The Lost World...................................................................................................................................................1

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ...........................................................................................................................1

Mr. Hungerton, her father, really was the most tactless person upon earth,a fluffy, feathery, untidy

cockatoo of a man, perfectly goodnatured, but absolutely centered upon his own silly self. If anything could

have driven me from Gladys, it would have been the thought of such a fatherinlaw. I am convinced that he

really believed in his heart that I came round to the Chestnuts three days a week for the pleasure of his

company, and very especially to hear his views upon bimetallism, a subject upon which he was by way of

For an hour or more that evening I listened to his monotonous chirrup about bad money driving out good, the

token value of silver, the depreciation of the rupee, and the true standards of exchange.

"Suppose," he cried with feeble violence, "that all the debts in the world were called up simultaneously, and

immediate payment insisted upon,what under our present conditions would happen then?"

I gave the selfevident answer that I should be a ruined man, upon which he jumped from his chair, reproved

me for my habitual levity, which made it impossible for him to discuss any reasonable subject in my

At last I was alone with Gladys, and the moment of Fate had come! All that evening I had felt like the soldier

who awaits the signal which will send him on a forlorn hope; hope of victory and fear of repulse alternating

She sat with that proud, delicate profile of hers outlined against the red curtain. How beautiful she was! And

yet how aloof! We had been friends, quite good friends; but never could I get beyond the same comradeship

which I might have established with one of my fellowreporters upon the Gazette,perfectly frank,

perfectly kindly, and perfectly unsexual. My instincts are all against a woman being too frank and at her ease

with me. It is no compliment to a man. Where the real sex feeling begins, timidity and distrust are its

companions, heritage from old wicked days when love and violence went often hand in hand. The bent head,

the averted eye, the faltering voice, the wincing figure these, and not the unshrinking gaze and frank reply,

are the true signals of passion. Even in my short life I had learned as much as thator had inherited it in that

Gladys was full of every womanly quality. Some judged her to be cold and hard; but such a thought was

treason. That delicately bronzed skin, almost oriental in its coloring, that raven hair, the large liquid eyes, the

full but exquisite lips,all the stigmata of passion were there. But I was sadly conscious that up to now I had

never found the secret of drawing it forth. However, come what might, I should have done with suspense and

bring matters to a head tonight. She could but refuse me, and better be a repulsed lover than an accepted

So far my thoughts had carried me, and I was about to break the long and uneasy silence, when two critical,

dark eyes looked round at me, and the proud head was shaken in smiling reproof. "I have a presentiment that

you are going to propose, Ned. I do wish you wouldn't; for things are so much nicer as they are."

I drew my chair a little nearer. "Now, how did you know that I was going to propose?" I asked in genuine

"Don't women always know? Do you suppose any woman in the world was ever taken unawares? Butoh,

Ned, our friendship has been so good and so pleasant! What a pity to spoil it! Don't you feel how splendid it

is that a young man and a young woman should be able to talk face to face as we have talked?"

"I don't know, Gladys. You see, I can talk face to face with with the stationmaster." I can't imagine how

that official came into the matter; but in he trotted, and set us both laughing. "That does not satisfy me in the

least. I want my arms round you, and your head on my breast, andoh, Gladys, I want"

She had sprung from her chair, as she saw signs that I proposed to demonstrate some of my wants. "You've

spoiled everything, Ned," she said. "It's all so beautiful and natural until this kind of thing comes in! It is such

"But you mustyou, with your beauty, with your soul! Oh, Gladys, you were made for love! You must

She did unbend a little. She put forward a handsuch a gracious, stooping attitude it wasand she pressed

"No it isn't that," she said at last. "You're not a conceited boy by nature, and so I can safely tell you it is not

"What can I do to mend it? Do sit down and talk it over. No, really, I won't if you'll only sit down!"

She looked at me with a wondering distrust which was much more to my mind than her wholehearted

confidence. How primitive and bestial it looks when you put it down in black and white!and perhaps after

"It's nobody in particular," she explained, laughing at the expression of my face: "only an ideal. I've never

"How dear of you to say that! Well, what is it that he does that I don't do? Just say the word,teetotal,

vegetarian, aeronaut, theosophist, superman. I'll have a try at it, Gladys, if you will only give me an idea what

She laughed at the elasticity of my character. "Well, in the first place, I don't think my ideal would speak like

that," said she. "He would be a harder, sterner man, not so ready to adapt himself to a silly girl's whim. But,

above all, he must be a man who could do, who could act, who could look Death in the face and have no fear

of him, a man of great deeds and strange experiences. It is never a man that I should love, but always the

glories he had won; for they would be reflected upon me. Think of Richard Burton! When I read his wife's

life of him I could so understand her love! And Lady Stanley! Did you ever read the wonderful last chapter of

that book about her husband? These are the sort of men that a woman could worship with all her soul, and yet

be the greater, not the less, on account of her love, honored by all the world as the inspirer of noble deeds."

She looked so beautiful in her enthusiasm that I nearly brought down the whole level of the interview. I

"We can't all be Stanleys and Burtons," said I; "besides, we don't get the chance,at least, I never had the

"But chances are all around you. It is the mark of the kind of man I mean that he makes his own chances. You

can't hold him back. I've never met him, and yet I seem to know him so well. There are heroisms all round us

waiting to be done. It's for men to do them, and for women to reserve their love as a reward for such men.

Look at that young Frenchman who went up last week in a balloon. It was blowing a gale of wind; but

because he was announced to go he insisted on starting. The wind blew him fifteen hundred miles in

twentyfour hours, and he fell in the middle of Russia. That was the kind of man I mean. Think of the woman

he loved, and how other women must have envied her! That's what I should like to be,envied for my man."

"But you shouldn't do it merely to please me. You should do it because you can't help yourself, because it's

natural to you, because the man in you is crying out for heroic expression. Now, when you described the

Wigan coal explosion last month, could you not have gone down and helped those people, in spite of the

"I didn't know." She looked at me with rather more interest. "That was brave of you."

"What a prosaic motive! It seems to take all the romance out of it. But, still, whatever your motive, I am glad

that you went down that mine." She gave me her hand; but with such sweetness and dignity that I could only

stoop and kiss it. "I dare say I am merely a foolish woman with a young girl's fancies. And yet it is so real

with me, so entirely part of my very self, that I cannot help acting upon it. If I marry, I do want to marry a

"Why should you not?" I cried. "It is women like you who brace men up. Give me a chance, and see if I will

take it! Besides, as you say, men ought to MAKE their own chances, and not wait until they are given. Look

at Clivejust a clerk, and he conquered India! By George! I'll do something in the world yet!"

She laughed at my sudden Irish effervescence. "Why not?" she said. "You have everything a man could

have,youth, health, strength, education, energy. I was sorry you spoke. And now I am gladso gladif it

Her dear hand rested like warm velvet upon my lips. "Not another word, Sir! You should have been at the

office for evening duty half an hour ago; only I hadn't the heart to remind you. Some day, perhaps, when you

And so it was that I found myself that foggy November evening pursuing the Camberwell tram with my heart

glowing within me, and with the eager determination that not another day should elapse before I should find

some deed which was worthy of my lady. But whowho in all this wide world could ever have imagined the

incredible shape which that deed was to take, or the strange steps by which I was led to the doing of it?

And, after all, this opening chapter will seem to the reader to have nothing to do with my narrative; and yet

there would have been no narrative without it, for it is only when a man goes out into the world with the

thought that there are heroisms all round him, and with the desire all alive in his heart to follow any which

may come within sight of him, that he breaks away as I did from the life he knows, and ventures forth into the

wonderful mystic twilight land where lie the great adventures and the great rewards. Behold me, then, at the

office of the Daily Gazette, on the staff of which I was a most insignificant unit, with the settled

determination that very night, if possible, to find the quest which should be worthy of my Gladys! Was it

hardness, was it selfishness, that she should ask me to risk my life for her own glorification? Such thoughts

may come to middle age; but never to ardent threeandtwenty in the fever of his first love.

I always liked McArdle, the crabbed, old, roundbacked, redheaded news editor, and I rather hoped that he

liked me. Of course, Beaumont was the real boss; but he lived in the rarefied atmosphere of some Olympian

height from which he could distinguish nothing smaller than an international crisis or a split in the Cabinet.

Sometimes we saw him passing in lonely majesty to his inner sanctum, with his eyes staring vaguely and his

mind hovering over the Balkans or the Persian Gulf. He was above and beyond us. But McArdle was his first

lieutenant, and it was he that we knew. The old man nodded as I entered the room, and he pushed his

"Well, Mr. Malone, from all I hear, you seem to be doing very well," said he in his kindly Scotch accent.

"The colliery explosion was excellent. So was the Southwark fire. You have the true descreeptive touch.

"Do you think, Sir, that you could possibly send me on some mission for the paper? I would do my best to put

"Well, Sir, anything that had adventure and danger in it. I really would do my very best. The more difficult it

"Dear me, Mr. Malone, this is veryvery exalted. I'm afraid the day for this sort of thing is rather past. The

expense of the `special meesion' business hardly justifies the result, and, of course, in any case it would only

be an experienced man with a name that would command public confidence who would get such an order.

The big blank spaces in the map are all being filled in, and there's no room for romance anywhere. Wait a bit,

though!" he added, with a sudden smile upon his face. "Talking of the blank spaces of the map gives me an

idea. What about exposing a frauda modern Munchausenand making him rideeculous? You could show

him up as the liar that he is! Eh, man, it would be fine. How does it appeal to you?"

"I wonder whether you could get on friendlyor at least on talking terms with the fellow," he said, at last.

"You seem to have a sort of genius for establishing relations with peopleseempathy, I suppose, or animal

"So why should you not try your luck with Professor Challenger, of Enmore Park?"

"Challenger!" I cried. "Professor Challenger, the famous zoologist! Wasn't he the man who broke the skull of

"Exactly. I don't suppose he can always be so violent as that. I'm thinking that Blundell got him at the wrong

moment, maybe, or in the wrong fashion. You may have better luck, or more tact in handling him. There's

"I really know nothing about him," said I. I only remember his name in connection with the policecourt

"I have a few notes for your guidance, Mr. Malone. I've had my eye on the Professor for some little time." He

took a paper from a drawer. "Here is a summary of his record. I give it you briefly:

"`Challenger, George Edward. Born: Largs, N. B., 1863. Educ.: Largs Academy; Edinburgh University.

British Museum Assistant, 1892. AssistantKeeper of Comparative Anthropology Department, 1893.

Resigned after acrimonious correspondence same year. Winner of Crayston Medal for Zoological Research.

Foreign Member of'well, quite a lot of things, about two inches of small type`Societe Belge, American

Academy of Sciences, La Plata, etc., etc. ExPresident Palaeontological Society. Section H, British

Association'so on, so on!`Publications: "Some Observations Upon a Series of Kalmuck Skulls";

"Outlines of Vertebrate Evolution"; and numerous papers, including "The underlying fallacy of

Weissmannism," which caused heated discussion at the Zoological Congress of Vienna. Recreations:

"One moment, sir," I said, as I realized that it was a pink bald head, and not a red face, which was fronting

me. "I am not very clear yet why I am to interview this gentleman. What has he done?"

"Went to South America on a solitary expedeetion two years ago. Came back last year. Had undoubtedly

been to South America, but refused to say exactly where. Began to tell his adventures in a vague way, but

somebody started to pick holes, and he just shut up like an oyster. Something wonderful happenedor the

man's a champion liar, which is the more probable supposeetion. Had some damaged photographs, said to be

fakes. Got so touchy that he assaults anyone who asks questions, and heaves reporters doun the stairs. In my

opinion he's just a homicidal megalomaniac with a turn for science. That's your man, Mr. Malone. Now, off

you run, and see what you can make of him. You're big enough to look after yourself. Anyway, you are all

A grinning red face turned once more into a pink oval, fringed with gingery fluff; the interview was at an end.

I walked across to the Savage Club, but instead of turning into it I leaned upon the railings of Adelphi Terrace

and gazed thoughtfully for a long time at the brown, oily river. I can always think most sanely and clearly in

the open air. I took out the list of Professor Challenger's exploits, and I read it over under the electric lamp.

Then I had what I can only regard as an inspiration. As a Pressman, I felt sure from what I had been told that

I could never hope to get into touch with this cantankerous Professor. But these recriminations, twice

mentioned in his skeleton biography, could only mean that he was a fanatic in science. Was there not an

I entered the club. It was just after eleven, and the big room was fairly full, though the rush had not yet set in.

I noticed a tall, thin, angular man seated in an armchair by the fire. He turned as I drew my chair up to him.

It was the man of all others whom I should have chosenTarp Henry, of the staff of Nature, a thin, dry,

leathery creature, who was full, to those who knew him, of kindly humanity. I plunged instantly into my

"Challenger?" He gathered his brows in scientific disapproval. "Challenger was the man who came with some

"Oh, it was rank nonsense about some queer animals he had discovered. I believe he has retracted since.

Anyhow, he has suppressed it all. He gave an interview to Reuter's, and there was such a howl that he saw it

wouldn't do. It was a discreditable business. There were one or two folk who were inclined to take him

"Well, by his insufferable rudeness and impossible behavior. There was poor old Wadley, of the Zoological

Institute. Wadley sent a message: `The President of the Zoological Institute presents his compliments to

Professor Challenger, and would take it as a personal favor if he would do them the honor to come to their

"Well, a bowdlerized version of it would run: `Professor Challenger presents his compliments to the President

of the Zoological Institute, and would take it as a personal favor if he would go to the devil.'"

"Yes, I expect that's what old Wadley said. I remember his wail at the meeting, which began: `In fifty years

"Well, I'm a bacteriologist, you know. I live in a ninehundreddiameter microscope. I can hardly claim to

take serious notice of anything that I can see with my naked eye. I'm a frontiersman from the extreme edge of

the Knowable, and I feel quite out of place when I leave my study and come into touch with all you great,

rough, hulking creatures. I'm too detached to talk scandal, and yet at scientific conversaziones I HAVE heard

something of Challenger, for he is one of those men whom nobody can ignore. He's as clever as they make

'ema fullcharged battery of force and vitality, but a quarrelsome, illconditioned faddist, and

unscrupulous at that. He had gone the length of faking some photographs over the South American business."

"He has a thousand, but the latest is something about Weissmann and Evolution. He had a fearful row about it

"Not at the moment, but a translation of the proceedings exists. We have it filed at the office. Would you care

"It's just what I want. I have to interview the fellow, and I need some lead up to him. It's really awfully good

Half an hour later I was seated in the newspaper office with a huge tome in front of me, which had been

opened at the article "Weissmann versus Darwin," with the sub heading, "Spirited Protest at Vienna. Lively

Proceedings." My scientific education having been somewhat neglected, I was unable to follow the whole

argument, but it was evident that the English Professor had handled his subject in a very aggressive fashion,

and had thoroughly annoyed his Continental colleagues. "Protests," "Uproar," and "General appeal to the

Chairman" were three of the first brackets which caught my eye. Most of the matter might have been written

"I wish you could translate it into English for me," I said, pathetically, to my helpmate.

"If I could only get a single good, meaty sentence which seemed to convey some sort of definite human idea,

it would serve my turn. Ah, yes, this one will do. I seem in a vague way almost to understand it. I'll copy it

"Well, yes; I propose to write to him. If I could frame the letter here, and use your address it would give

"Well, that's my chair and desk. You'll find paper there. I'd like to censor it before it goes."

It took some doing, but I flatter myself that it wasn't such a bad job when it was finished. I read it aloud to the

"DEAR PROFESSOR CHALLENGER," it said, "As a humble student of Nature, I have always taken the

most profound interest in your speculations as to the differences between Darwin and Weissmann. I have

"by rereading your masterly address at Vienna. That lucid and admirable statement seems to be the last

word in the matter. There is one sentence in it, howevernamely: `I protest strongly against the insufferable

and entirely dogmatic assertion that each separate id is a microcosm possessed of an historical architecture

elaborated slowly through the series of generations.' Have you no desire, in view of later research, to modify

this statement? Do you not think that it is overaccentuated? With your permission, I would ask the favor of

an interview, as I feel strongly upon the subject, and have certain suggestions which I could only elaborate in

a personal conversation. With your consent, I trust to have the honor of calling at eleven o'clock the day after

"To get there. Once I am in his room I may see some opening. I may even go the length of open confession. If

"Tickled, indeed! He's much more likely to do the tickling. Chain mail, or an American football suitthat's

what you'll want. Well, goodbye. I'll have the answer for you here on Wednesday morningif he ever

deigns to answer you. He is a violent, dangerous, cantankerous character, hated by everyone who comes

across him, and the butt of the students, so far as they dare take a liberty with him. Perhaps it would be best

My friend's fear or hope was not destined to be realized. When I called on Wednesday there was a letter with

the West Kensington postmark upon it, and my name scrawled across the envelope in a handwriting which

"SIR,I have duly received your note, in which you claim to endorse my views, although I am not aware

that they are dependent upon endorsement either from you or anyone else. You have ventured to use the word

`speculation' with regard to my statement upon the subject of Darwinism, and I would call your attention to

the fact that such a word in such a connection is offensive to a degree. The context convinces me, however,

that you have sinned rather through ignorance and tactlessness than through malice, so I am content to pass

the matter by. You quote an isolated sentence from my lecture, and appear to have some difficulty in

understanding it. I should have thought that only a subhuman intelligence could have failed to grasp the

point, but if it really needs amplification I shall consent to see you at the hour named, though visits and

visitors of every sort are exceeding distasteful to me. As to your suggestion that I may modify my opinion, I

would have you know that it is not my habit to do so after a deliberate expression of my mature views. You

will kindly show the envelope of this letter to my man, Austin, when you call, as he has to take every

precaution to shield me from the intrusive rascals who call themselves `journalists.'

This was the letter that I read aloud to Tarp Henry, who had come down early to hear the result of my

venture. His only remark was, "There's some new stuff, cuticura or something, which is better than arnica."

It was nearly halfpast ten before I had received my message, but a taxicab took me round in good time for

my appointment. It was an imposing porticoed house at which we stopped, and the heavilycurtained

windows gave every indication of wealth upon the part of this formidable Professor. The door was opened by

an odd, swarthy, driedup person of uncertain age, with a dark pilot jacket and brown leather gaiters. I found

afterwards that he was the chauffeur, who filled the gaps left by a succession of fugitive butlers. He looked

"Right!" He seemed to be a person of few words. Following him down the passage I was suddenly interrupted

by a small woman, who stepped out from what proved to be the diningroom door. She was a bright,

"One moment," she said. "You can wait, Austin. Step in here, sir. May I ask if you have met my husband

"Then I apologize to you in advance. I must tell you that he is a perfectly impossible personabsolutely

impossible. If you are forewarned you will be the more ready to make allowances."

"Get quickly out of the room if he seems inclined to be violent. Don't wait to argue with him. Several people

have been injured through doing that. Afterwards there is a public scandal and it reflects upon me and all of

"Dear me! That is his most dangerous subject. You won't believe a word he saysI'm sure I don't wonder.

But don't tell him so, for it makes him very violent. Pretend to believe him, and you may get through all right.

Remember he believes it himself. Of that you may be assured. A more honest man never lived. Don't wait

any longer or he may suspect. If you find him dangerousreally dangerousring the bell and hold him off

With these encouraging words the lady handed me over to the taciturn Austin, who had waited like a bronze

statue of discretion during our short interview, and I was conducted to the end of the passage. There was a tap

at a door, a bull's bellow from within, and I was face to face with the Professor.

He sat in a rotating chair behind a broad table, which was covered with books, maps, and diagrams. As I

entered, his seat spun round to face me. His appearance made me gasp. I was prepared for something strange,

but not for so overpowering a personality as this. It was his size which took one's breath awayhis size and

his imposing presence. His head was enormous, the largest I have ever seen upon a human being. I am sure

that his tophat, had I ever ventured to don it, would have slipped over me entirely and rested on my

shoulders. He had the face and beard which I associate with an Assyrian bull; the former florid, the latter so

black as almost to have a suspicion of blue, spadeshaped and rippling down over his chest. The hair was

peculiar, plastered down in front in a long, curving wisp over his massive forehead. The eyes were bluegray

under great black tufts, very clear, very critical, and very masterful. A huge spread of shoulders and a chest

like a barrel were the other parts of him which appeared above the table, save for two enormous hands

covered with long black hair. This and a bellowing, roaring, rumbling voice made up my first impression of

I must keep up my deception for at least a little time longer, otherwise here was evidently an end of the

"You were good enough to give me an appointment, sir," said I, humbly, producing his envelope.

"Oh, you are the young person who cannot understand plain English, are you? My general conclusions you

"Dear me! That strengthens my position very much, does it not? Your age and appearance make your support

doubly valuable. Well, at least you are better than that herd of swine in Vienna, whose gregarious grunt is,

however, not more offensive than the isolated effort of the British hog." He glared at me as the present

"I assure you that I can fight my own battles, and that I have no possible need of your sympathy. Put me

alone, sir, and with my back to the wall. G. E. C. is happiest then. Well, sir, let us do what we can to curtail

this visit, which can hardly be agreeable to you, and is inexpressibly irksome to me. You had, as I have been

led to believe, some comments to make upon the proposition which I advanced in my thesis."

There was a brutal directness about his methods which made evasion difficult. I must still make play and wait

for a better opening. It had seemed simple enough at a distance. Oh, my Irish wits, could they not help me

now, when I needed help so sorely? He transfixed me with two sharp, steely eyes. "Come, come!" he

"I am, of course, a mere student," said I, with a fatuous smile, "hardly more, I might say, than an earnest

inquirer. At the same time, it seemed to me that you were a little severe upon Weissmann in this matter. Has

not the general evidence since that date tended towell, to strengthen his position?"

"Well, of course, I am aware that there is not any what you might call DEFINITE evidence. I alluded merely

to the trend of modern thought and the general scientific point of view, if I might so express it."

"I suppose you are aware," said he, checking off points upon his fingers, "that the cranial index is a constant

"It proves," he roared, with a sudden blast of fury, "that you are the damnedest imposter in Londona vile,

crawling journalist, who has no more science than he has decency in his composition!"

He had sprung to his feet with a mad rage in his eyes. Even at that moment of tension I found time for

amazement at the discovery that he was quite a short man, his head not higher than my shouldera stunted

"Gibberish!" he cried, leaning forward, with his fingers on the table and his face projecting. "That's what I

have been talking to you, sirscientific gibberish! Did you think you could match cunning with meyou

with your walnut of a brain? You think you are omnipotent, you infernal scribblers, don't you? That your

praise can make a man and your blame can break him? We must all bow to you, and try to get a favorable

word, must we? This man shall have a leg up, and this man shall have a dressing down! Creeping vermin, I

know you! You've got out of your station. Time was when your ears were clipped. You've lost your sense of

proportion. Swollen gasbags! I'll keep you in your proper place. Yes, sir, you haven't got over G. E. C.

There's one man who is still your master. He warned you off, but if you WILL come, by the Lord you do it at

your own risk. Forfeit, my good Mr. Malone, I claim forfeit! You have played a rather dangerous game, and

"Look here, sir," said I, backing to the door and opening it; "you can be as abusive as you like. But there is a

"Shall I not?" He was slowly advancing in a peculiarly menacing way, but he stopped now and put his big

hands into the sidepockets of a rather boyish short jacket which he wore. "I have thrown several of you out

of the house. You will be the fourth or fifth. Three pound fifteen eachthat is how it averaged. Expensive,

but very necessary. Now, sir, why should you not follow your brethren? I rather think you must." He resumed

his unpleasant and stealthy advance, pointing his toes as he walked, like a dancing master.

I could have bolted for the hall door, but it would have been too ignominious. Besides, a little glow of

righteous anger was springing up within me. I had been hopelessly in the wrong before, but this man's

"Dear me!" His black moustache lifted and a white fang twinkled in a sneer. "You won't stand it, eh?"

"Don't be such a fool, Professor!" I cried. "What can you hope for? I'm fifteen stone, as hard as nails, and

It was at that moment that he rushed me. It was lucky that I had opened the door, or we should have gone

through it. We did a Catharinewheel together down the passage. Somehow we gathered up a chair upon our

way, and bounded on with it towards the street. My mouth was full of his beard, our arms were locked, our

bodies intertwined, and that infernal chair radiated its legs all round us. The watchful Austin had thrown open

the hall door. We went with a back somersault down the front steps. I have seen the two Macs attempt

something of the kind at the halls, but it appears to take some practise to do it without hurting oneself. The

chair went to matchwood at the bottom, and we rolled apart into the gutter. He sprang to his feet, waving his

Then and there we should have tried the thing out, for he was effervescing with fight, but fortunately I was

rescued from an odious situation. A policeman was beside us, his notebook in his hand.

"What's all this? You ought to be ashamed" said the policeman. It was the most rational remark which I had

"It's not the first time, either," said the policeman, severely, shaking his head. "You were in trouble last

month for the same thing. You've blackened this young man's eye. Do you give him in charge, sir?"

"Don't let us have any more such goingson," said he. "Now, then! Move on, there, move on!" This to a

butcher's boy, a maid, and one or two loafers who had collected. He clumped heavily down the street, driving

this little flock before him. The Professor looked at me, and there was something humorous at the back of his

The speech had a sinister sound, but I followed him none the less into the house. The manservant, Austin,

Hardly was it shut when Mrs. Challenger darted out from the diningroom. The small woman was in a

furious temper. She barred her husband's way like an enraged chicken in front of a bulldog. It was evident

"He has marked your poor face! Oh, George, what a brute you are! Nothing but scandals from one end of the

week to the other. Everyone hating and making fun of you. You've finished my patience. This ends it."

