by John Grisham
On the descent, with Theo in the lead and some of the others straggling behind, the lazy afternoon changed quickly when Percy yelled, “A copperhead!”
Every Boy Scout patrol has at least one kid who is always screwing up. The kid who forgets to pack his socks and underwear; the kid who knocks over the watercooler; the kid who forgets his flashlight and toilet paper; the kid who gets scared in the middle of the night; the kid who gets sick and vomits too close to the tents; the kid who pees too close to the tents; the kid who burns the pancakes; the kid who leaves dirty dishes; the kid who lets the campfire go out; the kid who’ll always be a Tenderfoot because he’s not smart enough to advance; the kid who can be dared into doing anything; and the kid who’ll do anything in an attempt to prove he’s either cool or brave.
And, the kid who thinks a copperhead is something to play with.
In the Falcon Patrol that kid was Percy.
On a rocky ledge near a cliff, there was indeed a copperhead, a long, thick one, frozen for the moment and glaring at the humans as they gawked at him. The eight Scouts formed a nervous semicircle and stared in disbelief at the deadly creature, which, before now, existed only in the brightly colored pages of nature books. It looked much more dangerous in real life. Aside from the danger, though, the snake’s color and markings were striking. It was a very bright copper, a shiny color that seemed to glow in the sun.
It was twelve feet away, a safe distance, and it showed no sign of attacking. The boys showed no sign of advancing upon it, at least for the moment. Theo knew the boys should back away and clear the area. He knew that as the patrol leader it was his responsibility to order them away from the danger. He knew this, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the snake.
“Is it really a copperhead?” someone asked.
“Sure it is,” Woody said. “Look at its color and markings, and look at its triangular-shaped head. That’s where the venom is.” Woody had owned several snakes, of the nonpoisonous variety, and knew more about the reptiles than anyone else, though at that moment there were several experts in the group.
“It seems big for a copperhead,” someone said.
Indeed it did.
“I think it’s a male,” added another.
“You can’t tell with snakes,” Woody said. “You have to pick ’em up and look on the underside.”
“Let’s pick him up,” Percy said.
“No way,” Theo barked, and the very idea of advancing on the snake made everyone take a step back.
The standoff continued in silence for a few seconds, then the snake, perhaps sensing its own danger, slowly coiled into a defensive position. (Or was it offensive?) It lifted its head as if ready to strike, its slippery black tongue darting through the air.
“Oh boy,” someone said.
“Let’s back away.”
Instead, Percy decided to prove either his courage or his stupidity by suddenly moving toward the snake. He had a stick, a crooked tree limb, which he thrust at the copperhead.
“Get back Percy!” Theo yelled.
“You moron!” Woody yelled.
Phillip reached to grab Percy, who took another step forward with his stick. The snake struck quickly at the stick and missed. Its quickness was startling, and even Percy paused for a split second.
What happened next would be debated for months and remembered for years. Percy would swear that Phillip, the closest kid, somehow tripped him, and he, Percy, was sent sprawling toward the snake, with bad results. Phillip would swear that he attempted to grab Percy by the shoulder and Percy, already off-balance, simply fell on his own. Since the other six Falcons were staring at the copperhead, they were not sure what propelled Percy forward. However, knowing his tendencies, they would always side with Phillip.
Percy yelled in horror as he hit the ground hard and tumbled toward the snake. He screamed when the fangs made contact. The copperhead nailed him on the fatty part of his right calf, halfway between his knee and his ankle. The strike occurred as Percy was on all fours, trying to scramble away. By then everyone was yelling this and that, and in the total panic of the moment, the copperhead slithered between two rocks and disappeared.
Percy was wearing shorts, as were all the boys, and within seconds his lower right leg had a tennis ball–sized growth on it. He was wailing and crying and twisting in horror. Woody dragged him to a patch of grass and the other Scouts, all stunned by what they had just seen, circled him.
It was a Boy Scout’s dream. A real, live, genuine snakebite, on the leg of someone else. It was too cool!
“Do something Theo!” Percy yelled between sobs. “Quick! I’m dying here!”
Theo was the only member of his patrol with the First Aid merit badge, plus he was the leader. All eyes were suddenly upon him. He looked at Woody and said, “Better radio the Major.” Woody, the assistant patrol leader, kept a walkie-talkie on his belt. He radioed the camp and informed the Major that there was a casualty.
“What should we do?” Woody asked.
Over the air, the Major said, “Where are you?”
“We just left the peak.”
“So you’re two miles away. I’m on my way. Tell Theo to treat the wound.”
“Okay.”
Theo had already unpacked his first-aid kit. He was nervous and when he heard “treat the wound,” his stomach flipped.
Bo, a clown, said, “Those snakes always travel in pairs.” And every other Scout jumped out of his skin. They looked wildly around, saw nothing, then turned their attention back to Percy.
Theo attempted to take charge. He knelt beside Percy and said, “Look, first of all, you gotta lie down and stay still, okay?”
Percy yelled again. He was kicking, writhing in pain and fear. “Do something, Theo, do something!” he screamed.
