"The Man & the Snake."

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13916, 29 May 1909, Page 1 (Supplement)

"The Man & the Snake."

(By Ambrose Bicree.)

1c is ot ventabyll rejwrt and attested of bo many tliat tuero bo no we. of/ wyse and learned none to gaynsay it, that ye scrpento hys eye natii a magneticK propertic tuat whosue lalfetii ituo Jiia s.aojun is drawn upwards in despyto of his willo and perisiietlL miseruuyll by ye creature hys byte.

Stretched at ease upon a sofa, in gown ami slippers, ilarkcr liraytoii smiled as lie read the foregoing sentence in old Morrystcr's " Alarvels of Science."

•• Jne only marvel in the matter," he said'to ijimselr, "is tliat the wise and learned in Alorrystcr's ciay should have believed such nonsense as is rejected by most of even the ignorant in ours.''

A train of reflections followed for Brayton was a man of thought and he unconsciously lowered his book without altering the direction of his eyes. As soon as the vohijne had gone below the lino of sight something in an obscure corner of the room recalled his attention to his surroundings. • What he saw, in the shadow under his bed, were two small points of light, about an inch apart. They might have been reflections of the gasjet above him in metal nailheads; he resumed his reading. A moment later something —some impulse which it did not occur to linn to analyse impelled him to lower the book again and seek for what be saw before. The points ot light were still there. They seemed to have become brighter than beiore, shining with a greenish lustre which he had not at first observed lie thought, too. that they might have moved a rritle - somewhat nearer. They were still too much in shadow, however, to reveal their nature and origin to an indolent attention, and lie resumed his reading. Suddenlv something in the text suggested a." thought which made bun start and droo the book lor the third time to the side of the sola whence, escaping from his hand, it fell sprawling to the liner, back upward. Tiravton, half risen, was staring intently : into the obscurity beneath the bed.'where the points of light shone with, it seemed to him. r" 'dded- fv '. His attention was now fully aroused, his gaze eager and imperative. It disclosed, almost directly beneath the foot-rail ' of the Led. the cods ol a large serpent—the points ot light were its eves'. The horrible head, thrust natfv forth from the innermost coil and resting upon the outermost, was directed straight towards'him, the definition of the wide, brutal law and {.lie idiot-like forehead serving to show fie direction of its malevolent gaw. The eves were no longer merely luminous points: they looked into his own with a meaning, a malign significance. A snake in a bedroom of a modern <itv dwelling of the better, sort is, hapnilv. imt so common a, phenomenon as to' lnako explanation altogether n.-edl-ss. Marker Brayton. -V bachelor of thirtv-five, rich, popular, and of Fciinrl health, and returned to San FraiK-i-'-n from all manner of remote a-id unfamiliar ' countries. His tastes, always a trifle luxurious, had taken on an added exuberance from, long i»-; V a*ion. ji»d the resources of even tbe Ciistl'e Hotel Vi»<r inadequate to their perfect gratification. he l>nd gladly accepted the hospitality of his

friend, Dr Druring, the distinguished bclOlltint. •

xjv ururing's house, a. largo, oldl'asmoned duelling in what was now an obscure . of tno city* had an outer anu visible aspect of proud reserve. It plainly would not associate with the contiguous elements of its altered environment, and appeared to have developed some of the eccentricities winch came of isolation. One of these was a " wing," conspicuously irrelevant in point of architecture and no less rebellious in the matter of purpose; for it was a combination of laboratory, menagerie, and museum. It. was here that the doctor indulged the scientific side of his nature in the study of-such forms of animal life as engaged his interest and. comforted his taste which, it must he confessed, ran rather to the lower forms. For one of the higher tyi>es to nimbly and sweetjy recommend itself into his gentle senses it had at least to ivtain certain rudimentary characteristics allying it to such "dragons of the prtme '' as toads and snakes. His scientific sympathies were distinctly reptilian; he loved Nature's vulgarians, and described himself as the Ziola ot zoology'. His wife and daughters, not having the advantage to . share his enlightened curiosity regarding the works and ways of our ill-starred .fel-low-creatures, were, with needless austerity, excluded from what he called the Snakery, and doomed to companionship with their own kind, though, to soften the rigours of their lot, he had permitted them, out of liis great wealth, to outdo the reptiles in the gorgcousno.ss of their surroundings, and to shine with a superior splendour. Architecturally, and in point of " furnishimr," the Snakery had ,a severe simplicity befitting the humble circumstances of its occupants, many of whom, indeed, could' not- safely have, been entrusted with the liberty which is necessary to the full enjoyment of luxury, for they had the troublesome peculiarity of being alive. In their own apartments, however, they were under as little personal restraint as was compatible with their protection from the baneful habit of .swallowing one another; and, as Brayton had thoughtfully heen apprised, it was more than a tradition that some of them had nt divers times been found 'in parts of the premises whore it would have embarrassed them to explain their presence. Despite the Snakery and its uncanny associations —to which, indeed, he gave little attention — Brayton found life at the Drnring mansion, very much to his mind.

