these things."

I gave up my hold of the fishing-line most unwillingly, for the little
adventure was intensely exciting, and every jerk and drag made by the
creature that had seized my fish sent a thrill through my arms to my
very heart.

"It is some kind of sea-snake that has taken your fish, Nat, and is
regularly constricting it. As I told you before, there are some of them
dangerously poisonous, and not like our great friend out in the swamp."

Meanwhile Ebo was jerking and shaking the line furiously, as if
endeavouring to get rid of the snake, but without avail, for it held on
tightly, having evidently got one fold twisted round the line, and I
must confess, after hearing about the poisonous nature of these
creatures, to feeling rather nervous as to its behaviour if it were
brought on board.

But Ebo did not mean to bring it on board. He wanted to shake it off,
and what with the struggles of the fish and the writhing and twisting of
the snake, it seemed every moment as if the line must break.

The black brought it close in, then let it go almost to the full length
of the line, jerked it, made fierce snatches, but all in vain; and at
last getting the unwelcome visitor close in, he signed to my uncle to
take his knife while he raised his club for a blow, when there was a
sudden cessation of the rush, and foam in the water, and fish and snake
had gone.

Ebo grinned with triumph, and after examining the bait threw it out
again, returning to the other side directly to draw in a satisfactory
fish for our breakfast, while my uncle chatted to me about my last
captive.

"This is new to me, Nat," he said. "I never could have thought that
these snakes or eels, for they seem to partake of the character of the
latter, would have wound themselves round the prey they seized. The
elongated fish in our part of the world, congers, dog-fish, guard-fish,
and similar creatures, fasten their teeth into their prey, then setting
their bodies in rapid motion like a screw, they regularly cut great
pieces out of their victim. This was precisely the same as a serpent
with its prey, and it is a natural history fact worth recording. But
look!"

I had already felt a fish snap at my bait, checked it, and knew that I
was fast into a monster. For a few moments he let me feel something
heavy and inert at the end of my line, then there was a plunge and a
rush, the line went hissing out, and try as I would to check it, the
fish ran