I did not for a moment lose sight of that powerful, waving tail, or the glowing eyes, although I thought I would give all the world to be miles from the spot.

I had heard of the monstrous size that black snakes acquired in Australia, but I had regarded the stories as travellers’ yarns, and only got up to intimidate new comers.  Now that I was satisfied of the truth of the accounts, I could have wished that an earthquake would swallow the reptile, so that it but left me secure.

I glanced hastily towards Fred. He was seated on his bed, as startled and surprised as myself, but I thought that I saw his hand move slowly towards his revolver, and I prayed that his eyes would not deceive him when he fired.

Rover had disappeared, but I could hear his loud bay outside of the building, and I hoped that it would attract attention, and that assistance would reach us before it was too late.

Still that fearful and muscular tail waved and played in the air, as though undecided where to strike.

For a moment I removed my eyes from the bright orbs before me, and to my surprise, I saw a quantity of old canvas, stowed in a corner where we had left it the day before, begin to move.  The snake was apparently attracted by the same object, and moved its body slightly to get a better view.  I thought, with horror, that perhaps it was the mate of the reptile, and that Fred and myself would furnish a meal for each.  Still, I watched the canvas and the movements of the snake closely.  The former was gradually and carefully unrolled, and then, to my surprise, I saw the head of a man thrust cautiously out, as though to discover the cause of the recent noise, and why a lamp was burning at that hour of the night.

The snake saw the man’s head as quick as myself—­at least, I judged that it did by its motions; for the huge mouth expanded wider than before, and a long, forked tongue darted back and forth, as though longing for something to gorge.  The tail of the reptile also waved more gently, as though uncertain where to strike.

To my surprise, the man who was concealed in the canvas appeared to pay no attention to our hideous visitor, for he pushed aside the cloth that covered him, and seemed desirous of either investigating the contents of our money-pouches, or else making his escape from the building.

He was an ugly-looking fellow, as seen by the flickering of our lamp, and had I been unarmed, I should have cared but little about meeting him in the dark; under the present circumstances I almost welcomed him as a friend, and would willingly have given him a few hundred pounds, if, when he left us, he could carry our shiny visitor along with him.

We watched both the man and the snake with an unflagging attention.  The former, to my surprise, did not appear to observe the danger that he was in, and I could only account for it when I saw that his eyes were watching my movements, as though fearful that a well-directed shot was to punish him for his intrusion.