“Like a shark’s.”
“And they say that the jaws will stretch still wider, for they are fastened together by ligaments that are as elastic as rubber.”
“Yes, they will stretch so that it can swallow a young deer.”
“Perhaps that’s what it’s gorging on now.”
“Perhaps. You notice that hump below the neck? That’s as far as the prey has moved down toward the creature’s stomach.”
“Are you going to try a shot?”
“No, Harvey. Why should I? The boa hasn’t harmed us, and should I only wound it, one of us might suffer, for it’s said they move with wonderful rapidity for a short distance.”
“Would it not be a good plan to hasten and climb the hill yonder?” suggested Hope-Jones. “It won’t be safe to sleep in this valley to-night, and goodness only knows what we’ll stumble over next.”
The others evidently thought so also, for they quickened their pace, and giving the boa a wide berth they pushed ahead. An hour later they were threading their way by the side of a little stream up the hillside. After walking some distance Harvey said:—
“Mr. Ferguson?”