The Mysteries of the Court of London Vol. 7 — page 371: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

a ee ee Eee Bg, ptt EGRET AAR lace ‘igen flung around the tiger just at the very mo- PRE Gling = ee Om em ee Gye aye Eee SGT 2 eee Geo held an immanee tiger at a little distance. Thore | sinister light seemed ta be looking up wae a tree near, Forgotten all in a moment was tire ity that a boa constrictor might be coiled‘ amenges its branches; end for his life did the Barker rush to that tree. If in ovol deli- berate moments be had attempted to climb up the trunk, his progress would have doubtless been laboured and alow: but now it was with the veri- table agility of a moakey that with arms and lege deftly moving, the aim was atcomplished. The tiger bounded to the ‘foot of the, tree. just as the Barker succeeded in grasping the lowest branahes; ani the animal gay’ anethor terrific howl as it found thas its intended victim had escapeg. High up towards the Burker the tiger leaped: the frightened men drew himself aa it were inte the osarrowess possible compass: at the sae moment there wes a cuctling amonget the leaves of the branches projecting from the opposite side of the treo—and down was flung the bideous bagth of an imarense spake, ite ovile beiag wound about the tiger's body with lightoing rapidity. “ Be horrified was the Burker at this spestasie, thet his hands relaxed their bold wpon the branches; and he nearly fell,--when he clutched. them econvalsively egeia. a man looks down with eonsternstion and with a cold gresping feel- ing of the flesh into the depth of a teemendous gulf—eo loaked down the Burker from amidat tho fuliege of the tee, ab the scone that was taking below. The coils of the immense snake had ment i4 was spriaging upward in the hope of reaching thé Banker ;, 4nd thus the roptile’s deadly fulds bad eireled the fore-legs of the animal, pisioning them as it were to ite neck. Lhe tiger fell down; and by means of his, hind legs, as well ae witk the convaleing ‘litbesecss and elasticity of its body, it pluaged, and writhed, ard made the most despesate efferte to from its fearful enemy. But.al ia vain! The boa eosstrictor had ite teil coiled tight sound the branch from which it hed $krowm itself; and net more secusely fe a ship kept at anchor by ite cable, than that tiger was held fast by the eupple logth of the anake. At first terrific howle aad cries of anguish burat from the tiger’s mouth: but these snd qoaced ; for the constricting folds circled ite neck as Well ag ell the fore-part of ite body; and those folds were tightened with all their terrific powes,until the eaptured brate was compelled to desist, from its howlings by the sense of strangulation. The snake seomed to have done enougl for the pre- sent: or eles, with a hideous malignity, it pur- _ posed to play with its victim ere completely deepatehing it: or else ‘peraape, conscions how completely the tigh» lny in. ite power, & wished to ascertain to what extent the brute’s efforts might gr te relense iteel{ from the bindimg coils. As all events the auake romeined quict, when the tiger, exbancted by its ineffectual endearours to: eseape froca the falda, luy motiontess as if dead: The Barker had desperately clutehed the braachesimiarder to retain himself in the tree; and Hottiag dewa,. he observed all that wa have been ‘duseti The ouuld see the heed of the. : fat ueppe the tiger's back, close by wi cide of ite owm jest slimy fuld; and the eyes— il--ehining like dlamonda, but with a dread THE MYGTERIZS OF THE COUR rE Ease at the man in the tree. Oald and horrible was the shudder which swept thrdugh the Burker’s, form, as he wondered within himself why the atiake had not attacked him in preference to the tiger? He knew not that the instinet of the reptile taught it to prefor that which was ita natural and known enemy, rather than assail a form which it was but little acoustomed to behold jp the jungle,—a human form the like of which perhaps the reptile eee See ese. had never sean before. Indeed, if the Burker had | been batter instructed in the habits of that species of snake, he would huve known that he might now | in all safety descend from the tree and gontinue his way: for that tho reptile and tho tiger would mover separate until one should have become the victim of the other. But all this the Burker knew not; and ceunsagdently ho durod not think of ef- fecting his escapa, Indeed, he fancied that if he were to descend from the tree, the serpent might suddenly loogen its hold upon the tiger to fling ita deadly ceils around himself—and that thus he should become exposed to the attavk of both tho snake and theewild beast. But to be doomed to remain in that tree, and witness the spectacle that was passing undernenth, was an idea ao horrible that the man’s brain reeled -—a species of vertigo seized upon hin—and again was he about to fall frum the tree, when he was startled by a sudden howl of mingled rage and anguish that burst from the mouth of the tiger. Ob, with what tenacity did the Burker again clutch the branches of that tree !|—how fearful was the shuddering that swept through his entire frame! —how excruciating was the senso of his hideous positign ! It wae but one howl which the tiger thus sent forth at that moment: for the coils which the suake had probably loosexed in malignant sport for an instant, were suddenty drawn tight asain. The brute was half strangled once more @but it made the mightiqst and most desperate efforts to release itself from the deadly cvils. It lashed the grass and ground with its tail—and therewith like- wise it dealt terrific blows at the snake itself, It tried to tear the reptile with ite hinder claws: it convulsed-—-it writhed—it rolled itself about: its agony waa horrible. Then the snake tightened ite coils, jus, sufficiontly to overpower its victim withe out actually extinguishing its lifes and there was J another dread iatorval of silence. Tight round the branch of @ tree remained the tail of the soake; ite long supple body hung duwn like an immense rope, gradually becoming thicker and thicker until it attained the dimensions of the Burker’s thigh; and then each successive coil be- came less less in circumference, to the thin tapering neek on which the comparatively emall head was fixad.. During thie second interval of silence—this period of suspended death-struggles on the part of the tiger—the reptile’s eyes again appeared to be loeking up towards the Burker with » gleaming, vibrating light, He endeavoured to avert his own gase; but he found it irresistibly bont down again upon those small dark brown reptile urbs that were twinkling as diamonds. Again, all of a sudden, wae thore a*desperate &ffort made by the tiger to release itself, With all the power of its hind legs, and of ite form whisk was well nigh as supple as shat of the snake © tub aphaiees | COMIC OOO© SS (CO)