The Kipling Reader | Page 5

open floor, the odds are in his favour. What am I to do?' said
Rikki-tikki-tavi.
Nag waved to and fro, and then Rikki-tikki heard him drinking from
the biggest water-jar that was used to fill the bath. 'That is good,' said
the snake. 'Now, when Karait was killed, the big man had a stick. He
may have that stick still, but when he comes in to bathe in the morning
he will not have a stick. I shall wait here till he comes. Nagaina--do you
hear me?--I shall wait here in the cool till daytime.'
There was no answer from outside, so Rikki-tikki knew Nagaina had
gone away. Nag coiled himself down, coil by coil, round the bulge at
the bottom of the water-jar, and Rikki-tikki stayed still as death. After
an hour he began to move, muscle by muscle, toward the jar. Nag was
asleep, and Rikki-tikki looked at his big back, wondering which would
be the best place for a good hold. 'If I don't break his back at the first
jump,' said Rikki, 'he can still fight; and if he fights--O Rikki!' He
looked at the thickness of the neck below the hood, but that was too
much for him; and a bite near the tail would only make Nag savage.
'It must be the head,' he said at last; 'the head above the hood; and when
I am once there, I must not let go.'
Then he jumped. The head was lying a little clear of the water-jar,
under the curve of it; and, as his teeth met, Rikki braced his back
against the bulge of the red earthen-rare to hold down the head. This
gave him just one second's purchase, and he made the most of it. Then
he was battered to and fro as a rat is shaken by a dog--to and fro on the

floor, up and down, and round in great circles; at his eyes were red, and
he held on as the body cart-whipped over the floor, upsetting the tin
dipper and the soap-dish and the flesh-brush, and banged against the tin
side of the bath. As he held he closed his jaws tighter and tighter, for he
made sure he would be banged to death, and, for the honour of his
family, preferred to be found with his teeth locked. He was dizzy,
aching, and felt shaken to pieces when something went off like a
thunderclap just behind him; a hot wind knocked him senseless, and red
fire singed his fur. The man had been wakened by the noise, and had
fired both barrels of a shot-gun into Nag just behind the hood.
Rikki-tikki held on with his eyes shut, for now he was quite sure he
was dead; but the head did not move, and the big man picked him up
and said: 'It's the mongoose again, Alice; the little chap has saved our
lives now.' Then Teddy's mother came in with a very white face, and
saw what was left of Nag, and Rikki-tikki dragged himself Teddy's
bedroom and spent half the rest of the night shaking himself tenderly to
find out whether he really broken into forty pieces, as he fancied.
When morning came he was very stiff, but well pleased with his doings.
'Now I have Nagaina to settle with, and she will be worse than five
Nags, and there's no knowing when the eggs she spoke of will hatch.
Goodness! I must go and see Darzee,' he said.
Without waiting for breakfast, Rikki-tikki ran to the thorn-bush where
Darzee was singing a song of triumph at the top of his voice. The news
of Nag's death was all over the garden, for the sweeper had thrown the
body on the rubbish-heap.
'Oh, you stupid tuft of feathers!' said Rikki-tikki angrily. 'Is this the
time to sing?'
'Nag is dead--is dead--is dead!' sang Darzee. 'The valiant Rikki-tikki
caught him by the head and held fast. The big man brought the
bang-stick, and Nag fell in two pieces! He will never eat my babies
again.'
'All that's true enough; but where's Nagaina?' said Rikki-tikki, looking

carefully round him.
'Nagaina came to the bath-room sluice and called for Nag,' Darzee went
on; 'and Nag came out on the end of a stick--the sweeper picked him up
on the end of a stick and threw him upon the rubbish-heap. Let us sing
about the great, the red-eyed Rikki-tikki!' and Darzee filled his throat
and sang.
'If I could get up to your nest, I'd roll all your babies out!' said
Rikki-tikki. 'You don't know when to do the right thing at the right time.
You're safe enough in your nest there, but it's war for me down here.
Stop singing a minute, Darzee.'
'For the great, the beautiful Rikki-tikki's sake I