writhed

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<v Speaker 1>along the floor, their venomous squat heads thrusting forward and withdrawing,

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<v Speaker 1>and their tongues darting out like red flames. On the

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<v Speaker 1>bed itself, there was a motion underneath the thrown back coverlet,

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<v Speaker 1>and the ugly gray head of a thick, four foot

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<v Speaker 1>snake protruded from under it, the evil eyes shining dully

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<v Speaker 1>as if through a film of dust. It extricated itself

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<v Speaker 1>and coiled as if to strike. While Marjorie shrank fearfully

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<v Speaker 1>against the wall. Wide eyed with horror, Jimmerson attacked the

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<v Speaker 1>reptile with the pillow, sweeping it off the bed onto

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<v Speaker 1>the floor. He quickly looked around him for a weapon

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<v Speaker 1>and saw at once that he was trapped. There was

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<v Speaker 1>not even a shoe or a pin cushion with which

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<v Speaker 1>to fight the crawling, rattling creatures. He tried to rock

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<v Speaker 1>the bed toward the window as boys moved sawhorses forward

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<v Speaker 1>while sitting on them, but the bed was firmly fastened

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<v Speaker 1>to the floor, and in his efforts to release it,

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<v Speaker 1>he was bitten on the wrist by the strike of

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<v Speaker 1>a large snake coiled near the foot of the bed.

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmerson flung the reptile across the room and sprang to

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<v Speaker 1>the floor with an oath, crushing a large rattler with

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<v Speaker 1>his heel as he jumped. He raced to the door

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<v Speaker 1>and wrestled with it for a full minute before he

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<v Speaker 1>discovered that he and Marjorie were locked in that serpent hole.

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<v Speaker 1>He sprang to the window and felt a sharp stab

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<v Speaker 1>of pain in the flesh of his calf, as the

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<v Speaker 1>open jaws of another reptile found their mark, and the

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<v Speaker 1>poisoned fangs were embedded deep in the flesh. The window,

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<v Speaker 1>like the door, was nailed fast, but he broke out

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<v Speaker 1>the glass with his bare fists, unmindful of the blood

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<v Speaker 1>on his lacerated hands. He was back at the bedside,

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<v Speaker 1>treading over reptiles with his bare feet. Marjorie lay on

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<v Speaker 1>the bed unconscious. He lifted her in his bleeding arms

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<v Speaker 1>and hurled her through the window to safety. He struggled

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<v Speaker 1>out after her, tearing open his bitten leg on the

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<v Speaker 1>jagged pieces of glass still left in the window frame.

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<v Speaker 1>The spurting blood drenched him, and he leaned, faint and

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<v Speaker 1>dizzy against the cabin. As three of his surveyors came

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<v Speaker 1>running up, having been attracted by margine screams. In almost

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<v Speaker 1>incoherent words, he told them what had happened. He asked

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<v Speaker 1>them to make immediate search for the discharged cook, for

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<v Speaker 1>there was no doubt in Jimmerson's mind that it was

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<v Speaker 1>the cook who had placed the snakes in the room.

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<v Speaker 1>Then the sky went suddenly black before his eyes, and

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<v Speaker 1>he lost consciousness. At that minute, Crimini was waking from

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<v Speaker 1>a peaceful dream. He recalled what he had done the

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<v Speaker 1>night before, and blissfully mused on what must be taking

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<v Speaker 1>place in the Jimmerson cabin. A phantasmagorical succession of pictures

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<v Speaker 1>weltered in his mind. Marjorie and her husband fighting with

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<v Speaker 1>bare hands against the serpents, bitten a score of times

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<v Speaker 1>by the angry fangs of the rattlesnakes, clinging to each

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<v Speaker 1>other in terror, sinking to the floor in agony as

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<v Speaker 1>the poisons swelled their tortured limbs, and overcame them, lying

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<v Speaker 1>green and blue in death, with rattlesnakes crawling and hissing

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<v Speaker 1>over their dead bodies. It is remarkable how few people

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<v Speaker 1>die from rattlesnake bites, even when as badly bitten as

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmerson was. Probably not one adult victim in a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>succumbs to the venom. Although mistaken popular belief considers rattlesnake

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<v Speaker 1>poison as fatal as the death potion of the borges,

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmerson had known too many cases of snake bite to

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<v Speaker 1>believe his case hopeless. He did not give up and die,

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<v Speaker 1>nor did he try to poison his system with whiskey.

