Danny Blackgoat, Navajo Prisoner by Tim Tingle

Author:Tim Tingle
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781939053893
Publisher: Book Publishing Company

Chapter 11

Fangs of Poison

Mr. Dime never slept soundly. His dreams kept him awake. Sometimes he dreamed of dying in a blaze of gunfire. Other nights he was chased by soldiers and rode his horse off a cliff. But he always woke up, tossing and rolling on his bed, just before he hit the ground.

Tonight’s dream was about the rattlesnake. Dime dreamed the snake slithered from the bag and crawled out of the hole. It slid through the gates of the fort and entered the barracks. As if it knew exactly where it was going, the snake came to Mr. Dime’s bed.

The six-foot-long rattlesnake climbed up the log wall and hung himself over Dime’s head. It opened its mouth and dangled its fangs. Closer and closer it moved to Mr. Dime’s face. Finally, it reared back its head, ready to strike.

“NO!” Dime shouted, kicking his legs and rolling to the floor.

When he realized it was just a bad dream, Dime stood up and looked around the barracks. No one heard him holler. But something was strange.

“Where is that Fire Eye boy?” he whispered to himself.

Danny Blackgoat had already left for his visit with Jim Davis. His bed was empty. Mr. Dime smiled.

“I’ll have a gift for him when he comes back to bed,” he said.

Dime dressed in a hurry and slipped quietly out the door. He crept behind the building and ran to the back gate of the fort. There was no road leading from this gate, only a path winding to the mountains. On most evenings, this gate was left unguarded.

Dime circled the fort and dashed to the campfire grounds. Moving the rock from the hole, he picked up a small tree branch. He tapped the snake through the bag. The rattlesnake jerked and hissed, snapping its jaws and striking. Mr. Dime waited until the snake coiled into a circle, still in the bag.

WHIRRRRR. WHIRRRRR.

He grabbed the snake by the neck and held tight. The snake shook and wriggled, but Dime’s grip was strong.

When the snake relaxed, Dime tied a knot at the opening of the bag. Never loosening his grip on the rattlesnake’s neck, he ran back to the barracks. He glanced through a window, making certain everyone was still sleeping.

“Good,” Dime said. “Fire Eye’s bed is still empty.”

He entered the barracks and hurried to Danny’s bed. He untied the knot. Very carefully he tucked the bag under the covers of Danny’s bed. The rattlesnake slithered from the bag and coiled into a circle, waiting.

Ten minutes later, Danny returned from his visit with Jim Davis. Tired and sleepy, he crept across the floor to his bed.

“Jim Davis is like my grandfather,” he thought as he crawled into bed. “He is a wise old man.”

He smiled and whispered the closing words to his grandfather’s prayer: Nothing will change.

Danny closed his eyes and was almost asleep when change came. He felt something move beneath the covers. Danny waited for a moment.

“What could that be?” he asked himself.

He reached for his ankles. Then he heard it.

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