The forked tongue, lightning-like,
ran in and out upon the copper skin.
Nobly the giant battled for his life, beating with his stone hatchet
against the bony armor that covered that frightful carcass; but
for all the damage he inflicted he might as well have struck with
his open palm.
At last I could endure no longer to sit supinely by while a fellowman
was dragged down to a horrible death by that repulsive reptile.
Embedded in the prow of the skiff lay the spear that had been cast
after me by him whom I suddenly desired to save. With a wrench I
tore it loose, and standing upright in the wobbly log drove it with
all the strength of my two arms straight into the gaping jaws of
the hydrophidian.
With a loud hiss the creature abandoned its prey to turn upon me,
but the spear, imbedded in its throat, prevented it from seizing
me though it came near to overturning the skiff in its mad efforts
to reach me.
VIII
THE MAHAR TEMPLE
THE ABORIGINE, APPARENTLY UNINJURED, CLIMBED quickly into the skiff,
and seizing the spear with me helped to hold off the infuriated
creature. Blood from the wounded reptile was now crimsoning the
waters about us and soon from the weakening struggles it became
evident that I had inflicted a death wound upon it. Presently
its efforts to reach us ceased entirely, and with a few convulsive
movements it turned upon its back quite dead.
And then there came to me a sudden realization of the predicament
in which I had placed myself.
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