Possible Clues:

• Summer, perhaps, before the fall
• The adder may be about to fall
• That will hardly get along to an amphibious end
• Walk or move in an unsteady manner
• Is scrap dealer to be on the verge of ruin?
• Barely able to walk, one might add
• How the adder may be unsteady, having no feet
• About to fall for an adder, perhaps
• Not having feet, an adder can't do this before the fall
• Sway, as if about to fall