Year: 1877

of summer, when the sea gave back
a dazzling glitter under the suns
rays, that a little trading cutter lay
at anchor some fathoms from the
shore of Congo, on the west coast of
Africa.


Leaning over the bulwarks was
the lieutenant, a broad-shouIdered
young fellow of thirty, whose open
face wore a gloomy expression, as
his eyes wandered over the beautiful
country before him without seeming
to take it in. This part of the
coast was thickly wooded, and glo-
rious with that rich tropical under
growth so wonderful to the eyes of
the natives of temperate climes. At
any other time Charles West would
have reveled in the scene; but now
his mind was filled with the Cap
tain's daughter, Alice


She had been taken on board at
Monravia, where she had been spend
ing some months with an uncle, who
was missionary; and during this
short time she had won every heart
in the place. All the blacks in the
town had assembled on the shore to
bid her farwell; and men, women
and children united in sobbing and
weeping as she said good-by. She
had made herself beloved by her
gentleness and good nature; and the
regret of these simple and ignorant
people at losing her had a great eff
feet on the young lieutenant.


The sailors already would have
done anything for ber, thinking
themselves well repaid when she
gave them smile and a word of
thanks for anv service. But to West
she was rather distant, or he fancied
so; and this was the cause of his
moody abstraction as he leaned over
the vessels side.


As his eyes rested on a tree not
far from him, something moving in
it arrested his attention, and he be-
came aware that a monsIrous python
was hanging in the branches, its eyes
fixed on the vessel. The creature
must have been between thirty and
forty feet long, and its body was
covered with scales that glittered in
the suns rays as they fell ON them
through the foliage.


An involuntary shudder ran
through the young mans frame
not that he was a coward, but there
was something repulsive to him in
anything, large or small, in the shape
OF a snake. As he looked, the head
was projected toward him, and the
forked tongue darted out. In spite
of the distance between them, he
shrank back, and then, turning, call
ed the attention of some of the sail
Ors to the great reptile, just before
it unwound its massive coils and
quickly disappeared in the thick un-
derwoOd.


The thought struck him that if the
serpent should return at night, it
might be possible for it to attain the
ship before they were aware of il. 1t
would be better to follow it now,
and kill it by broad daylight, than
to risk being attacked and taken by
surprise. A thought of Alice, and
the danger to her should that hap
pen, caused him to act upon that
idea, and ask permission of the cap
tain to go ashore. 1t was readily
granted, when he explained the rea-
son of his wish; so, accompanied by
five of the sailors, ali armed to the
teeth, he went ashore.


Going in the direction which he
fancied the python had taken, they
were soon in the midst of thick
forest of immense trees, among
which were many fine specimens OF
the wonderful baobab tree, its i'm
mense branches spreading up to the
sky, and sometime shutting out ev-
cry ray of the sun. IL was a relief
to get away from the scorching
brightness of the beach, and would
have been cool and pleasant under
the trees, only that the denseness OF
the growth shut out even the refresh
ing breeze which came off the sea-


Being excited by the prospect OF
little danger, or perhaps a great deal' zeal
they let pass unnOticed the nrsI
SYMPTOMS of a storm; but when the
wind, rising quickly, began to move
through the tree tops, West gave
fbe order for an immediate return to
the ship. The quickly growing dark
ness rendered this order difficult to
obey, for the men could not find out
which way they had come; and, al
though it was three in the afternoon,
1t quickly became dark as night IN
the forest, while the air was full OF
weird noises; the roaring of the
blast, the groaning of the trees as
they bent under its powers, and now