CHAPTER XLII.
THE SPITTING-SNAKE.
"What can be the matter with my pretty birds?" asked Trueey of herself."Something wrong surely! I see no hawk. Perhaps they are fighting amongthemselves. I shall go round and see. I shall soon pacify them."
And so saying she mended her pace; and passing round the end of thelake, walked out upon the peninsula until she stood under the willow.
There was no underwood. The tree stood alone upon the very end of thespit of land, and Trueey went close in to its trunk. Here she stopped andlooked up among the branches, to ascertain what was causing so muchexcitement among the birds.
As she approached, several of the little creatures had flown towardsher, and alighted upon her arms and shoulders; but not as was their wontwhen desiring to be fed. They appeared to be in a state of alarm, andhad come to her for protection.
Some enemy certainly must be near, thought Trueey, though she could seenone.
She looked around and above. There were no hawks in the air, nor on theneighbouring trees,--no birds of prey of any kind. Had there been one inthe willow, she could easily have seen it, as the foliage was light andthin; besides a hawk would not have remained in the tree with herstanding so near. What, then, caused the trouble among the birds? whatwas still causing it--for they were as noisy and terrified as ever? Ha!At last the enemy appears--at last Trueey's eyes have fallen upon themonster who has disturbed the peaceful colony of weavers, and rousedthem to such a pitch of excitement.
Slowly gliding along a horizontal branch, grasping the limb in its manyspiral folds, appeared the body of a large serpent. Its scales glitteredas it moved, and it was the shining of these that had caught Trueey'seyes, and directed them upon the hideous reptile.
When she first saw it, it was gliding spirally along one of thehorizontal branches of the willow, and coming, as it were, from thenests of the birds. Her eyes, however, had scarce rested upon it, beforeits long slippery body passed from the branch, and the next moment itwas crawling head-foremost down the main trunk of the tree.
Trueey had scarce time to start back, before its head was opposite thespot where she had stood. No doubt, had she kept her place she wouldhave been bitten by the serpent at once; for the reptile, on reachingthat point, detached its head from the tree, spread its jaws wide open,projected its forked tongue, and hissed horribly. It was evidentlyenraged--partly because it had failed in its plundering intentions, nothaving been able to reach the nests of the birds,--and partly that thelatter had repeatedly struck it with their beaks--no doubt causing itconsiderable pain. It was further provoked by the arrival of Trueey, inwhom it recognised the rescuer of its intended victims.
Whatever were its thoughts at that moment, it was evidently in arage--as the motion of its head and the flashing of its eyes testified;and it would have sprung upon any creature that had unfortunately comeits way.
Trueey, however, had no intention of getting in its way if she couldavoid it. It might be a harmless serpent for all she knew; but a snake,nearly six feet in length, whether it be harmless or venomous, is aterrible object to be near; and Trueey had instinctively glided to oneside, and stood off from it as far as the water would allow her.
She would have run back over the narrow isthmus; but something told herthat the snake was about to take that direction, and might overtake her;and this thought induced her to pass to one side of the peninsula, inhopes the reptile would follow the path that led out to the mainland.
Having got close to the water's edge, she stood gazing upon the hideousform, and trembled as she gazed.
Had Trueey known the character of that reptile, she would have trembledall the more. She saw before her one of the most venomous of serpents,the black naja, or "spitting-snake"--the cobra of Africa--far moredangerous than its congener the _cobra de capello_ of India, because farmore active in its movements, and equally fatal in its bite.
Trueey knew not this. She only knew that there was a great ugly snake,nearly twice her own length, with a large open mouth, and glisteningtongue, apparently ready to eat her up. That was fearful enough for her,poor thing! and she gazed and trembled, and trembled and gazed again.
Angry as the cobra appeared, it did not turn aside to attack her.Neither did it remain by the tree. After uttering its long loud hiss, itdescended to the ground, and glided rapidly off.
It made directly for the isthmus, as if intending to pass it, andretreat to some bushes that grew at a distance off on the mainland.
Trueey was in hopes that such was its design, and was just beginning tofeel safe again, when, all at once, the snake coiled itself upon thenarrow neck of land, as if it intended to stay there.
It had executed this manoeuvre so suddenly, and so apparently withoutpremeditation, that Trueey looked to discover the cause. The momentbefore, it was gliding along in rapid retreat, its glistening formstretched to its full length along the earth. The next instant it hadassumed the appearance of a coiled cable, over the edge of whichprojected its fierce head, with the scaly skin of its neck broadlyextended, into that hood-like form which characterises the cobra.
Trueey, we have said, looked for the cause of this sudden change in thetactics of the reptile. She learnt it at the first glance.
There stretched a piece of smooth sloping ground from the edge of thelake back into the plain. By this the little peninsula was approached.As she glanced outward, she saw the springbok advancing down this slope.It was the approach of the antelope that had interrupted the retreat ofthe serpent!
Trueey, on first discovering the snake, had uttered a cry of alarm. Thiscry had summoned her pet--that had lingered behind browsing upon thegrass--and it was now bounding forward, with its white tail erect, andits large brown eyes glistening with an expression of inquiry.
It saw its mistress out upon the peninsula. Had she called it? Why hadshe uttered that strange cry? They were not sounds of joyful import ithad heard. Was anything amiss? Yonder she stood. It would gallop to herand see what was wanted; and with such thoughts passing through itsbrain, the bright little creature bounded down the bank towards the edgeof the lake.
Trueey trembled for her pet. Another spring, and it would be upon thelurking serpent--another----"Ha! it is safe!"
These words escaped from the lips of the young girl, as she saw thespringbok rise high in the air, and leap far and clear over the coiledreptile. The antelope had observed the snake in time, and saved itselfby one of those tremendous bounds, such as only a springbok can make.The fond creature, having passed the danger, now ran on to its mistress,and stood with its big shining eyes bent upon her inquiringly.
But the cry that Trueey had uttered had summoned another individual. Toher horror, she now saw little Jan running down the slope, and comingdirectly upon the path where the cobra lay coiled!