The Gold Hunters' Adventures Part 77

Thinking that the noise of some brawler had disturbed him, I again lay down; but as I did so the dog uttered another low growl, and crept near my face, as though fearful of something that was invisible to my eyes.

I patted his neck, and to my surprise I found he was trembling as I had never known him before. He crouched close to me, and seemed almost inclined to desert me; but I soon calmed him, although, for the life of me, I could not understand why he should appear so frightened.

For a few minutes I sat upright and listened attentively, but not a sound rewarded me for my patience. I heard Fred breathing heavily a few feet from me, but I disliked to awaken him, as I knew that he was very tired when he went to sleep, and as yet I had seen nothing that warranted me in disturbing him. I was just about to speak to the dog in an angry tone, when he suddenly uttered a sharp yelp, and I heard a slight rustling within a few feet of me.

It was a peculiar sound, and startled me. It was not like the heavy or light tread of man, but it seemed as though some substance was being drawn across the floor at a cautious rate. Again it stopped, and all was still; I held the dog firmly by the collar, but he trembled so violently that I began to partake of his fear, and no longer delayed in awakening Fred.

I reached over, and placed my hand upon my comrade's face, and the touch awoke him instantly.

"Hist!" I whispered; "don't speak above your breath for your life. There is some person in the room!"

I could feel my friend place his hand upon his trusty revolver, and I knew that he was prepared for action. I shifted my position so that I could got beside him, and then, armed in a similar manner, I awaited further developments.

"What has disturbed you?" he asked, in a whisper that would have been inarticulate two paces from us.

"I can't imagine. Even Rover has taken fright; and for the first time; see how he trembles," I responded.

"Get your matches all ready, and when we wish a light we will have one without delay. Hark! What was that?"

We both listened attentively. Not ten feet from us, we could hear a movement that now sounded as though a man was crawling upon his stomach.

Carefully he appeared to work his way along, stopping every few seconds, as though uncertain whether to advance or recede; and it seemed as though we could hear our night visitor breathe during his pauses.

We did not wish to use our pistols, for we did not know but that the former proprietor of the store was in the habit of giving lodgings to miners, who were not acquainted with the change of ownership; but we made up our minds that we would guard against such interruption of our slumbers in future.

"We had better ask what he wants," whispered Fred, "and then we will light a candle and examine him."

"Go ahead; your lungs are the strongest," I answered, in an audible tone.

At the sound of my voice, the slow, slimy movement upon the floor ceased, and the visitor appeared to be listening.

"Who goes there?" demanded Fred, with a voice slightly tremulous. It appeared to me that I could hear a slight breathing near, but I was not sure. The slow moving or creeping across the floor had ceased; we listened for a repet.i.tion of it.

"Are you a friend or foe?" Fred asked.

There was no response for a moment, and then the slow, cautious movement began again.

"Strike a light," whispered Fred, "and let us see what this means."

Among the effects which we had found in the store was a large lamp for burning alcohol; this Fred had cleansed and trimmed the day before, and filled with spirits of turpentine, for the purpose of using it in cooking. I knew where it was placed; so I crept carefully along on my hands and knees, and suddenly lighted it with a lucifer. As the huge wick took fire, I hastily glanced over my shoulder, for fear that an a.s.sa.s.sin should strike a blow before I could be on my guard.

A startling yell from Fred caused me to spring to my feet, and as I did so, a long, dark object flashed before my eyes, and narrowly missed my head. The next instant my yell of terror was added to Fred's, for in the middle of the floor, with waving tail, and eyes that blazed like coals of fire, was a monstrous snake of a jet black hue; the huge mouth of the reptile was thrown open to its widest extent, and was armed with fangs an inch in length!

For a short time after my cry of terror, I remained silent, not daring to move, for fear that the reptile, who appeared to be debating which of us to attack first, should make a spring, and encircle me in his dreadful folds, and crush out my life before I could utter a prayer.

Even to this day I can remember how I trembled, and how weak my knee joints appeared to grow; and even now, I fancy I can see the slimy, gleaming monster examine first me, and then the flickering flame of the lamp, as though only astonishment at the illumination kept him at a distance.

I did not for a moment lose sight of that powerful, waving tail, or the glowing eyes, although I thought I would give all the world to be miles from the spot.

I had heard of the monstrous size that black snakes acquired in Australia, but I had regarded the stories as travellers' yarns, and only got up to intimidate new comers. Now that I was satisfied of the truth of the accounts, I could have wished that an earthquake would swallow the reptile, so that it but left me secure.

I glanced hastily towards Fred. He was seated on his bed, as startled and surprised as myself, but I thought that I saw his hand move slowly towards his revolver, and I prayed that his eyes would not deceive him when he fired.

Rover had disappeared, but I could hear his loud bay outside of the building, and I hoped that it would attract attention, and that a.s.sistance would reach us before it was too late.

Still that fearful and muscular tail waved and played in the air, as though undecided where to strike.

