was making, and as soon as its head had dis- 

 appeared behind it my hand shot out and I 

 seized the snake by the neck. Springing to 

 my feet, I did not wait to go out by the regular 

 exit, but burst through the front of the blind, 

 tearing the canvas fastenings from the ground. 



"Finding itself a captive, the snake instantly 

 twined about my waist, and I felt its hood try- 

 ing to expand in my grip. With jaws wide 

 open, it twisted its head about and worked its 

 triple set of fangs backward and forward in a 

 vain effort to bury them in my hand, while the 

 venom oozed from their points in drops. 



" Fortunately , the cobra is not a constrictor 

 like the pythons and many other species of 

 snakes, so its grasp upon my body, while un- 

 comfortably tight, was not dangerous. 



"It was evident that to dislodge the snake 

 was going to be no easy matter. Fearing to 

 lose my grip for even a second, I kept a steady 

 strain on its body and wondered what next to 

 do. Suddenly the cobra began to relax its hold 

 and I felt the coils slipping. Encouraged by 

 this, I pulled harder and again the coils gave 

 way, until I was holding the snake at arm's 

 length with only a single coil about my body. 



