bounded away towards
the forest.

This brought Gyp to his feet with a fierce volley of barking, and he
would have been off in pursuit but for his master, who woke up and ran
out exclaiming:

"Dingoes after the sheep! dingoes after the sheep! Here, Gyp, boy!
here, Gyp--here--eh! I say, is anything the matter?"

"No, no; all right!" cried the doctor.

"I--I thought I was at home," said Jack, rubbing his eyes; "and--oh! how
sleepy I am."

"Lie down again, then," said the doctor; and Jack obeyed, Gyp following
and curling up close by his master, who very soon resumed his heavy
breathing, in so objectionable a manner that I felt over and over again
as if I should like to kick him and wake him up.

For there is nothing on earth so annoying as to be unable to sleep when
some one close by is snoring away in happy oblivion.

As I lay there with my face turned from the fire, so that it should not
keep me awake, I felt more and more the sensation of awe produced by
being there in the midst of that wild place. While I was perfectly
still my eyes were directed upwards in amongst the branches of the great
tree, now illumined by the bright flame of our fire, and by degrees I
made out that these boughs were peopled by birds and what seemed to be
squirrels, and all more or less excited by the unaccustomed light.

I lay gazing up at them, seeing the different objects very indistinctly
in the dancing light, and then all at once it seemed to me that one
particular branch was rising and falling slowly with a peculiar
movement. It was a strange wavy motion, which was the more remarkable
from the fact that there was no wind; but after a moment or two's
thought I fancied I had found the cause in the heated air produced by
the fire.

But that did not explain what next took place in the smoky obscurity
above the fire, for the branch seemed to wave about more and more, and
to lengthen; and then I made sure that it was the shadow I saw; but
directly after, a thrill ran through me as I recalled that these
creatures were fond of nestling high up in branches, where they captured
birds and monkeys, and I said in a low hoarse whisper:

"Why, it's a snake!"

There was no doubt about the matter, for as it swung lower, holding on
by its tail, I could see that it was indeed a snake, evidently of
considerable length, and about as thick as my arm. It had been aroused
from probably a torpid state by the fumes of the fire, and was now
desc