you'll stow those shore-going togs and get into working rig before you
tackle him.' Merritt was arrayed in all his finery, and if you'd ever
seen him you'd know that that meant a lot, for when he was flush he
could make Solomon in all his glory, or any other swell dresser look
like a dirty deuce in a new deck. He had on a light suit with checks
which were so loud they drowned the music of the orchestra, and a shirt
which would make a summer sunset hide its head in disappointment. Patent
leather shoes with yellow tops and a white plug hat with a black band
around it completed his costume, except for a few specimens of yellow
diamonds which adorned his shirt front and cuffs.
"Merritt snorted contemptuously at the suggestion and we started for the
ship. When we got on board he made a little speech before he went into
the hold, telling the sailors about his wonderful hypnotic power and how
he would exercise it to charm the serpent which was preventing their
worthy Captain from reaping the rewards of his arduous toil and his
hardihood in having braved the perils of the vasty deep. The sailors
listened and grinned, but the Captain was getting impatient and
suggested that Merritt get the snake first and give his spiel afterward,
so Merritt went down the ladder with the bag over his shoulder and we
all rubbered down the hatchway to watch the capture.
[Illustration: _"Merritt was quick enough to get a strangle hold around
the snake's neck."_]
"I knew what he would try to do, for I had seen him work it before. The
way to get one of those big snakes is to cover his head with a bag, and
then he'll crawl in himself to get into the dark, which is a serpent's
idea of safety. The more you prod 'em the faster they'll crawl, and that
was the time when Merritt always made passes with his hands and muttered
gibberish to impress the spectators. He started in according to
programme as soon as he located the snake, which was half hidden among a
lot of casks. The snake carried out his part and struck at the opened
bag which Merritt held out to him, but instead of sticking his head in
he grabbed it with his teeth, and as Merritt held on he drew him back
among the barrels and there was a pretty fight. Merritt was quick enough
to get a strangle hold around the snake's neck and then it kept him
busy keeping out of his coils. The Captain hadn't lied much about the
size of the python--it was about thirty feet long--and Merritt didn't
have time to use any incantation, although considerable forcible
language floated up through the hatchway. They wiped the deck with each
other for about twenty minutes, and Merritt had been bumped against
pretty nearly every cask in the hold before he finally succeeded in
drawing the sack over the snake's head. Then it was easy, and in spite
of his lack of breath the showman in Merritt asserted itself. He put the
sack on the floor, and with one foot on the neck of it he prodded the
snake's body with the other while he made mysterious passes with his
hands until the tip of the tail disappeared. When the sack was securely
tied up the python was hoisted on deck, and Merritt, his clothing torn
and soiled with pitch and the miscellaneous oily and sticky things which
made up the ship's cargo, climbed up after it.
"'Did you see me?' he asked proudly, throwing out his chest. 'Did you
observe the wonderful hypnotic power which overcame the prowess of the
serpent?'
"'Yes, I noticed it, along toward the finish,' answered the Captain,
grinning skeptically as he sized up Merritt's dilapidated apparel. 'But
say, professor, what I can't understand is why you didn't get it working
sooner.'"
THE END
Transcriber's Note:
Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Dialect
spellings have been retained.