206 



CAMPS IN THE CARIBBEES. 



could secure myself in position by bracing my legs 

 against each opposing cliff, and was near enough to 

 the top to clutch some roots, otherwise I could not 

 have maintained the ground I had gained. The snake 

 crawled out of a crevice in the rock, and though he 

 may not have intended to harm me, I will confess 



to a feeling of fear 

 at that time, and 

 remembered with re- 

 gret how thoughtless- 

 ly I had laughed at 

 poor Toby, the day 

 before, when he fled 

 in terror from a snake 

 I had caught by the 

 tail. My gun, which 

 had not been injured 

 in my fall, was slung 

 at my back, and by 

 loosening it I man- 

 aged to strike the 

 snake a smart blow, 

 which, though it an- 

 gered him, caused 

 him to glide down the cliff instead of up. Thus 

 relieved, I scrambled through the dank vegetation, 

 and stood once more above the ground. 



From the lake came up a strange hissing sound, as 

 though the water was boiling, caused by the many 

 streams set in flow by the rain running into it. Its 

 usually placid surface was agitated, and I could detect 

 a perceptible change in its color. 



