to save that of her
brother!

She had got within six feet of the threatening reptile. Jan was about
the same distance from it on the opposite side. They were equally in
peril; and one or the other--perhaps both--would have fallen a sacrifice
to the deadly cobra; but at that moment their saviour was nigh. A dark
shadow passed under their eyes--in their ears was a rushing sound like
the "whish" of a falling body--and at the same instant a large bird
darted down between them!

It did not stay to alight. For a moment its strong broad wings agitated
the air in their faces; but the next moment the bird made a sudden
effort, and rose vertically upwards.

Truey's eyes fell upon the ground. The cobra was no longer there.

With an exclamation of joy she sprang forward, and, throwing her arms
around Jan, cried out,--

"We are saved, brother!--we are saved!"

Jan was somewhat bewildered. As yet he had seen no snake. He had seen
the bird dart down between them; but so adroitly had it seized the cobra
and carried it off, that Jan, looking only at Truey, had not perceived
the serpent in its beak. He was bewildered and terrified, for he still
fancied that Truey was in danger.

When he heard her exclaim, "We are saved!" he was bewildered all the
more.

"But the snake!" he cried out. "Where is the snake?"

As he put these questions, he kept examining Truey from head to foot, as
if expecting to see a reptile twined around some part of her body.

"The snake, Jan! Did you not see it? It was just there, at our feet;
but now--see! yonder it is. The _secretary_ has got it. See! They are
fighting! Good bird! I hope it will punish the villain for trying to
rob my pretty weavers. That's it, good bird! Give it to him! See,
Jan! What a fight!"

"Oh, ah!" said Jan, now comprehending the situation. "Oh, ah! Sure
yonder _is_ a snake, and a whopper, too. Ne'er fear, Truey! Trust my
secretary. He'll give the rascal a taste of his claws. There's a lick
well put in! Another touch like that, and there won't be much life left
in the scaly villain. There again,--wop!"

With these and similar exclamations the two children stood watching the
fierce conflict that raged between the bird and the reptile.

Now this bird was a very peculiar one--so much so, that in all the world
there is no other of the same kind. In form it resembled a crane,
having very long legs, and being about the height and size of a crane.
Its h