ike a monkey. "Shoot, sir,
shoot, or it'll grow out a noo head and tail and be worse and more
savager than ever."

"Yes," said Oliver to himself, "I'll shoot," and he fired both barrels
of his piece as soon as he had a chance.

The effect was instantaneous. One moment the monster was writhing
itself into a knot, the next it had rapidly untwined, and was gliding
over the bulwarks, the later part rolling over rapidly, like a huge
piece of cable, dimly seen, as it was carried down by an anchor.

"That's him," cried Smith; "but you didn't kill him, sir, or he wouldn't
have got over the side like that. It was best half on him. My: what a
whopper!"

Oliver ran to the side, followed by his friends, but they could see
nothing below in the darkness, only hear the rustling noise of the beast
writhing farther and farther away, the sound ceasing at the end of a
minute, when they turned inboard.

"You didn't kill the other half," said Mr Rimmer, laughing.

"No, I wish I had," cried Oliver. "That was the beast that startled me.
These things go in pairs, and the one you killed there was the second
one come in search of its mate. Is it dead?" he continued, giving the
long lithe body of the reptile upon the deck a thrust with his foot.

The answer came from the serpent itself, for it began to glide along
under the bulwarks once more, making now, blindly enough, for the
gangway, and as no one seemed disposed to stop it, the creature
disappeared through the side and down the sloping planks to the earth.

"Look at that!" said Smith to one of his mates, as he lightly dropped on
deck, "young Mr Lane thinks that's another sarpent, but we knows
better, eh, lad? I chopped that there beggar clean in half, and one bit
went forrard and t'other went aft."

"Yes, that's it," said Billy Wriggs, "and it was the head half as went
aft."

"Nay, it was the tail," said Smith. "This here was the head bit."

"Now, what's the good o' bein' so orbstinit, mate," said Wriggs,
reproachfully. "Think I don't know? I tell yer it was the head bit as
went and twissened itsen round the binnacle and wheel, a-lying in wait
for us poor sailors to go there and take our trick, when he meant to
gobble us up. Don't matter how long a sarpent is, he can't bite you
with his tail end."

"No; but he could sting with it; couldn't he?" said another man.

"Well, yes," said Smith, thoughtfully, "he might do summat o' that sort.
If so be as we finds him lying