deceptive I am not at all sure that I can hit."

"Oh, you'll hit him full enough," said Shaddy. "You must hit it, sir.
Why, if you missed, the beast would come down upon us as savage as a
tiger. Take a good, quiet aim down low so as to hit his neck, if you
don't his head. Are you cocked?"

"Tut! tut!" muttered Brazier, who in his excitement had forgotten this
necessary preliminary, and making up for the omission.

"Come, Mr Rob, sir, don't miss your chance of having a shot at a
'conda. 'Tain't everybody who gets such a shot as that."

Rob mechanically picked up his piece, examined the breech, and then
waited for Mr Brazier to fire, feeling sure the while that if it
depended upon him the creature would go off scathless.

"Now's your time, sir!" whispered Shaddy. "He is put out, and means
mischief. I'd let him have the small shot just beneath the jaws, if I
could. Wait a moment, till he's quiet. Rather too much waving about
him yet. Look out, sir! he's getting ready to make a dart at us, I do
believe!"

But still Brazier did not fire, for the peculiar undulatory motion kept
up by the serpent, as seen by the light of the fire, was singularly
deceptive, and again and again the leader of the little expedition felt
that if he fired it would be to miss.

Shaddy drew in a long breath, and gazed impatiently at Brazier, who was
only moved by one idea--that of making a dead shot, to rid their little
camp of a horrible-looking enemy.

Then the chance seemed to be gone, for by one quick movement of the
lithe body and neck the head dropped down amongst the plants which
clothed the tree trunk.

"Gone!" gasped Rob, with a sigh of satisfaction.

"Eyes right!" cried Shaddy; "he hasn't gone. He'll rise close in
somewhere. Look out, gentlemen--look out!"

He was excited, and drew his knife, as if expecting danger. And it was
not without cause, for almost directly after the keen steel blade had
flashed in the light of the fire, the hideous head of the serpent rose
up not ten feet away, with its eyes glittering, the scales burnished
like bright, many-shaded bronze, and the quick, forked tongue darting in
and out from its formidable jaws.

The head kept on rising till it was fully six feet above the growth,
when it was rapidly drawn back, as if to be darted forward; but at that
moment both Rob and Brazier fired together, and as the smoke cleared
away another cloud of something seemed to be playing about on the
gro