For a moment I removed my eyes from the bright orbs before me, and to my surprise, I saw a quant.i.ty of old canvas, stowed in a corner where we had left it the day before, begin to move. The snake was apparently attracted by the same object, and moved its body slightly to get a better view. I thought, with horror, that perhaps it was the mate of the reptile, and that Fred and myself would furnish a meal for each.

Still, I watched the canvas and the movements of the snake closely. The former was gradually and carefully unrolled, and then, to my surprise, I saw the head of a man thrust cautiously out, as though to discover the cause of the recent noise, and why a lamp was burning at that hour of the night.

The snake saw the man's head as quick as myself--at least, I judged that it did by its motions; for the huge mouth expanded wider than before, and a long, forked tongue darted back and forth, as though longing for something to gorge. The tail of the reptile also waved more gently, as though uncertain where to strike.

To my surprise, the man who was concealed in the canvas appeared to pay no attention to our hideous visitor, for he pushed aside the cloth that covered him, and seemed desirous of either investigating the contents of our money-pouches, or else making his escape from the building.

He was an ugly-looking fellow, as seen by the flickering of our lamp, and had I been unarmed, I should have cared but little about meeting him in the dark; under the present circ.u.mstances I almost welcomed him as a friend, and would willingly have given him a few hundred pounds, if, when he left us, he could carry our shiny visitor along with him.

We watched both the man and the snake with an unflagging attention. The former, to my surprise, did not appear to observe the danger that he was in, and I could only account for it when I saw that his eyes were watching my movements, as though fearful that a well-directed shot was to punish him for his intrusion.

The fellow was well armed, I could perceive, for a pair of pistols was stuck in his belt, and a long, glittering knife reposed near them. Once I saw him make a movement with one of his hands towards his belt, as though anxious to try the chances of a shot in my direction, but he apparently altered his mind, and arose to his feet.

I hastily glanced towards the snake; the movement of its long tail ceased, and the reptile coiled itself up as though to escape observation, but the fire of its eyes burned as brightly as ever, and the long fangs were exhibited, as though determined to bite something before long.

Still the stranger did not appear to observe the dangerous position that he was in, for he seemed too much occupied with scrutinizing Fred and myself to attend to objects in his immediate vicinity. Our silence must have struck him with wonder, for after a while he spoke.

"Darn it!" he exclaimed, pettishly, "why don't some of you hail a feller? or are you all struck with a Spanish mildew?"

We returned no answer.

The snake appeared to be as much interested as ourselves, and hardly a motion of his black, glistening skin could I observe; but his eyes seemed to emit sparks of fire, so brilliantly did they blaze.

"You can't hail a convoy, hey?" demanded the stranger, in a contemptuous tone; "has my appearance put a stopper on your tongues, or what is the matter?"

We still remained silent, awaiting the finale of so singular a meeting.

"You can talk glib enough when you get with old Brown, and other police fellows, after having shot down the best man in the mines--you know who I mean--and I tell you that he is a better man than either of you two lubbers, squatting there, with faces whiter than a ship's main royal!

You know the feller I mean--Pete Burley; he never trembled when a feller hailed him."

We let the ruffian--for his last words convinced me: that he had visited us for no good--go on.

The snake had, inch by inch, moved its location, and was partly concealed from the sight of Burley's friend by a barrel. The light, also, was not shed over that portion of the floor, and while every movement of the monster was distinctly revealed to me, the ruffian could not, without stepping towards us, observe it.

"I s'pose you fellers want to know why I am here," the ruffian asked, with a sneer.

I tried to reply, but I could not; my eyes were fastened upon the glowing orbs of the snake, and it seemed to me that if I spoke, he would spring towards me.

"I'll tell ye why I am here, and how I got in. I want to revenge the injury which you have inflicted upon my friend Burley, and I also want to get a few pounds to pay me for the trouble I have taken in his behalf; so just heave ahead and sh.e.l.l out the shiners, and then we'll spin a yarn 'bout other affairs. Interest first, and then satisfaction."

I heard every word that the villain uttered, but if he had drawn a pistol, and offered to have shot me where I stood, I could not have moved a hand in my behalf. I struggled to overcome the feeling, but it was in vain; the glistening, restless eyes of the snake were on me, and seemed to dance with triumph at their thraldom. The tail was motionless now, as though awaking the result of the conversation.

I wondered that Fred did not come to my relief; but the longer that I looked, the less I thought on the subject, and after a while I began to really enjoy my situation, and to feel surprised that I had considered the monster so terrible. I felt a strange desire to move forward, and fondle the snake, and the eyes that at first seemed so hideous now looked like glittering stones of inestimable value. The black, slimy skin appeared to be of burnished gold, and I thought that if I could but touch it, I should be enriched forever.

Even in my stupor I could hear the loud barking of Rover, on the outside of the building, and it pa.s.sed through my mind, like an electric shock, that he was uttering a howl for my death. But, like a flash, the bitter feeling that I experienced pa.s.sed away, and I no longer regretted that I was to die; in fact, I felt rather rejoiced that I was so soon to end my troubles, and it appeared that I had got but a step to move forward, and I should be surrounded with all the pleasures of paradise.