"It's not a secret," she cried. "Do you suppose that the whole streetthe whole of London, for that

matter Get away, Austin, we don't want you here. Do you suppose they don't all talk about you? Where

is your dignity? You, a man who should have been Regius Professor at a great University with a thousand

"You try me too much. A ruffiana common brawling ruffian that's what you have become."

To my amazement he stooped, picked her up, and placed her sitting upon a high pedestal of black marble in

the angle of the hall. It was at least seven feet high, and so thin that she could hardly balance upon it. A more

absurd object than she presented cocked up there with her face convulsed with anger, her feet dangling, and

"You must behave yourself, dear. Mr. Malone is a Pressman. He will have it all in his rag tomorrow, and

sell an extra dozen among our neighbors. `Strange story of high life'you felt fairly high on that pedestal,

did you not? Then a subtitle, `Glimpse of a singular menage.' He's a foul feeder, is Mr. Malone, a carrion

eater, like all of his kindporcus ex grege diaboli a swine from the devil's herd. That's it,

"We shall have a coalition presently," he boomed, looking from his wife to me and puffing out his enormous

chest. Then, suddenly altering his tone, "Excuse this frivolous family badinage, Mr. Malone. I called you

back for some more serious purpose than to mix you up with our little domestic pleasantries. Run away, little

woman, and don't fret." He placed a huge hand upon each of her shoulders. "All that you say is perfectly true.

I should be a better man if I did what you advise, but I shouldn't be quite George Edward Challenger. There

are plenty of better men, my dear, but only one G. E. C. So make the best of him." He suddenly gave her a

resounding kiss, which embarrassed me even more than his violence had done. "Now, Mr. Malone," he

We reentered the room which we had left so tumultuously ten minutes before. The Professor closed the door

carefully behind us, motioned me into an armchair, and pushed a cigarbox under my nose.

"Real San Juan Colorado," he said. "Excitable people like you are the better for narcotics. Heavens! don't bite

it! Cutand cut with reverence! Now lean back, and listen attentively to whatever I may care to say to you.

If any remark should occur to you, you can reserve it for some more opportune time.

"First of all, as to your return to my house after your most justifiable expulsion"he protruded his beard, and

stared at me as one who challenges and invites contradiction"after, as I say, your wellmerited expulsion.

The reason lay in your answer to that most officious policeman, in which I seemed to discern some

glimmering of good feeling upon your partmore, at any rate, than I am accustomed to associate with your

profession. In admitting that the fault of the incident lay with you, you gave some evidence of a certain

mental detachment and breadth of view which attracted my favorable notice. The subspecies of the human

race to which you unfortunately belong has always been below my mental horizon. Your words brought you

suddenly above it. You swam up into my serious notice. For this reason I asked you to return with me, as I

was minded to make your further acquaintance. You will kindly deposit your ash in the small Japanese tray

All this he boomed forth like a professor addressing his class. He had swung round his revolving chair so as

to face me, and he sat all puffed out like an enormous bullfrog, his head laid back and his eyes halfcovered

by supercilious lids. Now he suddenly turned himself sideways, and all I could see of him was tangled hair

with a red, protruding ear. He was scratching about among the litter of papers upon his desk. He faced me

"I am going to talk to you about South America," said he. "No comments if you please. First of all, I wish you

to understand that nothing I tell you now is to be repeated in any public way unless you have my express

permission. That permission will, in all human probability, never be given. Is that clear?"

"No, no!" I cried. "I submit to any conditions. So far as I can see, I have no choice."

"Upon my word, sir," I cried, angrily, "you take very great liberties! I have never been so insulted in my life."

"Roundheaded," he muttered. "Brachycephalic, grayeyed, blackhaired, with suggestion of the negroid.

"That, of course, explains it. Let me see; you have given me your promise that my confidence will be

respected? That confidence, I may say, will be far from complete. But I am prepared to give you a few

indications which will be of interest. In the first place, you are probably aware that two years ago I made a

journey to South Americaone which will be classical in the scientific history of the world? The object of

my journey was to verify some conclusions of Wallace and of Bates, which could only be done by observing

their reported facts under the same conditions in which they had themselves noted them. If my expedition had

no other results it would still have been noteworthy, but a curious incident occurred to me while there which

"You are awareor probably, in this halfeducated age, you are not awarethat the country round some

parts of the Amazon is still only partially explored, and that a great number of tributaries, some of them

entirely uncharted, run into the main river. It was my business to visit this littleknown backcountry and to

examine its fauna, which furnished me with the materials for several chapters for that great and monumental

work upon zoology which will be my life's justification. I was returning, my work accomplished, when I had

occasion to spend a night at a small Indian village at a point where a certain tributarythe name and position

of which I withholdopens into the main river. The natives were Cucama Indians, an amiable but degraded

race, with mental powers hardly superior to the average Londoner. I had effected some cures among them

upon my way up the river, and had impressed them considerably with my personality, so that I was not

surprised to find myself eagerly awaited upon my return. I gathered from their signs that someone had urgent

need of my medical services, and I followed the chief to one of his huts. When I entered I found that the

sufferer to whose aid I had been summoned had that instant expired. He was, to my surprise, no Indian, but a

white man; indeed, I may say a very white man, for he was flaxenhaired and had some characteristics of an

albino. He was clad in rags, was very emaciated, and bore every trace of prolonged hardship. So far as I could

understand the account of the natives, he was a complete stranger to them, and had come upon their village

"The man's knapsack lay beside the couch, and I examined the contents. His name was written upon a tab

within itMaple White, Lake Avenue, Detroit, Michigan. It is a name to which I am prepared always to lift

my hat. It is not too much to say that it will rank level with my own when the final credit of this business

"From the contents of the knapsack it was evident that this man had been an artist and poet in search of

effects. There were scraps of verse. I do not profess to be a judge of such things, but they appeared to me to

be singularly wanting in merit. There were also some rather commonplace pictures of river scenery, a

paintbox, a box of colored chalks, some brushes, that curved bone which lies upon my inkstand, a volume of

Baxter's `Moths and Butterflies,' a cheap revolver, and a few cartridges. Of personal equipment he either had

none or he had lost it in his journey. Such were the total effects of this strange American Bohemian.

"I was turning away from him when I observed that something projected from the front of his ragged jacket.

It was this sketchbook, which was as dilapidated then as you see it now. Indeed, I can assure you that a first

folio of Shakespeare could not be treated with greater reverence than this relic has been since it came into my

possession. I hand it to you now, and I ask you to take it page by page and to examine the contents."

He helped himself to a cigar and leaned back with a fiercely critical pair of eyes, taking note of the effect

I had opened the volume with some expectation of a revelation, though of what nature I could not imagine.

The first page was disappointing, however, as it contained nothing but the picture of a very fat man in a

peajacket, with the legend, "Jimmy Colver on the Mailboat," written beneath it. There followed several

pages which were filled with small sketches of Indians and their ways. Then came a picture of a cheerful and

corpulent ecclesiastic in a shovel hat, sitting opposite a very thin European, and the inscription: "Lunch with

Fra Cristofero at Rosario." Studies of women and babies accounted for several more pages, and then there

was an unbroken series of animal drawings with such explanations as "Manatee upon Sandbank," "Turtles

and Their Eggs," "Black Ajouti under a Miriti Palm"the matter disclosing some sort of piglike animal;

and finally came a double page of studies of longsnouted and very unpleasant saurians. I could make

"Alligators! Alligators! There is hardly such a thing as a true crocodile in South America. The distinction

"I meant that I could see nothing unusualnothing to justify what you have said."

I was still unable to sympathize. It was a fullpage sketch of a landscape roughly tinted in colorthe kind of

painting which an openair artist takes as a guide to a future more elaborate effort. There was a palegreen

foreground of feathery vegetation, which sloped upwards and ended in a line of cliffs dark red in color, and

curiously ribbed like some basaltic formations which I have seen. They extended in an unbroken wall right

across the background. At one point was an isolated pyramidal rock, crowned by a great tree, which appeared

to be separated by a cleft from the main crag. Behind it all, a blue tropical sky. A thin green line of vegetation

"It is no doubt a curious formation," said I "but I am not geologist enough to say that it is wonderful."

"Wonderful!" he repeated. "It is unique. It is incredible. No one on earth has ever dreamed of such a

I turned it over, and gave an exclamation of surprise. There was a fullpage picture of the most extraordinary

creature that I had ever seen. It was the wild dream of an opium smoker, a vision of delirium. The head was

like that of a fowl, the body that of a bloated lizard, the trailing tail was furnished with upwardturned spikes,

and the curved back was edged with a high serrated fringe, which looked like a dozen cocks' wattles placed

behind each other. In front of this creature was an absurd mannikin, or dwarf, in human form, who stood

"Well, what do you think of that?" cried the Professor, rubbing his hands with an air of triumph.

"The obvious one that the creature exists. That is actually sketched from the life."

I should have laughed only that I had a vision of our doing another Catharinewheel down the passage.

"No doubt," said I, "no doubt," as one humors an imbecile. "I confess, however," I added, "that this tiny

human figure puzzles me. If it were an Indian we could set it down as evidence of some pigmy race in

The Professor snorted like an angry buffalo. "You really touch the limit," said he. "You enlarge my view of

He was too absurd to make me angry. Indeed, it was a waste of energy, for if you were going to be angry with

this man you would be angry all the time. I contented myself with smiling wearily. "It struck me that the man

"Look here!" he cried, leaning forward and dabbing a great hairy sausage of a finger on to the picture. "You

see that plant behind the animal; I suppose you thought it was a dandelion or a Brussels sproutwhat? Well,

it is a vegetable ivory palm, and they run to about fifty or sixty feet. Don't you see that the man is put in for a

purpose? He couldn't really have stood in front of that brute and lived to draw it. He sketched himself in to

give a scale of heights. He was, we will say, over five feet high. The tree is ten times bigger, which is what

"Good heavens!" I cried. "Then you think the beast was Why, Charing Cross station would hardly make

"Apart from exaggeration, he is certainly a wellgrown specimen," said the Professor, complacently.

"But," I cried, "surely the whole experience of the human race is not to be set aside on account of a single

sketch"I had turned over the leaves and ascertained that there was nothing more in the book"a single

sketch by a wandering American artist who may have done it under hashish, or in the delirium of fever, or

simply in order to gratify a freakish imagination. You can't, as a man of science, defend such a position as

"This is an excellent monograph by my gifted friend, Ray Lankester!" said he. "There is an illustration here

which would interest you. Ah, yes, here it is! The inscription beneath it runs: `Probable appearance in life of

the Jurassic Dinosaur Stegosaurus. The hind leg alone is twice as tall as a fullgrown man.' Well, what do

He handed me the open book. I started as I looked at the picture. In this reconstructed animal of a dead world

there was certainly a very great resemblance to the sketch of the unknown artist.

"Surely it might be a coincidence, or this American may have seen a picture of the kind and carried it in his

"Very good," said the Professor, indulgently; "we leave it at that. I will now ask you to look at this bone." He

handed over the one which he had already described as part of the dead man's possessions. It was about six

inches long, and thicker than my thumb, with some indications of dried cartilage at one end of it.

"The human collarbone is curved. This is straight. There is a groove upon its surface showing that a great

"You need not be ashamed to expose your ignorance, for I don't suppose the whole South Kensington staff

could give a name to it." He took a little bone the size of a bean out of a pillbox. "So far as I am a judge this

human bone is the analogue of the one which you hold in your hand. That will give you some idea of the size

of the creature. You will observe from the cartilage that this is no fossil specimen, but recent. What do you

"Don't! Don't talk of elephants in South America. Even in these days of Board schools"

"You may take it, young man, that I am versed in the elements of my business. This is not a conceivable bone

either of a tapir or of any other creature known to zoology. It belongs to a very large, a very strong, and, by

all analogy, a very fierce animal which exists upon the face of the earth, but has not yet come under the notice

"Then your case is not hopeless. I feel that there is reason lurking in you somewhere, so we will patiently

grope round for it. We will now leave the dead American and proceed with my narrative. You can imagine

that I could hardly come away from the Amazon without probing deeper into the matter. There were

indications as to the direction from which the dead traveler had come. Indian legends would alone have been

my guide, for I found that rumors of a strange land were common among all the riverine tribes. You have

"Curupuri is the spirit of the woods, something terrible, something malevolent, something to be avoided.

None can describe its shape or nature, but it is a word of terror along the Amazon. Now all tribes agree as to

the direction in which Curupuri lives. It was the same direction from which the American had come.

"What did you do?" My flippancy was all gone. This massive man compelled one's attention and respect.

"I overcame the extreme reluctance of the nativesa reluctance which extends even to talk upon the

subjectand by judicious persuasion and gifts, aided, I will admit, by some threats of coercion, I got two of

them to act as guides. After many adventures which I need not describe, and after traveling a distance which I

will not mention, in a direction which I withhold, we came at last to a tract of country which has never been

described, nor, indeed, visited save by my unfortunate predecessor. Would you kindly look at this?"

"The unsatisfactory appearance of it is due to the fact," said he, "that on descending the river the boat was

upset and the case which contained the undeveloped films was broken, with disastrous results. Nearly all of

them were totally ruinedan irreparable loss. This is one of the few which partially escaped. This

explanation of deficiencies or abnormalities you will kindly accept. There was talk of faking. I am not in a

The photograph was certainly very offcolored. An unkind critic might easily have misinterpreted that dim

surface. It was a dull gray landscape, and as I gradually deciphered the details of it I realized that it

represented a long and enormously high line of cliffs exactly like an immense cataract seen in the distance,

"It is the same place," the Professor answered. "I found traces of the fellow's camp. Now look at this."

It was a nearer view of the same scene, though the photograph was extremely defective. I could distinctly see

"Well, that is something gained," said he. "We progress, do we not? Now, will you please look at the top of

"Yes," I said, peering through it, "a large bird stands on the tree. It appears to have a considerable beak. I

"I cannot congratulate you upon your eyesight," said the Professor. "It is not a pelican, nor, indeed, is it a

bird. It may interest you to know that I succeeded in shooting that particular specimen. It was the only

"I had it. It was unfortunately lost with so much else in the same boat accident which ruined my photographs.

I clutched at it as it disappeared in the swirl of the rapids, and part of its wing was left in my hand. I was

insensible when washed ashore, but the miserable remnant of my superb specimen was still intact; I now lay

From a drawer he produced what seemed to me to be the upper portion of the wing of a large bat. It was at

"Nothing of the sort," said the Professor, severely. "Living, as I do, in an educated and scientific atmosphere,

I could not have conceived that the first principles of zoology were so little known. Is it possible that you do

not know the elementary fact in comparative anatomy, that the wing of a bird is really the forearm, while the

wing of a bat consists of three elongated fingers with membranes between? Now, in this case, the bone is

certainly not the forearm, and you can see for yourself that this is a single membrane hanging upon a single

bone, and therefore that it cannot belong to a bat. But if it is neither bird nor bat, what is it?"

"Here," said he, pointing to the picture of an extraordinary flying monster, "is an excellent reproduction of the

dimorphodon, or pterodactyl, a flying reptile of the Jurassic period. On the next page is a diagram of the

A wave of amazement passed over me as I looked. I was convinced. There could be no getting away from it.

The cumulative proof was overwhelming. The sketch, the photographs, the narrative, and now the actual

specimenthe evidence was complete. I said soI said so warmly, for I felt that the Professor was an

illused man. He leaned back in his chair with drooping eyelids and a tolerant smile, basking in this sudden

"It's just the very biggest thing that I ever heard of!" said I, though it was my journalistic rather than my

scientific enthusiasm that was roused. "It is colossal. You are a Columbus of science who has discovered a

lost world. I'm awfully sorry if I seemed to doubt you. It was all so unthinkable. But I understand evidence

"It was the wet season, Mr. Malone, and my stores were exhausted. I explored some portion of this huge cliff,

but I was unable to find any way to scale it. The pyramidal rock upon which I saw and shot the pterodactyl

was more accessible. Being something of a cragsman, I did manage to get half way to the top of that. From

that height I had a better idea of the plateau upon the top of the crags. It appeared to be very large; neither to

east nor to west could I see any end to the vista of greencapped cliffs. Below, it is a swampy, jungly region,

full of snakes, insects, and fever. It is a natural protection to this singular country."

"No, sir, I did not; but during the week that we lay encamped at the base of the cliff we heard some very

"We can only suppose that he must have made his way to the summit and seen it there. We know, therefore,

that there is a way up. We know equally that it must be a very difficult one, otherwise the creatures would

"I do not think that the problem is a very obscure one," said the Professor; "there can only be one explanation.

South America is, as you may have heard, a granite continent. At this single point in the interior there has

been, in some far distant age, a great, sudden volcanic upheaval. These cliffs, I may remark, are basaltic, and

therefore plutonic. An area, as large perhaps as Sussex, has been lifted up en bloc with all its living contents,

and cut off by perpendicular precipices of a hardness which defies erosion from all the rest of the continent.

What is the result? Why, the ordinary laws of Nature are suspended. The various checks which influence the

struggle for existence in the world at large are all neutralized or altered. Creatures survive which would

otherwise disappear. You will observe that both the pterodactyl and the stegosaurus are Jurassic, and

therefore of a great age in the order of life. They have been artificially conserved by those strange accidental

"But surely your evidence is conclusive. You have only to lay it before the proper authorities."

"So in my simplicity, I had imagined," said the Professor, bitterly. "I can only tell you that it was not so, that I

was met at every turn by incredulity, born partly of stupidity and partly of jealousy. It is not my nature, sir, to

cringe to any man, or to seek to prove a fact if my word has been doubted. After the first I have not

condescended to show such corroborative proofs as I possess. The subject became hateful to meI would

not speak of it. When men like yourself, who represent the foolish curiosity of the public, came to disturb my

privacy I was unable to meet them with dignified reserve. By nature I am, I admit, somewhat fiery, and under

"My wife has frequently remonstrated with me upon the subject, and yet I fancy that any man of honor would

feel the same. Tonight, however, I propose to give an extreme example of the control of the will over the

emotions. I invite you to be present at the exhibition." He handed me a card from his desk. "You will perceive

that Mr. Percival Waldron, a naturalist of some popular repute, is announced to lecture at eightthirty at the

Zoological Institute's Hall upon `The Record of the Ages.' I have been specially invited to be present upon the

platform, and to move a vote of thanks to the lecturer. While doing so, I shall make it my business, with

infinite tact and delicacy, to throw out a few remarks which may arouse the interest of the audience and cause

some of them to desire to go more deeply into the matter. Nothing contentious, you understand, but only an

indication that there are greater deeps beyond. I shall hold myself strongly in leash, and see whether by this

"Why, surely," he answered, cordially. He had an enormously massive genial manner, which was almost as

overpowering as his violence. His smile of benevolence was a wonderful thing, when his cheeks would

suddenly bunch into two red apples, between his halfclosed eyes and his great black beard. "By all means,

come. It will be a comfort to me to know that I have one ally in the hall, however inefficient and ignorant of

the subject he may be. I fancy there will be a large audience, for Waldron, though an absolute charlatan, has a

considerable popular following. Now, Mr. Malone, I have given you rather more of my time than I had

intended. The individual must not monopolize what is meant for the world. I shall be pleased to see you at the

lecture tonight. In the meantime, you will understand that no public use is to be made of any of the material

"Tell him what you like. You can say, among other things, that if he sends anyone else to intrude upon me I

shall call upon him with a ridingwhip. But I leave it to you that nothing of all this appears in print. Very

good. Then the Zoological Institute's Hall at eightthirty tonight." I had a last impression of red cheeks, blue

What with the physical shocks incidental to my first interview with Professor Challenger and the mental ones

which accompanied the second, I was a somewhat demoralized journalist by the time I found myself in

Enmore Park once more. In my aching head the one thought was throbbing that there really was truth in this

man's story, that it was of tremendous consequence, and that it would work up into inconceivable copy for the

Gazette when I could obtain permission to use it. A taxicab was waiting at the end of the road, so I sprang

"Well," he cried, expectantly, "what may it run to? I'm thinking, young man, you have been in the wars. Don't

"Well, he became more reasonable and we had a chat. But I got nothing out of himnothing for

"I'm not so sure about that. You got a black eye out of him, and that's for publication. We can't have this reign

of terror, Mr. Malone. We must bring the man to his bearings. I'll have a leaderette on him tomorrow that

will raise a blister. Just give me the material and I will engage to brand the fellow for ever. Professor

Munchausenhow's that for an inset headline? Sir John Mandeville redivivusCagliostroall the

"What!" roared McArdle. "You don't mean to say you really believe this stuff of his about mammoths and

"Well, I don't know about that. I don't think he makes any claims of that kind. But I do believe he has got

"I'm longing to, but all I know he gave me in confidence and on condition that I didn't." I condensed into a

"Well, Mr. Malone," he said at last, "about this scientific meeting tonight; there can be no privacy about

that, anyhow. I don't suppose any paper will want to report it, for Waldron has been reported already a dozen

times, and no one is aware that Challenger will speak. We may get a scoop, if we are lucky. You'll be there in

any case, so you'll just give us a pretty full report. I'll keep space up to midnight."

My day was a busy one, and I had an early dinner at the Savage Club with Tarp Henry, to whom I gave some

account of my adventures. He listened with a sceptical smile on his gaunt face, and roared with laughter on

"My dear chap, things don't happen like that in real life. People don't stumble upon enormous discoveries and

then lose their evidence. Leave that to the novelists. The fellow is as full of tricks as the monkeyhouse at the

"There was nothing in the photographs. By your own admission you only saw a bird."

"First one out of an Irish stew. Second one vamped up for the occasion. If you are clever and know your

I began to feel uneasy. Perhaps, after all, I had been premature in my acquiescence. Then I had a sudden

"He is not a popular person, the genial Challenger," said he. "A lot of people have accounts to settle with him.

I should say he is about the besthated man in London. If the medical students turn out there will be no end

When we arrived at the hall we found a much greater concourse than I had expected. A line of electric

broughams discharged their little cargoes of whitebearded professors, while the dark stream of humbler

pedestrians, who crowded through the arched doorway, showed that the audience would be popular as well

as scientific. Indeed, it became evident to us as soon as we had taken our seats that a youthful and even

boyish spirit was abroad in the gallery and the back portions of the hall. Looking behind me, I could see rows

of faces of the familiar medical student type. Apparently the great hospitals had each sent down their

contingent. The behavior of the audience at present was goodhumored, but mischievous. Scraps of popular

songs were chorused with an enthusiasm which was a strange prelude to a scientific lecture, and there was

already a tendency to personal chaff which promised a jovial evening to others, however embarrassing it

Thus, when old Doctor Meldrum, with his wellknown curlybrimmed operahat, appeared upon the

platform, there was such a universal query of "Where DID you get that tile?" that he hurriedly removed it,

and concealed it furtively under his chair. When gouty Professor Wadley limped down to his seat there were

general affectionate inquiries from all parts of the hall as to the exact state of his poor toe, which caused him

obvious embarrassment. The greatest demonstration of all, however, was at the entrance of my new

acquaintance, Professor Challenger, when he passed down to take his place at the extreme end of the front

row of the platform. Such a yell of welcome broke forth when his black beard first protruded round the corner

that I began to suspect Tarp Henry was right in his surmise, and that this assemblage was there not merely for

the sake of the lecture, but because it had got rumored abroad that the famous Professor would take part in the

There was some sympathetic laughter on his entrance among the front benches of welldressed spectators, as

though the demonstration of the students in this instance was not unwelcome to them. That greeting was,

indeed, a frightful outburst of sound, the uproar of the carnivora cage when the step of the bucketbearing

keeper is heard in the distance. There was an offensive tone in it, perhaps, and yet in the main it struck me as

mere riotous outcry, the noisy reception of one who amused and interested them, rather than of one they

disliked or despised. Challenger smiled with weary and tolerant contempt, as a kindly man would meet the

yapping of a litter of puppies. He sat slowly down, blew out his chest, passed his hand caressingly down his

beard, and looked with drooping eyelids and supercilious eyes at the crowded hall before him. The uproar of

his advent had not yet died away when Professor Ronald Murray, the chairman, and Mr. Waldron, the

Professor Murray will, I am sure, excuse me if I say that he has the common fault of most Englishmen of

being inaudible. Why on earth people who have something to say which is worth hearing should not take the

slight trouble to learn how to make it heard is one of the strange mysteries of modern life. Their methods are

as reasonable as to try to pour some precious stuff from the spring to the reservoir through a nonconducting

pipe, which could by the least effort be opened. Professor Murray made several profound remarks to his

white tie and to the watercarafe upon the table, with a humorous, twinkling aside to the silver candlestick

upon his right. Then he sat down, and Mr. Waldron, the famous popular lecturer, rose amid a general murmur

of applause. He was a stern, gaunt man, with a harsh voice, and an aggressive manner, but he had the merit of

knowing how to assimilate the ideas of other men, and to pass them on in a way which was intelligible and

even interesting to the lay public, with a happy knack of being funny about the most unlikely objects, so that

the precession of the Equinox or the formation of a vertebrate became a highly humorous process as treated

It was a bird'seye view of creation, as interpreted by science, which, in language always clear and

sometimes picturesque, he unfolded before us. He told us of the globe, a huge mass of flaming gas, flaring

through the heavens. Then he pictured the solidification, the cooling, the wrinkling which formed the

mountains, the steam which turned to water, the slow preparation of the stage upon which was to be played

the inexplicable drama of life. On the origin of life itself he was discreetly vague. That the germs of it could

hardly have survived the original roasting was, he declared, fairly certain. Therefore it had come later. Had it

built itself out of the cooling, inorganic elements of the globe? Very likely. Had the germs of it arrived from

outside upon a meteor? It was hardly conceivable. On the whole, the wisest man was the least dogmatic upon

the point. We could notor at least we had not succeeded up to date in making organic life in our

laboratories out of inorganic materials. The gulf between the dead and the living was something which our

chemistry could not as yet bridge. But there was a higher and subtler chemistry of Nature, which, working

with great forces over long epochs, might well produce results which were impossible for us. There the

This brought the lecturer to the great ladder of animal life, beginning low down in molluscs and feeble sea

creatures, then up rung by rung through reptiles and fishes, till at last we came to a kangaroorat, a creature

which brought forth its young alive, the direct ancestor of all mammals, and presumably, therefore, of

everyone in the audience. ("No, no," from a sceptical student in the back row.) If the young gentleman in the

red tie who cried "No, no," and who presumably claimed to have been hatched out of an egg, would wait

upon him after the lecture, he would be glad to see such a curiosity. (Laughter.) It was strange to think that

the climax of all the agelong process of Nature had been the creation of that gentleman in the red tie. But

had the process stopped? Was this gentleman to be taken as the final typethe beall and endall of

development? He hoped that he would not hurt the feelings of the gentleman in the red tie if he maintained

that, whatever virtues that gentleman might possess in private life, still the vast processes of the universe

were not fully justified if they were to end entirely in his production. Evolution was not a spent force, but one

Having thus, amid a general titter, played very prettily with his interrupter, the lecturer went back to his

picture of the past, the drying of the seas, the emergence of the sandbank, the sluggish, viscous life which

lay upon their margins, the overcrowded lagoons, the tendency of the sea creatures to take refuge upon the

mudflats, the abundance of food awaiting them, their consequent enormous growth. "Hence, ladies and

gentlemen," he added, "that frightful brood of saurians which still affright our eyes when seen in the Wealden

or in the Solenhofen slates, but which were fortunately extinct long before the first appearance of mankind

Mr. Waldron was a strict disciplinarian with a gift of acid humor, as exemplified upon the gentleman with the

red tie, which made it perilous to interrupt him. But this interjection appeared to him so absurd that he was at

a loss how to deal with it. So looks the Shakespearean who is confronted by a rancid Baconian, or the

astronomer who is assailed by a flatearth fanatic. He paused for a moment, and then, raising his voice,

Waldron looked with amazement along the line of professors upon the platform until his eyes fell upon the

figure of Challenger, who leaned back in his chair with closed eyes and an amused expression, as if he were

"I see!" said Waldron, with a shrug. "It is my friend Professor Challenger," and amid laughter he renewed his

But the incident was far from being closed. Whatever path the lecturer took amid the wilds of the past seemed

invariably to lead him to some assertion as to extinct or prehistoric life which instantly brought the same

bulls' bellow from the Professor. The audience began to anticipate it and to roar with delight when it came.

