For the last -- the very last of the brood ? The ants are eating all the others down by the melon bed . '' Nagaina spun clear round , forgetting everything for the sake of the one egg . Rikki-tikki saw Teddy 's father shoot out a big hand , catch Teddy by the shoulder , and drag him across the little table with the tea-cups , safe and out of reach of Nagaina . `` Tricked ! Tricked ! Tricked ! Rikk-tck-tck ! '' chuckled Rikki-tikki . `` The boy is safe , and it was I -- I -- I that caught Nag by the hood last night in the bathroom . '' Then he began to jump up and down , all four feet together , his head close to the floor . `` He threw me to and fro , but he could not shake me off . He was dead before the big man blew him in two . I did it ! Rikki-tikki-tck-tck ! Come then , Nagaina . Come and fight with me . You shall not be a widow long . '' Nagaina saw that she had lost her chance of killing Teddy , and the egg lay between Rikki-tikki 's paws . `` Give me the egg , Rikki-tikki .
Give me the last XXXXX my eggs , and I will go away and never come back , '' she said , lowering her hood .
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