241
THE BLUE FEATHER
said, ready to ride out. “I hope I can meet him one day and be
able to thank him personally.”
“Let’s get going. We need to have set up camp at least an
hour before dark. I plan on building a good-sized campfire for
tonight. That should keep the beasts away,” Bardala said as she
squeezed Belize’s sides and rode out in the lead.
The huge size of the temple-pyramid was apparent to Bardala
the closer they rode towards the paved square that surrounded
its massive base. Five hundred meters before reaching the plaza,
out of the corner of her eye, Bardala saw the wind blow a large
shed snakeskin down the middle of the street. It was over ten
meters long end-to-end. It sent a big chill down her spine. She
turned her horse, Belleza, to get a better look at the snakeskin as
it blew around a corner of a house when she observed the head
of an anaconda snake protruding out of one of the open windows
of a majestic house. For a count of three it remained motionless,
then flicking its forked tongue out it backed into the deep
shadows out of her sight.
“Did you see that snake?” she asked Tital while still trying to
get another look at it.
“It makes me want to go after it with my knife and make me a
pair of anaconda snakeskin boots,” Tital answered back with a
smile.
“Just to make things perfectly clear for you, I don’t like
snakes, any type of snakes, big snakes, or little tiny snakes. While
I’m sure they have their place in God’s world, I want them
nowhere near me. Is that clear for you? The far side of Vivia
would suit me fine,” Bardala fumed.
“I guess you don’t want any snake burgers for dinner,
tonight?” Tital teased.