I therefore took the paddle and poked for him; the water being shallow, I felt him immediately.

Again the rushes moved; I felt the paddle twist as his scaly back glided under it, and a pair of gaping jaws appeared above the water, wide open and within two feet of the canoe.

The next moment his head appeared, and the two-ounce ball shattered his brain.

He sank to the bottom, the rushes moved slightly and were then still.
I now put the canoe ashore, and cutting a strong stick, with a crook at one end, I again put out to the spot and dragged for him.

He was quite dead; and catching him under the fore-leg, I soon brought him gently to the surface of the water.