orward to try and get a sight of the creature before it reached the
river bank.

"May as well save your shot, sir," said Shaddy gruffly. "He's going
into the water bleeding pretty free, I know; and there's them waiting
below as will be at him as soon as they smell blood."

"How horrible!" cried Rob.

"Ay, 'tis, sir, or seems so to us; but it's nature's way of clearing off
all the sickly and wounded things from the face of the earth."

"But what will dare to attack such a terrible beast?"

Shaddy chuckled.

"Anything--everything, sir; little and big. Why, them little pirani
fishes will be at him in thousands, and there's 'gators enough within
fifty yards to make a supper of him as if he was spitchcocked eel. Ah!
there he goes--part of him's in the water already; but I should have
liked the master to have his skin."

Invisible though the serpent was, its course was evident by the rustling
and movement of the growth, and some idea too was gained of the
reptile's length.

"There! what did I say?" shouted Shaddy excitedly, as all at once there
was the sound of splashing and agitation in the water down beneath the
submerged trees; and directly after the serpent's tail rose above the
trunk of one of those lying prone, and gleamed and glistened in the
blaze as it undulated and bent and twined about. Then it fell with a
splash, and beat the water, rose again quivering seven or eight feet in
the air, while the water all around seemed terribly agitated. There was
a snapping sound, too, horribly ominous in its nature, and the rushing
and splashing went on as the tail of the serpent fell suddenly, rose
once more as if the rest of the long lithe body were held below, and
finally disappeared, while the splashing continued for a few minutes
longer before all was silent.

Rob drew a long breath, and Joe shuddered.

"Well," said Shaddy quietly, "that's just how you take it, young
gentlemen. Seems so horrible because it was a big serpent. If it had
been a worm six inches long you wouldn't have thought anything of it.
Look at my four chaps there: they don't take any notice--don't seem
horrid to them. You'll get used to it."

"Impossible!" said Brazier.

"Oh! I don't know, sir," continued Shaddy. "You've come out where you
wanted to, in the wildest wilds, where the beasts have it all their own
way, and they do as they always do, go on eating one another up. Why,
I've noticed that it isn't only the birds, beasts, an