n't fishing: its reptiling. Give him plenty of time."

"But why?"

"Because perhaps he hasn't swallowed it, and is lying down there chewing
it over in his jaws. If you pulled now, you might jerk it out of his
mouth."

Ned uttered a sigh, as if he were getting rid of a great amount of
pent-up emotion while he stood there grasping the rough rope with both
hands, waiting and feeling more impatient than he ever had before.

"You'll see, when we pull him out, how useful the loose strands of rope
are. They'll be stuck between his ugly teeth. My word, it will make a
mess all about here. It will be wet and beaten down, and made into a
regular puddle."

"Will he struggle much?"

"I should think he will. Mind his tail."

"You mean his head."

"No, I don't; I mean his tail. Of course he'll snap and bark, but he
tries to sweep people over with his tail, just as if he were mowing you
off the ground. Hullo! he's moving now. Ready? Give the rope a jerk,
and hold tight."

Ned obeyed his instructions, for the rope was beginning to glide over
the bank again, and, as it tightened, Ned gave it a sharp jerk, went
down headlong directly, and as he still clung to the rope, began to
glide rapidly toward the river.

"Oh murther!" roared Tim.

"Let go!" shouted Frank. But in his excitement Ned held on, and he was
dragged within a yard of the river before there was a tremendous check
put on the rope by the Malays, who stopped its progress, and enabled Ned
to struggle up, Frank joining him, and the fight now began.

At first there was nothing but a steady strain on the line, as if the
end were tied to a dead tree at the bottom of the river, and this kept
on for some minutes, neither side stirring.

"Oh, he's a beauty!" said Tim, who was hauling hard.

"I told you he was a big one," said Frank; but Ned made no answer. The
interest was too deep, and he held on to the rope with all his strength.
Then, all at once, a peculiar vibration ran through it, as if the
crocodile had rapidly shaken its head, and the next moment there was a
tremendous jerk, and right out in the river, a violent movement in the
stilly flowing water, as if the monstrous brute had suddenly wallowed
and twisted itself round, the water rising in eddies and then becoming
discoloured with clouds of mud which flowed slowly by them, the
direction the reptile had taken being somewhat up the river.

The plunge was tremendous, and the rope was nearly jerked o