upon your chest this
last hour, you would be stupid."

"Oh, I beg your pardon, old fellow!" cried Drew hastily. "I really
didn't know. But, I say, what is going on upon deck?"

The answer came at once from Mr Rimmer, who hurried into the cabin.

"Here, gentlemen, for goodness' sake come on deck!" he cried, as he
snatched down a double gun. "We've got a visitor there."

"Yes, I know--a great serpent," said Oliver.

"Eh!--how did you know?" cried the mate, as he examined the piece to see
if it was loaded.

"Lane has had it in bed with him."

"What! That's nice! Look sharp, gentlemen; bring your guns and I can
promise you some nice shooting, though it's rather dark. The brute has
taken possession of the deck, and we've been hitting at it with
hand-spikes, but every crack only made him wag his tail and hiss at us.
There; hark at them; they must have got him into a corner."

For the shouts and the sound of blows came again, louder than ever.

"There, I'm off; but make haste; and mind how you shoot, for it's rather
dark--only starlight."

The young men hurriedly slipped on their trousers, and each took a
double gun and proceeded to load.

"Swan shot?" suggested Oliver. "It's a huge brute."

"Never fired at a snake in my life," said Panton; "but I owe this brute
something for scaring me. Ready?"

"Yes, ready," was the response; and they all stepped up on deck to go
cautiously forward with their pieces at full cock to where the noise and
confusion were still going on.

"Hi! Look out!" cried Oliver, as they advanced, and, raising his piece,
he fired at something shadowy which he made out by the light of the
stars gliding slowly along beneath the bulwarks.

The gun flashed, and the report was followed by a loud hissing, and a
violent blow, as if some enormous whip had been lashed at the three, who
were thrown to the deck, their legs being swept from under them.

"Hi!--this way," cried the mate from forward. "We've got him here."

They sprang up and hurried forward, Oliver recharging his piece with a
fresh cartridge as they went, but only in time to hear another report,
for the mate fired, and the men uttered a shout as a more violent
scuffling noise arose.

"That's settled him," cried the mate. "Here, get the lanterns down;
we'll soon have him out of that. Big one, isn't he?"

This to Oliver, who looked down at the deck to see, heaving and
throbbing as if there were plenty of life in it still, a