The morning call., 1893-05-28

his hands and knees. essaying 10 iise 10 his
feet The effort was beyond him.
And yet The sprng WAS still ahead lying
still pool now, with the sedges springing green
abou! 1t aud In Its depths showing softly the re-
fected light of the sun.
II was strange, be thought, staring upon the
hlle pool and painting like a dog, with his
tongue hanging out, tl1at there should be two
suns reflected in the pool. and that. though the
water was still, there should be yet that whir-
ring, murmuring sound as of a running stream.
POSSIBLY there were two pools lying together
and each showing the sun, and there may have
rippled from them a stream he could not see.
Slowly painfully lie dragged one limb after
the other, striving 10 reach the water. 1t no
longer Ieceded from him, but In The reflected
suns there 81 amed cold, baleful light such
as might have sbone In the eyes OF 4 demon.
NOR repeant and more fascinating than
the sun that was reflected. aud there was in The
whirrng quicker rhythm as though the iun-
nrg water bad taken a note of deadly anger.
Closer he drew TO the water, aud closer. His
hand touched the green sedges now. and
lie felt a cool breath that cheered him while it
chilled him WITH a deadly fear. He drew closer
and closer. The TWO reflected suns had merged
into one, cleaning and glittering with cold
hate, and lie noticed that though his face was
over the pool there was still lie reflection OF
the sun far in the depths sinister and steady.
lie rested his hands in the sedges upon either
side of the pool. He stopped 10 quench the
hifst thai burned him, turning his blood TO fire,
and then there was 4 quick hiss, the sudden
movement forward OF a 1.-The. snuouS body.
ana with The howl OF maniac, strong again in
his frenzy of terror. The maG sprang 10 his feet,
and from his swollen tongue there hung Sus-
pended by The sheer strength OF its fangS Il
ra;lesnake that TUNED ana twisted and threw
lis powerful body this way and that seeking
release from the victim of It's own fury.
For a moment the man stood, the snake
wIuhing and twisting 10 be free. Then the
world swan before him and lie staggered back
ward, but as lie fell lie cIuGched lie snake a,
II d opied free with the grip of a dying man, and
with one last cOnyusiVe effort carried iiS body
to his mouth and sann his teeth deep into the
palpitating flesh, cold, though it Died.
The snake writhed and turned and twisted,
stli ing lis body upon the ground and uron the
face and breast of the man lying so stIll and
looking up with wide-open eyes that no longer
bIinked at The heat of the sun, atid sinking It's
fangs again and again into the mans face and
bis body, and into its own shining scales.
Finally it lay still, sullenly enduring It's pan
and the sun went down and the air quvei ell no
longer, and strange shapes went hurryiug by
In the dark kness that settled like d curtain upon
the land, while far In the still black above there
was splinkled everywhere the golden dust of
stars
SIX months afterward party Of prospectors,
well mounted riding that way, came upon
Tie skull oi man, and there was about ii, as II
lay just beside the tran. someI hing. apart from
the excellent preservation of the bones In that
dry climate. that caused one OF them to stop his
horse and dlsm0nnt.
Come here be said to his companions. and
they came. 1t was not much that they saw
Only. between The clenchrd teeth of Ih4 shull,ihe
verlebl9 of a snake held so firmly that nol
even the sandstorms that sometimes swept
across the region had caused the sections to
fall apart.