Grayson gave a
great shout then. He turned his head
as though to drop them, and, that far
away, I heard the sibilant whir of
rattles. I saw a snake's crest within a
yard of his face, and, my God! I saw
Grayson loose his left hand to guard it!
The snake struck at his arm, and Grayson
reeled and caught back once at the
ledge with his left hand. He caught
once, I say, to do him full justice; then,
without a word, he dropped--and I
swear there was a smile on his face
when he shot down past me into the
trees.
I found him down there in the ravine
with nearly every bone in his body
crushed. His left arm was under him,
and outstretched in his right hand was
the shattered cluster, with every
blossom gone but one. One white half of
his face was unmarked, and on it was
still the shadow of a smile. I think it
meant more than that Grayson believed
that he was near peace at last. It
meant that Fate had done the deed for
him and that he was glad. Whether he
would have done it himself, I do not
know; and that is why I say that
though Grayson brought the flower
down--smiling from peak to ravine--
I do not know that he was not, after
all, a coward.
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