nchlets hung down much below the main shaft; but these, even
if they touched the roof, would do no injury. It was, therefore,
determined to let go the cable.

It was now clear day, for they had been delayed a good while; but at
length all was ready, and Guapo untied the cable, and drew the end on
board. The balza began to move; slowly at first, for the current under
the bushes was very slight.

All at once the attention of the voyagers was called to the strange
conduct of the pet monkey. That little creature was running to and fro,
first upon the roof of the toldo, then down again, all the while
uttering the most piercing shrieks as if something was biting off its
tail! It was observed to look forward and upward toward the branch of
the zamang, as if the object it dreaded was in that quarter. The eyes
of all were suddenly bent in the same direction. What was their horror
on beholding, stretched along the branch, the hideous body of an
enormous serpent! Only part of it could be seen; the hinder half and
the tail were hidden among the bromelias and vines that in huge masses
clustered around the trunk of the zamang, and the head was among the
leaflets of the mimosa; but what they saw was enough to convince them
that it was a snake of the largest size--the great "_water-boa_"--the
_anaconda_!

That part of the body in sight was full as thick as a man's thigh, and
covered with black spots or blotches upon a ground of dingy yellow. It
was seen to glisten as the animal moved, for the latter was in motion,
crawling along the branch _outward_! The next moment its head appeared
under the pendulous leaves; and its long forking tongue, protruding
several inches from its mouth, seemed to feel the air in front of it.
This tongue kept playing backwards and forwards, and its viscid covering
glittered under the sunbeam, adding to the hideous appearance of the
monster.

To escape from passing within its reach would be impossible. The balza
was gliding directly under it! It could launch itself aboard at will.
It could seize upon any one of the party without coming from the branch.
It could coil its body around them, and crush them with the
constricting power of its muscles. It could do all this; for it had
crushed before now the tapir, the roebuck, perhaps even the jaguar
himself.

All on board the boat knew its dangerous power too well; and, of course,
terror was visible in every countenance.

Don Pablo seized the axe