The packed benches of students joined in, and every time Challenger's beard opened, before any sound could

come forth, there was a yell of "Question!" from a hundred voices, and an answering counter cry of "Order!"

and "Shame!" from as many more. Waldron, though a hardened lecturer and a strong man, became rattled. He

hesitated, stammered, repeated himself, got snarled in a long sentence, and finally turned furiously upon the

"This is really intolerable!" he cried, glaring across the platform. "I must ask you, Professor Challenger, to

There was a hush over the hall, the students rigid with delight at seeing the high gods on Olympus quarrelling

"I must in turn ask you, Mr. Waldron," he said, "to cease to make assertions which are not in strict

The words unloosed a tempest. "Shame! Shame!" "Give him a hearing!" "Put him out!" "Shove him off the

platform!" "Fair play!" emerged from a general roar of amusement or execration. The chairman was on his

feet flapping both his hands and bleating excitedly. "Professor Challengerpersonalviews later," were

the solid peaks above his clouds of inaudible mutter. The interrupter bowed, smiled, stroked his beard, and

relapsed into his chair. Waldron, very flushed and warlike, continued his observations. Now and then, as he

made an assertion, he shot a venomous glance at his opponent, who seemed to be slumbering deeply, with the

At last the lecture came to an endI am inclined to think that it was a premature one, as the peroration was

hurried and disconnected. The thread of the argument had been rudely broken, and the audience was restless

and expectant. Waldron sat down, and, after a chirrup from the chairman, Professor Challenger rose and

advanced to the edge of the platform. In the interests of my paper I took down his speech verbatim.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he began, amid a sustained interruption from the back. "I beg pardonLadies,

Gentlemen, and ChildrenI must apologize, I had inadvertently omitted a considerable section of this

audience" (tumult, during which the Professor stood with one hand raised and his enormous head nodding

sympathetically, as if he were bestowing a pontifical blessing upon the crowd), "I have been selected to move

a vote of thanks to Mr. Waldron for the very picturesque and imaginative address to which we have just

listened. There are points in it with which I disagree, and it has been my duty to indicate them as they arose,

but, none the less, Mr. Waldron has accomplished his object well, that object being to give a simple and

interesting account of what he conceives to have been the history of our planet. Popular lectures are the

easiest to listen to, but Mr. Waldron" (here he beamed and blinked at the lecturer) "will excuse me when I say

that they are necessarily both superficial and misleading, since they have to be graded to the comprehension

of an ignorant audience." (Ironical cheering.) "Popular lecturers are in their nature parasitic." (Angry gesture

of protest from Mr. Waldron.) "They exploit for fame or cash the work which has been done by their indigent

and unknown brethren. One smallest new fact obtained in the laboratory, one brick built into the temple of

science, far outweighs any secondhand exposition which passes an idle hour, but can leave no useful result

behind it. I put forward this obvious reflection, not out of any desire to disparage Mr. Waldron in particular,

but that you may not lose your sense of proportion and mistake the acolyte for the high priest." (At this point

Mr. Waldron whispered to the chairman, who half rose and said something severely to his watercarafe.)

"But enough of this!" (Loud and prolonged cheers.) "Let me pass to some subject of wider interest. What is

the particular point upon which I, as an original investigator, have challenged our lecturer's accuracy? It is

upon the permanence of certain types of animal life upon the earth. I do not speak upon this subject as an

amateur, nor, I may add, as a popular lecturer, but I speak as one whose scientific conscience compels him to

adhere closely to facts, when I say that Mr. Waldron is very wrong in supposing that because he has never

himself seen a socalled prehistoric animal, therefore these creatures no longer exist. They are indeed, as he

has said, our ancestors, but they are, if I may use the expression, our contemporary ancestors, who can still be

found with all their hideous and formidable characteristics if one has but the energy and hardihood to seek

their haunts. Creatures which were supposed to be Jurassic, monsters who would hunt down and devour our

largest and fiercest mammals, still exist." (Cries of "Bosh!" "Prove it!" "How do YOU know?" "Question!")

"How do I know, you ask me? I know because I have visited their secret haunts. I know because I have seen

some of them." (Applause, uproar, and a voice, "Liar!") "Am I a liar?" (General hearty and noisy assent.)

"Did I hear someone say that I was a liar? Will the person who called me a liar kindly stand up that I may

know him?" (A voice, "Here he is, sir!" and an inoffensive little person in spectacles, struggling violently,

was held up among a group of students.) "Did you venture to call me a liar?" ("No, sir, no!" shouted the

accused, and disappeared like a jackinthebox.) "If any person in this hall dares to doubt my veracity, I

shall be glad to have a few words with him after the lecture." ("Liar!") "Who said that?" (Again the

inoffensive one plunging desperately, was elevated high into the air.) "If I come down among you"

(General chorus of "Come, love, come!" which interrupted the proceedings for some moments, while the

chairman, standing up and waving both his arms, seemed to be conducting the music. The Professor, with his

face flushed, his nostrils dilated, and his beard bristling, was now in a proper Berserk mood.) "Every great

discoverer has been met with the same incredulitythe sure brand of a generation of fools. When great facts

are laid before you, you have not the intuition, the imagination which would help you to understand them.

You can only throw mud at the men who have risked their lives to open new fields to science. You persecute

the prophets! Galileo! Darwin, and I" (Prolonged cheering and complete interruption.)

All this is from my hurried notes taken at the time, which give little notion of the absolute chaos to which the

assembly had by this time been reduced. So terrific was the uproar that several ladies had already beaten a

hurried retreat. Grave and reverend seniors seemed to have caught the prevailing spirit as badly as the

students, and I saw whitebearded men rising and shaking their fists at the obdurate Professor. The whole

great audience seethed and simmered like a boiling pot. The Professor took a step forward and raised both his

hands. There was something so big and arresting and virile in the man that the clatter and shouting died

gradually away before his commanding gesture and his masterful eyes. He seemed to have a definite

"I will not detain you," he said. "It is not worth it. Truth is truth, and the noise of a number of foolish young

menand, I fear I must add, of their equally foolish seniorscannot affect the matter. I claim that I have

opened a new field of science. You dispute it." (Cheers.) "Then I put you to the test. Will you accredit one or

more of your own number to go out as your representatives and test my statement in your name?"

Mr. Summerlee, the veteran Professor of Comparative Anatomy, rose among the audience, a tall, thin, bitter

man, with the withered aspect of a theologian. He wished, he said, to ask Professor Challenger whether the

results to which he had alluded in his remarks had been obtained during a journey to the headwaters of the

Mr. Summerlee desired to know how it was that Professor Challenger claimed to have made discoveries in

those regions which had been overlooked by Wallace, Bates, and other previous explorers of established

Professor Challenger answered that Mr. Summerlee appeared to be confusing the Amazon with the Thames;

that it was in reality a somewhat larger river; that Mr. Summerlee might be interested to know that with the

Orinoco, which communicated with it, some fifty thousand miles of country were opened up, and that in so

vast a space it was not impossible for one person to find what another had missed.

Mr. Summerlee declared, with an acid smile, that he fully appreciated the difference between the Thames and

the Amazon, which lay in the fact that any assertion about the former could be tested, while about the latter it

could not. He would be obliged if Professor Challenger would give the latitude and the longitude of the

Professor Challenger replied that he reserved such information for good reasons of his own, but would be

prepared to give it with proper precautions to a committee chosen from the audience. Would Mr. Summerlee

Professor Challenger: "Then I guarantee that I will place in your hands such material as will enable you to

find your way. It is only right, however, since Mr. Summerlee goes to check my statement that I should have

one or more with him who may check his. I will not disguise from you that there are difficulties and dangers.

It is thus that the great crisis of a man's life springs out at him. Could I have imagined when I entered that hall

that I was about to pledge myself to a wilder adventure than had ever come to me in my dreams? But

Gladyswas it not the very opportunity of which she spoke? Gladys would have told me to go. I had sprung

to my feet. I was speaking, and yet I had prepared no words. Tarp Henry, my companion, was plucking at my

skirts and I heard him whispering, "Sit down, Malone! Don't make a public ass of yourself." At the same time

I was aware that a tall, thin man, with dark gingery hair, a few seats in front of me, was also upon his feet. He

"My name is Edward Dunn Malone. I am the reporter of the Daily Gazette. I claim to be an absolutely

"I am Lord John Roxton. I have already been up the Amazon, I know all the ground, and have special

"Lord John Roxton's reputation as a sportsman and a traveler is, of course, worldfamous," said the

chairman; "at the same time it would certainly be as well to have a member of the Press upon such an

"Then I move," said Professor Challenger, "that both these gentlemen be elected, as representatives of this

meeting, to accompany Professor Summerlee upon his journey to investigate and to report upon the truth of

And so, amid shouting and cheering, our fate was decided, and I found myself borne away in the human

current which swirled towards the door, with my mind half stunned by the vast new project which had risen

so suddenly before it. As I emerged from the hall I was conscious for a moment of a rush of laughing

studentsdown the pavement, and of an arm wielding a heavy umbrella, which rose and fell in the midst of

them. Then, amid a mixture of groans and cheers, Professor Challenger's electric brougham slid from the

curb, and I found myself walking under the silvery lights of Regent Street, full of thoughts of Gladys and of

Suddenly there was a touch at my elbow. I turned, and found myself looking into the humorous, masterful

eyes of the tall, thin man who had volunteered to be my companion on this strange quest.

"Mr. Malone, I understand," said he. "We are to be companionswhat? My rooms are just over the road, in

the Albany. Perhaps you would have the kindness to spare me half an hour, for there are one or two things

Lord John Roxton and I turned down Vigo Street together and through the dingy portals of the famous

aristocratic rookery. At the end of a long drab passage my new acquaintance pushed open a door and turned

on an electric switch. A number of lamps shining through tinted shades bathed the whole great room before

us in a ruddy radiance. Standing in the doorway and glancing round me, I had a general impression of

extraordinary comfort and elegance combined with an atmosphere of masculine virility. Everywhere there

were mingled the luxury of the wealthy man of taste and the careless untidiness of the bachelor. Rich furs and

strange iridescent mats from some Oriental bazaar were scattered upon the floor. Pictures and prints which

even my unpractised eyes could recognize as being of great price and rarity hung thick upon the walls.

Sketches of boxers, of balletgirls, and of racehorses alternated with a sensuous Fragonard, a martial

Girardet, and a dreamy Turner. But amid these varied ornaments there were scattered the trophies which

brought back strongly to my recollection the fact that Lord John Roxton was one of the great allround

sportsmen and athletes of his day. A darkblue oar crossed with a cherrypink one above his mantelpiece

spoke of the old Oxonian and Leander man, while the foils and boxinggloves above and below them were

the tools of a man who had won supremacy with each. Like a dado round the room was the jutting line of

splendid heavy gameheads, the best of their sort from every quarter of the world, with the rare white

In the center of the rich red carpet was a black and gold Louis Quinze table, a lovely antique, now

sacrilegiously desecrated with marks of glasses and the scars of cigarstumps. On it stood a silver tray of

smokables and a burnished spiritstand, from which and an adjacent siphon my silent host proceeded to

charge two high glasses. Having indicated an armchair to me and placed my refreshment near it, he handed

me a long, smooth Havana. Then, seating himself opposite to me, he looked at me long and fixedly with his

strange, twinkling, reckless eyeseyes of a cold light blue, the color of a glacier lake.

Through the thin haze of my cigarsmoke I noted the details of a face which was already familiar to me from

many photographsthe stronglycurved nose, the hollow, worn cheeks, the dark, ruddy hair, thin at the top,

the crisp, virile moustaches, the small, aggressive tuft upon his projecting chin. Something there was of

Napoleon III., something of Don Quixote, and yet again something which was the essence of the English

country gentleman, the keen, alert, openair lover of dogs and of horses. His skin was of a rich flowerpot

red from sun and wind. His eyebrows were tufted and overhanging, which gave those naturally cold eyes an

almost ferocious aspect, an impression which was increased by his strong and furrowed brow. In figure he

was spare, but very strongly builtindeed, he had often proved that there were few men in England capable

of such sustained exertions. His height was a little over six feet, but he seemed shorter on account of a

peculiar rounding of the shoulders. Such was the famous Lord John Roxton as he sat opposite to me, biting

hard upon his cigar and watching me steadily in a long and embarrassing silence.

"Well," said he, at last, "we've gone and done it, young fellah my lad." (This curious phrase he pronounced as

if it were all one word"youngfellahmelad.") "Yes, we've taken a jump, you an' me. I suppose, now,

"The same here. No thought of it. And here we are, up to our necks in the tureen. Why, I've only been back

three weeks from Uganda, and taken a place in Scotland, and signed the lease and all. Pretty goin's

"Well, it is all in the main line of my business. I am a journalist on the Gazette."

"Of courseyou said so when you took it on. By the way, I've got a small job for you, if you'll help me."

"Why, young fellah, where HAVE you lived? Sir John Ballinger is the best gentleman jock in the north

country. I could hold him on the flat at my best, but over jumps he's my master. Well, it's an open secret that

when he's out of trainin' he drinks hardstrikin' an average, he calls it. He got delirium on Toosday, and has

been ragin' like a devil ever since. His room is above this. The doctors say that it is all up with the old dear

unless some food is got into him, but as he lies in bed with a revolver on his coverlet, and swears he will put

six of the best through anyone that comes near him, there's been a bit of a strike among the servingmen.

He's a hard nail, is Jack, and a dead shot, too, but you can't leave a Grand National winner to die like

"Well, my idea was that you and I could rush him. He may be dozin', and at the worst he can only wing one

of us, and the other should have him. If we can get his bolstercover round his arms and then 'phone up a

It was a rather desperate business to come suddenly into one's day's work. I don't think that I am a particularly

brave man. I have an Irish imagination which makes the unknown and the untried more terrible than they are.

On the other hand, I was brought up with a horror of cowardice and with a terror of such a stigma. I dare say

that I could throw myself over a precipice, like the Hun in the history books, if my courage to do it were

questioned, and yet it would surely be pride and fear, rather than courage, which would be my inspiration.

Therefore, although every nerve in my body shrank from the whiskymaddened figure which I pictured in

the room above, I still answered, in as careless a voice as I could command, that I was ready to go. Some

I rose from my chair and he from his. Then with a little confidential chuckle of laughter, he patted me two or

"I saw after Jack Ballinger myself this mornin'. He blew a hole in the skirt of my kimono, bless his shaky old

hand, but we got a jacket on him, and he's to be all right in a week. I say, young fellah, I hope you don't

mindwhat? You see, between you an' me closetiled, I look on this South American business as a mighty

serious thing, and if I have a pal with me I want a man I can bank on. So I sized you down, and I'm bound to

say that you came well out of it. You see, it's all up to you and me, for this old Summerlee man will want

drynursin' from the first. By the way, are you by any chance the Malone who is expected to get his Rugby

"I thought I remembered your face. Why, I was there when you got that try against Richmondas fine a

swervin' run as I saw the whole season. I never miss a Rugby match if I can help it, for it is the manliest game

we have left. Well, I didn't ask you in here just to talk sport. We've got to fix our business. Here are the

sailin's, on the first page of the Times. There's a Booth boat for Para next Wednesday week, and if the

Professor and you can work it, I think we should take itwhat? Very good, I'll fix it with him. What about

"Good Lord! as bad as that? It's the last thing you young fellahs think of learnin'. You're all bees without

stings, so far as lookin' after the hive goes. You'll look silly, some o' these days, when someone comes along

an' sneaks the honey. But you'll need to hold your gun straight in South America, for, unless our friend the

Professor is a madman or a liar, we may see some queer things before we get back. What gun have you?"

He crossed to an oaken cupboard, and as he threw it open I caught a glimpse of glistening rows of parallel

One by one he took out a succession of beautiful rifles, opening and shutting them with a snap and a clang,

and then patting them as he put them back into the rack as tenderly as a mother would fondle her children.

"This is a Bland's .577 axite express," said he. "I got that big fellow with it." He glanced up at the white

Hope you know your Gordon, for he's the poet of the horse and the gun and the man that handles both. Now,

here's a useful tool.470, telescopic sight, double ejector, pointblank up to threefifty. That's the rifle I

used against the Peruvian slavedrivers three years ago. I was the flail of the Lord up in those parts, I may

tell you, though you won't find it in any Bluebook. There are times, young fellah, when every one of us

must make a stand for human right and justice, or you never feel clean again. That's why I made a little war

on my own. Declared it myself, waged it myself, ended it myself. Each of those nicks is for a slave

murderera good row of themwhat? That big one is for Pedro Lopez, the king of them all, that I killed in

a backwater of the Putomayo River. Now, here's something that would do for you." He took out a beautiful

brownandsilver rifle. "Well rubbered at the stock, sharply sighted, five cartridges to the clip. You can trust

"By the way," he continued, coming back to his chair, "what do you know of this Professor Challenger?"

"Well, neither did I. It's funny we should both sail under sealed orders from a man we don't know. He seemed

an uppish old bird. His brothers of science don't seem too fond of him, either. How came you to take an

I told him shortly my experiences of the morning, and he listened intently. Then he drew out a map of South

"I believe every single word he said to you was the truth," said he, earnestly, "and, mind you, I have

something to go on when I speak like that. South America is a place I love, and I think, if you take it right

through from Darien to Fuego, it's the grandest, richest, most wonderful bit of earth upon this planet. People

don't know it yet, and don't realize what it may become. I've been up an' down it from end to end, and had

two dry seasons in those very parts, as I told you when I spoke of the war I made on the slavedealers. Well,

when I was up there I heard some yarns of the same kindtraditions of Indians and the like, but with

somethin' behind them, no doubt. The more you knew of that country, young fellah, the more you would

understand that anythin' was possibleANYTHIN'1. There are just some narrow waterlanes along which

folk travel, and outside that it is all darkness. Now, down here in the Matto Grande"he swept his cigar over

a part of the map"or up in this corner where three countries meet, nothin' would surprise me. As that chap

said tonight, there are fiftythousand miles of waterway runnin' through a forest that is very near the size

of Europe. You and I could be as far away from each other as Scotland is from Constantinople, and yet each

of us be in the same great Brazilian forest. Man has just made a track here and a scrape there in the maze.

Why, the river rises and falls the best part of forty feet, and half the country is a morass that you can't pass

over. Why shouldn't somethin' new and wonderful lie in such a country? And why shouldn't we be the men to

find it out? Besides," he added, his queer, gaunt face shining with delight, "there's a sportin' risk in every mile

of it. I'm like an old golfball I've had all the white paint knocked off me long ago. Life can whack me

about now, and it can't leave a mark. But a sportin' risk, young fellah, that's the salt of existence. Then it's

worth livin' again. We're all gettin' a deal too soft and dull and comfy. Give me the great waste lands and the

wide spaces, with a gun in my fist and somethin' to look for that's worth findin'. I've tried war and

steeplechasin' and aeroplanes, but this huntin' of beasts that look like a lobstersupper dream is a brandnew

Perhaps I have dwelt too long upon this new acquaintance, but he is to be my comrade for many a day, and so

I have tried to set him down as I first saw him, with his quaint personality and his queer little tricks of speech

and of thought. It was only the need of getting in the account of my meeting which drew me at last from his

company. I left him seated amid his pink radiance, oiling the lock of his favorite rifle, while he still chuckled

to himself at the thought of the adventures which awaited us. It was very clear to me that if dangers lay before

us I could not in all England have found a cooler head or a braver spirit with which to share them.

That night, wearied as I was after the wonderful happenings of the day, I sat late with McArdle, the news

editor, explaining to him the whole situation, which he thought important enough to bring next morning

before the notice of Sir George Beaumont, the chief. It was agreed that I should write home full accounts of

my adventures in the shape of successive letters to McArdle, and that these should either be edited for the

Gazette as they arrived, or held back to be published later, according to the wishes of Professor Challenger,

since we could not yet know what conditions he might attach to those directions which should guide us to the

unknown land. In response to a telephone inquiry, we received nothing more definite than a fulmination

against the Press, ending up with the remark that if we would notify our boat he would hand us any directions

which he might think it proper to give us at the moment of starting. A second question from us failed to elicit

any answer at all, save a plaintive bleat from his wife to the effect that her husband was in a very violent

temper already, and that she hoped we would do nothing to make it worse. A third attempt, later in the day,

provoked a terrific crash, and a subsequent message from the Central Exchange that Professor Challenger's

receiver had been shattered. After that we abandoned all attempt at communication.

And now my patient readers, I can address you directly no longer. From now onwards (if, indeed, any

continuation of this narrative should ever reach you) it can only be through the paper which I represent. In the

hands of the editor I leave this account of the events which have led up to one of the most remarkable

expeditions of all time, so that if I never return to England there shall be some record as to how the affair

came about. I am writing these last lines in the saloon of the Booth liner Francisca, and they will go back by

the pilot to the keeping of Mr. McArdle. Let me draw one last picture before I close the notebooka picture

which is the last memory of the old country which I bear away with me. It is a wet, foggy morning in the late

spring; a thin, cold rain is falling. Three shining mackintoshed figures are walking down the quay, making for

the gangplank of the great liner from which the bluepeter is flying. In front of them a porter pushes a

trolley piled high with trunks, wraps, and guncases. Professor Summerlee, a long, melancholy figure, walks

with dragging steps and drooping head, as one who is already profoundly sorry for himself. Lord John

Roxton steps briskly, and his thin, eager face beams forth between his huntingcap and his muffler. As for

myself, I am glad to have got the bustling days of preparation and the pangs of leavetaking behind me, and I

have no doubt that I show it in my bearing. Suddenly, just as we reach the vessel, there is a shout behind us.

It is Professor Challenger, who had promised to see us off. He runs after us, a puffing, redfaced, irascible

"No thank you," says he; "I should much prefer not to go aboard. I have only a few words to say to you, and

they can very well be said where we are. I beg you not to imagine that I am in any way indebted to you for

making this journey. I would have you to understand that it is a matter of perfect indifference to me, and I

refuse to entertain the most remote sense of personal obligation. Truth is truth, and nothing which you can

report can affect it in any way, though it may excite the emotions and allay the curiosity of a number of very

ineffectual people. My directions for your instruction and guidance are in this sealed envelope. You will open

it when you reach a town upon the Amazon which is called Manaos, but not until the date and hour which is

marked upon the outside. Have I made myself clear? I leave the strict observance of my conditions entirely to

your honor. No, Mr. Malone, I will place no restriction upon your correspondence, since the ventilation of the

facts is the object of your journey; but I demand that you shall give no particulars as to your exact destination,

and that nothing be actually published until your return. Goodbye, sir. You have done something to mitigate

my feelings for the loathsome profession to which you unhappily belong. Goodbye, Lord John. Science is,

as I understand, a sealed book to you; but you may congratulate yourself upon the huntingfield which awaits

you. You will, no doubt, have the opportunity of describing in the Field how you brought down the rocketing

dimorphodon. And goodbye to you also, Professor Summerlee. If you are still capable of selfimprovement,

of which I am frankly unconvinced, you will surely return to London a wiser man."

