It was some time, too, before he lost his fear of toppling from his swaying perch and crashing to the ground. The effort to secure himself made his limbs stiff and cramped, and he looked forward to a night of sleeplessness and pain. But sleep crept upon him unawares. He fell into a doze, uneasy indeed, and fitful, but yet giving blessed intervals of oblivion.
From one of these spells of slumber, Royce suddenly started to wakefulness and a strange feeling of terror. He had not been dreaming; by this time he was so much accustomed to the stings of the insects as to be almost unconscious of them. Yet he was bathed in sweat, and felt as though some fearful doom were hanging over him. He lay panting in the crook of the branches.
What was this strange, musty odour of which he was now aware? What was the cause of the dreadful feeling of sickness that chilled his skin? Unable to account for his wretched state, he lay still, hoping that the feeling would pass.
The foliage rustled above and around him; insects hummed; in the distance he heard the wailing call of some strange night bird, the booming note of a giant frog, the bark of a beast of prey. In these there was nothing alarming. But his uneasiness, the sense of impending danger, grew upon him, and at last, unable to endure the mysterious feeling any longer, he was on the point of awakening John, for the mere relief and pleasure of hearing a human voice, when all at once the other man, farther from him, uttered a shriek of mortal terror.
IN THE PYTHON'S TOILS
The effect upon Royce was as startling as the shock from an electric current. He started up, almost losing his balance. The cry had this good result, that it enabled him to shake off the numbing horror that had oppressed him. Groping in his pocket, he drew out a small electric torch which he used but sparingly, because of the impossibility of re-charging it. With the other hand he seized his revolver.
A flash of the torch made all terribly clear. The hapless carrier was in the toils of an immense snake. John crouched near him, paralysed with horror. The snake was gradually tightening its hold, and its hideous head was swaying within a few feet of its victim.
Royce snapped his revolver at the reptile's head. The shot went wide. He fired again. This time his aim was true. For a moment the snake convulsively tightened its coils about the inert black body, causing the man to groan under the crushing pressure. Then the coils relaxed, the head drooped, and in a few moments the monster dropped with a thud upon the ground.