Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1876-10-27

house. At another time I should not
have willingly trespassed on the do
mains OF Oswa:d's father; but this Was
40 occasion for scrlple or punctiIio
l. fe and death, as I knew, depended
my speed.
There at length rose up before me
the milk thorn hedge, the inpenetra-
BILE thorns of which are useful in keep
ing out leapard and jackal, which sur
rounded the planters 8 homestead; an
phss:rg through az open gate, [ eu-
ter.d the compound. The first Scr
vans thai l met, and who lifted his
hand to his turban with a potite
'Saiaam = and a smile that .howed
his white teeth between his bearde q
lips, was u man whom 1 knew, o
Mahratts groom, who had formerly
been i'll my fathers service, AID
whore child [ had uursed through All
attack OF the Ceylon fever.
''Lali Singh p l gasped out. painting
for breath, do me & Kindness for the
sake Of old bread and salt. Get me
some fresh milk quickly, for the love
OF God, but ask no QuestlOnS-bhal !!
! Something in my tone imT ressed the
nahratta, for without word he hur-
rled off, and soon returned bearing
/
! lOta, which would contain sometlng
| less than pint, and which, at a sign
from me, he filled with milk. This
very act. slight as it seems, was no
small compliment, for it was doubtless
| his own drinking cup that Lall Sing
was giving me, aud should any lip not
| beloI.glug Ia one OF the pure Hindu
descent touch it's FURNISHED rim. it
! would hereafter be unfit for use.
] Howe vcr. l scarcely waited to utter
| word OF thanks, but snatchvd uD the
| brass losa and darted out.
Ii may be thought singular that |
bad not given the alarm to the house
hold at Mr. Forster's plantation: but
l had resolved that l would rot, il |
could do my GRAND unqnestioEcd,
create = turmoil which might bring
about me the very evil against which
was st.ivi G. Oswald's m0tLtr and
sisters loved him, but their nerves
were nor the strongest, aud their OUT
cries, had they heard the news, would
have had the effect of summOning
score Of servants and coolies, and TO
seal Oswalo's fate by sending noisy
posse Of volunteers TO the place where
he lay at the snake's II rcl.
AS on winged feet, yet carrying the
precious draught of milk with Jealous
care, [ hurried back TO the spot whore,
at the foot Of the huge ta!ipot tree, lay
Oswald, yet asleel. The snake, how
ever, as though uneasy, was beginnlng
to stir. Iss monstrOus head wagged
slowly from SIDE to side among the
white vpd flowers, and its slender
tongue protiuded from between It's
grim jaws. But was IN time, aud
&E,.o F,f
it, on tho glound, so that long trail
should lead to the spot where l sat
down the brass drinkin cup, with what
fu! to avoid, by any abrupt gesture,
incsnsing the-tic paiunga.
Then came a minute or two OF ago
nized expectancy. end then,' to my
great Joy [ SAW the reptile slowly uu-
coil himself, evidently making for the
milk. First one wreath and then
another of the snakes Timber length
was uuiwin.d, and the great serpent,
brushing through the fOy est glass and
flowrtte, stopped its broad head TO
drink. IS saw Oswald thus freed.
and the unsuspecting Zoe draw fur
ther away from the pace where he
reposed, felt the strength that bad
hitherto supported me suddenly BE-
come weakness Ny nerves being no
longer bi aoed by the sense IF Oswaid's
mortal psril, he Instructive terro and
disgust which [ had from childhood
felt for the serpent tribe overpowered
me, aud I grew weak, aud could
scarcely stand and scarcely see.
What was this before my dim yes ?
The wall known porch of the Dutch
colonist's summer house, OvergrOwn
by trailing creepers, and all but
cho6sd by tall we.ds. mechanically
I entered, and sitting down on u
mouldeting wooden sent, once deckcd
with sllken cushions and goIdleaf, L
gradually regained the physical
strength which had deserted me, aid
with it the capacity for thought. 1t IS
cvrious how, III such cases Of extreme
exhaustion, the bsnumbe mind slow
" resumes some abandoned tram OF |
tnol ght, and thus it Was Will me.
By degrees I remembered Osw AIDS
danger, my own efforts to save him,
and
What was that rustliHg among the
stems and leaves a1d buds Of the lux
urant plants that festooned the shat
tered windows Of ti'e summer house IN
all the rank profusion of their tropical
ping, undulatipg motion with which
a huge snake drags himself IN The brake
and jungle grass Yes; my fears
were but too true, for there in the
open window spsce--the broken
trelliswork of which had been re-
placed by wild vines and dang Cling
orcnards-appeared at height OF SIX
or eight feet above the ground, the
hiaeous head of the serpaut that had
lately menaced Oswald and now con
fronted me.
And then it flashed upon me that
this deserted kiosk was probably the
reptiles actual home, aud that, as
though in the very irony of terror, l
had ventured to intrude INTO the llaI
Cf the terrible creature from the sight
of which [ had-once that OsWald's 5
safety seemed assured-reeIed dizzjly
away. [ had often hee,d Of tic strange
ta,ie which snakes evlnc3 for an
abandoned human dwelling, and how
freQue ntly they haunt the oH bui tdings
o. Europeans abodes and the hutS of
the natives, aud Yet here hal L rashiy
strayed into the lurking place OF the
deadl.est guardian of the Ceylon
JnnQ.e.
Thai the snake was periu, bed there
could be no doubt. Ii curved its grace
tut u, ok hike that of a swan, aud hlssed
s I4htiy, win its broad jaws partly
open4d. | faucied that | cou d see the
curved poison fangs more 30 be dread
Ell than ever WAS Malay crecse or Moor
ish dagger while ti,e bright eyes gilt
t4rei om,nous y. One ~i4d, piercing
shriek L could not reuress; and then
the futility of resistance or OF fight
forced itself upon me, ...and l stood,
motionless as a marble OF embodied
fear, gazing at the emeraedine eyes
fixed with so pitiless stare on niue.
The subtle, suffocating odor which
large serpents exhale, when angry,
reached me; but already [ gave myself