CHAPTER XXVI
IN THE SHADOW OF THE PYRAMIDS
Joe's blood chilled with horror and his heart seemed for a moment to stopbeating.
He did not dare to move and scarcely to breathe. He might have been astatue, so rigid was his attitude. He knew that the least movement wouldprovoke an attack on the part of the deadly reptile.
On the other hand, if he kept perfectly quiet, there was the chance of thesnake gliding away through the window, which had evidently been its meansof entering the room.
Whether the serpent saw him or not, Joe could not tell. The head swayedfor a minute or two, while the glowing eyes seemed to take in every cornerof the room. Then the coils unwound and with a slithering sound the snakebegan to crawl across the floor.
But instead of seeking the window it was gliding towards the bed!
If he had had a revolver Joe would have had a chance, for at such closerange he could scarcely have missed. Even a knife to hurl, though only aforlorn hope, might have pinned the snake to the floor. But he was utterlywithout a weapon of any kind.
Suddenly he remembered the cane that his chum had leaned against thefootboard a few hours earlier.
He reached down stealthily and his hand closed upon it.
He did not dare to wake Jim for fear that the latter might leap from thebed and perhaps land squarely on the gliding death that was somewhere inthe room. He had lost sight of it, but he could still hear the draggingbody and it seemed to be now under the bed. At any instant that awful headmight rise on either side prepared to strike.
Gripping the cane until his fingers seemed to dig into it, Joe had amoment of awful suspense.
The gliding sound had ceased. Then from the side nearest Jim a hideoushead uprose within a foot of the sleeping man's face.
Like a flash the tough cane hissed through the air with all Joe's muscleback of it. It caught the reptile full in the neck and sent it half wayacross the room where it lay writhing.
In an instant Joe had leaped to the floor, raining blows upon the headand floundering coils, until at last the reptile straightened out and laystill.
"What's the matter?" cried Jim, awakened by the tumult and jumping out ofbed.
He turned pale as he saw the snake stretched out on the floor and Joe who,now that the awful strain was over, was leaning against the wall as limpas a rag.
Jim turned on the light and they viewed the monster, standing at arespectful distance from the head.
"He seems dead enough, but you can never be sure of a snake," said Joe,after in a few hurried words he had told of his experience. "Suppose, Jim,you get that Malay's knife out of my trunk and we'll make certain."
Jim brought the kriss, which Joe had kept as a memento of his strugglewith the maniac, and with one stroke severed the cobra's head from hisbody.
"That knife never did a better bit of work," he commented as he washed itoff. "Now let's get this thing out of the window and clear up the mess."
They got through the repugnant work as soon as possible and then made acareful search of the room.
"That fellow may have had a mate," remarked Joe, "and one experience ofthis kind is enough for a lifetime. I've always felt a little doubtfulabout those stories of people whose hair turned gray in a single night,but it's easy enough to believe it now."
"We'll close the window too," said Jim, suiting the action to the word andletting the upper sash down only for an inch or two. "That's the way thatfellow must have crawled in. It's pretty hot in here but I'd rather die ofheat than snake bites."
They went back to bed but not to sleep, for they were too thoroughlywrought up by their narrow escape.
"You must have hit that fellow an awful crack," said Jim. "You sure batted.300 in the Ceylon League."
"Broke his neck, I guess," responded Joe. "It's lucky it wasn't a missedstrike for I wouldn't have had time for another one."
"Don't let's say anything to the girls about it," suggested Jim. "Notuntil we get away from India anyway. They'd be seeing snakes all the restof the time we're here."
It was lucky that neither of them was slated to pitch the next day, forthey would scarcely have been in condition after their night's experience.A game had been arranged between the visiting teams at a date three dayslater. By that time Joe was in his usual superb form and easily carriedoff the victory for his team. This put the Giants "on velvet," for theynow had a clear lead of two over the All-Americans.
But the satisfaction that this would have usually given Joe was lackingnow. Victory had ceased to be sweet since the receipt of that newspaperfrom home.
Perhaps it was because of his sensitive condition that he thought hedetected a subtle change in the conduct of his team mates towards him.While perfectly friendly in their relations with him, they did not "letthemselves go" when in his presence, as formerly. There was no boisterousclapping on the back, no jolly sparring or wrestling. There seemed to be alittle holding in, a feeling of reserve, a something in the back of theirminds that they did not care for him to see.
This joyous freemasonry of sport had always been especially pleasant toJoe and for that reason he felt its absence the more keenly.
But what exasperated him most was that if the old standbys of the clubwere a trifle cool, Iredell, Curry and Burkett went to the other extremeand were more cordial than ever before. It was as though they werewelcoming a newcomer to their ranks. They knew that they were undersuspicion of planning to jump their contracts in the spring, and theapparent evidence that so renowned a player as Joe was planning to do thesame thing made them hail him as a reinforcement.
Where formerly they had often ceased talking when he approached them andmade him feel that he was an intruder, they now greeted him warmly,although they did not yet feel quite sure enough to broach the subject oftheir own accord.
"All little pals together," hummed Iredell significantly on one occasionwith a sidelong glance at Joe.
"Just what do you mean by that?" asked Joe sharply.
"Just what I say," replied Iredell innocently. "What is there wrong aboutthat? Aren't we Giants pals to each other?"
"Of course we are, as long as we stay Giants," replied Joe. "But thatwasn't what you meant, Dell, and you know it."
"Now, don't get red-headed, Joe," put in Curry soothingly. "You must havegot out of bed on the wrong side this morning. Dell didn't mean anyharm."
"Tell me one thing," said Joe. "Do any of you fellows believe for oneminute that story in the paper?"
He looked from one to the other, but none of them looked him straight inthe eye.
"You know that I've denied it," went on Joe, as they kept silent, "and ifafter that you still believe the story it's the same as saying that Ilie. And no one can call me a liar and get away with it."
He stalked away leaving them dumbfounded.
"Do you think he really has jumped his contract?" asked Burkett.
"I don't know," replied Iredell dubiously.
"He's got me guessing," muttered Curry.
And the trio were still guessing when several weeks later the partyreached Egyptian soil, prepared to play the most modern of games beforethe most ancient of monuments--baseball in the very shadow of thePyramids!