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<v Speaker 1>He knew that this condition was serious, but he let

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<v Speaker 1>rest and promagnate. A potash rubbed into his wounds affect

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<v Speaker 1>a cure. The bleeding from the lacerated leg had almost

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<v Speaker 1>entirely washed out the poison, and there was little swelling.

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<v Speaker 1>The pain in his swollen wrist, however, distended almost to bursting,

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<v Speaker 1>kept him from sleeping, and the sickly green hue of

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<v Speaker 1>the bite distressed him, but it did not kill him. Creamy,

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<v Speaker 1>careful observer of reptiles though he was, had never known

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<v Speaker 1>an actual case of snake bite, and he shared the

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<v Speaker 1>popular illusion that the bite of the rattlesnake dooms its

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<v Speaker 1>victims to death. Hence, he was certain of the complete

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<v Speaker 1>success of his revenge, and his gloating glee was unclouded

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<v Speaker 1>by even the shadow of a doubt that Marjorie and

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<v Speaker 1>her husband had been killed in his death trap. He

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<v Speaker 1>awaited only the supreme joy of drinking in the details

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<v Speaker 1>of his success to feel the exultant thrill of complete victory.

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<v Speaker 1>As Creamy sat alone two days after the horrible morning,

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmerson was limping slowly toward his cabin. His swollen hand

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<v Speaker 1>still pained him badly, and there was a dull ache

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<v Speaker 1>in his ankle when he put too much weight on it,

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<v Speaker 1>but he thought the fresh air would benefit him, Supporting

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<v Speaker 1>himself with a cane and leaning heavily on Marjorie at times,

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<v Speaker 1>he went painfully toward the young Italian's deserted home. Not

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<v Speaker 1>once had his suspicions pointed toward Creamy as the author

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<v Speaker 1>of the crime, for the guilt of the lunatic cook

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<v Speaker 1>seemed all too clear. Besides, he liked Creamy for his

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<v Speaker 1>genial camaraderie, his joviality and good humor, and his frank

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<v Speaker 1>interest in everything that concerned either him or Marjorie. So

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<v Speaker 1>intent was the snake fiend on passing the torments of

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<v Speaker 1>his victims before his fancy, that he did not hear

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<v Speaker 1>the knock on his cabin door. His brain was too

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<v Speaker 1>busy to heed the message sent by his ears, for

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<v Speaker 1>he was feasting on the mental and physical tortures that

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<v Speaker 1>Jimmerson and Marjorie must have endured before they lay cold

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<v Speaker 1>in death on the floor of the cabin, hideously discolored

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<v Speaker 1>by the venom of the rattlesnakes by degrees. He became

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<v Speaker 1>conscious that he was not alone. Two persons stood before him,

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<v Speaker 1>and he raised a vengeful spirit on the story he

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<v Speaker 1>had been waiting two days to hear. Even when he

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<v Speaker 1>gazed at those whom he had consigned to a horrible death,

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<v Speaker 1>the thought that they were alive did not permeate his consciousness.

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<v Speaker 1>The idea of failure had never entered his mind for

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<v Speaker 1>even an instant. They were dead, beyond the peradventure of

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<v Speaker 1>a doubt, and now their avenging ghosts stood before him.

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<v Speaker 1>Krimy dropped to his knees in white terror and crawled

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<v Speaker 1>behind his chair. He clasped and unclasped his hands in

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<v Speaker 1>agony of fear. Sweat poured from his face and bathed

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<v Speaker 1>his body. He implored mercy. He screamed for forgiveness. He

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<v Speaker 1>gibbered like a frightened ape. Half forgotten words in Italian

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<v Speaker 1>learned from his mother's knee fell from his lips. He

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<v Speaker 1>pleaded and begged for his life, crawling on his face

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<v Speaker 1>toward the amazed couple in an endeavor to clasp their knees.

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<v Speaker 1>As the meaning of his broken ejaculations was borne in

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<v Speaker 1>on them. A tremendous loathing and disgust overcame them. Marjorie

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<v Speaker 1>clung to her husband, unnerved at the repulsive sight of

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<v Speaker 1>the malicious coward groveling on the floor and trying to

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<v Speaker 1>kiss their feet. Cramini shrieked and gnawed his hands as

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<v Speaker 1>he saw the avenging angels of his victims leave the cabin.

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<v Speaker 1>It was impossible for the stern hand of the law

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<v Speaker 1>to inflict greater punishment on Jack Cremine than his own

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<v Speaker 1>malice had wrought for him. To day, he occupies a

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<v Speaker 1>padded cell in a hospital for the incurably insane. The

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<v Speaker 1>End of the Snake Fiend by Farnsworth right