So he turned upon his heel, and a minute later from the deck I could see his short, squat figure bobbing about

in the distance as he made his way back to his train. Well, we are well down Channel now. There's the last

bell for letters, and it's goodbye to the pilot. We'll be "down, hulldown, on the old trail" from now on. God

I will not bore those whom this narrative may reach by an account of our luxurious voyage upon the Booth

liner, nor will I tell of our week's stay at Para (save that I should wish to acknowledge the great kindness of

the Pereira da Pinta Company in helping us to get together our equipment). I will also allude very briefly to

our river journey, up a wide, slowmoving, claytinted stream, in a steamer which was little smaller than that

which had carried us across the Atlantic. Eventually we found ourselves through the narrows of Obidos and

reached the town of Manaos. Here we were rescued from the limited attractions of the local inn by Mr.

Shortman, the representative of the British and Brazilian Trading Company. In his hospital Fazenda we spent

our time until the day when we were empowered to open the letter of instructions given to us by Professor

Challenger. Before I reach the surprising events of that date I would desire to give a clearer sketch of my

comrades in this enterprise, and of the associates whom we had already gathered together in South America. I

speak freely, and I leave the use of my material to your own discretion, Mr. McArdle, since it is through your

The scientific attainments of Professor Summerlee are too well known for me to trouble to recapitulate them.

He is better equipped for a rough expedition of this sort than one would imagine at first sight. His tall, gaunt,

stringy figure is insensible to fatigue, and his dry, halfsarcastic, and often wholly unsympathetic manner is

uninfluenced by any change in his surroundings. Though in his sixtysixth year, I have never heard him

express any dissatisfaction at the occasional hardships which we have had to encounter. I had regarded his

presence as an encumbrance to the expedition, but, as a matter of fact, I am now well convinced that his

power of endurance is as great as my own. In temper he is naturally acid and sceptical. From the beginning he

has never concealed his belief that Professor Challenger is an absolute fraud, that we are all embarked upon

an absurd wildgoose chase and that we are likely to reap nothing but disappointment and danger in South

America, and corresponding ridicule in England. Such are the views which, with much passionate distortion

of his thin features and wagging of his thin, goatlike beard, he poured into our ears all the way from

Southampton to Manaos. Since landing from the boat he has obtained some consolation from the beauty and

variety of the insect and bird life around him, for he is absolutely wholehearted in his devotion to science.

He spends his days flitting through the woods with his shotgun and his butterflynet, and his evenings in

mounting the many specimens he has acquired. Among his minor peculiarities are that he is careless as to his

attire, unclean in his person, exceedingly absentminded in his habits, and addicted to smoking a short briar

pipe, which is seldom out of his mouth. He has been upon several scientific expeditions in his youth (he was

with Robertson in Papua), and the life of the camp and the canoe is nothing fresh to him.

Lord John Roxton has some points in common with Professor Summerlee, and others in which they are the

very antithesis to each other. He is twenty years younger, but has something of the same spare, scraggy

physique. As to his appearance, I have, as I recollect, described it in that portion of my narrative which I have

left behind me in London. He is exceedingly neat and prim in his ways, dresses always with great care in

white drill suits and high brown mosquitoboots, and shaves at least once a day. Like most men of action, he

is laconic in speech, and sinks readily into his own thoughts, but he is always quick to answer a question or

join in a conversation, talking in a queer, jerky, halfhumorous fashion. His knowledge of the world, and

very especially of South America, is surprising, and he has a wholehearted belief in the possibilities of our

journey which is not to be dashed by the sneers of Professor Summerlee. He has a gentle voice and a quiet

manner, but behind his twinkling blue eyes there lurks a capacity for furious wrath and implacable resolution,

the more dangerous because they are held in leash. He spoke little of his own exploits in Brazil and Peru, but

it was a revelation to me to find the excitement which was caused by his presence among the riverine natives,

who looked upon him as their champion and protector. The exploits of the Red Chief, as they called him, had

become legends among them, but the real facts, as far as I could learn them, were amazing enough.

These were that Lord John had found himself some years before in that noman'sland which is formed by

the halfdefined frontiers between Peru, Brazil, and Columbia. In this great district the wild rubber tree

flourishes, and has become, as in the Congo, a curse to the natives which can only be compared to their

forced labor under the Spaniards upon the old silver mines of Darien. A handful of villainous halfbreeds

dominated the country, armed such Indians as would support them, and turned the rest into slaves, terrorizing

them with the most inhuman tortures in order to force them to gather the indiarubber, which was then

floated down the river to Para. Lord John Roxton expostulated on behalf of the wretched victims, and

received nothing but threats and insults for his pains. He then formally declared war against Pedro Lopez, the

leader of the slavedrivers, enrolled a band of runaway slaves in his service, armed them, and conducted a

campaign, which ended by his killing with his own hands the notorious halfbreed and breaking down the

No wonder that the gingerheaded man with the silky voice and the free and easy manners was now looked

upon with deep interest upon the banks of the great South American river, though the feelings he inspired

were naturally mixed, since the gratitude of the natives was equaled by the resentment of those who desired

to exploit them. One useful result of his former experiences was that he could talk fluently in the Lingoa

Geral, which is the peculiar talk, onethird Portuguese and twothirds Indian, which is current all over

I have said before that Lord John Roxton was a South Americomaniac. He could not speak of that great

country without ardor, and this ardor was infectious, for, ignorant as I was, he fixed my attention and

stimulated my curiosity. How I wish I could reproduce the glamour of his discourses, the peculiar mixture of

accurate knowledge and of racy imagination which gave them their fascination, until even the Professor's

cynical and sceptical smile would gradually vanish from his thin face as he listened. He would tell the history

of the mighty river so rapidly explored (for some of the first conquerors of Peru actually crossed the entire

continent upon its waters), and yet so unknown in regard to all that lay behind its everchanging banks.

"What is there?" he would cry, pointing to the north. "Wood and marsh and unpenetrated jungle. Who knows

what it may shelter? And there to the south? A wilderness of swampy forest, where no white man has ever

been. The unknown is up against us on every side. Outside the narrow lines of the rivers what does anyone

know? Who will say what is possible in such a country? Why should old man Challenger not be right?" At

which direct defiance the stubborn sneer would reappear upon Professor Summerlee's face, and he would sit,

shaking his sardonic head in unsympathetic silence, behind the cloud of his briarroot pipe.

So much, for the moment, for my two white companions, whose characters and limitations will be further

exposed, as surely as my own, as this narrative proceeds. But already we have enrolled certain retainers who

may play no small part in what is to come. The first is a gigantic negro named Zambo, who is a black

Hercules, as willing as any horse, and about as intelligent. Him we enlisted at Para, on the recommendation

of the steamship company, on whose vessels he had learned to speak a halting English.

It was at Para also that we engaged Gomez and Manuel, two halfbreeds from up the river, just come down

with a cargo of redwood. They were swarthy fellows, bearded and fierce, as active and wiry as panthers. Both

of them had spent their lives in those upper waters of the Amazon which we were about to explore, and it was

this recommendation which had caused Lord John to engage them. One of them, Gomez, had the further

advantage that he could speak excellent English. These men were willing to act as our personal servants, to

cook, to row, or to make themselves useful in any way at a payment of fifteen dollars a month. Besides these,

we had engaged three Mojo Indians from Bolivia, who are the most skilful at fishing and boat work of all the

river tribes. The chief of these we called Mojo, after his tribe, and the others are known as Jose and Fernando.

Three white men, then, two halfbreeds, one negro, and three Indians made up the personnel of the little

expedition which lay waiting for its instructions at Manaos before starting upon its singular quest.

At last, after a weary week, the day had come and the hour. I ask you to picture the shaded sittingroom of

the Fazenda St. Ignatio, two miles inland from the town of Manaos. Outside lay the yellow, brassy glare of

the sunshine, with the shadows of the palm trees as black and definite as the trees themselves. The air was

calm, full of the eternal hum of insects, a tropical chorus of many octaves, from the deep drone of the bee to

the high, keen pipe of the mosquito. Beyond the veranda was a small cleared garden, bounded with cactus

hedges and adorned with clumps of flowering shrubs, round which the great blue butterflies and the tiny

hummingbirds fluttered and darted in crescents of sparkling light. Within we were seated round the cane

table, on which lay a sealed envelope. Inscribed upon it, in the jagged handwriting of Professor Challenger,

"Instructions to Lord John Roxton and party. To be opened at Manaos upon July 15th, at 12 o'clock

Professor Summerlee gave an acid smile as he picked up the envelope in his gaunt hand.

"What can it possibly matter whether we open it now or in seven minutes?" said he. "It is all part and parcel

of the same system of quackery and nonsense, for which I regret to say that the writer is notorious."

"Oh, come, we must play the game accordin' to rules," said Lord John. "It's old man Challenger's show and

we are here by his good will, so it would be rotten bad form if we didn't follow his instructions to the letter."

"A pretty business it is!" cried the Professor, bitterly. "It struck me as preposterous in London, but I'm bound

to say that it seems even more so upon closer acquaintance. I don't know what is inside this envelope, but,

unless it is something pretty definite, I shall be much tempted to take the next downriver boat and catch the

Bolivia at Para. After all, I have some more responsible work in the world than to run about disproving the

"Time it is," said Lord John. "You can blow the whistle." He took up the envelope and cut it with his

penknife. From it he drew a folded sheet of paper. This he carefully opened out and flattened on the table. It

was a blank sheet. He turned it over. Again it was blank. We looked at each other in a bewildered silence,

which was broken by a discordant burst of derisive laughter from Professor Summerlee.

"It is an open admission," he cried. "What more do you want? The fellow is a selfconfessed humbug. We

"I don't think!" said Lord Roxton, holding the paper to the light. "No, young fellah my lad, there is no use

deceiving yourself. I'll go bail for it that nothing has ever been written upon this paper."

The shadow of a squat figure had stolen across the patch of sunlight. That voice! That monstrous breadth of

shoulder! We sprang to our feet with a gasp of astonishment as Challenger, in a round, boyish strawhat with

a colored ribbonChallenger, with his hands in his jacketpockets and his canvas shoes daintily pointing as

he walked appeared in the open space before us. He threw back his head, and there he stood in the golden

glow with all his old Assyrian luxuriance of beard, all his native insolence of drooping eyelids and intolerant

"I fear," said he, taking out his watch, "that I am a few minutes too late. When I gave you this envelope I

must confess that I had never intended that you should open it, for it had been my fixed intention to be with

you before the hour. The unfortunate delay can be apportioned between a blundering pilot and an intrusive

sandbank. I fear that it has given my colleague, Professor Summerlee, occasion to blaspheme."

"I am bound to say, sir," said Lord John, with some sternness of voice, "that your turning up is a considerable

relief to us, for our mission seemed to have come to a premature end. Even now I can't for the life of me

Instead of answering, Professor Challenger entered, shook hands with myself and Lord John, bowed with

ponderous insolence to Professor Summerlee, and sank back into a basketchair, which creaked and swayed

"Then so you shall. You need no chart of directions now, since you will have the inestimable advantage of

my own guidance. From the first I had determined that I would myself preside over your investigation. The

most elaborate charts would, as you will readily admit, be a poor substitute for my own intelligence and

advice. As to the small ruse which I played upon you in the matter of the envelope, it is clear that, had I told

you all my intentions, I should have been forced to resist unwelcome pressure to travel out with you."

"Not from me, sir!" exclaimed Professor Summerlee, heartily. "So long as there was another ship upon the

"Your common sense will, I am sure, sustain my objection and realize that it was better that I should direct

my own movements and appear only at the exact moment when my presence was needed. That moment has

now arrived. You are in safe hands. You will not now fail to reach your destination. From henceforth I take

command of this expedition, and I must ask you to complete your preparations tonight, so that we may be

able to make an early start in the morning. My time is of value, and the same thing may be said, no doubt, in

a lesser degree of your own. I propose, therefore, that we push on as rapidly as possible, until I have

Lord John Roxton has chartered a large steam launch, the Esmeralda, which was to carry us up the river. So

far as climate goes, it was immaterial what time we chose for our expedition, as the temperature ranges from

seventyfive to ninety degrees both summer and winter, with no appreciable difference in heat. In moisture,

however, it is otherwise; from December to May is the period of the rains, and during this time the river

slowly rises until it attains a height of nearly forty feet above its lowwater mark. It floods the banks, extends

in great lagoons over a monstrous waste of country, and forms a huge district, called locally the Gapo, which

is for the most part too marshy for foottravel and too shallow for boating. About June the waters begin to

fall, and are at their lowest at October or November. Thus our expedition was at the time of the dry season,

when the great river and its tributaries were more or less in a normal condition.

The current of the river is a slight one, the drop being not greater than eight inches in a mile. No stream could

be more convenient for navigation, since the prevailing wind is southeast, and sailing boats may make a

continuous progress to the Peruvian frontier, dropping down again with the current. In our own case the

excellent engines of the Esmeralda could disregard the sluggish flow of the stream, and we made as rapid

progress as if we were navigating a stagnant lake. For three days we steamed northwestwards up a stream

which even here, a thousand miles from its mouth, was still so enormous that from its center the two banks

were mere shadows upon the distant skyline. On the fourth day after leaving Manaos we turned into a

tributary which at its mouth was little smaller than the main stream. It narrowed rapidly, however, and after

two more days' steaming we reached an Indian village, where the Professor insisted that we should land, and

that the Esmeralda should be sent back to Manaos. We should soon come upon rapids, he explained, which

would make its further use impossible. He added privately that we were now approaching the door of the

unknown country, and that the fewer whom we took into our confidence the better it would be. To this end

also he made each of us give our word of honor that we would publish or say nothing which would give any

exact clue as to the whereabouts of our travels, while the servants were all solemnly sworn to the same effect.

It is for this reason that I am compelled to be vague in my narrative, and I would warn my readers that in any

map or diagram which I may give the relation of places to each other may be correct, but the points of the

compass are carefully confused, so that in no way can it be taken as an actual guide to the country. Professor

Challenger's reasons for secrecy may be valid or not, but we had no choice but to adopt them, for he was

prepared to abandon the whole expedition rather than modify the conditions upon which he would guide us.

It was August 2nd when we snapped our last link with the outer world by bidding farewell to the Esmeralda.

Since then four days have passed, during which we have engaged two large canoes from the Indians, made of

so light a material (skins over a bamboo framework) that we should be able to carry them round any obstacle.

These we have loaded with all our effects, and have engaged two additional Indians to help us in the

navigation. I understand that they are the very twoAtaca and Ipetu by namewho accompanied Professor

Challenger upon his previous journey. They appeared to be terrified at the prospect of repeating it, but the

chief has patriarchal powers in these countries, and if the bargain is good in his eyes the clansman has little

So tomorrow we disappear into the unknown. This account I am transmitting down the river by canoe, and it

may be our last word to those who are interested in our fate. I have, according to our arrangement, addressed

it to you, my dear Mr. McArdle, and I leave it to your discretion to delete, alter, or do what you like with it.

From the assurance of Professor Challenger's mannerand in spite of the continued scepticism of Professor

SummerleeI have no doubt that our leader will make good his statement, and that we are really on the eve

Our friends at home may well rejoice with us, for we are at our goal, and up to a point, at least, we have

shown that the statement of Professor Challenger can be verified. We have not, it is true, ascended the

plateau, but it lies before us, and even Professor Summerlee is in a more chastened mood. Not that he will for

an instant admit that his rival could be right, but he is less persistent in his incessant objections, and has sunk

for the most part into an observant silence. I must hark back, however, and continue my narrative from where

I dropped it. We are sending home one of our local Indians who is injured, and I am committing this letter to

his charge, with considerable doubts in my mind as to whether it will ever come to hand.

When I wrote last we were about to leave the Indian village where we had been deposited by the Esmeralda. I

have to begin my report by bad news, for the first serious personal trouble (I pass over the incessant

bickerings between the Professors) occurred this evening, and might have had a tragic ending. I have spoken

of our Englishspeaking halfbreed, Gomeza fine worker and a willing fellow, but afflicted, I fancy, with

the vice of curiosity, which is common enough among such men. On the last evening he seems to have hid

himself near the hut in which we were discussing our plans, and, being observed by our huge negro Zambo,

who is as faithful as a dog and has the hatred which all his race bear to the halfbreeds, he was dragged out

and carried into our presence. Gomez whipped out his knife, however, and but for the huge strength of his

captor, which enabled him to disarm him with one hand, he would certainly have stabbed him. The matter has

ended in reprimands, the opponents have been compelled to shake hands, and there is every hope that all will

be well. As to the feuds of the two learned men, they are continuous and bitter. It must be admitted that

Challenger is provocative in the last degree, but Summerlee has an acid tongue, which makes matters worse.

Last night Challenger said that he never cared to walk on the Thames Embankment and look up the river, as it

was always sad to see one's own eventual goal. He is convinced, of course, that he is destined for

Westminster Abbey. Summerlee rejoined, however, with a sour smile, by saying that he understood that

Millbank Prison had been pulled down. Challenger's conceit is too colossal to allow him to be really annoyed.

He only smiled in his beard and repeated "Really! Really!" in the pitying tone one would use to a child.

Indeed, they are children boththe one wizened and cantankerous, the other formidable and overbearing, yet

each with a brain which has put him in the front rank of his scientific age. Brain, character, soulonly as one

The very next day we did actually make our start upon this remarkable expedition. We found that all our

possessions fitted very easily into the two canoes, and we divided our personnel, six in each, taking the

obvious precaution in the interests of peace of putting one Professor into each canoe. Personally, I was with

Challenger, who was in a beatific humor, moving about as one in a silent ecstasy and beaming benevolence

from every feature. I have had some experience of him in other moods, however, and shall be the less

surprised when the thunderstorms suddenly come up amidst the sunshine. If it is impossible to be at your

ease, it is equally impossible to be dull in his company, for one is always in a state of halftremulous doubt

For two days we made our way up a goodsized river some hundreds of yards broad, and dark in color, but

transparent, so that one could usually see the bottom. The affluents of the Amazon are, half of them, of this

nature, while the other half are whitish and opaque, the difference depending upon the class of country

through which they have flowed. The dark indicate vegetable decay, while the others point to clayey soil.

Twice we came across rapids, and in each case made a portage of half a mile or so to avoid them. The woods

on either side were primeval, which are more easily penetrated than woods of the second growth, and we had

no great difficulty in carrying our canoes through them. How shall I ever forget the solemn mystery of it? The

height of the trees and the thickness of the boles exceeded anything which I in my townbred life could have

imagined, shooting upwards in magnificent columns until, at an enormous distance above our heads, we

could dimly discern the spot where they threw out their sidebranches into Gothic upward curves which

coalesced to form one great matted roof of verdure, through which only an occasional golden ray of sunshine

shot downwards to trace a thin dazzling line of light amidst the majestic obscurity. As we walked noiselessly

amid the thick, soft carpet of decaying vegetation the hush fell upon our souls which comes upon us in the

twilight of the Abbey, and even Professor Challenger's fullchested notes sank into a whisper. Alone, I

should have been ignorant of the names of these giant growths, but our men of science pointed out the cedars,

the great silk cotton trees, and the redwood trees, with all that profusion of various plants which has made this

continent the chief supplier to the human race of those gifts of Nature which depend upon the vegetable

world, while it is the most backward in those products which come from animal life. Vivid orchids and

wonderful colored lichens smoldered upon the swarthy treetrunks and where a wandering shaft of light fell

full upon the golden allamanda, the scarlet starclusters of the tacsonia, or the rich deep blue of ipomaea, the

effect was as a dream of fairyland. In these great wastes of forest, life, which abhors darkness, struggles ever

upwards to the light. Every plant, even the smaller ones, curls and writhes to the green surface, twining itself

round its stronger and taller brethren in the effort. Climbing plants are monstrous and luxuriant, but others

which have never been known to climb elsewhere learn the art as an escape from that somber shadow, so that

the common nettle, the jasmine, and even the jacitara palm tree can be seen circling the stems of the cedars

and striving to reach their crowns. Of animal life there was no movement amid the majestic vaulted aisles

which stretched from us as we walked, but a constant movement far above our heads told of that

multitudinous world of snake and monkey, bird and sloth, which lived in the sunshine, and looked down in

wonder at our tiny, dark, stumbling figures in the obscure depths immeasurably below them. At dawn and at

sunset the howler monkeys screamed together and the parrakeets broke into shrill chatter, but during the hot

hours of the day only the full drone of insects, like the beat of a distant surf, filled the ear, while nothing

moved amid the solemn vistas of stupendous trunks, fading away into the darkness which held us in. Once

some bandylegged, lurching creature, an anteater or a bear, scuttled clumsily amid the shadows. It was the

And yet there were indications that even human life itself was not far from us in those mysterious recesses.

On the third day out we were aware of a singular deep throbbing in the air, rhythmic and solemn, coming and

going fitfully throughout the morning. The two boats were paddling within a few yards of each other when

first we heard it, and our Indians remained motionless, as if they had been turned to bronze, listening intently

"Yes, sir, war drums," said Gomez, the halfbreed. "Wild Indians, bravos, not mansos; they watch us every

"The Indians know. They have their own way. They watch us. They talk the drum talk to each other. Kill us if

By the afternoon of that daymy pocket diary shows me that it was Tuesday, August 18that least six or

seven drums were throbbing from various points. Sometimes they beat quickly, sometimes slowly, sometimes

in obvious question and answer, one far to the east breaking out in a high staccato rattle, and being followed

after a pause by a deep roll from the north. There was something indescribably nerveshaking and menacing

in that constant mutter, which seemed to shape itself into the very syllables of the halfbreed, endlessly

repeated, "We will kill you if we can. We will kill you if we can." No one ever moved in the silent woods. All

the peace and soothing of quiet Nature lay in that dark curtain of vegetation, but away from behind there

came ever the one message from our fellowman. "We will kill you if we can," said the men in the east. "We

All day the drums rumbled and whispered, while their menace reflected itself in the faces of our colored

companions. Even the hardy, swaggering halfbreed seemed cowed. I learned, however, that day once for all

that both Summerlee and Challenger possessed that highest type of bravery, the bravery of the scientific

mind. Theirs was the spirit which upheld Darwin among the gauchos of the Argentine or Wallace among the

headhunters of Malaya. It is decreed by a merciful Nature that the human brain cannot think of two things

simultaneously, so that if it be steeped in curiosity as to science it has no room for merely personal

considerations. All day amid that incessant and mysterious menace our two Professors watched every bird

upon the wing, and every shrub upon the bank, with many a sharp wordy contention, when the snarl of

Summerlee came quick upon the deep growl of Challenger, but with no more sense of danger and no more

reference to drumbeating Indians than if they were seated together in the smokingroom of the Royal

Society's Club in St. James's Street. Once only did they condescend to discuss them.

"Miranha or Amajuaca cannibals," said Challenger, jerking his thumb towards the reverberating wood.

"No doubt, sir," Summerlee answered. "Like all such tribes, I shall expect to find them of polysynthetic

"Polysynthetic certainly," said Challenger, indulgently. "I am not aware that any other type of language exists

in this continent, and I have notes of more than a hundred. The Mongolian theory I regard with deep

"I should have thought that even a limited knowledge of comparative anatomy would have helped to verify

Challenger thrust out his aggressive chin until he was all beard and hatrim. "No doubt, sir, a limited

knowledge would have that effect. When one's knowledge is exhaustive, one comes to other conclusions."

They glared at each other in mutual defiance, while all round rose the distant whisper, "We will kill youwe

That night we moored our canoes with heavy stones for anchors in the center of the stream, and made every

preparation for a possible attack. Nothing came, however, and with the dawn we pushed upon our way, the

drumbeating dying out behind us. About three o'clock in the afternoon we came to a very steep rapid, more

than a mile longthe very one in which Professor Challenger had suffered disaster upon his first journey. I

confess that the sight of it consoled me, for it was really the first direct corroboration, slight as it was, of the

truth of his story. The Indians carried first our canoes and then our stores through the brushwood, which is

very thick at this point, while we four whites, our rifles on our shoulders, walked between them and any

danger coming from the woods. Before evening we had successfully passed the rapids, and made our way

some ten miles above them, where we anchored for the night. At this point I reckoned that we had come not

It was in the early forenoon of the next day that we made the great departure. Since dawn Professor

Challenger had been acutely uneasy, continually scanning each bank of the river. Suddenly he gave an

exclamation of satisfaction and pointed to a single tree, which projected at a peculiar angle over the side of

"Exactly. It was an Assai palm which I took for my landmark. The secret opening is half a mile onwards upon

the other side of the river. There is no break in the trees. That is the wonder and the mystery of it. There

where you see lightgreen rushes instead of darkgreen undergrowth, there between the great cotton woods,

that is my private gate into the unknown. Push through, and you will understand."

