"OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE."
For all at once, as the jaguar reached the huge trunk, and rapidly
clawed its way to the fork, bleeding from both sides of its head, the
serpent awoke to the presence of the intruder; its scaly folds glistened
and flashed in the morning light, as it quivered in every nerve and
coiled itself fold over fold, and the head rose up, the neck assumed a
graceful, swan-like bend, and the jaws were distended, displaying its
menacing sets of teeth, ready to be launched forward and fixed with
deadly tenacity in an enemy's throat.
"I'm thinking that we're going to get rid of an unpleasant neighbour,"
said Shaddy slowly, as the jaguar, reaching the fork of the trunk,
seemed for a moment to be about to spring upon its fellow-prisoner in
the tree, and then bounded to a great bough and ran up three or four
yards. Here it was right above the serpent, with the large bough
between them, round which it peered down at its enemy, as it crouched so
closely to the rugged bark that it looked like some huge excrescence.
The serpent shrank back a little, lowering its head, but keeping it
playing about menacingly, as its eyes glittered in the sunlight.
Then there was a pause, during which the puma crouched down above Rob's
head, uttering from time to time a low growl, as it watched the jaguar,
which began passing its paws alternately over its wounded head and
licking them, exactly as a cat would have done on a rug before the fire.
"Doesn't look like a fight now," whispered Rob.
"Not just now, sir; he has hauled off to repair damages, and he wants
all his strength and lissomeness to tackle a great worm like that. Wait
a bit, and you'll see."
As he waited, Rob climbed up to where he could reach the puma,
hesitating a little before he attempted to touch it, for the animal's
fur was erect, and it was growling and lashing its tail angrily.
But at the sound of the boy's voice it responded by giving a low
whimpering cry, turned to him, and gave its head a roll, as if in answer
to a friendly rub.
"That's right," said Rob gently; "you're good friends with me, aren't
you?" and he patted and rubbed the beautiful creature's head, while it
let it lie on the branch, and blinked and purred.
All of a sudden, though, it raised its head excitedly, and Rob could
feel the nerves and muscles quivering beneath its soft, loose skin.
Just at the same moment, too, Brazier and Shaddy uttered warning cries
to the lad to look out, for the war had recommenced in the next tree,
the jaguar having ceased to pass its paws over its head, and assumed a
crouching position, with its powerful hind legs drawn beneath it and its
sinewy loins contracted, as if preparing to make a spring.
The serpent had noticed the movement, and it too had prepared itself for
the fray by assuming as safe a position for defence and menace as the
limited space would allow.
Then came another pause, with the jaguar crouching, its spine all in a
quiver, and a peculiar fidgeting, scratching movement visible about its
hind claws, while the serpent watched it with glittering eyes, its
drawn-back head rising and falling slightly with the motion of its
undulating form.
"Do you think the jaguar will attack it, Naylor?" whispered Brazier.
"Yes, sir; they're nasty spiteful creatures, and can't bear to see
anything enjoying itself. There's room in the tree for both of them,
and you'd think that with the flood underneath they'd be content to wait
there in peace till it was gone. But if the snake would the tiger won't
let him: he's waiting for a chance to take him unawares, and so not get
caught in his coils, but I don't think he'll get that this time. My
word! Look!"
For as he was speaking the jaguar seemed to be shot from the bough, to
strike the serpent on the side of the head, which it seized just at the
thinnest part of the neck, and held on, tearing the while so fiercely
with its hind claws that the reptile's throat was in a few moments all
in ribbons, which streamed with blood. The weight of the jaguar, too,
bore down the serpent, in spite of its enormous strength, and it
appeared as if victory was certain for the quadruped; but even as Rob
thought this, and rejoiced at the destruction of so repellent a monster,
the serpent's folds moved rapidly, as if it were writhing its last in
agony, and the next instant those who watched the struggle saw that the
jaguar, in spite of its activity, was enveloped in the terrible embrace.
There was a strange crushing sound, a yell that made Rob's fingers go
toward his ears, and then a rapid movement, and the water was splashed
over where they sat.
For the tree was vacant, and beneath it the flood was being churned up
in a curious way, which indicated that the struggle was going on beneath
the surface. Then a fold of the serpent rose for a moment or two,
disappeared, and was followed by the creature's tail. This latter
darted out for an instant, quivered in the air, and then was snatched
back, making the water hiss.
During the next five minutes the little party in the tree sat watching
the water where they had last seen it disturbed; but it had gradually
settled down again, and, for aught they could tell to the contrary,
their two enemies had died in each other's embrace.
But this was not so; for all at once Shaddy uttered an ejaculation, and
pointed along the edge of the submerged trees, to where something was
moving about in the bright morning's light.
It was right where the beams of the freshly risen sun gilded the
rippling water, sending forth such flashes of light that it was hard to
distinguish what it was. But directly after, there, before them,
swimming slowly and laboriously, in undulatory motion, was the serpent,
which they watched till it passed in among the branches of the submerged
trees and disappeared.
"Then the tiger was killed?" cried Rob, excitedly.
"Yes, sir; I thought it was all over with him when the snake made those
half hitches about his corpus and I heard his bones crack. Ah! it's
wonderful what power those long sarpentiny creatures have. Why, I've
known an eel at home, when I was a boy, twist itself up in a regular
knot that was as hard and close as could be, and that strong it was
astonishing."
"But surely that serpent can't live?" said Brazier.
"It's sartain, sir, that the tiger can't," replied the old sailor. "You
see, beside his having that nip, he was kept underneath long enough to
drown him and all his relations. As to the sarpent--oh yes, he may
live. It's wonderful what a good doctor Nature is. I've seen animals
so torn about that you'd think they must die, get well by giving
themselves a good lick now and then, and twisting up and going to sleep.
Savages, too, after being badly wounded, get well at a wonderful rate
out here without a doctor. But now let's see what the river's doing."
He bent down and examined the trunk of the tree, and came to the
conclusion that the flood was about stationary; and as all danger of its
rising seemed to be at an end, Shaddy set to work with his knife,
lopping off branches, and cutting boughs to act as poles to lay across
and across in the fork of the tree, upon which he laid an abundance of
the smaller stuff, and by degrees formed a fairly level platform, upon
which he persuaded Brazier and Rob to lie down.
"I'll keep watch," he said, "and as soon as you are rested I'll have my
spell below."
They were so utterly wearied out that they gladly fell in with the old
sailor's plan, and dropped off almost as soon as they had stretched
themselves upon the boughs.