"Yes, colonel; the straps are strong and the skin impervious. We shall find our knives, our pistols and our cartridges in it as dry as though they came from an armory." "Then, John, let us be starting; go ahead," said the colonel. "We must have time to dry our clothes." "That will not take long, colonel; once at the foot of the precipice we shall be as in an oven; the sun shines full upon it." John lay down on his face and commenced to glide into the passage, so small that he could scarcely enter. The darkness was profound; in the distance only, one could distinguish a faint light. The colonel followed, dragging himself over a damp and dirty soil. For some time the two Englishmen advanced in this manner, crawling on their knees, on their hands, and on their stomachs, in total darkness. All at once John paused suddenly and cried in a frightened voice, "Colonel!" "What is it?" "Do you not notice a strong odor?" "Yes, a fetid odor." "Do not move; it is the serpent--'Fer de lance'--we are lost." "A serpent!" exclaimed the colonel, with horror. "We are dead. I dare not advance; the odor is growing stronger and stronger," murmured John. "Be quiet--listen." In mortal terror the two men held their breath. All at once at some little distance they heard a continuous, rapid sound, as if something was beating the earth with a flail. The nauseating and penetrating odor which exhales from these large serpents became stronger and stronger. "The serpent is furious; it is his tail which is beating the earth thus," said John in a feeble voice. "Colonel, let us commend our souls to God!" "Let us cry out and terrify the serpent," said Rutler. "No, no, it would but precipitate itself at once upon us," replied John. The two men remained for some moments a prey to the most horrible suspense. They could neither retreat nor change their position. Their chests rested upon the earth; their backs touched the rocks. They dared not make a movement of recoil for fear of drawing the reptile in pursuit of them. The air, more and more impregnated by the infectious odor of the serpent, became suffocating. "Can you not find a stone at hand in order to throw at it," said the colonel in a low tone. Hardly had he said these words when John uttered the most piercing cries and struggled violently, exclaiming, "Help! help! I die!"