The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 369: what you’re looking at

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

THE MYSTERIES OF THE COURT sinister light—seemed to be looking up at the man held an immense tiger at a little distance. There | was a tree near. Forgotten all in a moment was the possibility that a boa constrictor might be coiled amongst its branches; and for his li‘e did the Barker rash to that tree. If in cool deli- berate moments he had attempted to climb up the teunk, his progress would have doubtless been laboured and slow: but now it was with the veri- table agility of a monkey that with arros and legs defly moving, the aim was accomplished. The tiger bounded to the foot of the tree just as the Burker succeeded in grasping the lowest branches; and the animal gave anvther terrific bowl as it found that ite intended victim had escaped. High up towards the Burker the tiger leaped: the frightened man drew himecif as it were into the narrowest possible compass: at the same moment there was a rustling amonget the leaves of the ‘!- branches projecting from the opposite side of the ' ‘tree—and down was flang the hideous length of an immense snake, ite ooile being wound about the . tiger’s body with lightning rapidity. So horrified was the Burker at this spectacle, that his hands relaxed their hold upon the branches; and he nearly fell,—when he clutched them convulsively again. Asa man looks down with consternation and with a cold creeping feel- ing of the flesh into the depth of a tremendous gulf—éo looked down the Burker from amidet the foliage of the tree, at the scene that was taking place below. The cvils of the immense snake had been flung around the tiger just at the very mo- ment it was springing upward in tbe hope of reaching the Burker ; and thus the reptile’s deadly folds bad circled the fere-legs of the animal, pinioning them as it were to ite neck. Lhe tiger fell down ; and by means of his hind legs, as well as with the convulsing lithences and elasticity of ite body, it plunged, and writhed, and made the most desperate efforts to escape from its fearful enemy. But all in vain! Phe boa constrictor had ite tail coiled tight round the branch from which it had thrown itself; and not more securely is a ship kept at anchor by its cable, than that tiger was held fast by the supple length of the snake, At first terrific howls and cries of anguish barst from the tiger’s mouth: but these soon ceased ; for the constricting folds circled its neck as well as all the fore-part of its body; and those folds wore tightened with all their terrific power, until the captured brute was compelled to desist from its howlings by the sense of strangulation. The snake seemed to have done enough for the pre- sent: or else, with a hideous malignity, it pur- posed: to play with its victim ere completely despatohing it: or elee perhaps, conscious how completely the tiger lay in its power, it wished to ascertain to what extent the brute’s effurte might go to reloase iteelf from the binding coils. At all events the snake remained quiet, when the tiger, exhausted by its ineffectual endeavours to escape from the folds, lay motionless ae if dead. The Burker had desperately olutehed the branches in order to retain himself in the tree; and luoking down, he observed all that we have been describing. He cuuld see the head of the teptile lying fat upun the tiger’s back, close by the side of its own last slimy fuld; and the eyee— small—shining like diamonds, but with a dread in the tree. Oold and horrible was the shudder which swept through the Burker’s form, as he wondered within himself why the make had not attacked him in preference to the tiger? He knew not that the instinct of the reptile taaght it to prefer that which was ite natural and known enemy, rather than assail a form which it was but little accustomed to bebold in the jungie,—a haman form the like of which perhaps the reptile had never seen before. Indeed, if the Barker had been better instructed in the habits of that species of enake, be would have known that he might now in all safety descend from the tree and continue hie way: for that the reptile and the tiger would never separate until one should have become the victim of the other. But all this the Burker knew not; and consequently he dared not think of ef- fecting his escape. Indeed, he fancied that if he were to descend from the tree, the serpent might auddenly loosen its hold upon the tiger to fling ite deadly coils around himeelf—and that thus he should become exposed to the attack of both the snake and the wild beast. But to be doomed to remain in that tree, and witness the spectacle that was passing . was an idea so horrible that the man’s brain reeled —« species of vertigo seized upon him—and again wes he about to fall from the tree, when be 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 fearfal was the shuddering that swept through his entire frame!—how exoruciating was the sense of his hideous position ! It was but one howl which the tiger thas sent forth at that moment: for the coils which the snake had probably loosened in malignant sport for an instant, were suddenly drawn tight again. The brute was half strangled once more: bat it made the mightiest and most desperate effortg to release iteelf from the deadly coils. It lashed the grass and ground with its tail—and therewith like- wise it dealt terrific blows at the snake itesif. It tried to tear the reptije with ite hinder claws: it convulsed—it writhed—it rolled itself about: its agony was horrible. Then the snake tightened its coils, just sufficiently to overpower its victim with- out actually extinguishing its life; and there wes ahother dread interval of silence. Tight round the branch of a tree remained the tail of the enake; its long supple body hang down like an immense gradually becoming thicker and thicker until it attained the dimensions of the Burker’s thigh; and then each successive coil be- came less and lees in circumference, to the thia tapering neck on which the comparatively small head was fixed. During this second interval of silence—this period of suspended death-struggies on the part of the tiger—the reptile’s eyes again appeared to be looking up towards the Burker with a gleaming, vibrating light. He endeavoured to avert bis own gaze; but he found it irresistibly bent down again upon those small dark browa reptile orbe that were twinkling as diamonds. Ayain,-all of a sudden, was there a desperate eff.rt made by the tiger to release itecif. With all the power of its hind lege, and of ite furia which was weil nigh as supple as that of the snake COMME OOO SS} (CO