George Smith, Fred Kiley, and Harold Kiley had a fierce encounter with a long-spared patriarch of the Reptilian Age, last Tuesday afternoon. They were progressing rapidly with their survey of Pleasant Street, when this much-dreaded enemy of the human race, of whose history only the last few minutes are known, broke ambush somewhere in the vicinity of Dean Street.
Uttering a loud war cry in the shape of a hiss, he at once declared battle against the three brave surveyors. Harold, armed with a hatchet, at once resented the attack, being a courageous lad, while his antagonist seeing what he was up against, quickly ran to cover, where he summoned up a little more courage, at the same time nursing a hatchet wound m the side. Harold at once sent an order for re-enforcements by wireless telegraphy, and his companions were soon at the front. The hated enemy was quickly surrounded.
Mr. Smith after taking a large bowlder from a nearby stone wall, located the reptile and dropped it on his back. It bounced off like a rubber ball, but with a hiss of rage, the enemy broke into the open, coiled, and sprang at his assailants, who retired to the rear and took refuge on the highest point of the nearby stone wall. Harold and his hatchet were the first to return to the conflict, and after executing a war dance around his savage foe, at last dealt him a blow that severed the connection between his head and the rest of his body. Not satisfied by this, the brave young surveyor proceeded to divide and sub-divide his dying foe into pieces of minute proportion.
Upon closely examining one of these pieces after the din of battle had ceased, it was found that it once belonged to a black adder which it would have been a tedious task to measure with the 100-foot tape carried by the surveyors. The body was said to be about 6 inches in diameter, normal, but when fighting it swelled to enormous proportions.
(All articles originally appeared in the Norwood Messenger unless otherwise noted)