od kick with my thick nailed boots for daring to
think of eating you." Gatty, from a similar feeling, had indulged
herself with chopping the tail into little bits, and even the gentle and
sweet Sybil had bestowed some very hard words, let alone blows, on the
inanimate body. "Well! now then," said I, "captain, I wish to go on
board as soon as possible." "Why? why? why?" sounded on all sides.
"Because there may be more of these snakes on the island," said I, with
a shudder.

"No, Madam, no, you may rest assured, the only enemy you have on this
island is now dead. I can assure you I have until now been much puzzled
to account for the lack of living things on this luxuriant and lonely
island, save birds. The sight of this anaconda has solved the mystery;
he has depopulated it (if I may so say) of every creeping or four-footed
thing. Nay, I am also certain it has destroyed its own kind too. By
what means it became of so monstrous a size I know not; but, having
become so, it was lord or master of the island; moreover, I am certain
that of late its food has run extremely short; nothing but extreme
hunger could have driven it down those sharp rocks, in search of us, the
prey it saw below it." In many places it was bleeding besides the wound
given it by the hatchet, and three or four inches of skin had been
rubbed off in various parts, evidently quite fresh, and done in descent.
Also, if it had not been weakened for want of food, such an enormous
creature would not have been so long demolishing the cow.

"But, captain, can you account for its making all those hideous gambols
at us, and not springing at us directly as it did at poor Daisy." "Yes,
Madam, it had never seen the likes of you before. Your clothes made it
fearful; but they never attack people unless angry or frantic from
hunger, as I am sure he was. But, to set you at rest, Madam, to-morrow,
spite of all my anxiety about the ship, every man of us will join
parties, and we will go from one end of the island to another. We'll not
leave a bush unexplored, or a corner unvisited, and then I know your
mind will be easy." "I thank you, captain, that it will. Now, give the
men each some grog, for I see them coming down, and let us all have
supper and go to bed."

CHAPTER XI.

So we accordingly did, and long ere we were awake in the morning the
captain and all his men, including Smart and Oscar, had departed to
execute his plans. We busied ourselves in preparing the