"Ah, it does look like it. You must save that. You have your gla.s.ses with you?"

"Yes," said the doctor. "Want them?"

"Please. I want to look round."

The doctor slipped the strap of the case over his head and pa.s.sed it to his friend.

"Give a look at the mules and ponies," he said. "If there's anything wrong they'll seem uneasy."

"Snake in the gra.s.s, eh?"

"Yes."

"All right.--I say, you within there, what have you shot?"

"Don't know yet," replied Chris. "Ned thought he saw a thumping great rattler."

"Did he?"

"It's too thick with smoke to see yet, but it's clearing fast."

Wilton, who displayed more and more his disgust with the task his friends had set themselves, took the gla.s.s and began sweeping the sides of the depression, noting the cracks and gullies running up the cliff-face opposite in amongst the cell-like openings, all wonderfully clear and bright in the morning air, while Bourne and the doctor, encouraged by the discovery of the relic of the stone age, went on turning over the ashes in the next cell.

Meantime the party at the side of the square pit waited impatiently for the smoke to rise and float out beneath the overhanging portion of the cliff above the top range of cells, Griggs giving the lanthorn a wave now and then, sending it flying, pendulum-like, as far as he could reach without bringing it in contact with the smoothly-cut wall.

"Not much chance for anybody or anything to get out of here again if he was at the bottom, lads. It's a regular trap," he said.

"Yes, but take care, or you'll be breaking the lanthorn," said Chris warningly.

"Nay, I won't do that, my lad," replied Griggs quietly. "But I say, squire, did you aim at its head or its tail?"

"I aimed at the part I saw moving," said Ned. "Can you see it yet?"

"Nay. Can you?"

"No."

"I'm afraid you shot at nothing," said Griggs, with a laugh, "and you haven't killed it."

"I'm sure I saw something moving," cried Ned indignantly.

"Where is it, then? It's clear enough to see now."

"Gone down into a hole, perhaps."

"Or crawled down its own throat perhaps."

"I know," said Chris merrily; "Ned never misses anything. The poor brute has swallowed its own tail, formed itself into a ring, and bowled out like a hoop."

"Of course," cried Ned, raising his piece to his shoulder, as the light now penetrated well into one of the opposite corners, and without a word of warning he fired again.

"What did you do that for?" cried Chris excitedly.

"To put that reptile out of its misery," said Ned.

"To fill the place with smoke again," cried Chris indignantly. "It's all fancy."

"Precious noisy fancy," said Griggs dryly. "My word, he must be a thumper! Talk about smoke, he is kicking up a dust."

Chris was silent as he stood listening to the struggles of what was evidently a large serpent, while it writhed violently below them, beating about and lashing the pile of remains that had crumbled down from the cell, and sending up quite a cloud to mingle with that of vapour which rose, smelling pungently of hydrogen, towards the overhanging blocks of stone roofing in the square pit.

"I guess I'm quite satisfied now that I didn't go down," said Griggs coolly; "but there don't seem to be more'n one, or we should hear them travelling about."

"This one makes noise enough for a dozen," said Chris.--"I say, Ned, I beg pardon. You don't want me to go on my knees, do you?"

"No," replied the boy calmly, as he made the breech of his double gun snap to very loudly; "only I wouldn't be quite so c.o.c.ksure that you know everything, next time."

"Thy servant humbles himself to the dust," said Chris, in Eastern style.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you," said Griggs dryly; "certainly not till that gentleman below has done kicking it up. Say, how big should you say this one is?"

"Oh, I don't know. It sounds as if it might be twenty feet long."

"Yes; but if it is as long as that it wouldn't be a rattler."

"No; only a thumper," cried Ned, laughing. "Hark, it's quieting down now. Shall I give it another dose as soon as it is still?"

"No; save all the ammunition you can, my lad. It has had enough to finish it off. How strange it is that anything long should take such a time to die."

They stood there patiently listening to the movements below, the lashing about gradually ceasing, to give place to a gliding, rustling sound as if the injured creature was travelling rapidly about endeavouring to escape. The dust began to settle as the smoke floated away, but twice over arose again as after a spell of silence there was the sound of a fall.

"He was trying to get up in the corner yonder," said Griggs.

"How horrible if it comes up one of these angles," said Ned, drawing his breath sharply.

"No fear," cried Griggs. "Snakes can only raise themselves up for a certain distance, and then they fall over. I've watched them often."

"I say, he's getting quieter now," said Chris.

This was plain to all, for the rustling died out, began again more faintly, died out again, there was the sound of a pat or two as if given spasmodically by the reptile's tail, and then all was quite still, while the dust had cleared away so that the watchers could see by the lanthorn's light the inert body of a very large rattlesnake.

"Why, it's not half so big as I expected," cried Chris.

"The biggest I ever saw," said Griggs quietly.

"But it made such a tremendous noise," cried Chris. "I expected to see one double that size. I say, hadn't Ned better give him another charge?"

"No; one of you go up to the top and drop a good-sized stone down upon him. We shall see whether there's life enough in him to be dangerous."