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of the animal was in action as the head, neck, and part of the body
glided down in a deliberate way, with the tongue darting out and
flickering about the hard, metallic-looking mouth, while the eyes
glistened in the sunshine, which threw up the rich colours and pattern
of the scaly coat.

"He don't like it, and is going to swim off," said Shaddy suddenly, as
the head of the serpent was now approaching the surface of the water.
"I never saw one of this kind take to the water before. Say, Mr Rob!"

Rob turned to him.

"You had better get your cat down here, in case he means coming across
to this tree.--No: there won't be any need. I don't think he could swim
against this current: it might sweep him away."

Rob drew a breath full of relief as he glanced at Brazier, whose face,
pallid with his late illness, certainly looked paler, and his eyes were
contracted by his feeling of horror. But their companion's last words
relieved him from his dread, and he sat there upon the huge branch that
was his resting-place watching the actions of the serpent, which still
glided on, and moved with its head close to the groove in the trunk till
it was close to the water slowly rising to meet it, and a length of
quite twelve feet reached down from the fork, like the stem of some
mighty climbing fig which held the tree in its embrace.

"Yes, he's going to swim for it," said Shaddy eagerly. "Fancy meeting a
thing like that on the river! I thought it was only the anacondas which
took to the water, and--Well, look at that!"

The man's exclamation was caused by the action of the serpent, for just
as its head reached the surface of the flood one of the waves came
rushing inland from the river, leaped up the tree three or four feet,
deluging the head and neck of the serpent and sinking down again almost
as quickly as it had risen. The reptile contracted itself as rapidly,
drawing back, and, evidently satisfied with the result of its efforts to
escape, began to climb again, holding on by its ring-like scales as it
crept up and up till its head was back in the great fork of the tree,
and the anterior part of the body hung down in a huge loop, which was
gradually lessened as the great creature resumed its place.

There was nothing to fear from the serpent, to the great relief of those
who watched; but it had begun to be questionable how long their present
position would be safe, for the water was rising now with wonderful
rapidity, gr