The Savannah morning news., 1901-02-10

see what had fallen, when the other man
cried out, For Gods sake don't move
keep perfectly still!' Dunlop knew what
that meant.
Stealthiy the old man took a Burmese
dab Sword from the wall, and, cat-li1e,
crept toward the white man with the thing
on his shoulder. Within striking distance
he paused, and raised the dab high in the
air to cut the thing in two with one swift
downward stroke. Then his nerve, ratified
and tugged at for sixty years until it was
weak, failed him, and the sword clattered
from his numbed fingers to the floor.
MY God! l can't do it," ne whined,
in a broken voice. and reeied back against
the wall, where he stood staring with
weak eyes at the sahib and his burden.
Dunlop neither moved nor spoke; his
only safety lay in keeping perfectly stlu
-motionless. 1t might be minutes, or a
thousand years; they would have to wait
till the boatmen came. What would hap
pen then he could not say. He could
feel the clnging, pulling thing on his
right shoulder. There was an Undulating
pressure that told him the head of the
snake was swaying back and forth just
above his neck.
Then the song of the Madrassi boat
men as they came swinging along with
his luggage, broke upon his ear. Those
Sln-thickened voices, carrolng the coarse
refrain to the time of the measured trot
were angel voices. What would the mud
dle-braned coolies do, he wondered. II
Emir Ally, his trusted servant, saw the
thing it might be well; he had nerve and
judgment even close to that OF a sahib.
Emir Ally was in the dead. When he
came to the steps, Savage jerked out an
expression that called his attention to the
tableau Gathering his loongy tight
about his loins, he slipped along the We,
randall like a shadow, grasped the fallen
dab, and posing his black, 1.-THE body for
swift strong stroke, brought the sword
through the air with swishng cut that
laid a full-grown cobra in two neat
pieces almost at the feet of the man who
had waited.
Once an evil spirit whispered to one OF
our party, Ben, stationed at Kyouk Phyou
and he bought pair of king-cobras (ham-
adryas) for fifteen rupees They We're very
rare, and he meant to send them to the
London Zoo They We're a beautiful par,
each being about ten feet long They
we're put in a box with Stats up the
front, and for a time it seemed an inter
esting investment
Kyouk Phyou is an old penal settle
ment. and most of the native workers
are eXiled murderers. or worse Ben's
brother was married and his cook. Sum
600, was past master I'm crime Bur
as a cook he was satisfactory-untu his
horoscope came into conjunction with the
cobras'. The Master was away. and tho
Memsahib was alone in the bungalow.
when Sundoo took it upon himself 70
become suffused with gin, or arrack
or something that made him aspire to
great things. He spoiled the dinner. but
that was nothing-a trifle; not at all
worthy of Sundoo, and Sundoo drunk
He threw the spoiled dinner away. and
drank out of a black bottle.
Rama! but he wanted to do something
then he thought of the cobras. That
was because of the black bottle He got
them both out of the box somehow. ana
twined them. Medusa-ltke. about bis,neclr
and arms. They knew he was drunk
just as horse knows-and did not hurt
him. When the Memsahib told the butler
to bring In the dinner, he went out 70
the cookhouse, and looked in at the bam-
boo door where sat Sundoo with the CO.
bras on his shoulders. Then he ran du-
igently across the felds-many acres of
fields-before he stepped
Presently the Memsahib callad. 1o,,a,,,
for her dinner. and the cook went in
with his two friends. 1t was a terrible
thing to do; but Sundoo had taken gin
or arrack, or something from the bI,cI,
bottle, and with drunken miscalcula+ior
thought the Memsahib would be rleaeed
with the exhibition. When She faintod
it occurred to him that he had failed in
his efforts to amHse; so he went bac[
cheaply enough, and put the king.
cobras in the box, scolding them for
having frightened his mistress.
1t is not written in any book what
punishment Sundoo got for that when
the sahib came home; but Sunhoo knows
He will never forget.
After that the hamadryas were sent
up 10 my bungalow at the Borongos.
did not know that their sole article OF
diet was other snakes and tried them
with rats, mice, frogs and birds; but
they would eat none Of these.
one day a dissipated young rocksnake,
about four feet long, staggered into the
bungalow. Now the hamadryas had al
ways appeared as though they were spoil
ing for a fight. so L transferred the lar
rikin to their box. His advent started
civil war; the two cobras rolled up their
sleeves and went at it; while the new
conner covered in a corner, with his head
hidden under the folds of his body
Ii was a terrible battle. They grabbed
each other by the neck with their
fangs and coiled their bodies together;
they threshed up and down the big box
until one was beaten. The defeated
cobra skunk into a corner. cOiled himself
up and strove to hide his head under the
coils. as the roeksnake had done. The
victor stood over him, striking viciously
upon the slightest movement on his part.
Then. when thoroughly convinced that all
the fight had been knocked out OF his
mate. the conqueror pulled the intruder
from the other corner by his head and
swallowed him. it took about six min
utes for him to accomplish this feat.
All the bones in a snakes head are
loose. and they can even shove one max
iliary. or side of the jaw, forward. inde-
nendeut of the other; ana the cobra shOy-
ed this snake straight down his throat by
means Of these flexible teeth. That solved
the food question. After that when
snakes strolled into the bungalow, they
wound up in the hamadrya's box. There
was always battle, and always a feast
afterward.
They were very Dugnacious, those two,
and sometimes fought each other when
there was really no purse in sight. When
caught them al this 1 used to pun the
Aide door In the top OF the box and whip
them with a small cane.
Every morning the servants soused
the box with water 10 cleanse II. one
day while Il was being washed out.
heard a great commotion. ana cries OF
"The big snake A. outw The servants all
fed except q China-Burmo LAD named
Joe" lie told me the cobm had gone