THE WILD AVENGERS. 67 
snake heading fast as a horse could go for 
its tree, and the spear quivering in the ground 
half a yard behind the thin, whirling tail. 
Eleven minutes later the mamba was 
hidden, coiled as before, in the heart of the 
dim green mystery of the tree’s foliage. And 
the native? Oh, he was lying quite dead in 
the long grass not a hundred yards away, 
and—the vultures were coming down out of 
nowhere ! 
It was sometime about high noon on the 
day following that the mamba awoke to a 
strange sound close at hand. ‘ Hoo-hoo-hoo- 
hoo!’ came the deep, resounding, hollow cry, 
and the mamba jumped and headed straight 
for its tree. 
But it was too late! Bang in front of it 
was a great big caricature of a bird insolently 
barring its way. This marvel of impudence 
was about as big as an ungainly black turkey, 
but it could fly, and its beak was like a very 
thick rhinoceros-horn turned down. 
‘Hoo-hoo-hoo !’ said the bird, and spread 
out its stiff wings in front of it like a tent. 
‘Z-z-p!’ went the mamba’s terrible head, 
darting at the bird quicker than you could 
see. But the deadly poison-fangs struck, and 
wasted their poison on, only stiff quill-feathers. 
And in that instant the serpent felt a nip of 
