CHAPTER FIFTY.
GROOT WILLEM'S GREAT STRUGGLE WITH THE SNAKE.
Now it chanced that the sight of that great serpent was very gratifyingto the eyes of Groot Willem--far more so than any antelope. The reasonwas, that a friend of his, a young doctor of Graaf Reinet, who was fondof the study of herpetology, had requested him to bring home the skinsof such rare snakes as he might fall in with--but especially that of thegreat "rock-snake," which is not found in the colony, not even so farsouth as the Orange River.
Here was a chance for the skin, which, up to this time, Groot Willem hadsearched for in vain.
He had another reason for being gratified; and that was the splendidtrophy it would be, provided he succeeded in obtaining it. To kill asnake twenty feet long, and half as thick as a man--for the pythonappeared to be both--would be no small triumph! Where would Hendrik bethen?
All at once the steenbok was forgotten, and the snake became the objectof the hunter's skill.
Groot Willem had no skill about him. He knew of no mode to attack thisnew sort of enemy, except dealing with it as he would with a quadruped--that is, sending a bullet into it; and this he did the moment after.
His roer was levelled; and, glancing through his ivory sights, he firedthe large ball through the thickest part of the reptile's body.
The latter felt the shot; and, suddenly unfolding itself, dropped thesteenbok--now nothing more than a mangled carcase, with scarce a wholebone in it. The rapidity with which the snake glided off showed thatthe wound had done it but little harm.
The hunter thought of reloading again, when he perceived the serpentfast making to the rocks that in large masses lay piled up near thebottom of the cliff. Among these was its retreat; and if it oncereached them, Groot Willem saw that he should never set eyes on itagain.
Without staying to reload his gun, then, he ran in among the trees, andfollowed the direction taken by the serpent.
Although these snakes glide along with considerable rapidity, they canby no means go so fast as a man; and in less than a dozen seconds GrootWillem had overtaken the python, and for that matter might have troddenupon its tail.
There he was close beside the fearful-looking monster, but without theknowledge how to attack it. He began by striking at its body with thebutt of his gun; but although his blows were delivered fairly enough,the metal-shod heel of his roer only glanced from the slippery skin ofthe snake, without harming it in the least, or even retarding itsprogress towards the cliff. It made no attempt to retaliate, but onlyseemed bent on escaping to its lair.
It was almost successful; for although Groot Willem pounded away withall his might, it reached the rocks in spite of him, and had buried halfof its long body within a crevice--no doubt the entrance to its den--before the hunter thought of changing his tactics.
It was now a critical moment with Groot Willem. Another instant, andthe remaining half of the snake would slip out of sight, and thengood-bye to it. What would he say to his medical friend? What toHendrik and the yagers?
These thoughts inspired him with renewed energy; a new determination tosucceed came over him. The snake was not a poisonous one; and,therefore, the encounter could not be very dangerous. It might bitehim, but he had battled with many a biting creature before now, andconquered them, too. He would try his strength upon the snake.
He was not two seconds of time on coming to this determination; and, assoon as he had done so, he tossed his roer aside, and stooping down,seized the tail of the snake in both hands, and commenced hauling uponit!
At the first "pluck" he drew the reptile several feet outward; but, tohis surprise, it then held fast; and, notwithstanding his greatstrength, he was unable to draw it a foot farther. The creature had, nodoubt, got the fore-part of its body around an angle in the rocks; and,aided by its scaly skin, was enabled to hold fast.
Groot Willem pulled with all his might. A sailor in a storm could nothave hauled harder upon the main brace; but all to no purpose, as notanother foot of that part of the python that was still visible could belengthened. About the half of it was still outside, but the other tenfeet were buried within the dark recesses of the rocks.
For several minutes Groot Willem continued to exert his strength,dragging the long cylinder until he could hear its vertebrae crack, butwithout gaining an inch! On the contrary, he had already lost severalinches. Every time that he relaxed his hold, the python was enabled tomove forward a bit, and this ground it never gave up again. If GrootWillem allowed it an inch, it was sure to struggle for an ell! It hadall the advantage on its side, as it pulled _with the grain_, while itsantagonist was exerting his strength _against_ it.
Groot Willem felt confident he could hold the python in this position,as long as he could stand upon his feet; but what good would there be inso doing? He could not kill it in that way. If he were to "let go" forbut an instant, he very well knew that the next instant would show himthe last inch of the tail disappearing into the crevice! No, he couldnot let go, and he was resolved not to let go, until he should at leasttry the patience of his opponent. Maybe it would tire of being thusheld upon the "stretch," and would let him pull it out again.
