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While we were still gloating over the rare bird that we
had caught, our guide reappeared in a great flurry of
water and mosquitoes to tell us excitedly that he had
finally found the snake. It was about half a kilometer
away, lying on the mat of water-plants on the surface of
the swamp, quite close to the edge. He explained in
great detail that we would have to take it by surprise,
for it was so close to the tree that it might take cover
there, and once in the thorny thickets, it would be
difficult to find. We set off hopefully. Our mission was
to capture the rare species and we had been fruitless
for the past two nights. We had captured the strange
bird by chance, and our focus had been temporarily
diverted until the guide turned up. Until then our
morale was rather low. I told the other members that if
our effort was futile again, we would call it quits.
We tried to move as fast as we could. Despite the short
distance, we had the ubiquitous mosquitoes and leeches
for company. While we could manage the former with some
tolerance, we were greatly mindful of the sneaky and
seemingly invisible bloodsucking worms. That explained
why all of us had a lighted cigarette in readiness. The
smoke would drive the mosquitoes away while the ash
would do the job if a leech stuck onto your body. when
we finally reached the spot that the guide said was
close to the reptile, we sent the cart off to a suitable
vantage-point on the right, while we ploughed steadily
forward. The water here was fairly shallow, but the
bottom was uneven, and we kept stumbling. each time we
stumbled, we made a lot of noise. The guide kept on
signaling us to keep quiet, and we seemed to break the
quietness unavoidably. At this rate, we will never catch
the reptile, I mumbled to myself.
Sure enough, the snake saw us before we saw it. The
guide suddenly uttered a sharp cry and pointed ahead.
About fifteen meters away, in a clear patch of water, I
could see ripples heading rapidly towards the forest
edge. Uttering a brief prayer that the snake would be of
a suitable size for one person to handle, I grabbed a
sack and leapt down into the water. Running in the water
up to my knees was indeed quite exhausting. But I
struggled on, the sweat pouring profusely. I was some
ten meters away when the snake hauled its glossy yellow
and black body out of the water and started to glide
into the tall grass. as I rushed forward in a desperate
spurt, I tripped and fell flat on my face in the water.
When I got to my feet, the snake had disappeared. I
waded ashore, cursing bitterly and walked into the tall
grass where it had vanished, to see if I could follow
its trail.
I had only walked about three meters when a blunt
head with open mouth struck at me from a small bush,
making me leap almost instantaneously. Under the bush
lay a few snakes -- not one but five of them ! Taken
completely by surprise, I was terrified. It was then
that the instinct of self-preservation made me
accomplish what even today I find unbelievable. My
pistol was spitting bullets, hitting one snake after
another. then the pistol was silent -- empty. In a last
gesture of exasperation, I threw it at the remaining
snakes and decided to come back later. By the time the
guide and the others arrived, the snakes had gone,
leaving three dead behind. the guide looked half amused
and half puzzled. I was supposed to catch live snakes,
not dead ones. The other members thought I had come
across some ferocious animals and had to shoot at them
for protection.
When I told the guide that there were some snakes
that had escaped and could be nearby, he asked us to
take a breather while he would go ahead to scout for
them. It was a rest that I much needed. I began to feel
pain all over my body. As most of us felt hungry, we
decided to make a quick meal. I was sure that the guide
would come back soon. He had been a good guide and an
experienced snake catcher. we would have accomplished
our mission if we had followed his instructions
strictly. As t was, we had blundered twice, and
embarrassingly, I had been the culprit on both
occasions. Suddenly I felt nervous about the whole
thing. what if I failed again ? I would be the laughing
stock of the other members. No, I must not fail again. I
can't be that unlucky for the third time. With that in
mind, I braced myself for another attack when the guide
returned. |
