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 
Thad 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. 
Tosy. 
