16 



THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



that it is not an unusual thing for a family to be seriously disturbed 

 by a huge boa, which has stealthily gained entrance to the dwell- 

 ing. Wallace met with one of these unbidden guests while on 

 Amboyna island, which he describes as follows : 



" One night, about nine o'clock, I heard a curious noise and 

 nestling overhead, as if some animal were crawling slowly over 

 the thatch. The noise soon ceased, and I thought no more about 

 it and went to bed soon afterward. The next afternoon, being 



SKULL OF THE PIG- DEER. 



rather tired with my day's work, I was lying on the couch with 

 a book in my hand, when, gazing upward, I saw a large mass of 

 something overhead which I had not noticed before. Looking 

 more carefully, I could see yellow and black marks, and thought 

 it must be a tortoise-shell put up there out of the way, between 

 the ridge-pole and the roof. Continuing to gaze, it suddenly 

 resolved itself into a large snake, compactly coiled up in a kind 

 of knot ; and I could detect his head and bright eyes in the very 

 centre of the folds. The noise of the evening before was now 



