Marcus was sitting alone reading a book when Rodrigo came up to him.
“I’m boning up on chemistry before school starts,” Marcus said, aiming his flashlight at a page. “What’s up, man?”
“Any rattlers around here, do ya think?” Rodrigo asked.
“Yeah, some. Why? You scared of rattlers?” Marcus asked.
“Nah,” Rodrigo said.
“Then you’re a total fool,” Marcus said. “I’ve been working with Henry Montrose for two years and I’ve learned a healthy respect for rattlers. They don’t go looking for trouble—but if you run across one, you better respect his right-of-way.”
Rodrigo walked slowly back to where Chandler and Lonnie were already stretched out in their sleeping bags. He found a six-foot length of rope and soaked it in a nearby creek for a few minutes. When it had turned wet, cold, and a little slimy, he tied a string to one end and checked to see that Chandler was sound asleep. Yep. The guy was lying flat on his back and snoring. Then Rodrigo very carefully laid the rope across Chandler’s neck. By gently tugging on the string, he could make the rope slither across Chandler’s neck so it would feel just like a snake.
“Psst! Chandler!” Rodrigo whispered loudly. “Chandler!” When Chandler opened his eyes, Rodrigo said, “Freeze! Don’t move! There’s a big rattlesnake crawling over your neck.” Rodrigo gave a slight tug on the rope to start it moving.
Chandler’s arms were at his sides under the covers. “Huh?” he gasped, his eyes now wide and terror-struck.
“Don’t move a muscle, man,” Rodrigo said. “That’s a big snake. If he gets you in the jugular, you’re a goner!”
“No!” Chandler croaked, his face turning ashen.
“Don’t even blink, man. Snakes are very sensitive. If you blink even once, that rattler will strike. And he’s a real big sucker. He’s got enough venom in him to put you six feet under, man,” Rodrigo said.
“Get Montrose,” Chandler gasped. “Get somebody to get the snake off me!”
“Nah,” Rodrigo said, “you just got to let him crawl off by himself, man.” He was enjoying every minute of Chandler’s terror. “If I jump up to get Montrose, the snake is gonna see motion. Then he’ll strike at you, Chandler. Oh, man, he’s the biggest rattler I ever saw. I can see his eyes. He’s got these pit viper kind of cat eyes. Now he’s looking around, man. He keeps shooting out his tongue. He seems to be mad.”
“Get him off me,” Chandler almost sobbed. “You hear me? I’m telling you, Garcia, get him off me, now!”
“Don’t move,” Rodrigo cautioned. “I mean it, man. Once he sinks his fangs into you, the venom will go right to your brain. You’ll never see the sun come up.” Rodrigo tugged gently on the string, making the rope-snake slither very slowly across Chandler’s trembling neck.
Lonnie was awakened by the sounds of the other boys’ voices. Now he sat up in his sleeping bag, absorbed in the little drama. In the moonlight he could clearly see that Rodrigo was pulling a rope across Chandler’s throat and pretending it was a rattlesnake. A slow smile broke out on Lonnie’s face. For the first time since Rodrigo had known him, he looked happy. Rodrigo glanced over at him and winked.
Lying flat on the ground in his sleeping bag, Chandler couldn’t see what was moving across his throat. He never doubted that the rough cold shape creeping across his skin was a rattlesnake. He started to cry.
“What’s going on over there?” Montrose yelled from the other side of the clearing where he and Marcus slept.
Pulling the rope across Chandler’s throat, Rodrigo quickly snatched it up and stuffed it in his backpack. “Nothing, Mr. Montrose,” he said.
“Nothing?” Chandler screamed, leaping from his sleeping bag. “A rattlesnake was crawling over my neck! It almost bit me!”
Montrose and Marcus got up. Chandler grabbed his sleeping bag and shook it violently. Seeing nothing, he turned to Rodrigo. “You saw it!” he cried. “Tell them what a big snake it was!”
Rodrigo looked over at Montrose and shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on. I was sleeping. Then all of a sudden Chandler started screaming about snakes. I got up to take a look.”
Chandler’s face turned from terror to fury. “You tricked me!” he shouted.
“I guess the guy must have had a nightmare or something,” Rodrigo said innocently.
Montrose turned to Lonnie who was now lying down in his sleeping bag. “Did you see anything, Bowman?”
“No, sir,” Lonnie said.
“Chandler,” Montrose said, “go back to sleep. We got a lot of hiking to do tomorrow. Knock off the kid stuff. You’re a big boy now. Enough with the monsters under the bed, okay?”
Chandler said nothing when Montrose and Marcus were there. But when they returned to their sleeping bags, he turned to Rodrigo. “You messed with my mind, man. Nobody gets away with doing that!”
“Ha! You shoulda seen yourself, Chandler. You were cryin’ like a baby— begging me to get the snake off you. Man, what a coward you are! When we get back to camp I’m gonna tell everybody,” Rodrigo taunted.
“You better not,” Chandler said, now more frightened of the shame than he was of the snake. He was sweating and breathing hard.
Rodrigo climbed back in his sleeping bag. “Or maybe we can both just forget tonight, man. By the time we get back to camp, maybe I won’t remember the rattler. It all sorta depends on you.
“If you were to stay out of my face—and stop picking on Bowman— why, I might forget what a fool you made of yourself… .”
Chandler understood the threat. Back off. No more talking trash. No more calling Lennie a psycho. No more pushing anyone off the trail… .
Early the next morning, giant clouds were banked in the sky. “A storm might hit Rattler Mountain before we can make it down,” Montrose said, casting a worried look at the sky. “If that happens, we’ll have to go back to camp. I don’t want to be stuck up here in a gullywasher. Some of the trail we’ve just used can turn into a raging river in nothing flat.”
The five hikers turned and started down the trail at a brisk pace. They had to hurry if they wanted to beat the rain. But as they walked the wind kicked up, and Rodrigo noticed all the birds flying in one direction ahead of the storm. The storm was coming on a lot faster than anyone had expected.
Around ten o’clock, there was a flash of lightning followed by shattering peals of thunder.
“Here she comes,” Montrose bellowed. “We’re in for it now.” He knew this country well, including where all the hiding places were. “No way we can go any farther,” Montrose said. “Too easy to slip off the trail and get washed into the canyon. Follow me!”
The rain came in silver sheets as the five climbed an already slippery hill toward a high cave. Supplies were stashed inside the cave for just such an emergency. Campers from Chaparral Corral had been here before.
“We’ll wait out the storm right here,” Montrose said.
“We have to go inside this crummy cave?” Chandler complained. “There’re probably bats in there.”
“Maybe so, and let’s hope we don’t bother them. In this area, bats do a good job keeping down destructive insects,” Montrose said. “Now shut up and get with the program, Chandler.”
Rodrigo sat in a corner with Lonnie. Beyond the cave opening, they could see the rain coming down in torrents.
“He was awful mean to my mom,”
Lonnie said out of the silence, as if he were thinking out loud.
Rodrigo froze. The kid was talking about shooting his father. At long last he was letting it out.