“Just lie down and keep your head up. Your head has got to stay above the snakebite, okay?”
Percy seemed to hear this and for a moment tried to relax. He reclined on his elbows. Tears were dripping off his cheeks.
Woody said, “You gotta make incisions over the fang marks, right Theo? Then suck out the venom.”
Theo said, “No, that’s not the way to treat a snakebite.”
“Yes it is!” Woody demanded. “I saw it on YouTube.”
“Me too,” said Phillip. “Plus that was a big snake with a lot of venom. If we don’t get it sucked out soon, they’ll have to cut the leg off.”
Percy wailed again.
“Can you just shut up?” Theo snapped.
Oliver knelt down opposite Theo. He had a snakebite kit already opened and ready for business. He said, “Look, Theo, I read the instructions. It plainly says you gotta make incisions over both fang marks with this little razor here.” He held up the razor, which was only an inch long but suddenly seemed huge. Oliver went on, “Says you gotta make an X over each fang mark, then insert the suction tube to extract the venom.”
“Why don’t you just shoot me first?” Percy said, crying again.
“That’s the old-fashioned way of treating a snakebite,” Theo said.
“But this is a brand-new snakebite kit.”
“I don’t care.”
“I thought you were supposed to put a tourniquet two inches above the bite,” Phillip observed, helpfully.
“Anybody else got a stupid opinion?” Theo barked.
Oliver looked at Percy and said, “Look, Percy, I think we need to suction out the venom. But it’s your leg. What do you think?”
Percy said, “I think I’m a dead man with you clowns in charge.” He closed his eyes, then said, “Hey, Theo, I’m getting pretty dizzy.”
“Move back,” Theo said. He quickly wrapped the wound with a sterile bandage and taped it into place. Percy was whimpering but had stopped the kicking and jerking. Theo said, “Here’s what we’re going to do. We have to get him
back to the camp, then to a hospital. Let’s carry him as gently as possible down the trail until we meet the Major. Be sure to keep the snakebite below his heart. Phillip, you go first and look out for snakes.”
Oliver said, “I think we ought to slice it open and use the suction cup. Back in the old days they sucked out the venom with their mouths. If you had a cavity, the venom went straight to your brain and you died faster than the guy who got bit.”
“Would you just shut up!” Theo snapped again.
They lifted Percy off the ground and draped his arms around the necks of Woody and Cal. Theo cradled his wounded leg and Oliver took his left one. “Easy now,” Theo said. “We have to keep him still. Otherwise, the venom circulates too fast. Percy, you might feel queasy. If you need to throw up, just say something. No surprises. Okay?”
“Okay.” Percy was breathing heavily and had stopped crying. To avoid looking at his leg, he closed his eyes. The leg was getting bigger.
They shuffled down the trail with the patient getting heavier by the moment. After ten minutes, they stopped to rest. Theo said, “Talk to me, Percy. You gotta stay awake.”
“I’m awake,” he said with a weak voice.
“Do you feel sick?”
“Well, my leg certainly does.”
“How about your stomach?”
“Not yet. Am I doing to die, Theo?”
“No. It’s just a copperhead. They don’t kill people, but you’ll be sick as a dog.”
“That was a big snake, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Did anybody get a picture?”
The Scouts looked at each other and realized they had been too stunned by the encounter to take a photo. “I guess not,” Theo said.
“Should I call my mom?” Percy asked.
“I think the Major should do that. Let’s go.”
They lifted him again and continued down the trail. The boys were exhausted when they saw the Major coming around a bend. He was with Mr. Hogan and Mr. Bennett. Percy was still conscious and still complaining of dizziness. They took him to a small open area near a boat ramp and laid him on a picnic table. The Major removed the sterile bandage for a look at the bite, and it was obvious he was impressed by the swelling. As they waited, Percy began clutching his stomach. Soon, he was vomiting.
The Major held him and kept a wet towel on his forehead and mouth. The more Percy vomited, the more he cried. It was a pitiful scene.
Finally, they heard the helicopter.
Chapter 9
It was a quiet dinner. Very quiet, very subdued. The Falcon Patrol kept to itself, hovered over its campfire, and ate chicken breasts grilled in a skillet and potatoes wrapped in foil and baked in the coals. When it was dark, they moved to the central campfire and joined the other patrols. All of Troop 1440 was quiet and deep in thought. The Major had phoned from the hospital where the medevac helicopter had taken him and Percy. Percy’s parents had arrived and things seemed to be under control. Fortunately, the hospital had plenty of antivenom for copperhead bites, and Percy was stable and sedated.
His buddies around the fire talked softly as they roasted marshmallows and glowed in the warmth of the burning logs. They wanted to ask the tough questions, like (1) will he die? Or (2) will he lose his leg? But they showed restraint. Oddly enough, they began telling snake stories. This made no sense whatsoever because they were nervous and jumpy anyway. Every leaf that rustled in the wind might have been a rattler. Every burning log that hissed might have been some unknown viper. Every branch snapping in the distance might have been another large copperhead easing up on them from the rear. And every ten minutes or so one Scout would sneak behind another, pop him in the neck with two fingers, and yell “Snake!” This was nerve-racking humor that produced a lot of nervous laughter. Mr. Bennett eventually moved the stories away from the serpents and back to more suitable topics like zombies and vampires.
