“Do you, Master Guy, batter away at its tail, while I take its head,” cried Tim; and springing towards the neck of the monster, just as it was on the point of seizing José’s head in its mouth, he struck it a blow with his axe which well-nigh cut it through. Still it kept hold of the wretched man; till Tim repeating his blow, it rolled over to the ground with its victim, who, covered with its blood, presented a horrible spectacle as he lay gasping for breath. The blows had paralysed the serpent; and now, seizing José by the shoulders, we dragged him out from between its relaxed folds. We had expected to find every bone in his body broken, but, except that his breath had nearly been squeezed out of him, he did not appear to have suffered much. The anaconda, however, we saw from the movements of its body, still retained sufficient vitality to be mischievous.
“We must finish off this gentleman before we attend to Master José,” cried Tim. “If he comes to life again, he will be after taking us all three down his ugly mouth, like so many pills, at a gulp.”
“I suspect the gash you gave him must have somewhat spoiled his digestion, though, Tim,” I observed.
“Arrah, then, I will be after giving him another, to make sure,” exclaimed my companion, severing the snake’s head at a blow. “There! now I’ve done for him!” he cried, triumphantly holding up its head.
We measured the anaconda, which was fully thirty feet long; and Tim having cut it open with his axe, we found the body of a young deer, and three pacas, each larger than a hare, perfectly entire, showing that the creature had only just swallowed them. Its appearance was most hideous, the creature being very broad in the middle, and tapering abruptly at both ends. It had probably come up a small stream which ran into the main river, and which passed at no great distance from the spot where it had attacked José.
I was not before aware that anacondas of any size were to be found in Trinidad; indeed, Camo had told us that he had never seen one, and that at all events they were very rare.
We now turned our attention to José, who had not yet recovered from his terror. He sat moaning on the ground, and feeling his limbs, as if still uncertain whether or not they were broken. We at length got him on his legs, and taking him to the water, washed off the serpent’s blood, which abundantly besprinkled his face and shoulders.
“And now, José, tell me, where were you going when the serpent stopped you?” I asked, when he had recovered sufficiently to speak.
“Oh, don’t ask me, Señor Guy! I will go back with you, and remain faithful to the end of my days.”
I thought it best not to put further questions to the man, intending to leave it to my father to do so; but I strongly suspected that had not the anaconda put a stop to his proceedings, we should not have seen him again. Indeed, I may say that I was certain he was on his way to give information to the Inquisition of our place of concealment.