"Coil round you."
The shudder felt now was the serpent wrapping me round.
"And giving you a severe squeeze," continued my uncle. "It is a hundred
to one against its teeth catching you in the face, and it is doubtful
whether they would penetrate your clothes, and even if they did you
would suffer no worse than from a few thorns, for these constricting
reptiles are not poisonous."
"It don't sound very nice, uncle," I said, feeling as if my face was
showing white through the brown of the sunburns.
"No, Nat, it does not," he said; "but now I have told you the worst I
may as well say something on the other side. Now the chances are that
the brute will try its best to escape, and be shot in the act; and even
supposing that it did seize you, which is no more likely than that it
should seize Ebo or me, we should immediately get hold of it by the neck
and have its head off before it knew where it was."
"Yes, uncle, I know you would," I said with more confidence and a
strange thrill of excitement running through me. "Let me come, please."
"You shall, Nat," he replied; "and now I'll confess to you, my boy, that
I should have felt disappointed if you had held back. Come along, my
lad, and I think we shall soon slay this modern dragon."
All this time Ebo had been looking at us wonderingly; but no sooner did
we examine our guns and start forward, than he shouldered his club and
went before us towards the piece of marshy ground.
I walked on by uncle's side with my gun ready, and all the time I kept
on wondering what he would have said to me if he had known how nervous I
felt.
The thoughts of what we were approaching seemed to take all the
brightness and beauty out of the scene, which was as lovely as could be.
Strange birds flew by us, glorious trees were on every side, some of
them covered with flowers, while the brilliant greens of various shades
made up for the want of colour in others. Where we were the land seemed
to slope down into a little valley, while farther back there was a ridge
clothed to its summit with beautiful vegetation.
But just then, as the poetical writer said, the trail of the serpent was
over it all, and I kept on seeing imaginary reptiles' heads reared above
the beautiful waving canes and grasses, and fancied I detected the
rustling noise made by the creature's scales as they glided through the
dry stems.
"Now," said my uncle, as we stood at last on the edge of the moist
depression, "we must contrive some plan of attack, Nat. We must not let
the enemy escape, or he will be scaring us all the time we stay."
I thought it very kind of him to say _us_ when I know he meant _you_,
but I did not say anything, only eagerly searched the thickly-spread
canes and broad-leaved plants as far as I could see with my eyes, and
then I could not help thinking what a beautiful spot that marsh was in
spite of the serpent, as two or three of the lovely pitta thrushes
flitted amidst the bamboos, and half a dozen sun-birds darted about a
convolvulus-like plant, and kept flashing in the sunshine, which every
now and then seemed to make their feathers blaze.
"Now, Nat," said my uncle, "I think this will be a good place for you,
by this trickling rill; you see the place is roughly in the shape of a
ham, so you shall have the place of honour, my boy, by the knuckle-bone,
while I and Ebo go round the fat sides and see if we can find the enemy
there."
"Do you think it will come this way, uncle?" I said.
"Yes, Nat, just below you there, so be cool, and give it both your
barrels as it goes by. You may depend upon one thing, and that is that
the reptile, if it comes down here, will be trying hard to escape. It
will not attack you."
I hoped Uncle Dick was right, but could not feel sure, as I remained on
the side of the steep slope, at the bottom of which a tiny stream
trickled amongst a long patch of luxuriant canes through which I
expected the serpent would try to escape to another part of the island.
The next minute I was quite alone, for in obedience to my uncle's signs,
and eagerly falling into his plans, Ebo ran off to get to the back of
the little marsh, my uncle also disappearing quietly on my own side, but
of course higher up.
"Perhaps the serpent won't be here after all," I thought to myself as I
stood there in the midst of the profound silence; and I could not keep
back the hope within me that this might be the case.
Everything was now very still, only that once from a distance came the
hoarse cry of a bird of paradise and the scream of a parrot, but
directly after I seemed to detect the peculiar noise made by a hornbill,
one of which birds flapped across the little valley towards a clump of
trees.
Not a sound came from beyond the cane swamp, and the slightest grasses
hardly moved, but stood there with their feathery plumes bathed in
sunshine, while with strained eyes I counted the knots on every
light-brown and cream-coloured cane.
I was watching for a wavy, undulating movement, which I felt sure must
follow if the serpent was there and creeping about; but all was
perfectly still.