If there had only been some one with him to administer a few smart blowsupon the creature's body it would have been all well; but the camp wasat a very long distance off, and behind the trees. His companions couldneither see nor hear him.
After standing on the strain a considerable time, a bright idea enteredthe brain of the hunter. There grew a small tree beside him--in fact,he was close by its trunk. The thought occurred that, if by any meanshe could fasten the tail to the tree, he could then go to work with asapling, and beat the snake to death at his pleasure.
He was a ready fellow, Groot Willem, and a few moments sufficed him tomature his plans. He chanced to have a strong "cord" in the amplepocket of his jacket, which would serve to effect the very purpose, ifhe could only manage somehow to make it fast to the tail. This heproceeded to do at once.
Straddling the snake, so as to hold it partly between his knees, he wasenabled to loop the cord tightly around it, and the thing was done. Ina minute more, the other end of the cord was tightly knotted around thetrunk of the tree!
Groot Willem now broke off a sapling, determined either to beat thehinder half of the python to a jelly, or make it surrender and show itshead!
He had not delivered the third blow, when it adopted the latteralternative; and the whole of its body now glided rapidly back out ofthe crevice--so rapidly that Groot Willem was not able to avoid theonset of the enraged reptile, and the next moment he was gathered withinits coils!
So quick was the act, that he scarce knew how it had been accomplished.He saw the head, with its open jaws extended, dart towards him; hesprang to one side, but felt the cold scaly body against his limbs as ifpulling him towards the tree; and the moment after, he was swept closeup to the trunk, and pressed tightly against it!
He had just time to perceive that the folds of the serpent were aroundhis limbs, and also around the trunk of the tree,--just time to feelthat they were gradually tightening upon him--when the head, with itsextended jaws and terrible teeth, came right opposite his face, and theeyes of the monster gleamed right into his!
A horrid spectacle it was--a horrid situation he was in; but GrootWillem was not the boy to lose either courage or presence of mind; and,finding his arms still free, he clutched forward and seized the reptileby the throat. To hold its head was just as much as he was able withboth hands and with all his strength; but he held with the grasp ofdespair. Fortunate it was for him that the tail of the python wassecured by the rheim, and it was thus held fast at both ends! Had itbeen otherwise--had either head or tail been free, so that it could haveused its power of constriction--in a few seconds more, Groot Willemwould have been crushed as he had seen the little antelope. But nowthat both tail and head were fixed--the one by the cord and the other inthe strong grasp of the hunter--the serpent was unable to exert
itsterrible power; and its folds remained loose around the limbs of itsintended victim!
It writhed its neck, and wriggled its body, and changed the spiral ringsfrom one part to another,--but all in vain. It could do him no harm!
How long this terrible struggle might have lasted would have dependedupon how long the strength of the two could have held out. Groot Willemcould not free himself from the folds of his antagonist, as _both_ hislegs were bound to the tree; and had he dropped the head of the pythonfor a moment, he knew it would crush him to death. The snake, on theother hand, could not free itself, as it was held fast at bothextremities. What was to be the result? Which would be the conqueror?
The serpent must have conquered in the end; though it might not havebeen able to free itself, as its tail was fastened to the tree. ButGroot Willem was not able to strangle it, with all the compression hewas exercising upon its throat, and his strength would have yielded intime. Most certainly would he have fallen a victim, but for a plan thathe at length adopted to set himself free.
During all the continuance of the fight between him and the serpent, hehad not attempted to use his knife. He had not thought of such a weaponagainst such an enemy. Not dreaming that he would be brought into closequarters, he had almost forgotten that he carried a knife. By goodfortune he had one, and it was in his belt. Even though one or twofolds of the snake were around his breast, he could see the handle ofthe knife above them; and making a sudden grasp, he laid hold of it, anddrew it forth.
The blade chanced to be almost as keen as a razor; and although theserpent now succeeded in twisting its head partially free, before itcould tighten its folds, the sharp edge of the knife had half severedits body in twain!
A second gash was made in another part, and then a third and stilldeeper one; and the resolute hunter had the gratification to see thespiral rounds that threatened his destruction fall off and drop heavilyto his feet!
In a short while the python lay dead upon the ground; and Groot Willem,although he felt that he had secured a great triumph, left the spot withsome regret that he had _spoiled the skin_!