Jerry risked one glance behind him just as he got up close to a huge pin oak, and he saw an amazing thing happen. Sheriff Taylor was so intent on catching Jerry that he forgot about watching the handle of the stick, and it got tangled between his fat thighs. He tripped and landed facedown on his flabby belly. His jowls hung slack with horror as he sat up and Jerry ducked behind the tree. The sheriff squealed at the top of his lungs like a stuck pig when he saw the snake hanging from his arm, the fangs sunk to the roof of its mouth. The jaws were stretched wide, chewing and working, injecting the venom deep into his bloodstream.

He screamed while he clawed at the holster with his free hand, blubbering like a baby until he got the pistol out. There was mad panic in his eyes as he looked from Jerry to the snake and started begging him for help.

“Oh, Jesus God, help me! He bit me! He bit me! Oh, God, the sonofabitch is in my arm!”

Then he cocked the pistol, stuck the muzzle against the smooth white scales of the snake’s belly, and blew it apart with one thunderous blast. Little pieces of pink meat and snake guts splattered against his face, some of it landing on his lips. He laid the gun down, and Jerry watched in fascination from behind the tree as the sheriff grabbed the pulpy, writhing body and pulled the head and fangs out of his arm with an awful groan. Clear liquid oozed from the twin punctures on his forearm. The holes were red and puffy and he could feel a tingle starting in his fingertips. He screamed for help again.

“You gotta help me, you gotta help me! Please, you gotta cut me! Oh, lord, you gotta cut me!” Then his voice trailed off to a weak whimper as his head sagged down on his chest.

“You throw me the gun, man,” Jerry called. He didn’t intend to step out and help, and then get a hole blown through him for his trouble. “I got a knife. I’ll cut it, but you got to throw me the gun.”

Sheriff Taylor was shaking and a rigor went through his body. His heart was pounding and he knew each second that passed and each beat of his heart would send the venom closer and closer to the big muscle. But instead of throwing the gun he snatched it up and screamed. “You sonofabitch!”