y down to the
floor, where it commenced a tremendous scuffle among the chairs and
posts. The hermit kept its head off with the pole, and sought to catch
its tail, but failed twice. Seeing this the professor caught the tail
as it whipped against his legs, and springing down the steps so
violently that he snapped the cord by which the hermit held it, and drew
the creature straight out--a thick monster full twelve feet long, and
capable of swallowing a dog or a child.

"Out of zee way!" shouted the professor, making a wild effort to swing
the python against a tree, but the tail slipped from his grasp, the
professor fell, and the snake went crashing against a log, under which
it took refuge.

Nigel, who was nearest to it, sprang forward, fortunately caught its
tail, and, swinging it and himself round with such force that it could
not coil up at all, dashed it against a tree. Before it could recover
from the shock, Moses had caught up a hatchet and cut its head off with
one blow. The tail wriggled for a few seconds, and the head gaped once
or twice, as if in mild surprise at so sudden a finale.

"Zat is strainch--very strainch," slowly remarked the professor, as,
still seated on the ground, he solemnly noted these facts.

"Not so _very_ strange, after all," said Van der Kemp; "I've seen the
head of many a bigger snake cut off at one blow."

"Mine frond, you mistake me. It is zee vorking of physical law in zee
spiritual vorld zat perplexes me. Moses has cut zee brute in two--
physical fact, substance can be divided. Zee two parts are still alife,
zerfore, zee life--zee spirit--has also been divided!"

"It is indeed very strange," said Nigel, with a laugh. "Stranger still
that you may cut a worm into several parts, and the life remains in
each, but, strangest of all, that you should sit on the ground,
professor, instead of rising up, while you philosophise. You are not
hurt, I hope--are you?"

"I razer zink I am," returned the philosopher with a faint smile; "mine
onkle, I zink, is spraint."

This was indeed true, and it seemed as if the poor man's wanderings were
to be, for a time at least, brought to an abrupt close. Fortunately it
was found that a pony could be procured at that village, and, as they
had entered the borders of the mountainous regions, and the roads were
more open and passable than heretofore, it was resolved that the
professor should ride until his ankle recovered.

We must now pass over