The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-10-05

felt for the serpent tribe Overpowered
me, and L grew weak, and could scarce
ly stand and scarcely see.
What was this before my dim eyes ?
The well known porch of the Dutch
colonists summer house, overgrown by
trailing creepers, and all but choked by
tall weeds. Mechanically 1 entered
and sinking down on moldering wood
en- seat, once decked with silken cush-
ions and goldleaf, gradually regained
the physical strength which had de-
serted me, and with it the capacity for
thought. 1t is curious how, in such
cases of extreme exhaustion, the be
numbed mind slowly resumes some
abandoned train of thought, and thus il
was with me. BY degrees remembered
Oswald $ danger, my own efforts to save
him, and
What was that rustling among the
stems and leaves and buds of the luxuri
ant plants that festooned the shattered
windows of the summer house in all the
rank profusion of their tropical growth
Surely-surely not. the rippling, undu-
lating motion with which a huge snake
drags himself through the brake and
jungle grassl Yes; my fears were but
too true, for there in the open window
space-the broken trelliswork of which
mad been replaced by wild vines and
dangling orchards-appeared, at a
height OF six or seven feet above the
ground, the hideous head of the serpent
that had lately menaced Oswald and
now confronted me.
And when it flashed upon me that this
deserted kiosk was probably the reptiles
actual home, and that, as though in the
very irony of terror, had ventured to
intrude into the lair of the terrible
creature from the sight of which l had
once that Oswald's safety seemed as
sured-reeled dizzily away. 1 had often
heard of the strange taste which snakes
evince for an abandoned human dwell
ing, and how frequently they haunt the
outbuildings of Europeans abodes and
the huts OF the natives, and yet here had
L rashly strayed into the lurking place
of the deadliest guardian of the Ceylon
jungle.
That the snake was perturbed there
could be no doubt. It curved its grace
full neck like that of swan, and hissed
slightly, while its broad jaws were partly
opened. l fancied that L could see the
curved poison fangs-more to be dread
ed than ever was Malay creese or Moor
ish dagger-wbile the bright eyes gilt.
tered ominous]y. One wild, piercing
shrek 1 could not repress; and then the
futility of resistance OF of flight forced
itself upon me, and [ stood, nlotionless
as marble statue of embodied fear,
gazing at the omeraldine eyes fixed with
so pitiless stare on mine. The subtle,
sutfocating odor which large serpents
exhale, when angry, reached me but
already gave myself up for lost, and
waited passive till the tic palupga should
make his fatal dart.
The sibilant noise from the snakes
half-shut jaws bad grown louder, and
the bright, baleful eyes more menocing,
while the grim head lowered high aloft,
ready to strike, when suddenly some
thing bright flashed through the flower
ing bines of the creeping plant, and the
snakes hideous head and 1.-the body dis
appeared as if by magic. Then followed
the sounds of fierce struggle, repeated
blows, tramplipg feet, and Swapping
boughs, and the accents OF human voices:
and then Oswald came leaping through
the doorway, clasped me in his arms.
and bore me out into the broad light OF
days where lay-writhing yet-the car
cass of the snake, hewn through by the
snarp cutting Ak which Oswald still
grasped in his right hand.
"Shabashl" exclaimed Lall Singh.
whose swarthy face cleaned with delight
as he spurned the body Of the vanquish-
ed reptile. SIT was well that the first
blow went home, or it would have Jared
but badly with the young sahib when
this accurscd slayer of men turned Oh
him. Wah I'd sooner have faced
tiger"
To Lall Singh I was, indeed, in no
slight degres indebted for my safety.
Convinced, from the agitation of my
manner, that something was wrong, he
had followed me, and was in the act of
arousing Oswald from his slumber when
the piercing shrek which fear had
wrung from me re-echoed through the
woods and called attention to the immi-
nence of the peril. Then Oswald had
snatched up one of the keen, short axes
which the native woodcutters had left
sticking in tree trunk, and had been
fortunate enough to disable the snakea
the first blow.
My story is now told, and have only
10 add that l. was overwhelmed with
praises and caresses by the Forster fam
ily-hitherto so cold-and that on the
following day Mr.. Forster himself rode
over to my fathers house to entreat Mr..
Travers, from whom he had of late been
estranged, to accept his renewed friend
ship, and to ask for my hand on behalf
of his son. Oswald lost his passage on
board the homeward bound steamer
that was to touch at Point de Gale; and
when he did visit Europe, he took with
him Ellen Travers as his wife.
We have long been happily settled
far from tropic jungles and their dan
gerous habitants-but never has either
my husband or myself forgotten those
few instants of bitter anguish and alarm
beside the tank of Minary.
DaaY. ~ nn,~n4