"There's no use talking," said Jim with a yawn, as he set his cane so that it rested against the footboard and threw off his coat preparing to undress, "sight-seeing's the most tiring work there is. I feel more done up to-night than if I had been pitching in a hard game." "I'm tired too," agreed Joe, "but I don't feel the least bit like sleep." Jim was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow. But Joe tossed about restlessly for what seemed to him to be hours. The night was very warm and all the windows were open to get what breath of air might be stirring. A broad veranda ran all around the building, not more than two feet below the windows, and from the ground to the veranda rose a luxuriant tangle of vines and flowers. The moon was at the full and its light flooded a part of the room, leaving the rest in deep shadow. Joe at last dropped off into a doze from which he woke with a start. He had heard nothing, but he had an uneasy consciousness that something was wrong. He glanced over at Jim who was peacefully sleeping. Then he raised himself on his elbow and his glance swept the room. Nothing seemed amiss in the lighted part, but in a darkened corner the shadow seemed to be heavier than usual. It was as though it were piled in a mass instead of being evenly distributed. Then to Joe's consternation _the shadow moved_, reached the edge of moonlight, rose higher and higher with a sickening swaying motion. From a hideous head two sparks of fire glowed balefully and Joe knew that he was in the presence of a giant cobra! CHAPTER XXVI IN THE SHADOW OF THE PYRAMIDS Joe's blood chilled with horror and his heart seemed for a moment to stop beating. He did not dare to move and scarcely to breathe. He might have been a statue, so rigid was his attitude. He knew that the least movement would provoke an attack on the part of the deadly reptile. On the other hand, if he kept perfectly quiet, there was the chance of the snake gliding away through the window, which had evidently been its means of entering the room. Whether the serpent saw him or not, Joe could not tell. The head swayed for a minute or two, while the glowing eyes seemed to take in every corner of the room. Then the coils unwound and with a slithering sound the snake began to crawl across the floor. But instead of seeking the window it was gliding towards the bed! If he had had a revolver Joe would have had a chance, for at such close range he could scarcely have missed. Even a knife to hurl, though only a forlorn hope, might have pinned the snake to the floor. But he was utterly without a weapon of any kind. Suddenly he remembered the cane that his chum had leaned against the footboard a few hours earlier. He reached down stealthily and his hand closed upon it.