It was indeed a wonderful place. Having reached the spot marked by a line of lightgreen rushes, we poled

out two canoes through them for some hundreds of yards, and eventually emerged into a placid and shallow

stream, running clear and transparent over a sandy bottom. It may have been twenty yards across, and was

banked in on each side by most luxuriant vegetation. No one who had not observed that for a short distance

reeds had taken the place of shrubs, could possibly have guessed the existence of such a stream or dreamed of

For a fairyland it wasthe most wonderful that the imagination of man could conceive. The thick vegetation

met overhead, interlacing into a natural pergola, and through this tunnel of verdure in a golden twilight

flowed the green, pellucid river, beautiful in itself, but marvelous from the strange tints thrown by the vivid

light from above filtered and tempered in its fall. Clear as crystal, motionless as a sheet of glass, green as the

edge of an iceberg, it stretched in front of us under its leafy archway, every stroke of our paddles sending a

thousand ripples across its shining surface. It was a fitting avenue to a land of wonders. All sign of the

Indians had passed away, but animal life was more frequent, and the tameness of the creatures showed that

they knew nothing of the hunter. Fuzzy little blackvelvet monkeys, with snowwhite teeth and gleaming,

mocking eyes, chattered at us as we passed. With a dull, heavy splash an occasional cayman plunged in from

the bank. Once a dark, clumsy tapir stared at us from a gap in the bushes, and then lumbered away through

the forest; once, too, the yellow, sinuous form of a great puma whisked amid the brushwood, and its green,

baleful eyes glared hatred at us over its tawny shoulder. Bird life was abundant, especially the wading birds,

stork, heron, and ibis gathering in little groups, blue, scarlet, and white, upon every log which jutted from the

bank, while beneath us the crystal water was alive with fish of every shape and color.

For three days we made our way up this tunnel of hazy green sunshine. On the longer stretches one could

hardly tell as one looked ahead where the distant green water ended and the distant green archway began. The

"Curupuri is the spirit of the woods," Lord John explained. "It's a name for any kind of devil. The poor

beggars think that there is something fearsome in this direction, and therefore they avoid it."

On the third day it became evident that our journey in the canoes could not last much longer, for the stream

was rapidly growing more shallow. Twice in as many hours we stuck upon the bottom. Finally we pulled the

boats up among the brushwood and spent the night on the bank of the river. In the morning Lord John and I

made our way for a couple of miles through the forest, keeping parallel with the stream; but as it grew ever

shallower we returned and reported, what Professor Challenger had already suspected, that we had reached

the highest point to which the canoes could be brought. We drew them up, therefore, and concealed them

among the bushes, blazing a tree with our axes, so that we should find them again. Then we distributed the

various burdens among usguns, ammunition, food, a tent, blankets, and the restand, shouldering our

An unfortunate quarrel between our pepperpots marked the outset of our new stage. Challenger had from

the moment of joining us issued directions to the whole party, much to the evident discontent of Summerlee.

Now, upon his assigning some duty to his fellowProfessor (it was only the carrying of an aneroid

"May I ask, sir," said Summerlee, with vicious calm, "in what capacity you take it upon yourself to issue

"I am compelled to tell you, sir, that I do not recognize you in that capacity."

"Indeed!" Challenger bowed with unwieldy sarcasm. "Perhaps you would define my exact position."

"Yes, sir. You are a man whose veracity is upon trial, and this committee is here to try it. You walk, sir, with

"Dear me!" said Challenger, seating himself on the side of one of the canoes. "In that case you will, of course,

go on your way, and I will follow at my leisure. If I am not the leader you cannot expect me to lead."

Thank heaven that there were two sane menLord John Roxton and myselfto prevent the petulance and

folly of our learned Professors from sending us back emptyhanded to London. Such arguing and pleading

and explaining before we could get them mollified! Then at last Summerlee, with his sneer and his pipe,

would move forwards, and Challenger would come rolling and grumbling after. By some good fortune we

discovered about this time that both our savants had the very poorest opinion of Dr. Illingworth of Edinburgh.

Thenceforward that was our one safety, and every strained situation was relieved by our introducing the name

of the Scotch zoologist, when both our Professors would form a temporary alliance and friendship in their

Advancing in single file along the bank of the stream, we soon found that it narrowed down to a mere brook,

and finally that it lost itself in a great green morass of spongelike mosses, into which we sank up to our

knees. The place was horribly haunted by clouds of mosquitoes and every form of flying pest, so we were

glad to find solid ground again and to make a circuit among the trees, which enabled us to outflank this

pestilent morass, which droned like an organ in the distance, so loud was it with insect life.

On the second day after leaving our canoes we found that the whole character of the country changed. Our

road was persistently upwards, and as we ascended the woods became thinner and lost their tropical

luxuriance. The huge trees of the alluvial Amazonian plain gave place to the Phoenix and coco palms,

growing in scattered clumps, with thick brushwood between. In the damper hollows the Mauritia palms threw

out their graceful drooping fronds. We traveled entirely by compass, and once or twice there were differences

of opinion between Challenger and the two Indians, when, to quote the Professor's indignant words, the

whole party agreed to "trust the fallacious instincts of undeveloped savages rather than the highest product of

modern European culture." That we were justified in doing so was shown upon the third day, when

Challenger admitted that he recognized several landmarks of his former journey, and in one spot we actually

The road still ascended, and we crossed a rockstudded slope which took two days to traverse. The

vegetation had again changed, and only the vegetable ivory tree remained, with a great profusion of

wonderful orchids, among which I learned to recognize the rare Nuttonia Vexillaria and the glorious pink and

scarlet blossoms of Cattleya and odontoglossum. Occasional brooks with pebbly bottoms and ferndraped

banks gurgled down the shallow gorges in the hill, and offered good campinggrounds every evening on the

banks of some rockstudded pool, where swarms of little bluebacked fish, about the size and shape of

On the ninth day after leaving the canoes, having done, as I reckon, about a hundred and twenty miles, we

began to emerge from the trees, which had grown smaller until they were mere shrubs. Their place was taken

by an immense wilderness of bamboo, which grew so thickly that we could only penetrate it by cutting a

pathway with the machetes and billhooks of the Indians. It took us a long day, traveling from seven in the

morning till eight at night, with only two breaks of one hour each, to get through this obstacle. Anything

more monotonous and wearying could not be imagined, for, even at the most open places, I could not see

more than ten or twelve yards, while usually my vision was limited to the back of Lord John's cotton jacket in

front of me, and to the yellow wall within a foot of me on either side. From above came one thin knifeedge

of sunshine, and fifteen feet over our heads one saw the tops of the reeds swaying against the deep blue sky. I

do not know what kind of creatures inhabit such a thicket, but several times we heard the plunging of large,

heavy animals quite close to us. From their sounds Lord John judged them to be some form of wild cattle.

Just as night fell we cleared the belt of bamboos, and at once formed our camp, exhausted by the interminable

Early next morning we were again afoot, and found that the character of the country had changed once again.

Behind us was the wall of bamboo, as definite as if it marked the course of a river. In front was an open plain,

sloping slightly upwards and dotted with clumps of treeferns, the whole curving before us until it ended in a

long, whalebacked ridge. This we reached about midday, only to find a shallow valley beyond, rising once

again into a gentle incline which led to a low, rounded skyline. It was here, while we crossed the first of

these hills, that an incident occurred which may or may not have been important.

Professor Challenger, who with the two local Indians was in the van of the party, stopped suddenly and

pointed excitedly to the right. As he did so we saw, at the distance of a mile or so, something which appeared

to be a huge gray bird flap slowly up from the ground and skim smoothly off, flying very low and straight,

Summerlee burst into derisive laughter "A pterfiddlestick!" said he. "It was a stork, if ever I saw one."

Challenger was too furious to speak. He simply swung his pack upon his back and continued upon his march.

Lord John came abreast of me, however, and his face was more grave than was his wont. He had his Zeiss

"I focused it before it got over the trees," said he. "I won't undertake to say what it was, but I'll risk my

reputation as a sportsman that it wasn't any bird that ever I clapped eyes on in my life."

So there the matter stands. Are we really just at the edge of the unknown, encountering the outlying pickets of

this lost world of which our leader speaks? I give you the incident as it occurred and you will know as much

as I do. It stands alone, for we saw nothing more which could be called remarkable.

And now, my readers, if ever I have any, I have brought you up the broad river, and through the screen of

rushes, and down the green tunnel, and up the long slope of palm trees, and through the bamboo brake, and

across the plain of treeferns. At last our destination lay in full sight of us. When we had crossed the second

ridge we saw before us an irregular, palmstudded plain, and then the line of high red cliffs which I have

seen in the picture. There it lies, even as I write, and there can be no question that it is the same. At the

nearest point it is about seven miles from our present camp, and it curves away, stretching as far as I can see.

Challenger struts about like a prize peacock, and Summerlee is silent, but still sceptical. Another day should

bring some of our doubts to an end. Meanwhile, as Jose, whose arm was pierced by a broken bamboo, insists

upon returning, I send this letter back in his charge, and only hope that it may eventually come to hand. I will

write again as the occasion serves. I have enclosed with this a rough chart of our journey, which may have the

A dreadful thing has happened to us. Who could have foreseen it? I cannot foresee any end to our troubles. It

may be that we are condemned to spend our whole lives in this strange, inaccessible place. I am still so

confused that I can hardly think clearly of the facts of the present or of the chances of the future. To my

No men have ever found themselves in a worse position; nor is there any use in disclosing to you our exact

geographical situation and asking our friends for a relief party. Even if they could send one, our fate will in

We are, in truth, as far from any human aid as if we were in the moon. If we are to win through, it is only our

own qualities which can save us. I have as companions three remarkable men, men of great brainpower and

of unshaken courage. There lies our one and only hope. It is only when I look upon the untroubled faces of

my comrades that I see some glimmer through the darkness. Outwardly I trust that I appear as unconcerned as

Let me give you, with as much detail as I can, the sequence of events which have led us to this catastrophe.

When I finished my last letter I stated that we were within seven miles from an enormous line of ruddy cliffs,

which encircled, beyond all doubt, the plateau of which Professor Challenger spoke. Their height, as we

approached them, seemed to me in some places to be greater than he had statedrunning up in parts to at

least a thousand feetand they were curiously striated, in a manner which is, I believe, characteristic of

basaltic upheavals. Something of the sort is to be seen in Salisbury Crags at Edinburgh. The summit showed

every sign of a luxuriant vegetation, with bushes near the edge, and farther back many high trees. There was

That night we pitched our camp immediately under the cliffa most wild and desolate spot. The crags above

us were not merely perpendicular, but curved outwards at the top, so that ascent was out of the question.

Close to us was the high thin pinnacle of rock which I believe I mentioned earlier in this narrative. It is like a

broad red church spire, the top of it being level with the plateau, but a great chasm gaping between. On the

summit of it there grew one high tree. Both pinnacle and cliff were comparatively lowsome five or six

"It was on that," said Professor Challenger, pointing to this tree, "that the pterodactyl was perched. I climbed

halfway up the rock before I shot him. I am inclined to think that a good mountaineer like myself could

ascend the rock to the top, though he would, of course, be no nearer to the plateau when he had done so."

As Challenger spoke of his pterodactyl I glanced at Professor Summerlee, and for the first time I seemed to

see some signs of a dawning credulity and repentance. There was no sneer upon his thin lips, but, on the

contrary, a gray, drawn look of excitement and amazement. Challenger saw it, too, and reveled in the first

"Of course," said he, with his clumsy and ponderous sarcasm, "Professor Summerlee will understand that

when I speak of a pterodactyl I mean a storkonly it is the kind of stork which has no feathers, a leathery

skin, membranous wings, and teeth in its jaws." He grinned and blinked and bowed until his colleague turned

In the morning, after a frugal breakfast of coffee and maniocwe had to be economical of our storeswe

held a council of war as to the best method of ascending to the plateau above us.

Challenger presided with a solemnity as if he were the Lord Chief Justice on the Bench. Picture him seated

upon a rock, his absurd boyish straw hat tilted on the back of his head, his supercilious eyes dominating us

from under his drooping lids, his great black beard wagging as he slowly defined our present situation and

Beneath him you might have seen the three of usmyself, sunburnt, young, and vigorous after our openair

tramp; Summerlee, solemn but still critical, behind his eternal pipe; Lord John, as keen as a razoredge, with

his supple, alert figure leaning upon his rifle, and his eager eyes fixed eagerly upon the speaker. Behind us

were grouped the two swarthy halfbreeds and the little knot of Indians, while in front and above us towered

"I need not say," said our leader, "that on the occasion of my last visit I exhausted every means of climbing

the cliff, and where I failed I do not think that anyone else is likely to succeed, for I am something of a

mountaineer. I had none of the appliances of a rockclimber with me, but I have taken the precaution to bring

them now. With their aid I am positive I could climb that detached pinnacle to the summit; but so long as the

main cliff overhangs, it is vain to attempt ascending that. I was hurried upon my last visit by the approach of

the rainy season and by the exhaustion of my supplies. These considerations limited my time, and I can only

claim that I have surveyed about six miles of the cliff to the east of us, finding no possible way up. What,

"There seems to be only one reasonable course," said Professor Summerlee. "If you have explored the east,

we should travel along the base of the cliff to the west, and seek for a practicable point for our ascent."

"That's it," said Lord John. "The odds are that this plateau is of no great size, and we shall travel round it until

we either find an easy way up it, or come back to the point from which we started."

"I have already explained to our young friend here," said Challenger (he has a way of alluding to me as if I

were a school child ten years old), "that it is quite impossible that there should be an easy way up anywhere,

for the simple reason that if there were the summit would not be isolated, and those conditions would not

obtain which have effected so singular an interference with the general laws of survival. Yet I admit that there

may very well be places where an expert human climber may reach the summit, and yet a cumbrous and

heavy animal be unable to descend. It is certain that there is a point where an ascent is possible."

"Because my predecessor, the American Maple White, actually made such an ascent. How otherwise could he

"There you reason somewhat ahead of the proved facts," said the stubborn Summerlee. "I admit your plateau,

because I have seen it; but I have not as yet satisfied myself that it contains any form of life whatever."

"What you admit, sir, or what you do not admit, is really of inconceivably small importance. I am glad to

perceive that the plateau itself has actually obtruded itself upon your intelligence." He glanced up at it, and

then, to our amazement, he sprang from his rock, and, seizing Summerlee by the neck, he tilted his face into

the air. "Now sir!" he shouted, hoarse with excitement. "Do I help you to realize that the plateau contains

I have said that a thick fringe of green overhung the edge of the cliff. Out of this there had emerged a black,

glistening object. As it came slowly forth and overhung the chasm, we saw that it was a very large snake with

a peculiar flat, spadelike head. It wavered and quivered above us for a minute, the morning sun gleaming

Summerlee had been so interested that he had stood unresisting while Challenger tilted his head into the air.

"I should be glad, Professor Challenger," said he, "if you could see your way to make any remarks which may

occur to you without seizing me by the chin. Even the appearance of a very ordinary rock python does not

"But there is life upon the plateau all the same," his colleague replied in triumph. "And now, having

demonstrated this important conclusion so that it is clear to anyone, however prejudiced or obtuse, I am of

opinion that we cannot do better than break up our camp and travel to westward until we find some means of

The ground at the foot of the cliff was rocky and broken so that the going was slow and difficult. Suddenly

we came, however, upon something which cheered our hearts. It was the site of an old encampment, with

several empty Chicago meat tins, a bottle labeled "Brandy," a broken tinopener, and a quantity of other

travelers' debris. A crumpled, disintegrated newspaper revealed itself as the Chicago Democrat, though the

Lord John had been gazing curiously at a great treefern which overshadowed the encampment. "I say, look

A slip of hard wood had been nailed to the tree in such a way as to point to the westward.

"Most certainly a signpost," said Challenger. "What else? Finding himself upon a dangerous errand, our

pioneer has left this sign so that any party which follows him may know the way he has taken. Perhaps we

We did indeed, but they were of a terrible and most unexpected nature. Immediately beneath the cliff there

grew a considerable patch of high bamboo, like that which we had traversed in our journey. Many of these

stems were twenty feet high, with sharp, strong tops, so that even as they stood they made formidable spears.

We were passing along the edge of this cover when my eye was caught by the gleam of something white

within it. Thrusting in my head between the stems, I found myself gazing at a fleshless skull. The whole

skeleton was there, but the skull had detached itself and lay some feet nearer to the open.

With a few blows from the machetes of our Indians we cleared the spot and were able to study the details of

this old tragedy. Only a few shreds of clothes could still be distinguished, but there were the remains of boots

upon the bony feet, and it was very clear that the dead man was a European. A gold watch by Hudson, of

New York, and a chain which held a stylographic pen, lay among the bones. There was also a silver

cigarettecase, with "J. C., from A. E. S.," upon the lid. The state of the metal seemed to show that the

"Who can he be?" asked Lord John. "Poor devil! every bone in his body seems to be broken."

"And the bamboo grows through his smashed ribs," said Summerlee. "It is a fastgrowing plant, but it is

surely inconceivable that this body could have been here while the canes grew to be twenty feet in length."

"As to the man's identity," said Professor Challenger, "I have no doubt whatever upon that point. As I made

my way up the river before I reached you at the fazenda I instituted very particular inquiries about Maple

White. At Para they knew nothing. Fortunately, I had a definite clew, for there was a particular picture in his

sketchbook which showed him taking lunch with a certain ecclesiastic at Rosario. This priest I was able to

find, and though he proved a very argumentative fellow, who took it absurdly amiss that I should point out to

him the corrosive effect which modern science must have upon his beliefs, he none the less gave me some

positive information. Maple White passed Rosario four years ago, or two years before I saw his dead body.

He was not alone at the time, but there was a friend, an American named James Colver, who remained in the

boat and did not meet this ecclesiastic. I think, therefore, that there can be no doubt that we are now looking

"Nor," said Lord John, "is there much doubt as to how he met his death. He has fallen or been chucked from

the top, and so been impaled. How else could he come by his broken bones, and how could he have been

A hush came over us as we stood round these shattered remains and realized the truth of Lord John Roxton's

words. The beetling head of the cliff projected over the canebrake. Undoubtedly he had fallen from above.

But had he fallen? Had it been an accident? Oralready ominous and terrible possibilities began to form

We moved off in silence, and continued to coast round the line of cliffs, which were as even and unbroken as

some of those monstrous Antarctic icefields which I have seen depicted as stretching from horizon to

In five miles we saw no rift or break. And then suddenly we perceived something which filled us with new

hope. In a hollow of the rock, protected from rain, there was drawn a rough arrow in chalk, pointing still to

"Maple White again," said Professor Challenger. "He had some presentiment that worthy footsteps would

"A box of colored chalks was among the effects I found in his knapsack. I remember that the white one was

"That is certainly good evidence," said Summerlee. "We can only accept his guidance and follow on to the

We had proceeded some five more miles when again we saw a white arrow upon the rocks. It was at a point

where the face of the cliff was for the first time split into a narrow cleft. Inside the cleft was a second

guidance mark, which pointed right up it with the tip somewhat elevated, as if the spot indicated were above

It was a solemn place, for the walls were so gigantic and the slit of blue sky so narrow and so obscured by a

double fringe of verdure, that only a dim and shadowy light penetrated to the bottom. We had had no food for

many hours, and were very weary with the stony and irregular journey, but our nerves were too strung to

allow us to halt. We ordered the camp to be pitched, however, and, leaving the Indians to arrange it, we four,

It was not more than forty feet across at the mouth, but it rapidly closed until it ended in an acute angle, too

straight and smooth for an ascent. Certainly it was not this which our pioneer had attempted to indicate. We

made our way backthe whole gorge was not more than a quarter of a mile deepand then suddenly the

quick eyes of Lord John fell upon what we were seeking. High up above our heads, amid the dark shadows,

there was one circle of deeper gloom. Surely it could only be the opening of a cave.

The base of the cliff was heaped with loose stones at the spot, and it was not difficult to clamber up. When

we reached it, all doubt was removed. Not only was it an opening into the rock, but on the side of it there was

marked once again the sign of the arrow. Here was the point, and this the means by which Maple White and

We were too excited to return to the camp, but must make our first exploration at once. Lord John had an

electric torch in his knapsack, and this had to serve us as light. He advanced, throwing his little clear circlet of

The cave had evidently been waterworn, the sides being smooth and the floor covered with rounded stones.

It was of such a size that a single man could just fit through by stooping. For fifty yards it ran almost straight

into the rock, and then it ascended at an angle of fortyfive. Presently this incline became even steeper, and

we found ourselves climbing upon hands and knees among loose rubble which slid from beneath us.

Clustering behind him we saw in the yellow field of light a wall of broken basalt which extended to the

In vain we dragged out some of the pieces. The only effect was that the larger ones became detached and

threatened to roll down the gradient and crush us. It was evident that the obstacle was far beyond any efforts

which we could make to remove it. The road by which Maple White had ascended was no longer available.

Too much cast down to speak, we stumbled down the dark tunnel and made our way back to the camp.

One incident occurred, however, before we left the gorge, which is of importance in view of what came

We had gathered in a little group at the bottom of the chasm, some forty feet beneath the mouth of the cave,

when a huge rock rolled suddenly downwardsand shot past us with tremendous force. It was the narrowest

escape for one or all of us. We could not ourselves see whence the rock had come, but our halfbreed

servants, who were still at the opening of the cave, said that it had flown past them, and must therefore have

fallen from the summit. Looking upwards, we could see no sign of movement above us amidst the green

jungle which topped the cliff. There could be little doubt, however, that the stone was aimed at us, so the

We withdrew hurriedly from the chasm, our minds full of this new development and its bearing upon our

plans. The situation was difficult enough before, but if the obstructions of Nature were increased by the

deliberate opposition of man, then our case was indeed a hopeless one. And yet, as we looked up at that

beautiful fringe of verdure only a few hundreds of feet above our heads, there was not one of us who could

conceive the idea of returning to London until we had explored it to its depths.

On discussing the situation, we determined that our best course was to continue to coast round the plateau in

the hope of finding some other means of reaching the top. The line of cliffs, which had decreased

considerably in height, had already begun to trend from west to north, and if we could take this as

representing the arc of a circle, the whole circumference could not be very great. At the worst, then, we

We made a march that day which totaled some twoandtwenty miles, without any change in our prospects. I

may mention that our aneroid shows us that in the continual incline which we have ascended since we

abandoned our canoes we have risen to no less than three thousand feet above sealevel. Hence there is a

considerable change both in the temperature and in the vegetation. We have shaken off some of that horrible

insect life which is the bane of tropical travel. A few palms still survive, and many treeferns, but the

Amazonian trees have been all left behind. It was pleasant to see the convolvulus, the passionflower, and the

begonia, all reminding me of home, here among these inhospitable rocks. There was a red begonia just the

same color as one that is kept in a pot in the window of a certain villa in Streathambut I am drifting into

That nightI am still speaking of the first day of our circumnavigation of the plateaua great experience

awaited us, and one which for ever set at rest any doubt which we could have had as to the wonders so near

You will realize as you read it, my dear Mr. McArdle, and possibly for the first time that the paper has not

sent me on a wildgoose chase, and that there is inconceivably fine copy waiting for the world whenever we

have the Professor's leave to make use of it. I shall not dare to publish these articles unless I can bring back

my proofs to England, or I shall be hailed as the journalistic Munchausen of all time. I have no doubt that you

feel the same way yourself, and that you would not care to stake the whole credit of the Gazette upon this

adventure until we can meet the chorus of criticism and scepticism which such articles must of necessity

elicit. So this wonderful incident, which would make such a headline for the old paper, must still wait its turn

And yet it was all over in a flash, and there was no sequel to it, save in our own convictions.

What occurred was this. Lord John had shot an ajoutiwhich is a small, piglike animaland, half of it

having been given to the Indians, we were cooking the other half upon our fire. There is a chill in the air after

dark, and we had all drawn close to the blaze. The night was moonless, but there were some stars, and one

could see for a little distance across the plain. Well, suddenly out of the darkness, out of the night, there

swooped something with a swish like an aeroplane. The whole group of us were covered for an instant by a

canopy of leathery wings, and I had a momentary vision of a long, snakelike neck, a fierce, red, greedy eye,

and a great snapping beak, filled, to my amazement, with little, gleaming teeth. The next instant it was

goneand so was our dinner. A huge black shadow, twenty feet across, skimmed up into the air; for an

instant the monster wings blotted out the stars, and then it vanished over the brow of the cliff above us. We

all sat in amazed silence round the fire, like the heroes of Virgil when the Harpies came down upon them. It

"Professor Challenger," said he, in a solemn voice, which quavered with emotion, "I owe you an apology. Sir,

It was handsomely said, and the two men for the first time shook hands. So much we have gained by this

clear vision of our first pterodactyl. It was worth a stolen supper to bring two such men together.

But if prehistoric life existed upon the plateau it was not superabundant, for we had no further glimpse of it

during the next three days. During this time we traversed a barren and forbidding country, which alternated

between stony desert and desolate marshes full of many wildfowl, upon the north and east of the cliffs.

From that direction the place is really inaccessible, and, were it not for a hardish ledge which runs at the very

base of the precipice, we should have had to turn back. Many times we were up to our waists in the slime and

blubber of an old, semitropical swamp. To make matters worse, the place seemed to be a favorite

breedingplace of the Jaracaca snake, the most venomous and aggressive in South America. Again and again

these horrible creatures came writhing and springing towards us across the surface of this putrid bog, and it

was only by keeping our shotguns for ever ready that we could feel safe from them. One funnelshaped

depression in the morass, of a livid green in color from some lichen which festered in it, will always remain

as a nightmare memory in my mind. It seems to have been a special nest of these vermins, and the slopes

were alive with them, all writhing in our direction, for it is a peculiarity of the Jaracaca that he will always

attack man at first sight. There were too many for us to shoot, so we fairly took to our heels and ran until we

were exhausted. I shall always remember as we looked back how far behind we could see the heads and

necks of our horrible pursuers rising and falling amid the reeds. Jaracaca Swamp we named it in the map

The cliffs upon the farther side had lost their ruddy tint, being chocolatebrown in color; the vegetation was

more scattered along the top of them, and they had sunk to three or four hundred feet in height, but in no

place did we find any point where they could be ascended. If anything, they were more impossible than at the

first point where we had met them. Their absolute steepness is indicated in the photograph which I took over

"Surely," said I, as we discussed the situation, "the rain must find its way down somehow. There are bound to

"Our young friend has glimpses of lucidity," said Professor Challenger, patting me upon the shoulder.