"It must be farther up to the top of the marsh than he thinks," I said
to myself; and then I heard a cry which made my blood bound through my
veins. But there was nothing the matter; it was only Ebo on the move,
and I heard my uncle answer him. Then there was a beating noise as if
the black was thrashing the canes with his club.
Then my heart seemed to leap to my mouth, for there was a rustling in
the tall grasses, something seemed to be forcing its way through, and
with my gun at my shoulder I was ready to fire at the first glimpse of
the scaly skin, but feathers appeared instead, and a couple of large
wading-birds flew out.
The beating went on, and bird after bird took flight from its
lurking-place, some being very beautiful; but no serpent appeared, and I
began to feel more bold.
Still the beating went on, with Ebo shouting from time to time and my
uncle answering, till they could not have been more than fifty yards
above me, when suddenly the black seemed to change his tone, shouting
excitedly to my uncle.
"They've found it," I said to myself; and in my excitement I forgot all
about my fears, and stood there with my eyes sweeping the cane growth
and my ears strained to their utmost.
All at once, and so close that the noise made me jump, I heard a shot,
followed by a shout from Ebo, and a loud crashing noise, as if the canes
were being thrashed together with a big stick.
Bang once more, and then perfect silence, but directly after the
thrashing, beating noise began once more, and as I gazed excitedly in
that direction I heard my uncle's voice.
"Look out, Nat," he cried. "It's coming your way."
"Yolly-to, yolly-to!" cried Ebo; but I hardly heard him, for, rushing
down amongst the reeds and canes, writhing and bounding in the most
extraordinary way, beating, whipping the tall leaves, tying itself up in
knots and then throwing itself out nearly straight, came what to me
seemed to be a most monstrous serpent.
I ought to have fired, but as the reptile came towards me I felt as if I
must run, and I turned and fled for a dozen yards before shame stopped
me, and I faced about.
The creature was close at hand, writhing horribly, and leaving behind it
a beaten track, as in a fit of desperation I raised my gun, took quick
aim, and fired, leaped aside to get away from the smoke, and fired again
at something close to me.
The next moment I was knocked down, my gun flying out of my hand, and
when I struggled up the serpent was gone.
"Hurt, Nat?" cried my uncle, who came running up with Ebo, who began to
feel me all over.
"I don't think I am, uncle," I said angrily; "but the thing gave me a
horrible bang."
"Pick up your gun then and come along, lad. You hit the brute with both
barrels, and I know I did once. Come along; load as you run."
Ebo had already gone on in the serpent's track, for after I had been
sent over by a blow as the reptile writhed so fiercely, it had
straightened itself out, and gone straight down the little valley
towards more open ground.
"Obe-ally-yolly!" shouted Ebo, and running after him I found that the
serpent was gliding about in a rapid way amongst some tall trees, with
the black darting at it and hitting it with his club from time to time,
but apparently without making any impression.
"Stand back, Ebo," cried my uncle, waving the black away, and then, as
Ebo leaped back, preparing to fire. But he lowered his gun as I came
up. "No," he said, "you shall give him the _coup de grace_, Nat;" and
feeling no fear now I finished the loading of my gun and went in among
the trees.
"Fire at its head, Nat," cried my uncle; but it was not easy to see it,
for the creature kept on twining about in a wonderfully rapid way; but
at last I caught it as the head came from behind a tree trunk, fired,
and the monster leaped from the ground and fell back in a long straight
line, perfectly motionless, till Ebo darted in to give it a final thump
with his club, when, to my astonishment, the blow seemed to electrify
the creature, which drew itself up into a series of waves, and kept on
throbbing as it were from end to end.
"Shall I fire again, uncle?" I said excitedly.
"No, Nat," he replied; "it would only be slaying the slain. Bravo, my
boy! you did capitally."
"But I ran away at first, uncle," I said sorrowfully. "I did not stop
when the serpent first came out."
"It was enough to make a Saint George run away from such a dragon, Nat,"
he said laughing. "I could not have believed such a serpent existed in
these isles. Let's see how long he is."
"Thirty feet, uncle," I cried excitedly.
"Your eyes magnify this morning, Nat," he said merrily. "No, my boy,"
he continued, after pacing along by the writhing creature's side; "that
serpent is barely fourteen feet long, but it is wonderfully thick for
its size, and it proves that there must be animals here such as would
form its prey."
"Shall you have it skinned, uncle?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied, handing his knife to Ebo, who readily understood what
was wanted, and leaving him to his very nasty job, my uncle and I went
in search of birds of paradise.