Ueyoml a smart .shock of surprise, and a shudder of more Mr Hrayton was not greatly affected. llis first thought was to ring the ca'l-hel! and bring a servant: hut although the. hell-cord dangled within, easy reach, lit) made no movement towards it; it had occurred to his mind that the, act might subject him .to the suspicion of fear., which he certainly did not feel. He was more keenly conscious of the incongruous nature of the situation than affected by its perils;' it was - revolting, but absurd. ; The reptile was of a species with which Uruyton was unfamiliar. Its len.'rth he could only conjecture: the body at the largest visible part seemed abort as thick as his forearm. Tu what way was it dangerous, if in anv way? '"Was it venomous? "Was "it a (•"listric-'or ? Bravton's knowledge of Nature's danger-signals did not"enable, him to sav ho 'had never deciphered the code. Tf net dangerous, the creatern was at lea't offensive. It was de trnn "matter out of place" —an imperii-

nen.ee. , The gem was unworthy of the setting- Even the barbarous taste of our time and country, winch had loaded the walls of the room with pictures, the floor with furniture, and the furniture with bric-a-brac, had not quite fitted the place for tins bit of savage life of the jungle. Besides —insupportable thought! —the exhalations of its breath mingled with the atmosphere which lie himself Was breathing! These thoughts shaped themselves with greater or less definition in Brayton's mind, and begot action. The process is what we call consideration and decision. Tt, is thus that'-we are wise and unwise. It is thus that tihe withered leaf in an autumn broeuo shows greater or less intelligence than its fellows, falling upon the land or upon the lake. The secret of human action is an onen one; something contracts our muscles. Does it matter if we give to the preparatory luelecular changes the name of will? Brayton rose to his feet and prepared to back softly away from the sn.ilcc, without disturbing it, if possible, and through the door. People retire so from the presence of the great, for greatness is power, and power is a menace. He knew that he could walk backward without obstruction, nnd find the door without error. Should the monster follow, the taste which had plastered the walls with paintings had consistently supplied r rack ef Orie-+"l weapons from-which he could snatch one to suit the occasion. In the moautime the snake's eyes burned with a more pitiless malevolence than ever. '

Bravton lifted his riirht. foot fre« of the floor to step backward. That moment lie felt a strong aversion to doing so. > "I-am accounted brave," lie murmured; "is bravery, then, no more than pride ? Because there are none to witness the shame? shall-T retreat?V He was steadying himself with his right hand upon* the back of a chair, his foot suspended. "Nonsense!" he said aloud. " I am not so great a coward as to fear to Veem to mvself afraid."He lifted the foot' a little higher bv sliehtlv bending the knee, and thrust'it sharplv to the floor —an inch in front of the other! He could not thi'ik how that occurred. A trial with- the left, foot bad the same lesult: it was agaain in advance of the right. The hand upon the chairback was grasping it; the arm was straight, reaching. somewhat backward. One might have -wn t'-.t he was reluctant to loose his hold. The snake's malignant head was still thrust forth from the inner coil, as before, the neck level, but the eyes were now electric sparks, radiating an infinity of luminous needles. ■ The mau had an ashy pallor. Again he took a step forward, and another, nartlv dragging the chair, wln-li, when finally released,' fell iUpon the floor with a crash.