"He keeps a firm grip upon actuality. The only drawback is that we have conclusively proved by ocular

"I think it may be fairly assumed that if it does not come outwards it must run inwards."

"It is more than likely that the lake may be an old crater," said Summerlee. "The whole formation is, of

course, highly volcanic. But, however that may be, I should expect to find the surface of the plateau slope

inwards with a considerable sheet of water in the center, which may drain off, by some subterranean channel,

"Or evaporation might preserve an equilibrium," remarked Challenger, and the two learned men wandered off

into one of their usual scientific arguments, which were as comprehensible as Chinese to the layman.

On the sixth day we completed our first circuit of the cliffs, and found ourselves back at the first camp, beside

the isolated pinnacle of rock. We were a disconsolate party, for nothing could have been more minute than

our investigation, and it was absolutely certain that there was no single point where the most active human

being could possibly hope to scale the cliff. The place which Maple White's chalkmarks had indicated as his

What were we to do now? Our stores of provisions, supplemented by our guns, were holding out well, but the

day must come when they would need replenishment. In a couple of months the rains might be expected, and

we should be washed out of our camp. The rock was harder than marble, and any attempt at cutting a path for

so great a height was more than our time or resources would admit. No wonder that we looked gloomily at

each other that night, and sought our blankets with hardly a word exchanged. I remember that as I dropped

off to sleep my last recollection was that Challenger was squatting, like a monstrous bullfrog, by the fire, his

huge head in his hands, sunk apparently in the deepest thought, and entirely oblivious to the goodnight

But it was a very different Challenger who greeted us in the morninga Challenger with contentment and

selfcongratulation shining from his whole person. He faced us as we assembled for breakfast with a

deprecating false modesty in his eyes, as who should say, "I know that I deserve all that you can say, but I

pray you to spare my blushes by not saying it." His beard bristled exultantly, his chest was thrown out, and

his hand was thrust into the front of his jacket. So, in his fancy, may he see himself sometimes, gracing the

vacant pedestal in Trafalgar Square, and adding one more to the horrors of the London streets.

"Eureka!" he cried, his teeth shining through his beard. "Gentlemen, you may congratulate me and we may

Our facesor mine, at leastfell as we surveyed it. That it could be climbed we had our companion's

"We can at least all reach the summit," said he. "When we are up I may be able to show you that the

After breakfast we unpacked the bundle in which our leader had brought his climbing accessories. From it he

took a coil of the strongest and lightest rope, a hundred and fifty feet in length, with climbing irons, clamps,

and other devices. Lord John was an experienced mountaineer, and Summerlee had done some rough

climbing at various times, so that I was really the novice at rockwork of the party; but my strength and

It was not in reality a very stiff task, though there were moments which made my hair bristle upon my head.

The first half was perfectly easy, but from there upwards it became continually steeper until, for the last fifty

feet, we were literally clinging with our fingers and toes to tiny ledges and crevices in the rock. I could not

have accomplished it, nor could Summerlee, if Challenger had not gained the summit (it was extraordinary to

see such activity in so unwieldy a creature) and there fixed the rope round the trunk of the considerable tree

which grew there. With this as our support, we were soon able to scramble up the jagged wall until we found

ourselves upon the small grassy platform, some twentyfive feet each way, which formed the summit.

The first impression which I received when I had recovered my breath was of the extraordinary view over the

country which we had traversed. The whole Brazilian plain seemed to lie beneath us, extending away and

away until it ended in dim blue mists upon the farthest skyline. In the foreground was the long slope, strewn

with rocks and dotted with treeferns; farther off in the middle distance, looking over the saddleback hill, I

could just see the yellow and green mass of bamboos through which we had passed; and then, gradually, the

vegetation increased until it formed the huge forest which extended as far as the eyes could reach, and for a

I was still drinking in this wonderful panorama when the heavy hand of the Professor fell upon my shoulder.

"This way, my young friend," said he; "vestigia nulla retrorsum. Never look rearwards, but always to our

The level of the plateau, when I turned, was exactly that on which we stood, and the green bank of bushes,

with occasional trees, was so near that it was difficult to realize how inaccessible it remained. At a rough

guess the gulf was forty feet across, but, so far as I could see, it might as well have been forty miles. I placed

one arm round the trunk of the tree and leaned over the abyss. Far down were the small dark figures of our

servants, looking up at us. The wall was absolutely precipitous, as was that which faced me.

I turned, and found that he was examining with great interest the tree to which I clung. That smooth bark and

those small, ribbed leaves seemed familiar to my eyes. "Why," I cried, "it's a beech!"

"Not only a fellowcountryman, my good sir," said Challenger, "but also, if I may be allowed to enlarge your

"Exactly, my friends, a bridge! It is not for nothing that I expended an hour last night in focusing my mind

upon the situation. I have some recollection of once remarking to our young friend here that G. E. C. is at his

best when his back is to the wall. Last night you will admit that all our backs were to the wall. But where

willpower and intellect go together, there is always a way out. A drawbridge had to be found which could

It was certainly a brilliant idea. The tree was a good sixty feet in height, and if it only fell the right way it

would easily cross the chasm. Challenger had slung the camp axe over his shoulder when he ascended. Now

"Our young friend has the thews and sinews," said he. "I think he will be the most useful at this task. I must

beg, however, that you will kindly refrain from thinking for yourself, and that you will do exactly what you

Under his direction I cut such gashes in the sides of the trees as would ensure that it should fall as we desired.

It had already a strong, natural tilt in the direction of the plateau, so that the matter was not difficult. Finally I

set to work in earnest upon the trunk, taking turn and turn with Lord John. In a little over an hour there was a

loud crack, the tree swayed forward, and then crashed over, burying its branches among the bushes on the

farther side. The severed trunk rolled to the very edge of our platform, and for one terrible second we all

thought it was over. It balanced itself, however, a few inches from the edge, and there was our bridge to the

All of us, without a word, shook hands with Professor Challenger, who raised his straw hat and bowed deeply

"I claim the honor," said he, "to be the first to cross to the unknown landa fitting subject, no doubt, for

"When it is a matter of science, don't you know, I follow your lead because you are by way of bein' a man of

"We all have our professions, and soldierin' is mine. We are, accordin' to my ideas, invadin' a new country,

which may or may not be chockfull of enemies of sorts. To barge blindly into it for want of a little common

The remonstrance was too reasonable to be disregarded. Challenger tossed his head and shrugged his heavy

"For all I know there may be a tribe of cannibals waitin' for lunchtime among those very bushes," said Lord

John, looking across the bridge. "It's better to learn wisdom before you get into a cookin'pot; so we will

content ourselves with hopin' that there is no trouble waitin' for us, and at the same time we will act as if there

were. Malone and I will go down again, therefore, and we will fetch up the four rifles, together with Gomez

and the other. One man can then go across and the rest will cover him with guns, until he sees that it is safe

Challenger sat down upon the cut stump and groaned his impatience; but Summerlee and I were of one mind

that Lord John was our leader when such practical details were in question. The climb was a more simple

thing now that the rope dangled down the face of the worst part of the ascent. Within an hour we had brought

up the rifles and a shotgun. The halfbreeds had ascended also, and under Lord John's orders they had

carried up a bale of provisions in case our first exploration should be a long one. We had each bandoliers of

"Now, Challenger, if you really insist upon being the first man in," said Lord John, when every preparation

"I am much indebted to you for your gracious permission," said the angry Professor; for never was a man so

intolerant of every form of authority. "Since you are good enough to allow it, I shall most certainly take it

Seating himself with a leg overhanging the abyss on each side, and his hatchet slung upon his back,

Challenger hopped his way across the trunk and was soon at the other side. He clambered up and waved his

I gazed anxiously at him, with a vague expectation that some terrible fate would dart at him from the curtain

of green behind him. But all was quiet, save that a strange, manycolored bird flew up from under his feet and

Summerlee was the second. His wiry energy is wonderful in so frail a frame. He insisted upon having two

rifles slung upon his back, so that both Professors were armed when he had made his transit. I came next, and

tried hard not to look down into the horrible gulf over which I was passing. Summerlee held out the buttend

of his rifle, and an instant later I was able to grasp his hand. As to Lord John, he walked acrossactually

And there we were, the four of us, upon the dreamland, the lost world, of Maple White. To all of us it seemed

the moment of our supreme triumph. Who could have guessed that it was the prelude to our supreme disaster?

We had turned away from the edge, and had penetrated about fifty yards of close brushwood, when there

came a frightful rending crash from behind us. With one impulse we rushed back the way that we had come.

Far down at the base of the cliff I saw, as I looked over, a tangled mass of branches and splintered trunk. It

was our beech tree. Had the edge of the platform crumbled and let it through? For a moment this explanation

was in all our minds. The next, from the farther side of the rocky pinnacle before us a swarthy face, the face

of Gomez the halfbreed, was slowly protruded. Yes, it was Gomez, but no longer the Gomez of the demure

smile and the masklike expression. Here was a face with flashing eyes and distorted features, a face

"Yes, there you are, you English dog, and there you will remain! I have waited and waited, and now has come

my chance. You found it hard to get up; you will find it harder to get down. You cursed fools, you are

We were too astounded to speak. We could only stand there staring in amazement. A great broken bough

upon the grass showed whence he had gained his leverage to tilt over our bridge. The face had vanished, but

"We nearly killed you with a stone at the cave," he cried; "but this is better. It is slower and more terrible.

Your bones will whiten up there, and none will know where you lie or come to cover them. As you lie dying,

think of Lopez, whom you shot five years ago on the Putomayo River. I am his brother, and, come what will I

will die happy now, for his memory has been avenged." A furious hand was shaken at us, and then all was

Had the halfbreed simply wrought his vengeance and then escaped, all might have been well with him. It

was that foolish, irresistible Latin impulse to be dramatic which brought his own downfall. Roxton, the man

who had earned himself the name of the Flail of the Lord through three countries, was not one who could be

safely taunted. The halfbreed was descending on the farther side of the pinnacle; but before he could reach

the ground Lord John had run along the edge of the plateau and gained a point from which he could see his

man. There was a single crack of his rifle, and, though we saw nothing, we heard the scream and then the

distant thud of the falling body. Roxton came back to us with a face of granite.

"I have been a blind simpleton," said he, bitterly, "It's my folly that has brought you all into this trouble. I

should have remembered that these people have long memories for bloodfeuds, and have been more upon

"What about the other one? It took two of them to lever that tree over the edge."

"I could have shot him, but I let him go. He may have had no part in it. Perhaps it would have been better if I

Now that we had the clue to his action, each of us could cast back and remember some sinister act upon the

part of the halfbreedhis constant desire to know our plans, his arrest outside our tent when he was

overhearing them, the furtive looks of hatred which from time to time one or other of us had surprised. We

were still discussing it, endeavoring to adjust our minds to these new conditions, when a singular scene in the

A man in white clothes, who could only be the surviving halfbreed, was running as one does run when Death

is the pacemaker. Behind him, only a few yards in his rear, bounded the huge ebony figure of Zambo, our

devoted negro. Even as we looked, he sprang upon the back of the fugitive and flung his arms round his neck.

They rolled on the ground together. An instant afterwards Zambo rose, looked at the prostrate man, and then,

waving his hand joyously to us, came running in our direction. The white figure lay motionless in the middle

Our two traitors had been destroyed, but the mischief that they had done lived after them. By no possible

means could we get back to the pinnacle. We had been natives of the world; now we were natives of the

plateau. The two things were separate and apart. There was the plain which led to the canoes. Yonder, beyond

the violet, hazy horizon, was the stream which led back to civilization. But the link between was missing. No

human ingenuity could suggest a means of bridging the chasm which yawned between ourselves and our past

It was at such a moment that I learned the stuff of which my three comrades were composed. They were

grave, it is true, and thoughtful, but of an invincible serenity. For the moment we could only sit among the

bushes in patience and wait the coming of Zambo. Presently his honest black face topped the rocks and his

It was a question which it was easier to ask than to answer. One thing only was clear. He was our one trusty

"No no!" he cried. "I not leave you. Whatever come, you always find me here. But no able to keep Indians.

Already they say too much Curupuri live on this place, and they go home. Now you leave them me no able to

It was a fact that our Indians had shown in many ways of late that they were weary of their journey and

anxious to return. We realized that Zambo spoke the truth, and that it would be impossible for him to keep

"Make them wait till tomorrow, Zambo," I shouted; "then I can send letter back by them."

"Very good, sarr! I promise they wait till tomorrow, said the negro. "But what I do for you now?"

There was plenty for him to do, and admirably the faithful fellow did it. First of all, under our directions, he

undid the rope from the treestump and threw one end of it across to us. It was not thicker than a

clothesline, but it was of great strength, and though we could not make a bridge of it, we might well find it

invaluable if we had any climbing to do. He then fastened his end of the rope to the package of supplies

which had been carried up, and we were able to drag it across. This gave us the means of life for at least a

week, even if we found nothing else. Finally he descended and carried up two other packets of mixed

goodsa box of ammunition and a number of other things, all of which we got across by throwing our rope

to him and hauling it back. It was evening when he at last climbed down, with a final assurance that he would

And so it is that I have spent nearly the whole of this our first night upon the plateau writing up our

We supped and camped at the very edge of the cliff, quenching our thirst with two bottles of Apollinaris

which were in one of the cases. It is vital to us to find water, but I think even Lord John himself had had

adventures enough for one day, and none of us felt inclined to make the first push into the unknown. We

Tomorrow (or today, rather, for it is already dawn as I write) we shall make our first venture into this

strange land. When I shall be able to write againor if I ever shall write againI know not. Meanwhile, I

can see that the Indians are still in their place, and I am sure that the faithful Zambo will be here presently to

P.S.The more I think the more desperate does our position seem. I see no possible hope of our return. If

there were a high tree near the edge of the plateau we might drop a return bridge across, but there is none

within fifty yards. Our united strength could not carry a trunk which would serve our purpose. The rope, of

course, is far too short that we could descend by it. No, our position is hopelesshopeless!

The most wonderful things have happened and are continually happening to us. All the paper that I possess

consists of five old notebooks and a lot of scraps, and I have only the one stylographic pencil; but so long as

I can move my hand I will continue to set down our experiences and impressions, for, since we are the only

men of the whole human race to see such things, it is of enormous importance that I should record them

whilst they are fresh in my memory and before that fate which seems to be constantly impending does

actually overtake us. Whether Zambo can at last take these letters to the river, or whether I shall myself in

some miraculous way carry them back with me, or, finally, whether some daring explorer, coming upon our

tracks with the advantage, perhaps, of a perfected monoplane, should find this bundle of manuscript, in any

case I can see that what I am writing is destined to immortality as a classic of true adventure.

On the morning after our being trapped upon the plateau by the villainous Gomez we began a new stage in

our experiences. The first incident in it was not such as to give me a very favorable opinion of the place to

which we had wandered. As I roused myself from a short nap after day had dawned, my eyes fell upon a most

singular appearance upon my own leg. My trouser had slipped up, exposing a few inches of my skin above

my sock. On this there rested a large, purplish grape. Astonished at the sight, I leaned forward to pick it off,

when, to my horror, it burst between my finger and thumb, squirting blood in every direction. My cry of

"Most interesting," said Summerlee, bending over my shin. "An enormous bloodtick, as yet, I believe,

"The firstfruits of our labors," said Challenger in his booming, pedantic fashion. "We cannot do less than

call it Ixodes Maloni. The very small inconvenience of being bitten, my young friend, cannot, I am sure,

weigh with you as against the glorious privilege of having your name inscribed in the deathless roll of

zoology. Unhappily you have crushed this fine specimen at the moment of satiation."

Professor Challenger raised his great eyebrows in protest, and placed a soothing paw upon my shoulder.

"You should cultivate the scientific eye and the detached scientific mind," said he. "To a man of philosophic

temperament like myself the bloodtick, with its lancetlike proboscis and its distending stomach, is as

beautiful a work of Nature as the peacock or, for that matter, the aurora borealis. It pains me to hear you

speak of it in so unappreciative a fashion. No doubt, with due diligence, we can secure some other specimen."

"There can be no doubt of that," said Summerlee, grimly, "for one has just disappeared behind your

Challenger sprang into the air bellowing like a bull, and tore frantically at his coat and shirt to get them off.

Summerlee and I laughed so that we could hardly help him. At last we exposed that monstrous torso

(fiftyfour inches, by the tailor's tape). His body was all matted with black hair, out of which jungle we

picked the wandering tick before it had bitten him. But the bushes round were full of the horrible pests, and it

But first of all it was necessary to make our arrangements with the faithful negro, who appeared presently on

the pinnacle with a number of tins of cocoa and biscuits, which he tossed over to us. Of the stores which

remained below he was ordered to retain as much as would keep him for two months. The Indians were to

have the remainder as a reward for their services and as payment for taking our letters back to the Amazon.

Some hours later we saw them in single file far out upon the plain, each with a bundle on his head, making

their way back along the path we had come. Zambo occupied our little tent at the base of the pinnacle, and

And now we had to decide upon our immediate movements. We shifted our position from among the

tickladen bushes until we came to a small clearing thickly surrounded by trees upon all sides. There were

some flat slabs of rock in the center, with an excellent well close by, and there we sat in cleanly comfort

while we made our first plans for the invasion of this new country. Birds were calling among the

foliageespecially one with a peculiar whooping cry which was new to usbut beyond these sounds there

Our first care was to make some sort of list of our own stores, so that we might know what we had to rely

upon. What with the things we had ourselves brought up and those which Zambo had sent across on the rope,

we were fairly well supplied. Most important of all, in view of the dangers which might surround us, we had

our four rifles and one thousand three hundred rounds, also a shotgun, but not more than a hundred and fifty

medium pellet cartridges. In the matter of provisions we had enough to last for several weeks, with a

sufficiency of tobacco and a few scientific implements, including a large telescope and a good fieldglass.

All these things we collected together in the clearing, and as a first precaution, we cut down with our hatchet

and knives a number of thorny bushes, which we piled round in a circle some fifteen yards in diameter. This

was to be our headquarters for the timeour place of refuge against sudden danger and the guardhouse for

IT was midday before we had made ourselves secure, but the heat was not oppressive, and the general

character of the plateau, both in its temperature and in its vegetation, was almost temperate. The beech, the

oak, and even the birch were to be found among the tangle of trees which girt us in. One huge gingko tree,

topping all the others, shot its great limbs and maidenhair foliage over the fort which we had constructed. In

its shade we continued our discussion, while Lord John, who had quickly taken command in the hour of

"So long as neither man nor beast has seen or heard us, we are safe," said he. "From the time they know we

are here our troubles begin. There are no signs that they have found us out as yet. So our game surely is to lie

low for a time and spy out the land. We want to have a good look at our neighbors before we get on visitin'

"By all means, sonny my boy! We will advance. But with common sense. We must never go so far that we

can't get back to our base. Above all, we must never, unless it is life or death, fire off our guns."

"Well, it couldn't be helped. However, the wind was strong and blew outwards. It is not likely that the sound

could have traveled far into the plateau. By the way, what shall we call this place? I suppose it is up to us to

"It can only have one name," said he. "It is called after the pioneer who discovered it. It is Maple White

Maple White Land it became, and so it is named in that chart which has become my special task. So it will, I

The peaceful penetration of Maple White Land was the pressing subject before us. We had the evidence of

our own eyes that the place was inhabited by some unknown creatures, and there was that of Maple White's

sketchbook to show that more dreadful and more dangerous monsters might still appear. That there might

also prove to be human occupants and that they were of a malevolent character was suggested by the skeleton

impaled upon the bamboos, which could not have got there had it not been dropped from above. Our

situation, stranded without possibility of escape in such a land, was clearly full of danger, and our reasons

endorsed every measure of caution which Lord John's experience could suggest. Yet it was surely impossible

that we should halt on the edge of this world of mystery when our very souls were tingling with impatience to

We therefore blocked the entrance to our zareba by filling it up with several thorny bushes, and left our camp

with the stores entirely surrounded by this protecting hedge. We then slowly and cautiously set forth into the

unknown, following the course of the little stream which flowed from our spring, as it should always serve us

Hardly had we started when we came across signs that there were indeed wonders awaiting us. After a few

hundred yards of thick forest, containing many trees which were quite unknown to me, but which Summerlee,

who was the botanist of the party, recognized as forms of conifera and of cycadaceous plants which have long

passed away in the world below, we entered a region where the stream widened out and formed a

considerable bog. High reeds of a peculiar type grew thickly before us, which were pronounced to be

equisetacea, or mare'stails, with treeferns scattered amongst them, all of them swaying in a brisk wind.

"Look at this!" said he. "By George, this must be the trail of the father of all birds!"

An enormous threetoed track was imprinted in the soft mud before us. The creature, whatever it was, had

crossed the swamp and had passed on into the forest. We all stopped to examine that monstrous spoor. If it

were indeed a birdand what animal could leave such a mark? its foot was so much larger than an

ostrich's that its height upon the same scale must be enormous. Lord John looked eagerly round him and

"I'll stake my good name as a shikarree," said he, "that the track is a fresh one. The creature has not passed

ten minutes. Look how the water is still oozing into that deeper print! By Jove! See, here is the mark of a

Sure enough, smaller tracks of the same general form were running parallel to the large ones.

"But what do you make of this?" cried Professor Summerlee, triumphantly, pointing to what looked like the

"Wealden!" cried Challenger, in an ecstasy. "I've seen them in the Wealden clay. It is a creature walking erect

upon threetoed feet, and occasionally putting one of its fivefingered forepaws upon the ground. Not a bird,

"No; a reptilea dinosaur. Nothing else could have left such a track. They puzzled a worthy Sussex doctor

some ninety years ago; but who in the world could have hopedhopedto have seen a sight like that?"

His words died away into a whisper, and we all stood in motionless amazement. Following the tracks, we had

left the morass and passed through a screen of brushwood and trees. Beyond was an open glade, and in this

were five of the most extraordinary creatures that I have ever seen. Crouching down among the bushes, we

There were, as I say, five of them, two being adults and three young ones. In size they were enormous. Even

the babies were as big as elephants, while the two large ones were far beyond all creatures I have ever seen.

They had slatecolored skin, which was scaled like a lizard's and shimmered where the sun shone upon it. All

five were sitting up, balancing themselves upon their broad, powerful tails and their huge threetoed

hindfeet, while with their small fivefingered frontfeet they pulled down the branches upon which they

browsed. I do not know that I can bring their appearance home to you better than by saying that they looked

like monstrous kangaroos, twenty feet in length, and with skins like black crocodiles.

I do not know how long we stayed motionless gazing at this marvelous spectacle. A strong wind blew

towards us and we were well concealed, so there was no chance of discovery. From time to time the little

ones played round their parents in unwieldy gambols, the great beasts bounding into the air and falling with

dull thuds upon the earth. The strength of the parents seemed to be limitless, for one of them, having some

difficulty in reaching a bunch of foliage which grew upon a considerablesized tree, put his forelegs round

the trunk and tore it down as if it had been a sapling. The action seemed, as I thought, to show not only the

great development of its muscles, but also the small one of its brain, for the whole weight came crashing

down upon the top of it, and it uttered a series of shrill yelps to show that, big as it was, there was a limit to

what it could endure. The incident made it think, apparently, that the neighborhood was dangerous, for it

slowly lurched off through the wood, followed by its mate and its three enormous infants. We saw the

shimmering slaty gleam of their skins between the treetrunks, and their heads undulating high above the

I looked at my comrades. Lord John was standing at gaze with his finger on the trigger of his elephantgun,

his eager hunter's soul shining from his fierce eyes. What would he not give for one such head to place

between the two crossed oars above the mantelpiece in his snuggery at the Albany! And yet his reason held

him in, for all our exploration of the wonders of this unknown land depended upon our presence being

concealed from its inhabitants. The two professors were in silent ecstasy. In their excitement they had

unconsciously seized each other by the hand, and stood like two little children in the presence of a marvel,

Challenger's cheeks bunched up into a seraphic smile, and Summerlee's sardonic face softening for the

"My dear Summerlee, I will tell you with great confidence exactly what they will say in England," said

Challenger. "They will say that you are an infernal liar and a scientific charlatan, exactly as you and others

"Ah, there we may have them! Malone and his filthy Fleet Street crew may be all yelping our praises yet.

