t the
two struggling beasts.

[Illustration: _Astro kept his blaster aimed at the monsters_]

The big cadet deduced that the snake must have been surprised in its
feeding by the tyrannosaurus, and was trying to defend itself. There
wasn't a living thing in the jungle that would deliberately attack a
tyrannosaurus. Only man, with his intelligence and deadly weapons,
could win over the brute force and cunning of the jungle giant. And even
that had failed with this monster. Astro quickly saw it was the same
beast that had chased the three cadets out of the jungle!

With three coils wrapped around the tyrannosaurus's body, the snake was
trying to wrap a fourth around its neck and strangle it, but the monster
was too wily. Rearing back, it suddenly fell to the ground, its weight
crushing the three coils around its middle. The snake jerked
spasmodically, stunned, as the tyrannosaurus scrambled up again. The
ground trembled and branches were ripped from near-by trees. All around
the jungle had been leveled. Everything fell before the thrashing
monsters.

Recovering, the snake's head darted in again, trying to circle the
tyrannosaurus's head and complete the last and fatal coil, but the giant
beast lunged, its massive jaws snapping, and the snake drew back.
Suddenly its tail lashed out and circled the left legs of the
tyrannosaurus. Astro could see the beast straining against the sudden
pressure, at the same time alert for the swooping head of the snake. The
pressure on the leg was too great, and the beast fell to the ground,
giving the snake a momentary advantage. Its head darted in again, but
the tyrannosaurus drew its head into its narrow shoulders, then shot out
again as the snake missed. Astro saw the snake quiver and jerk back as
the tyrannosaurus clamped its jaws closed and bit a chunk out of the
green, scaly body.

The snake had enough. It wanted to get away, to slip to the top of the
tallest tree in the forest, out of reach of the tyrannosaurus, and wait
for the wound to heal or for death to come. It unwound in a maddened
convulsive movement and slithered toward the tree where Astro lay. But
the monster was after it, immediately grabbing it by the tail and
jerking it back. The snake was forced to turn and fight back.

Astro knew that if the snake could get away it would head for the
teakwood above his head, the highest tree around, and the tyrannosaurus
would stamp the ground around its base into powder. He had