“The guns! The guns!” shrieked Chutney. “They are all in the boat. We are left at the mercy of the serpent. Sir Arthur! Sir Arthur!” he shouted with all his might, but no response came from the sleeping man, and the canoe continued to recede into the gloom.
At this terrible moment it was Forbes who brought a ray of hope into their despair.
Springing forward he snatched up an armful of the native weapons, spears, and axes, and distributed them to his companions.
“We must fight the monster with these,” he cried; “and while we are keeping him off, you, Canaris, run to the shore and keep on shouting to Sir Arthur. He may wake and get here in time to save us yet.”
“He must be in a faint,” exclaimed the colonel, “or the noise would surely have wakened him. Come on, Chutney, the serpent is halfway to the shore. We may keep him off with these arms.”
The torch was hastily placed in the sand near the water’s edge, and, grasping their weapons firmly, they prepared to check the advance of the monster. Fortunately the spears and axes were of hard iron and fitted with strong handles which the long storage in the cavern seemed to have toughened.
Meanwhile the air echoed with the Greek’s loud cries, but at that moment none thought of Sir Arthur or of the canoe, for the serpent was within half a dozen yards of the island and his great body was undulating through the water for thirty feet behind him.
“Keep cool,” said Chutney. “Aim well for the head and make every stroke tell.”
The sight of the glaring eyes and the blood-red fangs was enough to appall the stoutest heart. They shrank back in uncontrollable fear, as the long neck rose four feet in air and the body sank under the water.
The monster uttered an angry hiss, but before he could spring Forbes cast a spear with all his might and the sharp point pierced the serpent’s body a foot below the head.