August the twentyeighth the day we saw five live iguanodons in a glade of Maple White Land. Put it

"And be ready to get the toeend of the editorial boot in return," said Lord John. "Things look a bit different

from the latitude of London, young fellah my lad. There's many a man who never tells his adventures, for he

can't hope to be believed. Who's to blame them? For this will seem a bit of a dream to ourselves in a month or

"Iguanodons," said Summerlee. "You'll find their footmarks all over the Hastings sands, in Kent, and in

Sussex. The South of England was alive with them when there was plenty of good lush greenstuff to keep

them going. Conditions have changed, and the beasts died. Here it seems that the conditions have not

"If ever we get out of this alive, I must have a head with me," said Lord John. "Lord, how some of that

SomalilandUganda crowd would turn a beautiful peagreen if they saw it! I don't know what you chaps

I had the same feeling of mystery and danger around us. In the gloom of the trees there seemed a constant

menace and as we looked up into their shadowy foliage vague terrors crept into one's heart. It is true that

these monstrous creatures which we had seen were lumbering, inoffensive brutes which were unlikely to hurt

anyone, but in this world of wonders what other survivals might there not bewhat fierce, active horrors

ready to pounce upon us from their lair among the rocks or brushwood? I knew little of prehistoric life, but I

had a clear remembrance of one book which I had read in which it spoke of creatures who would live upon

our lions and tigers as a cat lives upon mice. What if these also were to be found in the woods of Maple

It was destined that on this very morningour first in the new countrywe were to find out what strange

hazards lay around us. It was a loathsome adventure, and one of which I hate to think. If, as Lord John said,

the glade of the iguanodons will remain with us as a dream, then surely the swamp of the pterodactyls will

We passed very slowly through the woods, partly because Lord Roxton acted as scout before he would let us

advance, and partly because at every second step one or other of our professors would fall, with a cry of

wonder, before some flower or insect which presented him with a new type. We may have traveled two or

three miles in all, keeping to the right of the line of the stream, when we came upon a considerable opening in

the trees. A belt of brushwood led up to a tangle of rocksthe whole plateau was strewn with boulders. We

were walking slowly towards these rocks, among bushes which reached over our waists, when we became

aware of a strange low gabbling and whistling sound, which filled the air with a constant clamor and

appeared to come from some spot immediately before us. Lord John held up his hand as a signal for us to

stop, and he made his way swiftly, stooping and running, to the line of rocks. We saw him peep over them

and give a gesture of amazement. Then he stood staring as if forgetting us, so utterly entranced was he by

what he saw. Finally he waved us to come on, holding up his hand as a signal for caution. His whole bearing

Creeping to his side, we looked over the rocks. The place into which we gazed was a pit, and may, in the

early days, have been one of the smaller volcanic blowholes of the plateau. It was bowlshaped and at the

bottom, some hundreds of yards from where we lay, were pools of greenscummed, stagnant water, fringed

with bullrushes. It was a weird place in itself, but its occupants made it seem like a scene from the Seven

Circles of Dante. The place was a rookery of pterodactyls. There were hundreds of them congregated within

view. All the bottom area round the wateredge was alive with their young ones, and with hideous mothers

brooding upon their leathery, yellowish eggs. From this crawling flapping mass of obscene reptilian life came

the shocking clamor which filled the air and the mephitic, horrible, musty odor which turned us sick. But

above, perched each upon its own stone, tall, gray, and withered, more like dead and dried specimens than

actual living creatures, sat the horrible males, absolutely motionless save for the rolling of their red eyes or an

occasional snap of their rattrap beaks as a dragonfly went past them. Their huge, membranous wings were

closed by folding their forearms, so that they sat like gigantic old women, wrapped in hideous webcolored

shawls, and with their ferocious heads protruding above them. Large and small, not less than a thousand of

Our professors would gladly have stayed there all day, so entranced were they by this opportunity of studying

the life of a prehistoric age. They pointed out the fish and dead birds lying about among the rocks as proving

the nature of the food of these creatures, and I heard them congratulating each other on having cleared up the

point why the bones of this flying dragon are found in such great numbers in certain welldefined areas, as in

the Cambridge Greensand, since it was now seen that, like penguins, they lived in gregarious fashion.

Finally, however, Challenger, bent upon proving some point which Summerlee had contested, thrust his head

over the rock and nearly brought destruction upon us all. In an instant the nearest male gave a shrill, whistling

cry, and flapped its twentyfoot span of leathery wings as it soared up into the air. The females and young

ones huddled together beside the water, while the whole circle of sentinels rose one after the other and sailed

off into the sky. It was a wonderful sight to see at least a hundred creatures of such enormous size and

hideous appearance all swooping like swallows with swift, shearing wingstrokes above us; but soon we

realized that it was not one on which we could afford to linger. At first the great brutes flew round in a huge

ring, as if to make sure what the exact extent of the danger might be. Then, the flight grew lower and the

circle narrower, until they were whizzing round and round us, the dry, rustling flap of their huge

slatecolored wings filling the air with a volume of sound that made me think of Hendon aerodrome upon a

"Make for the wood and keep together," cried Lord John, clubbing his rifle. "The brutes mean mischief."

The moment we attempted to retreat the circle closed in upon us, until the tips of the wings of those nearest to

us nearly touched our faces. We beat at them with the stocks of our guns, but there was nothing solid or

vulnerable to strike. Then suddenly out of the whizzing, slatecolored circle a long neck shot out, and a fierce

beak made a thrust at us. Another and another followed. Summerlee gave a cry and put his hand to his face,

from which the blood was streaming. I felt a prod at the back of my neck, and turned dizzy with the shock.

Challenger fell, and as I stooped to pick him up I was again struck from behind and dropped on the top of

him. At the same instant I heard the crash of Lord John's elephantgun, and, looking up, saw one of the

creatures with a broken wing struggling upon the ground, spitting and gurgling at us with a wideopened

beak and bloodshot, goggled eyes, like some devil in a medieval picture. Its comrades had flown higher at

We staggered through the brushwood, and even as we reached the trees the harpies were on us again.

Summerlee was knocked down, but we tore him up and rushed among the trunks. Once there we were safe,

for those huge wings had no space for their sweep beneath the branches. As we limped homewards, sadly

mauled and discomfited, we saw them for a long time flying at a great height against the deep blue sky above

our heads, soaring round and round, no bigger than woodpigeons, with their eyes no doubt still following

our progress. At last, however, as we reached the thicker woods they gave up the chase, and we saw them no

A most interesting and convincing experience," said Challenger, as we halted beside the brook and he bathed

a swollen knee. "We are exceptionally well informed, Summerlee, as to the habits of the enraged

Summerlee was wiping the blood from a cut in his forehead, while I was tying up a nasty stab in the muscle

of the neck. Lord John had the shoulder of his coat torn away, but the creature's teeth had only grazed the

"It is worth noting," Challenger continued, "that our young friend has received an undoubted stab, while Lord

John's coat could only have been torn by a bite. In my own case, I was beaten about the head by their wings,

"It has been touch and go for our lives," said Lord John, gravely, "and I could not think of a more rotten sort

of death than to be outed by such filthy vermin. I was sorry to fire my rifle, but, by Jove! there was no great

"It may do no harm," said he. "Among these woods there must be many loud cracks from splitting or falling

trees which would be just like the sound of a gun. But now, if you are of my opinion, we have had thrills

enough for one day, and had best get back to the surgical box at the camp for some carbolic. Who knows

But surely no men ever had just such a day since the world began. Some fresh surprise was ever in store for

us. When, following the course of our brook, we at last reached our glade and saw the thorny barricade of our

camp, we thought that our adventures were at an end. But we had something more to think of before we could

rest. The gate of Fort Challenger had been untouched, the walls were unbroken, and yet it had been visited by

some strange and powerful creature in our absence. No footmark showed a trace of its nature, and only the

overhanging branch of the enormous ginko tree suggested how it might have come and gone; but of its

malevolent strength there was ample evidence in the condition of our stores. They were strewn at random all

over the ground, and one tin of meat had been crushed into pieces so as to extract the contents. A case of

cartridges had been shattered into matchwood, and one of the brass shells lay shredded into pieces beside it.

Again the feeling of vague horror came upon our souls, and we gazed round with frightened eyes at the dark

shadows which lay around us, in all of which some fearsome shape might be lurking. How good it was when

we were hailed by the voice of Zambo, and, going to the edge of the plateau, saw him sitting grinning at us

"All well, Massa Challenger, all well!" he cried. "Me stay here. No fear. You always find me when you

His honest black face, and the immense view before us, which carried us halfway back to the affluent of the

Amazon, helped us to remember that we really were upon this earth in the twentieth century, and had not by

some magic been conveyed to some raw planet in its earliest and wildest state. How difficult it was to realize

that the violet line upon the far horizon was well advanced to that great river upon which huge steamers ran,

and folk talked of the small affairs of life, while we, marooned among the creatures of a bygone age, could

One other memory remains with me of this wonderful day, and with it I will close this letter. The two

professors, their tempers aggravated no doubt by their injuries, had fallen out as to whether our assailants

were of the genus pterodactylus or dimorphodon, and high words had ensued. To avoid their wrangling I

moved some little way apart, and was seated smoking upon the trunk of a fallen tree, when Lord John strolled

"Oh, nothing, nothing," said he, and strolled back to where the voices of the contending men of science rose

in a prolonged duet, the high, strident note of Summerlee rising and falling to the sonorous bass of

Challenger. I should have thought no more of Lord John's remark were it not that once again that night I

heard him mutter to himself: "Blue clayclay in a volcanic tube!" They were the last words I heard before I

Lord John Roxton was right when he thought that some specially toxic quality might lie in the bite of the

horrible creatures which had attacked us. On the morning after our first adventure upon the plateau, both

Summerlee and I were in great pain and fever, while Challenger's knee was so bruised that he could hardly

limp. We kept to our camp all day, therefore, Lord John busying himself, with such help as we could give

him, in raising the height and thickness of the thorny walls which were our only defense. I remember that

during the whole long day I was haunted by the feeling that we were closely observed, though by whom or

So strong was the impression that I told Professor Challenger of it, who put it down to the cerebral

excitement caused by my fever. Again and again I glanced round swiftly, with the conviction that I was about

to see something, but only to meet the dark tangle of our hedge or the solemn and cavernous gloom of the

great trees which arched above our heads. And yet the feeling grew ever stronger in my own mind that

something observant and something malevolent was at our very elbow. I thought of the Indian superstition of

the Curupurithe dreadful, lurking spirit of the woodsand I could have imagined that his terrible presence

That night (our third in Maple White Land) we had an experience which left a fearful impression upon our

minds, and made us thankful that Lord John had worked so hard in making our retreat impregnable. We were

all sleeping round our dying fire when we were arousedor, rather, I should say, shot out of our

slumbersby a succession of the most frightful cries and screams to which I have ever listened. I know no

sound to which I could compare this amazing tumult, which seemed to come from some spot within a few

hundred yards of our camp. It was as earsplitting as any whistle of a railwayengine; but whereas the

whistle is a clear, mechanical, sharpedged sound, this was far deeper in volume and vibrant with the

uttermost strain of agony and horror. We clapped our hands to our ears to shut out that nerveshaking appeal.

A cold sweat broke out over my body, and my heart turned sick at the misery of it. All the woes of tortured

life, all its stupendous indictment of high heaven, its innumerable sorrows, seemed to be centered and

condensed into that one dreadful, agonized cry. And then, under this highpitched, ringing sound there was

another, more intermittent, a low, deepchested laugh, a growling, throaty gurgle of merriment which formed

a grotesque accompaniment to the shriek with which it was blended. For three or four minutes on end the

fearsome duet continued, while all the foliage rustled with the rising of startled birds. Then it shut off as

suddenly as it began. For a long time we sat in horrified silence. Then Lord John threw a bundle of twigs

upon the fire, and their red glare lit up the intent faces of my companions and flickered over the great boughs

"We shall know in the morning," said Lord John. "It was close to usnot farther than the glade."

"We have been privileged to overhear a prehistoric tragedy, the sort of drama which occurred among the

reeds upon the border of some Jurassic lagoon, when the greater dragon pinned the lesser among the slime,"

said Challenger, with more solemnity than I had ever heard in his voice. "It was surely well for man that he

came late in the order of creation. There were powers abroad in earlier days which no courage and no

mechanism of his could have met. What could his sling, his throwingstick, or his arrow avail him against

such forces as have been loose tonight? Even with a modern rifle it would be all odds on the monster."

"I think I should back my little friend," said Lord John, caressing his Express. "But the beast would certainly

From the utter silence there emerged a deep, regular patpat. It was the tread of some animalthe rhythm of

soft but heavy pads placed cautiously upon the ground. It stole slowly round the camp, and then halted near

our gateway. There was a low, sibilant rise and fallthe breathing of the creature. Only our feeble hedge

separated us from this horror of the night. Each of us had seized his rifle, and Lord John had pulled out a

I stooped and peered over his shoulder through the gap. Yes, I could see it, too. In the deep shadow of the tree

there was a deeper shadow yet, black, inchoate, vaguea crouching form full of savage vigor and menace. It

was no higher than a horse, but the dim outline suggested vast bulk and strength. That hissing pant, as regular

and fullvolumed as the exhaust of an engine, spoke of a monstrous organism. Once, as it moved, I thought I

saw the glint of two terrible, greenish eyes. There was an uneasy rustling, as if it were crawling slowly

"Don't fire! Don't fire!" whispered Lord John. "The crash of a gun in this silent night would be heard for

"If it gets over the hedge we're done," said Summerlee, and his voice crackled into a nervous laugh as he

"No, it must not get over," cried Lord John; "but hold your fire to the last. Perhaps I can make something of

It was as brave an act as ever I saw a man do. He stooped to the fire, picked up a blazing branch, and slipped

in an instant through a sallyport which he had made in our gateway. The thing moved forward with a dreadful

snarl. Lord John never hesitated, but, running towards it with a quick, light step, he dashed the flaming wood

into the brute's face. For one moment I had a vision of a horrible mask like a giant toad's, of a warty, leprous

skin, and of a loose mouth all beslobbered with fresh blood. The next, there was a crash in the underwood and

"I thought he wouldn't face the fire," said Lord John, laughing, as he came back and threw his branch among

"There was nothin' else to be done. If he had got among us we should have shot each other in tryin' to down

him. On the other hand, if we had fired through the hedge and wounded him he would soon have been on the

top of usto say nothin' of giving ourselves away. On the whole, I think that we are jolly well out of it.

"Personally, I am unable to classify the creature with any certainty," said Summerlee, lighting his pipe from

"In refusing to commit yourself you are but showing a proper scientific reserve," said Challenger, with

massive condescension. "I am not myself prepared to go farther than to say in general terms that we have

almost certainly been in contact tonight with some form of carnivorous dinosaur. I have already expressed

"We have to bear in mind," remarked Summerlee, that there are many prehistoric forms which have never

come down to us. It would be rash to suppose that we can give a name to all that we are likely to meet."

"Exactly. A rough classification may be the best that we can attempt. Tomorrow some further evidence may

help us to an identification. Meantime we can only renew our interrupted slumbers."

"But not without a sentinel," said Lord John, with decision. "We can't afford to take chances in a country like

"Then I'll just finish my pipe in starting the first one," said Professor Summerlee; and from that time onwards

In the morning it was not long before we discovered the source of the hideous uproar which had aroused us in

the night. The iguanodon glade was the scene of a horrible butchery. From the pools of blood and the

enormous lumps of flesh scattered in every direction over the green sward we imagined at first that a number

of animals had been killed, but on examining the remains more closely we discovered that all this carnage

came from one of these unwieldy monsters, which had been literally torn to pieces by some creature not

Our two professors sat in absorbed argument, examining piece after piece, which showed the marks of savage

"Our judgment must still be in abeyance," said Professor Challenger, with a huge slab of whitishcolored

flesh across his knee. "The indications would be consistent with the presence of a sabertoothed tiger, such as

are still found among the breccia of our caverns; but the creature actually seen was undoubtedly of a larger

"Exactly. Any one of the larger carnivorous dinosaurs would meet the case. Among them are to be found all

the most terrible types of animal life that have ever cursed the earth or blessed a museum." He laughed

sonorously at his own conceit, for, though he had little sense of humor, the crudest pleasantry from his own

"The less noise the better," said Lord Roxton, curtly. "We don't know who or what may be near us. If this

fellah comes back for his breakfast and catches us here we won't have so much to laugh at. By the way, what

On the dull, scaly, slatecolored skin somewhere above the shoulder, there was a singular black circle of

some substance which looked like asphalt. None of us could suggest what it meant, though Summerlee was

of opinion that he had seen something similar upon one of the young ones two days before. Challenger said

nothing, but looked pompous and puffy, as if he could if he would, so that finally Lord John asked his

"If your lordship will graciously permit me to open my mouth, I shall be happy to express my sentiments,"

said he, with elaborate sarcasm. I am not in the habit of being taken to task in the fashion which seems to be

customary with your lordship. I was not aware that it was necessary to ask your permission before smiling at

It was not until he had received his apology that our touchy friend would suffer himself to be appeased. When

at last his ruffled feelings were at ease, he addressed us at some length from his seat upon a fallen tree,

speaking, as his habit was, as if he were imparting most precious information to a class of a thousand.

"With regard to the marking," said he, "I am inclined to agree with my friend and colleague, Professor

Summerlee, that the stains are from asphalt. As this plateau is, in its very nature, highly volcanic, and as

asphalt is a substance which one associates with Plutonic forces, I cannot doubt that it exists in the free liquid

state, and that the creatures may have come in contact with it. A much more important problem is the

question as to the existence of the carnivorous monster which has left its traces in this glade. We know

roughly that this plateau is not larger than an average English county. Within this confined space a certain

number of creatures, mostly types which have passed away in the world below, have lived together for

innumerable years. Now, it is very clear to me that in so long a period one would have expected that the

carnivorous creatures, multiplying unchecked, would have exhausted their food supply and have been

compelled to either modify their flesheating habits or die of hunger. This we see has not been so. We can

only imagine, therefore, that the balance of Nature is preserved by some check which limits the numbers of

these ferocious creatures. One of the many interesting problems, therefore, which await our solution is to

discover what that check may be and how it operates. I venture to trust that we may have some future

The Professor only raised his great eyebrows, as the schoolmaster meets the irrelevant observation of the

"Perhaps Professor Summerlee may have an observation to make," he said, and the two savants ascended

together into some rarefied scientific atmosphere, where the possibilities of a modification of the birthrate

were weighed against the decline of the food supply as a check in the struggle for existence.

That morning we mapped out a small portion of the plateau, avoiding the swamp of the pterodactyls, and

keeping to the east of our brook instead of to the west. In that direction the country was still thickly wooded,

I have dwelt up to now upon the terrors of Maple White Land; but there was another side to the subject, for

all that morning we wandered among lovely flowersmostly, as I observed, white or yellow in color, these

being, as our professors explained, the primitive flowershades. In many places the ground was absolutely

covered with them, and as we walked ankledeep on that wonderful yielding carpet, the scent was almost

intoxicating in its sweetness and intensity. The homely English bee buzzed everywhere around us. Many of

the trees under which we passed had their branches bowed down with fruit, some of which were of familiar

sorts, while other varieties were new. By observing which of them were pecked by the birds we avoided all

danger of poison and added a delicious variety to our food reserve. In the jungle which we traversed were

numerous hardtrodden paths made by the wild beasts, and in the more marshy places we saw a profusion of

strange footmarks, including many of the iguanodon. Once in a grove we observed several of these great

creatures grazing, and Lord John, with his glass, was able to report that they also were spotted with asphalt,

though in a different place to the one which we had examined in the morning. What this phenomenon meant

We saw many small animals, such as porcupines, a scaly anteater, and a wild pig, piebald in color and with

long curved tusks. Once, through a break in the trees, we saw a clear shoulder of green hill some distance

away, and across this a large duncolored animal was traveling at a considerable pace. It passed so swiftly

that we were unable to say what it was; but if it were a deer, as was claimed by Lord John, it must have been

as large as those monstrous Irish elk which are still dug up from time to time in the bogs of my native land.

Ever since the mysterious visit which had been paid to our camp we always returned to it with some

That evening we had a grand discussion upon our present situation and future plans, which I must describe at

some length, as it led to a new departure by which we were enabled to gain a more complete knowledge of

Maple White Land than might have come in many weeks of exploring. It was Summerlee who opened the

debate. All day he had been querulous in manner, and now some remark of Lord John's as to what we should

"What we ought to be doing today, tomorrow, and all the time," said he, "is finding some way out of the

trap into which we have fallen. You are all turning your brains towards getting into this country. I say that we

"I am surprised, sir," boomed Challenger, stroking his majestic beard, "that any man of science should

commit himself to so ignoble a sentiment. You are in a land which offers such an inducement to the

ambitious naturalist as none ever has since the world began, and you suggest leaving it before we have

acquired more than the most superficial knowledge of it or of its contents. I expected better things of you,

"You must remember," said Summerlee, sourly, "that I have a large class in London who are at present at the

mercy of an extremely inefficient locum tenens. This makes my situation different from yours, Professor

Challenger, since, so far as I know, you have never been entrusted with any responsible educational work."

"Quite so," said Challenger. "I have felt it to be a sacrilege to divert a brain which is capable of the highest

original research to any lesser object. That is why I have sternly set my face against any proffered scholastic

"For example?" asked Summerlee, with a sneer; but Lord John hastened to change the conversation.

"I must say," said he, "that I think it would be a mighty poor thing to go back to London before I know a

"I could never dare to walk into the back office of my paper and face old McArdle," said I. (You will excuse

the frankness of this report, will you not, sir?) "He'd never forgive me for leaving such unexhausted copy

behind me. Besides, so far as I can see it is not worth discussing, since we can't get down, even if we

"Our young friend makes up for many obvious mental lacunae by some measure of primitive common sense,

remarked Challenger. "The interests of his deplorable profession are immaterial to us; but, as he observes, we

"It is a waste of energy to do anything else," growled Summerlee from behind his pipe. "Let me remind you

that we came here upon a perfectly definite mission, entrusted to us at the meeting of the Zoological Institute

in London. That mission was to test the truth of Professor Challenger's statements. Those statements, as I am

bound to admit, we are now in a position to endorse. Our ostensible work is therefore done. As to the detail

which remains to be worked out upon this plateau, it is so enormous that only a large expedition, with a very

special equipment, could hope to cope with it. Should we attempt to do so ourselves, the only possible result

must be that we shall never return with the important contribution to science which we have already gained.

Professor Challenger has devised means for getting us on to this plateau when it appeared to be inaccessible;

I think that we should now call upon him to use the same ingenuity in getting us back to the world from

I confess that as Summerlee stated his view it struck me as altogether reasonable. Even Challenger was

affected by the consideration that his enemies would never stand confuted if the confirmation of his

"The problem of the descent is at first sight a formidable one," said he, "and yet I cannot doubt that the

intellect can solve it. I am prepared to agree with our colleague that a protracted stay in Maple White Land is

at present inadvisable, and that the question of our return will soon have to be faced. I absolutely refuse to

leave, however, until we have made at least a superficial examination of this country, and are able to take

"We have spent two long days in exploration," said he, "and we are no wiser as to the actual geography of the

place than when we started. It is clear that it is all thickly wooded, and it would take months to penetrate it

and to learn the relations of one part to another. If there were some central peak it would be different, but it

all slopes downwards, so far as we can see. The farther we go the less likely it is that we will get any general

It was at that moment that I had my inspiration. My eyes chanced to light upon the enormous gnarled trunk of

the gingko tree which cast its huge branches over us. Surely, if its bole exceeded that of all others, its height

must do the same. If the rim of the plateau was indeed the highest point, then why should this mighty tree not

prove to be a watchtower which commanded the whole country? Now, ever since I ran wild as a lad in

Ireland I have been a bold and skilled treeclimber. My comrades might be my masters on the rocks, but I

knew that I would be supreme among those branches. Could I only get my legs on to the lowest of the giant

offshoots, then it would be strange indeed if I could not make my way to the top. My comrades were

"Our young friend," said Challenger, bunching up the red apples of his cheeks, "is capable of acrobatic

exertions which would be impossible to a man of a more solid, though possibly of a more commanding,

"By George, young fellah, you've put your hand on it!" said Lord John, clapping me on the back. "How we

never came to think of it before I can't imagine! There's not more than an hour of daylight left, but if you take

your notebook you may be able to get some rough sketch of the place. If we put these three ammunition cases

He stood on the boxes while I faced the trunk, and was gently raising me when Challenger sprang forward

and gave me such a thrust with his huge hand that he fairly shot me into the tree. With both arms clasping the

branch, I scrambled hard with my feet until I had worked, first my body, and then my knees, onto it. There

were three excellent offshoots, like huge rungs of a ladder, above my head, and a tangle of convenient

branches beyond, so that I clambered onwards with such speed that I soon lost sight of the ground and had

nothing but foliage beneath me. Now and then I encountered a check, and once I had to shin up a creeper for

eight or ten feet, but I made excellent progress, and the booming of Challenger's voice seemed to be a great

distance beneath me. The tree was, however, enormous, and, looking upwards, I could see no thinning of the

leaves above my head. There was some thick, bushlike clump which seemed to be a parasite upon a branch

up which I was swarming. I leaned my head round it in order to see what was beyond, and I nearly fell out of

A face was gazing into mineat the distance of only a foot or two. The creature that owned it had been

crouching behind the parasite, and had looked round it at the same instant that I did. It was a human faceor

at least it was far more human than any monkey's that I have ever seen. It was long, whitish, and blotched

with pimples, the nose flattened, and the lower jaw projecting, with a bristle of coarse whiskers round the

chin. The eyes, which were under thick and heavy brows, were bestial and ferocious, and as it opened its

mouth to snarl what sounded like a curse at me I observed that it had curved, sharp canine teeth. For an

instant I read hatred and menace in the evil eyes. Then, as quick as a flash, came an expression of

overpowering fear. There was a crash of broken boughs as it dived wildly down into the tangle of green. I

caught a glimpse of a hairy body like that of a reddish pig, and then it was gone amid a swirl of leaves and

"Did you see it?" I cried, with my arms round the branch and all my nerves tingling.

