e distance, the thought suddenly
crossed my mind--how very awkward it would be to meet a crocodile in
such a place! One couldn't run, that was certain, and as for fighting,
that would be a lost cause from the first.

Right in the midst of these unpleasant cogitations I heard a quiet
splash in the water, not far behind, that sent my heart into my
mouth. In a moment I had scrambled on to a mangrove root and had
turned to look for the cause of my fears.

For perhaps a minute I saw nothing, and was trying to convince myself
that my previous thoughts had made me fanciful, when, not many yards
off, I saw distinctly the form of a huge crocodile swimming rapidly
toward me. I needed no second look, but dashed away over the roots.

Before I had gone half a dozen yards I was down sprawling in the
mud. I got entangled, and my terror made me totally unable to act
with any judgment. Despair nerved me and I turned at bay with my long
hunting-knife in my hand. How I longed for even my revolver!

Whatever the issue, it could not be long delayed. The uncouth,
hideous form, which as yet I had only seen dimly, was plain now. I
took my stand on one of the largest roots, steadied myself by clasping
another with my left hand, and waited.

My chances, if it did not seem a mockery to call them such, were small
indeed. I might, by singular good luck, deprive my adversary of sight;
but hemmed in as I was by a tangled mass of roots, I felt that even
then I should be but little better off.

All manner of thoughts came unbidden to my mind. I could see Inchi
Mohamed propped up on cushions in the launch reading "A Little Book of
Profitable Tales" that had just been sent me by its author. I started
to smile at the tale of The Clycopeedy. Then I caught sight of the
peak of Mount Ophir through a notch in the jungle and all sorts of
absurd hypotheses in regard to its authenticity flashed through my
mind. All this takes time to relate, but those who have stood in
mortal peril will know how short a time it takes to think.

From the moment I left the water, but a few seconds had elapsed and the
saurian was not two yards from me. The abject horror and hopelessness
of that moment was something I can never forget. Suddenly Lekas came
floundering through the mud; a second more, and he perceived my enemy
when almost within reach of his jaws.

Barking furiously, Lekas began to back away. One breathless moment,
and the reptile turned to follow this new pre