Around 9:00 p.m., headlights approached the campsite. It was the Major arriving from the hospital. He stood in front of the troop near the campfire and gave the latest update on Percy and his wound. There was a lot of swelling in the leg and Percy felt lousy in general, but he was awake and expected to be fine. After a couple of days in the hospital, he would be released and sent home. The doctor’s biggest concern was the damaged skin around the bite. There was dead tissue and they expect some scarring.
After the Major ate a quick dinner, he asked the surviving members of the Falcon Patrol to join him down by the lake. They sat on logs not far from where the waves were gently splashing against the rocks of the shoreline. There was a full moon; it was a beautiful night; and there should not have been any problems.
However, Theo suspected trouble.
The Major asked Woody to go first and tell what happened. Woody gave a true and accurate account of the encounter with the copperhead. When he finished, the Major sent him back to the campsite. Cal went next with his story, then left. He was followed by Phillip, then Oliver, then the rest.
Suddenly, Theo was alone. Just him and the Major, who, at the moment, was looking at the moon’s reflection across the lake. “Do you agree with everyone else, Theo?” he asked.
Without hesitation, Theo answered, “Yes sir.”
The Major turned around and sat down next to Theo on the log. He cleared his throat and asked, “As a patrol leader, what are you supposed to do when your patrol confronts a dangerous animal?”
“Depends on the animal,” Theo replied.
“And in this case, it was a poisonous snake.”
“Then I’m supposed to immediately warn my patrol to move away from the snake and leave the site as soon as possible.”
“And is that what you did, Theo?”
Theo swallowed hard and said, “No sir.”
“Did you immediately recognize the snake to be a copperhead?”
“Yes sir.”
“How many poisonous snakes do we have in this part of the country?”
“Three. Copperhead, coral snake, and the timber rattler.”
“And you knew this through your study for the Nature merit badge?”
Theo had watched enough Perry Mason reruns and real-live courtroom trials to know the Major was setting him up for the kill. Slowly, he answered, “Yes sir.”
There was a long, painful pause as they watched the moonlit lake and waited for the Major to speak next. Finally, he said, “So, Theo, it looks as though the Falcon Patrol, while hiking in an area well-known for copperheads, actually encountered such a snake, and a large one, and instead of immediately taking steps to avoid the snake, did just the opposite. The patrol instantly moved closer, for a closer look, and at some point Percy picked up a stick and decided to agitate the snake. You, as a patrol leader, finally had the presence of mind to order everyone back, but by then, Percy, who we all know is probably not the most reliable Scout in the troop, somehow lost his balance, fell forward, practically on top of the snake, and was bitten. Is this a fair summary, Theo?”
Theo would probably change a word or two, but it seemed like a bad time to quibble. The Major had the important points dead center.
Theo bit his lip and said, “Yes sir.”
Another long pause. There was laughter in the distance from the campfire. Lucky guys.
The Major said, “Okay, Theo, pretend you’re a lawyer and give me your best defense.”
Finally, Theo thought to himself, and he did not waste a second. “The story you’ve heard is a correct version of what happened, but there were a few other factors involved. First, we were naturally on the lookout for copperheads, and most of the Falcons had snakebite kits in their backpacks. The wrong kind of kits, but let’s just say we were prepared. So when we actually saw a copperhead, and one that was so big and so beautiful it was impossible not to stop for a second to admire it, that’s what we did. We stopped to admire it.
Don’t you think that’s human nature? You’re in the woods, looking for adventure, looking for excitement, and, suddenly you find it in the form of a dangerous snake. You can’t believe your good luck. You gotta stop for a second and stare at it. Everyone does that, or at least every Boy Scout. Sure we moved a little closer, but I did not lead my patrol into a dangerous situation. No sir. From where we were standing, the snake could not have struck us, and it was not moving toward us. We were not in danger; close, maybe, but not within striking range. The snake was stretched out on the narrow ledge, and when it slowly coiled itself up, either in defense or offense, don’t know for sure because how can you ever know for sure, I told the patrol to back away. For a second, no one moved, not even me, but you could tell that we were ready to bolt. Then stupid little Percy stepped forward with a stick and decided to have some fun. As soon as I saw the stick, I yelled for him to back up, but within a split second he was falling forward. He’s lucky he wasn’t bitten in the neck or face.”
The Major listened thoughtfully and considered every word. When Theo finished, there was another long gap in the conversation as they stared at the water. Finally, the Major said, “Leadership requires many things, Theo. Detailed planning, the ability to plan for the future, and so on, but it can also require a cool head in the heat of battle. I learned that in combat, where I often had to make life-and-death decisions in a split second. Your timing wasn’t so good, Theo. You should have cleared the area immediately.”
“You’re blaming me for Percy’s snakebite?”
“Not entirely. But under the circumstances, you failed to act properly.”