IMPRISONED BY A COBRA 231 



"Holding the snake in one hand, I seized it 

 about the middle with the other, but the in- 

 stant the reptile felt itself grasped in another 

 place it struggled so hard that I was obliged 

 to again grip it with both hands about the neck. 



"My strength was waning fast, but the sat- 

 isfaction of knowing that the cobra, too, was 

 becoming exhausted gave me courage. The 

 constant strain that I kept on it had weakened 

 it, so the next time I caught it in the middle it 

 made one feeble effort to contract, then the coil 

 gave way and slipped off my body entirely. 



"Swinging the snake free from my body, I 

 waved it about my head and with all my 

 strength brought it down on a rock. Again and 

 again I whacked it over the boulder and finally 

 threw it as far as I could. 



"Then rushing back to the blind, I returned 

 with my rifle, but I was so unnerved that the 

 bullets went wild and I was obliged to resort 

 to stones in order to kill the cobra, although 

 it was almost dead from the hammering I had 

 given it." 



