ntal
oven-like hole had been filled, he shook it loose and dragged it out to
stand in the attitude of lowering the heavy block to the ground.

"No," said Brace; "let me."

Brace uttered a warning cry.

"I see my nabs," said Briscoe coolly, as a snake with menacing hiss came
creeping rapidly out, raising its head as it glided down; and then its
tail part writhed and turned about, for its power of doing mischief was
at an end, the American having dropped the heavy stone upon its
threatening crest and crushed it upon the stones below.

"That's one," said Briscoe coolly. "I shouldn't wonder if his wife's at
home, and a small family as well. Here, you just fish out that next
stone with the boat-hook."

The man addressed stepped forward, thrust the implement into the
opening, and drew out another stone, when, as the American had
suggested, a second serpent came gliding out, to meet its death quickly
and be tossed by one of the men over the parapet-like wall into the
river.

More stones were dragged out with the boat-hook, but only a lizard
appeared afterwards; and as two more blocks were pulled forth light from
above came down, showing that the opening was L-shaped, going about six
feet in to where a chimney-like shaft rose at right angles, down which
the light struck, evidently from the next terrace.

"I thought so," said Briscoe. "Here: I'll go in first."

He crept into the hole at once, and found on looking up the shaft that
Briscoe was quite correct, for there were foot-holes chiselled out at
intervals in the chimney-like place, so that he could easily step up
from one to the other, and the next minute his head was on a level with
the floor above and his eyes gazing full in those of a venomous-looking
serpent, which raised its head from the middle of its coil ready to
strike.

CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN.

BRISCOE'S BIT OF ORE.

Brace obeyed the natural impulse to duck down out of the reptile's
reach, and his next idea was to lower himself the ten feet or so to the
bottom; but he shrank from doing this, for it seemed ignominious to
retreat, so he raised his head sharply again till his eyes were about
level with the terrace platform, and there, a dozen feet away, was the
tail part of the snake, disappearing in a fissure of the stone.

The next minute he was standing in front of one of the openings they had
seen from the river, and his companions were climbing to his side.

Here, upon examination, they foun