FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146  
147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   >>   >|  
ss. "We'll have to shin down," said Compton, "for there's no crossing here." Venning sat down astride a branch with his back to the trunk. "May as well rest awhile till they come up." "That's a queer-looking branch underneath," said Compton, following suit, and dropping a piece of bark on a bough that had attracted his attention. "It's covered all over with little squares of velvet moss. See!" "Suppose we lower our guns by the rope, then we can swarm down easily," replied Venning, who had seen too many branches to be interested; and passing the rope round the two rifles, he lowered them to the ground, letting the rope follow. "I believe it's moving, or else I've got fever or something." "What's moving?" "That;" and Compton pointed down. "By Jenkins!" muttered Venning; and the two knitted their brows as they peered down into the shadows, for the branch certainly was moving, and moving away as if it meant to part company with the trunk. Their glances ran along the branch outwards, and then their eyes suddenly dilated, and their bodies stiffened. So they stood like images, their hands clasping a branch, their heads thrust forward, and their eyes staring. On the same level with their heads and about twelve feet off was the head of that moving "branch," square-nosed, wedge-shaped, with the line of the jaws running right round to the broad part under the eyes, and a black- forked tongue flickering through an opening beneath the nostrils, It was the fixed stare of the lidless eyes, and the rigid position of the grim head poised in mid air on a neck that began like the muscular wrist of an athlete, thickening to where it was anchored on a branch three feet away to the size of an athlete's leg. And while the head, with the three feet of neck remained rigid, the body was gliding out and up, finding an anchorage in the forks of the tree on a level with the head, in readiness for the attack. With an effort they drew their eyes away from that cold glance that held them almost paralyzed and glanced down. Beyond, the light branches shook as the huge coils passed over them. Such coils! As they moved into the sunlight they saw the glitter of the scales and the ridges of the muscles, and the movement was like the movement of several serpents instead of one. Venning looked again at the motionless head. "When it has gathered its length behind and above its head," he said slowly, "it will strike." "And you dr
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146  
147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
branch
 

moving

 

Venning

 

Compton

 

athlete

 
branches
 
movement
 

thickening

 
tongue
 

muscular


running

 

forked

 
anchored
 

flickering

 
position
 

nostrils

 
lidless
 
beneath
 

opening

 

poised


square

 

shaped

 

serpents

 

looked

 

muscles

 

sunlight

 

glitter

 

scales

 

ridges

 

motionless


slowly

 
strike
 

gathered

 

length

 

readiness

 
attack
 

effort

 
anchorage
 

remained

 
gliding

finding
 

passed

 
Beyond
 
glanced
 

glance

 

paralyzed

 
squares
 

velvet

 
covered
 

attracted