“Now he’ll have him!” said Tom, as the snake reached the far side of the pool, raised its head, darted out its tongue, and then turned and swam back toward the middle, glistening in the sun and seeming to enjoy its bath.
But Tom was wrong; the pike followed closely, evidently watching its strange visitor, but making no effort to seize it, and at last, quite out of patience, the lads made a dash forward.
The result was a swirl in the water, and the fish had gone to some lurking-place among the water plants, while the snake made a dive, and they traced its course right to the bottom, where it lay perfectly still.
They sat down to wait till it came up, but after a time, during which Tom had lamented sorely that he had not killed the snake, which seemed comfortable enough in its prolonged dive, they both grew tired, and returned to where Solomon stood making good use of his time and browsing upon everything which seemed to him good to eat.
“Here, let’s go and see how they’re getting on with the drain,” said Dick.
“But we’re always going to see how they’re getting on with the drain,” grumbled Tom.
“Never mind! Mr Marston may have had something else dug up.”
“I don’t want to see any more old boats; and as for that other thing—Ugh!”
“Never mind! Come along! Perhaps they’ve found something else.”
“Don’t believe it. Are you going to ride?”