Even Roldan gave a hoarse cry of surprise, and as for Adan, he
fell into vocabulary: one serpent had darted straight down the throat of
the other. For a moment there was a fearful lashing. The choking
serpent, with protruding eyes, like small green coals, and jaws
distended in agony, strove to dislodge his suffocating enemy, and the
other humped his back and leapt backward in frantic efforts to reach the
air again. But suddenly their struggles ceased; they flattened to the
ground, only the tails moving automatically. What was left looked like a
monster of some unknown species; a creature with no head, a huge belly,
and two tails.
"Caramba!" exclaimed Adan, "I could not eat that even if we had anything
to cook it with. It looks like a mass of poison."
"I should like to know where that poison was last night. It may be a
good sign, however: as they are the first living things we have seen, we
may be near to the edge of the desert."
Adan crossed himself.
"Come," continued Roldan, "let us move on, before hunger tempts us too
far."
Once more they started on their tortuous way. They walked very slowly,
both from necessity and inclination: the excitement of the fight over,
their physical necessities pressed heavily; they kept as close together
as they could, but rarely spoke: they were too hungry.
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