Read Online The Spirit of Iron Eyes by Rory Black - Free Book Online Page A

knife protruding from the tall neck of his
boot and hauled it out. He shook his head in a vain attempt to free
his mind from the fog and thunder which was overwhelming him. Again
he managed to regain his thoughts for the briefest of seconds and
honed his every thought on the rattler which still clung to his
leg.
    The snake ’s fangs had driven so deeply
into his boot and calf-muscle that it could no longer free
itself.
    Iron Eyes shook the sweat off
his face and then groped for the viper ’s neck in the darkness. He found the
wriggling serpent and squeezed it as hard as he could as the
snake’s body wrapped around his arm.
    With the other hand Iron Eyes moved the long
honed blade closer to the sidewinder. Pain racked his head and body
as if he were being torn apart by a hundred wild mustangs but he
continued to force himself to try and kill the creature that had
almost certainly killed him.
    His heart pounded in his chest
as it tried to fight the poison which was now being sucked through
his heart. Iron Eyes felt giddy and rolled over. His skull hit the
cave wall. It was like a slap in the face for the feverish man.
Suddenly he remembered what he was doing and tightened his grip on
the snake ’s
neck once more. The lethal blade of his knife sought out the neck
of the rattler in the darkness. He could feel it cut his hand time
and time again as he searched for the head of the snake. The hand
holding the rattler became wet with his blood, but he could not
feel the injuries he was inflicting upon himself.
    They were mere scratches compared to the
agony which racked the rest of him.
    The snake ’s venom had deadened his
entire body to anything except itself. Then the bounty hunter slid
the curved blade under his thumb and pressed it into the throat of
the determined sidewinder.
    ‘ Gotcha, ya bastard!’ Iron Eyes growled.
    He dragged the knife across the
flesh of the snake with every ounce of his remaining strength. The
body was severed from the head of the rattler but its fangs were still buried
deep into his calf muscle. The poison still pumped from the twin
fangs even though the creature was now dead.
    Iron Eyes felt himself fall on to his side
again. He was tired and yet knew that he dare not allow himself to
sleep. For sleep meant certain death.
    A swirling sickness seemed to be flowing
into his mind. He could hear his heart beating like a drum. Louder
and louder until he thought that he would go insane.
    ‘ No!’
He cried out angrily forcing himself back up into a sitting
position. ‘No damn snake’s gonna get the better of me. I ain’t
ready to go under just yet!’
    Iron Eyes released his grip on the body of
the snake and then poked the long edge of his Bowie knife into his
boot. He dragged its razor sharp edge through the leather until it
reached the fangs of the rattler still embedded in his leg.
    He searched with the fingers of his free
hand until he located the fangs, then placed the blade of his knife
beneath them.
    As if he were sawing wood, Iron Eyes carved
at the creature until he felt it finally prised free from his
flesh. He threw the head across the cave tunnel and began to feel
as if he were about to pass out. He knew that if he did, he would
never awaken again.
    Iron Eyes inhaled deeply and
tried to recall what he had planned to do next. He reached down and
dragged the split boot off his foot and then pulled his leg up across
his lap. He wiped his fingers free of the blood and blindly
searched for the wounds left by the snake’s fangs.
    He could feel the blood and venom weeping
under his fingers.
    ‘ Gotta
do somethin’!’ Iron Eyes mumbled as his head filled with agonizing
bolts of lightning. ‘But what? Think, dammit! Think!’
    Suddenly the bounty hunter remembered the
matches in his shirt pocket. He rested the knife on his bleeding
leg and shook his coat off his shoulders. Without even knowing why,
he removed the box of matches from his pocket and then tore his
shirt from his