The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-04-11

lie ana notice tnat jose ate only |
couple, nor did he see the look of cum
ming exultation on the Indians face.
Ten minutes after eating the first
berry, the Colonel felt strangely exhiler-
a.ed, and burst out into rollickly col
lege song with the boisterous hilarity of
one intoxicated with absinthe.
His whole nervous system, even to his
tinger.tips, tingled with pleasing excite
meut. He had vague recollection OF
making resolve to check his ludricous
out5urst; of seeing Jose glide away into
the forest with his rifle over his shoulder,
and a look of malignant hatred on his
swarthy face; of struggling to his feet
and calling to the Indian to come back
and then he rolled upon the ground and
all became blank.
Not until the following day did con-
seriousness begin to slowly assert itself.
He then awo&e, with horrible sensation
of helplessness.
The lower half of his body was
numbed and paralyzed by terrible
gradually constructing power from all
directions.
His limbs appeared dead, and all the
blood forced out of them into the upper
part of his body. His eyes seemed start
ing from their sockets; there was q sing
ing In his ears, and he breathed with
great difficulty.
His throat was hot and dry, and he
was consumed with raging thirst.
He was lying face downward, aud hay
ing determined TO throw off the stupor,
he raised his hands to his head.
Instantly he was dragged ba kward
several feet along the ground.
Horri6ed and bewildered, he made
frantic effort, raised himself on his ell
bows aId looked about him.
He was half engufed in the throat of
a monster boa CONSTRUCTOR
The reptile had begun to swallow him
without first crushing him within its
coils, as'is usually the case.
When the serpent moved, an indescrib-
ably sickening odor arose, and almost
stupeied the imprisoned man.
Maddened at the loathsome prospect,
the Colonel gave a Mortified scream of
agony, and olutching frantcally at the
ground, struggled to release himself from
the deadly embrace of the serpent's
throat.
But the teeth Of his devourer were
fastened in his buckskin coat, ard held
him like pair of hungry nippers, while
the horrible suction pump below was
worked with renewed energy.
The Colonel ceased his struggles, and
looked about anxiously for Jose.
"What has become of him? Was he,
too, being devoured, or was he already
destroyed"
While he was puzzling over these
speculations, he suddenly remembered
that Just before consciousness left him,
the Indian had disappeared in the forest,
and then, like flash, he recollected the
fellows conference with Mendoza, and
he realized that he had been left to
perish.
At the terrible thought, he made an
other effort to escape.
The movement disturbed the boa, and
again 1t dragged him backward two or
three feet, and again the constructing
suction from below began.
So long as he kept perfectly quiet the
serpent seemed content to let matters
take their course, and to remain in a
semi-comatose condition.
Hours passed, that the horror of his
position seemed to lengthen into days.
He put down his left hand, to feel the
taut rim of the boa constructors jaws.
They were three inches higher up his
body than when he first regsined con-
seriousness.
The excitement through which he had
passed had exhausted his emotions, but
this dire discovery awakened them.
He tried to form some plan of putting
an end to his existence, but his brain was
no longer equal to the concentration of
definite idea. He was beyond all power
of action.
Once he fancied that he heard the cry
of some animal or human being near by,
but he was too far gone to pay much at
tention.
At last all seemed to be over with him.
1t was as though the darkness of night
had gradually closed over him, the roar
ing noise in his ears continued for awhile
and then all was silent.
He had sunk into the Inconsistencies
of complete exhaustion
Colonel, until came to my senses
again, and found myself lying on luxu.
rlous bed, in cool, pleasant ROOM"
"rhe first face that saw as I opened
my eyes, was that of the lady who after
ward became my wife. At the time I
thought her an angel from heaven, and
well, she is as near one as mortal can
| be-
81 was very weak, and it was several
days before l fully recovered. Then she
told me the story of my rescue.
She is extremely fond of scientific pur
suits, and was botanizing in the forest,
accompanied by her maid and two trusty
servants, when she suddenly beheld the
head and shoulders of man protrudiug
from the mouth of monster boa, whose
scaly body lay in serpentine lengths
along the ground.
"Taking it for granted that 1 was
dead, and chilled with terror, she ut
tered the Mortified cry that had dimly
heard.
'it brought to her side the servants,
who were armed with sharp axes, to cut
a path when necessary through the tang
led underground of the forest
"They boldly attacked the serpent
ouo ouSeCOuot III CuoPPihS MN Sohl
pletely in two Just below the bulge in
his body caused by my feet and legs. Il
was necessary, however, to silt open the
severed head and neck before I could bt
released.
cat first they thought me dead, but
were soon rejoiced at discovering ling
ering spark of life"
Under Miss De Silva's directions the
Colonel was taken to her fathers house,
ana there she nursed him back to life
and health.
A tender passion, each for the other
was developed during bis convaescence
and when he was able to return to thu
logging camp, she had promised to b.
his wife.
He then learned from one of the In
dian wood choppers of the coward!
plot against his life.
, Jose had seen the gigantic serpent
crawling slowly toward the Colonel while
the latter lay smoking under the tree
and had determined to assist his master
, Mendoza IN terrih!e rpvenup