180 AUGUST 



Further examination revealed a round hole out of 

 which it had evidently crawled. My idea is that it 

 was reposing in the middle of the heap quite 

 quietly till the coolie went and took out two 

 handfuls of the leaf mould to bring me ; in doing 

 which he must have as nearly as possible touched 

 the cobra with his bare hands. Finding its peace 

 disturbed, it crawled out, and it was then that the 

 dogs saw it. It is explained how it came to be 

 there, by the existence of a hole in the wall, made 

 to let out the floods last year, into the jungly 

 Mahomedan burial-place ; the veriest breeding- 

 place for snakes. Instantly I had it filled up to 

 prevent its pair coming in search of it. Probably 

 this is the one Mahgun saw the other day, near the 

 potting-shed, where also was a hole in the wall. 

 That one opened its hood at him, then swiftly slid 

 up a tree, whose branches overhung the wall, whence 

 it dropped over out of sight. I also, sitting in the 

 shed, heard snaky rustlings overhead in the thatch 

 one day, and concluded at once it was mankind's 

 direst enemy, a snake ; but thought it was safest 

 not to try to look for it. If only I had had those 

 holes filled in before ! This morning the grieved 



