SHARP EYES 47 



Any eye would have noted it, perhaps nothing more. 

 A little closer and sharper gaze revealed the fact that 

 the snake bore something in its mouth, which, as 

 we went down to investigate, proved to be a small 

 catfish, three or four inches long. The snake had 

 captured it in the pool, and, like any other fisher- 

 man, wanted to get its prey to dry land, although it 

 itself lived mostly in the water. Here, we said, is 

 being enacted a little tragedy that would have es- 

 caped any but sharp eyes. The snake, which was 

 itself small, had the fish by the throat, the hold of 

 vantage among all creatures, and clung to it with 

 great tenacity. The snake knew that its best tactics 

 was to get upon dry land as soon as possible. It 

 could not swallow its victim alive, and it could not 

 strangle it in the water. For a while it tried to kill 

 its game by holding it up out of the water, but the 

 fish grew heavy, and every few moments its strug- 

 gles brought down the snake's head. This would 

 not do. Compressing the fish's throat would not 

 shut off its breath under such circumstances, so the 

 wily serpent tried to get ashore with it, and after 

 several attempts succeeded in effecting a landing on 

 a flat rock. But the fish died hard. Catfish do not 

 give up the ghost in a hurry. Its throat was be- 

 coming congested, but the snake's distended jaws 

 must have ached. It was like a petrified gape. 

 Then the spectators became very curious and close 

 in their scrutiny, and the snake determined to with- 

 draw from the public gaze and finish the business 

 in hand to its own notions. But, when gently but 



