At the moment that Bomba made his first startled leap he heard close behind him the thud of a body as it struck the earth. The reptile had missed its spring.
But this brought Bomba small comfort. He knew that the fight had just begun, that behind him death was coming and traveling fast.
One look was all he cast behind him, but that was sufficient to show the slithering long body of his implacable foe moving swiftly along the trail.
Bomba was agile and fleet of foot, and he tore along at an astounding rate of speed. But he knew too much of his adversary to believe that he could distance it. In the long run, the endurance of the snake would outlast that of the fugitive.
But if Bomba’s feet were fast, so was his brain, and it was working now with lightning rapidity. It was recalling every
