Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 "Set the bait," Rex said to Peter. Peter walked up quickly and dropped the dead mice in front of the hole. Then he dashed back. Peter might be a clown. But he was a brave clown. "Okay," Rex said in a steely voice. "Now we wait. You know what to do." All week at recess they'd worked out their plan, huddling together like spies while the girls jumped

rope and the younger kids played Red Rover. They figured they'd wait for King Rattler to poke his head out of his hole. Then they'd rush forward for the attack. Rex would chop the snake's head off with his ax. Peter would hack away with his hoe. Sven and John would stand by to smack it with their sticks. When it was over, Rex would get to cut off the rattle. That was only fair, since he'd found King Rattler's den and this whole mission was his idea. They chose a spot a few feet from the hole. They sat in the dirt, with their backs to the creek. John tried not to think about the sound an ax would make when it chopped through the neck of a huge snake. He wondered what it would do when its head was hacked off. Was it like a chicken, whose body kept moving, even without a head? Would its jaws keep snapping open and shut, fangs shooting out venom? He hoped the guys didn't notice.

They were quiet for a while, but Peter couldn't keep his jaw shut for long. Rex kept shushing him, but it was no use. Soon enough, they were all jabbering again. They bickered about which candy at the general store was the best, and decided it was a tie between licorice and peppermint sticks. They talked about the girls at school. The guys all liked Annie, who had curly hair and very white teeth. John liked Myra, who had a loud laugh and was helping Franny learn to jump rope. But he kept that information to himself. The wind turned colder. None of them were wearing coats, and soon they were rubbing their arms to keep warm. "My pa says it's going to be a bad winter," Rex told them. "He says blizzards are going to start early." "How does he know?" John asked, hoping it wasn't such a dumb question.

"Birds have already gone south," Rex said, squinting up at the sky. "Animals know things we don't." Sven and Peter nodded in agreement. John wondered how any winter could be more miserable than last year's. He shivered just thinking about the bone-chilling cold. The first blizzard had struck in October. John and Pa were heading home from town when the sky turned dark. The snow started swirling so thick they couldn't see an inch in front of their faces. Luckily their ox, Shadow, stayed on the path and got them home before they were frozen solid. "At least in winter, there are no grasshoppers," Peter said. Sven groaned. "Nothing worse than grasshoppers," added Rex. John smiled a little because he was sure they were joking. Nobody could be afraid of a little grasshopper. They didn't even sting.

"You never heard about the grasshopper attacks?" Rex asked. John studied Rex's face, and realized he wasn't joking. And then, leaning in close, the guys told John the story.