Tlie man groaned. • ■>.■ Tlio snake made neither sound nor "'otion, but i*;i eyes wwe two daz7~ ling suns. Tlie rentile itself was whollv concealed by them. They <r-i~y "off■■•pillars""""' " f n-b -<r"' vivid colours., which at their greatest expansion successively vanished like soap bubbles: thev seemed to ■ approach his vei-v fn-e. and anon were an immeasurable distance away. Brayton heard somewhere the continuous throbbing of a great drum, with desultory bursts of far music, iueonceivably sweet, like the, tones of an aeolian harp. He knew it for tho sunrise melody of Memuon's statue, and thought he stood in the, Nileside reeds, hearing, with exalted sense, that immortal ajitliem through tho silence of the centuries. The music ceased; rather,: it became by insensible degrees the distant roll of a retreating thunderstorm. A landscape, glittering, with sun and rain, stretched before him, arched with a vivid rainbow, .framing in. its giant curve a hundred visible cities. In the middle distance, a vast serpent, wearing a trowu, reared its head out of its voluminous convolutions and looked at him... with his dead mother s "Suddenlv this enchanting landscape seemed to rise swiftly upward, like the drop-scene at a theatre, and vanished in a blank.- Something struck him a havl blow u<v>ii tlie face and breast. Ho had fallen to the floor; the blood ran. from his broken noso and bruised lips. For a space ho was daswd and stunned and lay.With closed eyes, his .face against the floor. In a few moments he had recovered, and then realised that his fall, by withdrawing his eyes,, had broken the spell which held hyn. He felt that now, by keening Ins <razc averted, he would be able to retreat. Hut the thought of the serpent within a few feet of his head vet unseen—perhaps in the very :»-r, of springing unou him and throwing its coils about his throat was too horrible He lifted his head, stared again into these baleful eyes, and wTis again in bondage. The "snake' had not yet moved ami appeared somewhat to have lost its power upon the imagination; tlie goigeous illusions of a few " lomo " t % 1 l,e : fore were not repeated. Beneath that Hat and brainless brow the black, beady eves simply glittered, as at hrst. with an expression unspeakably inaliguai.;t. It was as if the creature, knowing its triumph assured, had determined to practise no more alluring wiles. • Now ensued a fearful scene. The man, prone upon the llooi, within a yard of his enemy, raised the upper part of his body upon us elbows. his bead thrown back, his legs extended to their full length His face was white between its gouts ot blood; his eyes were strained open to their utmost expansion. there \\ as I roth upon -liis lips; it dropped oil in Jlakes Strong convulsions ran through his body, making almost serpentine undulations. He bent himself ,t the waist, shifting his legs from side to side. And every movement Mt'him a'little nearer to the snake. He thrust liis hands forward to brace .himself back, yet constantly advanced upon his elbows. . Dr Druring and his wife sat in the librarv. The scientist was in- rare good 'humour. "I have just obtained hv exchange with another collector," "he said, '"a splendid specimen ot the ophiophagus." -And what may that be:■"' the lady inquired with a somewhat languid mtol bless my soul, what profound ignorance!! Jly dear, a n.an who ascertains after marriage that his wife does not know Greek is entitled to a divorce. The ophiophagus is a snake which eats other snak.-s. "I hope it will eat all yours she said, absently shifting the lamp. But how does it get the other snakes, By charming them, I suppose. ■ "That is iust like you. dear; said the doctor, with an alfectatiou ot petulance. " Von know how irritating to me is ativ allusion to that vulgar superstition about the . snake-s power of fascination." . The conversation'was interrupted >y a mi'ditvcrv, which rang through the silent house! liko. tho voice of,a; demon shouting in a tomb! Again and yet again it sounded, with ferrule, distinctness. . They sprang to their feet; the man confused, the lady pale, speechless with Almost before the echoes of the last

cry had died away ..the doctor was out ol tiif. room, springing up the staircase two steps at a time. In the corridor, in. trout of Brayton's chamber, he mot sumo scrvauts who had come from the upper floor. Together they rushed at the door without knocking. It was unfastened and gave way. Brayton lay upon his stomach on the Moor, dead. His heaif"and arms were partly concealed under the footrail of the bed. They pulled the body away, turning it upon the back. The face was daubed with blood and froth, the eyes were wide open, staring- -a. dreadful sight! " Died in a fit," said the scientist, bending his knee and placing his hand upon the heart. While in that position he happened to glance under the bed. "Good God!" ho added, " how did this thing get in here?" He reached under the bed, pulled out the snake, and flung it, still coiled, to the centre of the room, whence"with a harsh, shuffling sound it slid across the polished floor, till stopped by the wall, where it lay without motion.

It was a stuffed snake; the eyes were two shoe-buttons.