I was so shocked at the sudden and strange appearance of this apeman that I hesitated whether I should not

climb down again and tell my experience to my companions. But I was already so far up the great tree that it

After a long pause, therefore, to recover my breath and my courage, I continued my ascent. Once I put my

weight upon a rotten branch and swung for a few seconds by my hands, but in the main it was all easy

climbing. Gradually the leaves thinned around me, and I was aware, from the wind upon my face, that I had

topped all the trees of the forest. I was determined, however, not to look about me before I had reached the

very highest point, so I scrambled on until I had got so far that the topmost branch was bending beneath my

weight. There I settled into a convenient fork, and, balancing myself securely, I found myself looking down

at a most wonderful panorama of this strange country in which we found ourselves.

The sun was just above the western skyline, and the evening was a particularly bright and clear one, so that

the whole extent of the plateau was visible beneath me. It was, as seen from this height, of an oval contour,

with a breadth of about thirty miles and a width of twenty. Its general shape was that of a shallow funnel, all

the sides sloping down to a considerable lake in the center. This lake may have been ten miles in

circumference, and lay very green and beautiful in the evening light, with a thick fringe of reeds at its edges,

and with its surface broken by several yellow sandbanks, which gleamed golden in the mellow sunshine. A

number of long dark objects, which were too large for alligators and too long for canoes, lay upon the edges

of these patches of sand. With my glass I could clearly see that they were alive, but what their nature might

From the side of the plateau on which we were, slopes of woodland, with occasional glades, stretched down

for five or six miles to the central lake. I could see at my very feet the glade of the iguanodons, and farther off

was a round opening in the trees which marked the swamp of the pterodactyls. On the side facing me,

however, the plateau presented a very different aspect. There the basalt cliffs of the outside were reproduced

upon the inside, forming an escarpment about two hundred feet high, with a woody slope beneath it. Along

the base of these red cliffs, some distance above the ground, I could see a number of dark holes through the

glass, which I conjectured to be the mouths of caves. At the opening of one of these something white was

shimmering, but I was unable to make out what it was. I sat charting the country until the sun had set and it

was so dark that I could no longer distinguish details. Then I climbed down to my companions waiting for me

so eagerly at the bottom of the great tree. For once I was the hero of the expedition. Alone I had thought of it,

and alone I had done it; and here was the chart which would save us a month's blind groping among unknown

But before they discussed the details of my map I had to tell them of my encounter with the apeman among

"Because I have never been without that feeling that something malevolent was watching us. I mentioned it to

"Our young friend certainly said something of the kind. He is also the one among us who is endowed with

"Is too vast to be now discussed," said Challenger, with decision. "Tell me, now," he added, with the air of a

bishop addressing a Sundayschool, "did you happen to observe whether the creature could cross its thumb

"I do not think it could have made off so fast among the branches if it could not get a grip with its feet."

"In South America there are, if my memory serves meyou will check the observation, Professor

Summerleesome thirtysix species of monkeys, but the anthropoid ape is unknown. It is clear, however,

that he exists in this country, and that he is not the hairy, gorillalike variety, which is never seen out of

Africa or the East." (I was inclined to interpolate, as I looked at him, that I had seen his first cousin in

Kensington.) "This is a whiskered and colorless type, the latter characteristic pointing to the fact that he

spends his days in arboreal seclusion. The question which we have to face is whether he approaches more

closely to the ape or the man. In the latter case, he may well approximate to what the vulgar have called the

"It is nothing of the sort," said Summerlee, abruptly. "Now that, through the intelligence and activity of Mr.

Malone" (I cannot help quoting the words), "we have got our chart, our one and only immediate duty is to get

"The inkpots of civilization, sir. It is our task to put on record what we have seen, and to leave the further

exploration to others. You all agreed as much before Mr. Malone got us the chart."

"Well," said Challenger, "I admit that my mind will be more at ease when I am assured that the result of our

expedition has been conveyed to our friends. How we are to get down from this place I have not as yet an

idea. I have never yet encountered any problem, however, which my inventive brain was unable to solve, and

I promise you that tomorrow I will turn my attention to the question of our descent." And so the matter was

But that evening, by the light of the fire and of a single candle, the first map of the lost world was elaborated.

Every detail which I had roughly noted from my watchtower was drawn out in its relative place.

"Why should you not take the chance of perpetuating your own name?" said Summerlee, with his usual touch

"I trust, sir, that my name will have other and more personal claims upon posterity," said Challenger,

severely. "Any ignoramus can hand down his worthless memory by imposing it upon a mountain or a river. I

Summerlee, with a twisted smile, was about to make some fresh assault when Lord John hastened to

"It's up to you, young fellah, to name the lake," said he. "You saw it first, and, by George, if you choose to

"Then, said I, blushing, I dare say, as I said it, "let it be named Lake Gladys."

"Don't you think the Central Lake would be more descriptive?" remarked Summerlee.

Challenger looked at me sympathetically, and shook his great head in mock disapproval. "Boys will be boys,"

I have saidor perhaps I have not said, for my memory plays me sad tricks these daysthat I glowed with

pride when three such men as my comrades thanked me for having saved, or at least greatly helped, the

situation. As the youngster of the party, not merely in years, but in experience, character, knowledge, and all

that goes to make a man, I had been overshadowed from the first. And now I was coming into my own. I

warmed at the thought. Alas! for the pride which goes before a fall! That little glow of selfsatisfaction, that

added measure of selfconfidence, were to lead me on that very night to the most dreadful experience of my

It came about in this way. I had been unduly excited by the adventure of the tree, and sleep seemed to be

impossible. Summerlee was on guard, sitting hunched over our small fire, a quaint, angular figure, his rifle

across his knees and his pointed, goatlike beard wagging with each weary nod of his head. Lord John lay

silent, wrapped in the South American poncho which he wore, while Challenger snored with a roll and rattle

which reverberated through the woods. The full moon was shining brightly, and the air was crisply cold.

What a night for a walk! And then suddenly came the thought, "Why not?" Suppose I stole softly away,

suppose I made my way down to the central lake, suppose I was back at breakfast with some record of the

place would I not in that case be thought an even more worthy associate? Then, if Summerlee carried the

day and some means of escape were found, we should return to London with firsthand knowledge of the

central mystery of the plateau, to which I alone, of all men, would have penetrated. I thought of Gladys, with

her "There are heroisms all round us." I seemed to hear her voice as she said it. I thought also of McArdle.

What a three column article for the paper! What a foundation for a career! A correspondentship in the next

great war might be within my reach. I clutched at a gunmy pockets were full of cartridgesand, parting

the thorn bushes at the gate of our zareba, quickly slipped out. My last glance showed me the unconscious

Summerlee, most futile of sentinels, still nodding away like a queer mechanical toy in front of the

I had not gone a hundred yards before I deeply repented my rashness. I may have said somewhere in this

chronicle that I am too imaginative to be a really courageous man, but that I have an overpowering fear of

seeming afraid. This was the power which now carried me onwards. I simply could not slink back with

nothing done. Even if my comrades should not have missed me, and should never know of my weakness,

there would still remain some intolerable selfshame in my own soul. And yet I shuddered at the position in

which I found myself, and would have given all I possessed at that moment to have been honorably free of

It was dreadful in the forest. The trees grew so thickly and their foliage spread so widely that I could see

nothing of the moonlight save that here and there the high branches made a tangled filigree against the

starry sky. As the eyes became more used to the obscurity one learned that there were different degrees of

darkness among the treesthat some were dimly visible, while between and among them there were

coalblack shadowed patches, like the mouths of caves, from which I shrank in horror as I passed. I thought

of the despairing yell of the tortured iguanodonthat dreadful cry which had echoed through the woods. I

thought, too, of the glimpse I had in the light of Lord John's torch of that bloated, warty, bloodslavering

muzzle. Even now I was on its huntingground. At any instant it might spring upon me from the

shadowsthis nameless and horrible monster. I stopped, and, picking a cartridge from my pocket, I opened

the breech of my gun. As I touched the lever my heart leaped within me. It was the shotgun, not the rifle,

Again the impulse to return swept over me. Here, surely, was a most excellent reason for my failureone for

which no one would think the less of me. But again the foolish pride fought against that very word. I could

notmust notfail. After all, my rifle would probably have been as useless as a shotgun against such

dangers as I might meet. If I were to go back to camp to change my weapon I could hardly expect to enter

and to leave again without being seen. In that case there would be explanations, and my attempt would no

longer be all my own. After a little hesitation, then, I screwed up my courage and continued upon my way,

The darkness of the forest had been alarming, but even worse was the white, still flood of moonlight in the

open glade of the iguanodons. Hid among the bushes, I looked out at it. None of the great brutes were in

sight. Perhaps the tragedy which had befallen one of them had driven them from their feedingground. In the

misty, silvery night I could see no sign of any living thing. Taking courage, therefore, I slipped rapidly across

it, and among the jungle on the farther side I picked up once again the brook which was my guide. It was a

cheery companion, gurgling and chuckling as it ran, like the dear old troutstream in the West Country where

I have fished at night in my boyhood. So long as I followed it down I must come to the lake, and so long as I

followed it back I must come to the camp. Often I had to lose sight of it on account of the tangled

As one descended the slope the woods became thinner, and bushes, with occasional high trees, took the place

of the forest. I could make good progress, therefore, and I could see without being seen. I passed close to the

pterodactyl swamp, and as I did so, with a dry, crisp, leathery rattle of wings, one of these great creaturesit

was twenty feet at least from tip to tiprose up from somewhere near me and soared into the air. As it

passed across the face of the moon the light shone clearly through the membranous wings, and it looked like

a flying skeleton against the white, tropical radiance. I crouched low among the bushes, for I knew from past

experience that with a single cry the creature could bring a hundred of its loathsome mates about my ears. It

was not until it had settled again that I dared to steal onwards upon my journey.

The night had been exceedingly still, but as I advanced I became conscious of a low, rumbling sound, a

continuous murmur, somewhere in front of me. This grew louder as I proceeded, until at last it was clearly

quite close to me. When I stood still the sound was constant, so that it seemed to come from some stationary

cause. It was like a boiling kettle or the bubbling of some great pot. Soon I came upon the source of it, for in

the center of a small clearing I found a lakeor a pool, rather, for it was not larger than the basin of the

Trafalgar Square fountainof some black, pitchlike stuff, the surface of which rose and fell in great blisters

of bursting gas. The air above it was shimmering with heat, and the ground round was so hot that I could

hardly bear to lay my hand on it. It was clear that the great volcanic outburst which had raised this strange

plateau so many years ago had not yet entirely spent its forces. Blackened rocks and mounds of lava I had

already seen everywhere peeping out from amid the luxuriant vegetation which draped them, but this asphalt

pool in the jungle was the first sign that we had of actual existing activity on the slopes of the ancient crater. I

had no time to examine it further for I had need to hurry if I were to be back in camp in the morning.

It was a fearsome walk, and one which will be with me so long as memory holds. In the great moonlight

clearings I slunk along among the shadows on the margin. In the jungle I crept forward, stopping with a

beating heart whenever I heard, as I often did, the crash of breaking branches as some wild beast went past.

Now and then great shadows loomed up for an instant and were gonegreat, silent shadows which seemed

to prowl upon padded feet. How often I stopped with the intention of returning, and yet every time my pride

At last (my watch showed that it was one in the morning) I saw the gleam of water amid the openings of the

jungle, and ten minutes later I was among the reeds upon the borders of the central lake. I was exceedingly

dry, so I lay down and took a long draught of its waters, which were fresh and cold. There was a broad

pathway with many tracks upon it at the spot which I had found, so that it was clearly one of the

drinkingplaces of the animals. Close to the water's edge there was a huge isolated block of lava. Up this I

The first thing which I saw filled me with amazement. When I described the view from the summit of the

great tree, I said that on the farther cliff I could see a number of dark spots, which appeared to be the mouths

of caves. Now, as I looked up at the same cliffs, I saw discs of light in every direction, ruddy, clearlydefined

patches, like the portholes of a liner in the darkness. For a moment I thought it was the lavaglow from

some volcanic action; but this could not be so. Any volcanic action would surely be down in the hollow and

not high among the rocks. What, then, was the alternative? It was wonderful, and yet it must surely be. These

ruddy spots must be the reflection of fires within the cavesfires which could only be lit by the hand of

man. There were human beings, then, upon the plateau. How gloriously my expedition was justified! Here

For a long time I lay and watched these red, quivering blotches of light. I suppose they were ten miles off

from me, yet even at that distance one could observe how, from time to time, they twinkled or were obscured

as someone passed before them. What would I not have given to be able to crawl up to them, to peep in, and

to take back some word to my comrades as to the appearance and character of the race who lived in so

strange a place! It was out of the question for the moment, and yet surely we could not leave the plateau until

Lake Gladysmy own lakelay like a sheet of quicksilver before me, with a reflected moon shining

brightly in the center of it. It was shallow, for in many places I saw low sandbanks protruding above the

water. Everywhere upon the still surface I could see signs of life, sometimes mere rings and ripples in the

water, sometimes the gleam of a great silversided fish in the air, sometimes the arched, slatecolored back

of some passing monster. Once upon a yellow sandbank I saw a creature like a huge swan, with a clumsy

body and a high, flexible neck, shuffling about upon the margin. Presently it plunged in, and for some time I

could see the arched neck and darting head undulating over the water. Then it dived, and I saw it no more.

My attention was soon drawn away from these distant sights and brought back to what was going on at my

very feet. Two creatures like large armadillos had come down to the drinkingplace, and were squatting at

the edge of the water, their long, flexible tongues like red ribbons shooting in and out as they lapped. A huge

deer, with branching horns, a magnificent creature which carried itself like a king, came down with its doe

and two fawns and drank beside the armadillos. No such deer exist anywhere else upon earth, for the moose

or elks which I have seen would hardly have reached its shoulders. Presently it gave a warning snort, and was

off with its family among the reeds, while the armadillos also scuttled for shelter. A newcomer, a most

For a moment I wondered where I could have seen that ungainly shape, that arched back with triangular

fringes along it, that strange birdlike head held close to the ground. Then it came back, to me. It was the

stegosaurusthe very creature which Maple White had preserved in his sketchbook, and which had been

the first object which arrested the attention of Challenger! There he wasperhaps the very specimen which

the American artist had encountered. The ground shook beneath his tremendous weight, and his gulpings of

water resounded through the still night. For five minutes he was so close to my rock that by stretching out my

hand I could have touched the hideous waving hackles upon his back. Then he lumbered away and was lost

Looking at my watch, I saw that it was halfpast two o'clock, and high time, therefore, that I started upon my

homeward journey. There was no difficulty about the direction in which I should return for all along I had

kept the little brook upon my left, and it opened into the central lake within a stone'sthrow of the boulder

upon which I had been lying. I set off, therefore, in high spirits, for I felt that I had done good work and was

bringing back a fine budget of news for my companions. Foremost of all, of course, were the sight of the fiery

caves and the certainty that some troglodytic race inhabited them. But besides that I could speak from

experience of the central lake. I could testify that it was full of strange creatures, and I had seen several land

forms of primeval life which we had not before encountered. I reflected as I walked that few men in the world

could have spent a stranger night or added more to human knowledge in the course of it.

I was plodding up the slope, turning these thoughts over in my mind, and had reached a point which may

have been halfway to home, when my mind was brought back to my own position by a strange noise behind

me. It was something between a snore and a growl, low, deep, and exceedingly menacing. Some strange

creature was evidently near me, but nothing could be seen, so I hastened more rapidly upon my way. I had

traversed half a mile or so when suddenly the sound was repeated, still behind me, but louder and more

menacing than before. My heart stood still within me as it flashed across me that the beast, whatever it was,

must surely be after ME. My skin grew cold and my hair rose at the thought. That these monsters should tear

each other to pieces was a part of the strange struggle for existence, but that they should turn upon modern

man, that they should deliberately track and hunt down the predominant human, was a staggering and

fearsome thought. I remembered again the bloodbeslobbered face which we had seen in the glare of Lord

John's torch, like some horrible vision from the deepest circle of Dante's hell. With my knees shaking beneath

me, I stood and glared with starting eyes down the moonlit path which lay behind me. All was quiet as in a

dream landscape. Silver clearings and the black patches of the bushesnothing else could I see. Then from

out of the silence, imminent and threatening, there came once more that low, throaty croaking, far louder and

closer than before. There could no longer be a doubt. Something was on my trail, and was closing in upon me

I stood like a man paralyzed, still staring at the ground which I had traversed. Then suddenly I saw it. There

was movement among the bushes at the far end of the clearing which I had just traversed. A great dark

shadow disengaged itself and hopped out into the clear moonlight. I say "hopped" advisedly, for the beast

moved like a kangaroo, springing along in an erect position upon its powerful hind legs, while its front ones

were held bent in front of it. It was of enormous size and power, like an erect elephant, but its movements, in

spite of its bulk, were exceedingly alert. For a moment, as I saw its shape, I hoped that it was an iguanodon,

which I knew to be harmless, but, ignorant as I was, I soon saw that this was a very different creature. Instead

of the gentle, deershaped head of the great threetoed leafeater, this beast had a broad, squat, toadlike

face like that which had alarmed us in our camp. His ferocious cry and the horrible energy of his pursuit both

assured me that this was surely one of the great flesheating dinosaurs, the most terrible beasts which have

ever walked this earth. As the huge brute loped along it dropped forward upon its forepaws and brought its

nose to the ground every twenty yards or so. It was smelling out my trail. Sometimes, for an instant, it was at

fault. Then it would catch it up again and come bounding swiftly along the path I had taken.

Even now when I think of that nightmare the sweat breaks out upon my brow. What could I do? My useless

fowlingpiece was in my hand. What help could I get from that? I looked desperately round for some rock or

tree, but I was in a bushy jungle with nothing higher than a sapling within sight, while I knew that the

creature behind me could tear down an ordinary tree as though it were a reed. My only possible chance lay in

flight. I could not move swiftly over the rough, broken ground, but as I looked round me in despair I saw a

wellmarked, hardbeaten path which ran across in front of me. We had seen several of the sort, the runs of

various wild beasts, during our expeditions. Along this I could perhaps hold my own, for I was a fast runner,

and in excellent condition. Flinging away my useless gun, I set myself to do such a halfmile as I have never

done before or since. My limbs ached, my chest heaved, I felt that my throat would burst for want of air, and

yet with that horror behind me I ran and I ran and ran. At last I paused, hardly able to move. For a moment I

thought that I had thrown him off. The path lay still behind me. And then suddenly, with a crashing and a

rending, a thudding of giant feet and a panting of monster lungs the beast was upon me once more. He was at

Madman that I was to linger so long before I fled! Up to then he had hunted by scent, and his movement was

slow. But he had actually seen me as I started to run. From then onwards he had hunted by sight, for the path

showed him where I had gone. Now, as he came round the curve, he was springing in great bounds. The

moonlight shone upon his huge projecting eyes, the row of enormous teeth in his open mouth, and the

gleaming fringe of claws upon his short, powerful forearms. With a scream of terror I turned and rushed

wildly down the path. Behind me the thick, gasping breathing of the creature sounded louder and louder. His

heavy footfall was beside me. Every instant I expected to feel his grip upon my back. And then suddenly

there came a crashI was falling through space, and everything beyond was darkness and rest.

As I emerged from my unconsciousnesswhich could not, I think, have lasted more than a few minutesI

was aware of a most dreadful and penetrating smell. Putting out my hand in the darkness I came upon

something which felt like a huge lump of meat, while my other hand closed upon a large bone. Up above me

there was a circle of starlit sky, which showed me that I was lying at the bottom of a deep pit. Slowly I

staggered to my feet and felt myself all over. I was stiff and sore from head to foot, but there was no limb

which would not move, no joint which would not bend. As the circumstances of my fall came back into my

confused brain, I looked up in terror, expecting to see that dreadful head silhouetted against the paling sky.

There was no sign of the monster, however, nor could I hear any sound from above. I began to walk slowly

round, therefore, feeling in every direction to find out what this strange place could be into which I had been

It was, as I have said, a pit, with sharplysloping walls and a level bottom about twenty feet across. This

bottom was littered with great gobbets of flesh, most of which was in the last state of putridity. The

atmosphere was poisonous and horrible. After tripping and stumbling over these lumps of decay, I came

suddenly against something hard, and I found that an upright post was firmly fixed in the center of the

hollow. It was so high that I could not reach the top of it with my hand, and it appeared to be covered with

Suddenly I remembered that I had a tin box of waxvestas in my pocket. Striking one of them, I was able at

last to form some opinion of this place into which I had fallen. There could be no question as to its nature. It

was a trapmade by the hand of man. The post in the center, some nine feet long, was sharpened at the

upper end, and was black with the stale blood of the creatures who had been impaled upon it. The remains

scattered about were fragments of the victims, which had been cut away in order to clear the stake for the

next who might blunder in. I remembered that Challenger had declared that man could not exist upon the

plateau, since with his feeble weapons he could not hold his own against the monsters who roamed over it.

But now it was clear enough how it could be done. In their narrowmouthed caves the natives, whoever they

might be, had refuges into which the huge saurians could not penetrate, while with their developed brains

they were capable of setting such traps, covered with branches, across the paths which marked the run of the

animals as would destroy them in spite of all their strength and activity. Man was always the master.

The sloping wall of the pit was not difficult for an active man to climb, but I hesitated long before I trusted

myself within reach of the dreadful creature which had so nearly destroyed me. How did I know that he was

not lurking in the nearest clump of bushes, waiting for my reappearance? I took heart, however, as I recalled

a conversation between Challenger and Summerlee upon the habits of the great saurians. Both were agreed

that the monsters were practically brainless, that there was no room for reason in their tiny cranial cavities,

and that if they have disappeared from the rest of the world it was assuredly on account of their own

stupidity, which made it impossible for them to adapt themselves to changing conditions.

To lie in wait for me now would mean that the creature had appreciated what had happened to me, and this in

turn would argue some power connecting cause and effect. Surely it was more likely that a brainless creature,

acting solely by vague predatory instinct, would give up the chase when I disappeared, and, after a pause of

astonishment, would wander away in search of some other prey? I clambered to the edge of the pit and

looked over. The stars were fading, the sky was whitening, and the cold wind of morning blew pleasantly

upon my face. I could see or hear nothing of my enemy. Slowly I climbed out and sat for a while upon the

ground, ready to spring back into my refuge if any danger should appear. Then, reassured by the absolute

stillness and by the growing light, I took my courage in both hands and stole back along the path which I had

come. Some distance down it I picked up my gun, and shortly afterwards struck the brook which was my

And suddenly there came something to remind me of my absent companions. In the clear, still morning air

there sounded far away the sharp, hard note of a single rifleshot. I paused and listened, but there was

nothing more. For a moment I was shocked at the thought that some sudden danger might have befallen them.

But then a simpler and more natural explanation came to my mind. It was now broad daylight. No doubt my

absence had been noticed. They had imagined, that I was lost in the woods, and had fired this shot to guide

me home. It is true that we had made a strict resolution against firing, but if it seemed to them that I might be

in danger they would not hesitate. It was for me now to hurry on as fast as possible, and so to reassure them.

I was weary and spent, so my progress was not so fast as I wished; but at last I came into regions which I

knew. There was the swamp of the pterodactyls upon my left; there in front of me was the glade of the

iguanodons. Now I was in the last belt of trees which separated me from Fort Challenger. I raised my voice in

a cheery shout to allay their fears. No answering greeting came back to me. My heart sank at that ominous

stillness. I quickened my pace into a run. The zareba rose before me, even as I had left it, but the gate was

open. I rushed in. In the cold, morning light it was a fearful sight which met my eyes. Our effects were

scattered in wild confusion over the ground; my comrades had disappeared, and close to the smouldering

I was so stunned by this sudden shock that for a time I must have nearly lost my reason. I have a vague

recollection, as one remembers a bad dream, of rushing about through the woods all round the empty camp,

calling wildly for my companions. No answer came back from the silent shadows. The horrible thought that I

might never see them again, that I might find myself abandoned all alone in that dreadful place, with no

possible way of descending into the world below, that I might live and die in that nightmare country, drove

me to desperation. I could have torn my hair and beaten my head in my despair. Only now did I realize how I

had learned to lean upon my companions, upon the serene selfconfidence of Challenger, and upon the

masterful, humorous coolness of Lord John Roxton. Without them I was like a child in the dark, helpless and

After a period, during which I sat in bewilderment, I set myself to try and discover what sudden misfortune

could have befallen my companions. The whole disordered appearance of the camp showed that there had

been some sort of attack, and the rifleshot no doubt marked the time when it had occurred. That there should

have been only one shot showed that it had been all over in an instant. The rifles still lay upon the ground,

and one of themLord John'shad the empty cartridge in the breech. The blankets of Challenger and of

Summerlee beside the fire suggested that they had been asleep at the time. The cases of ammunition and of

food were scattered about in a wild litter, together with our unfortunate cameras and platecarriers, but none

of them were missing. On the other hand, all the exposed provisionsand I remembered that there were a

considerable quantity of themwere gone. They were animals, then, and not natives, who had made the

But if animals, or some single terrible animal, then what had become of my comrades? A ferocious beast

would surely have destroyed them and left their remains. It is true that there was that one hideous pool of

blood, which told of violence. Such a monster as had pursued me during the night could have carried away a

victim as easily as a cat would a mouse. In that case the others would have followed in pursuit. But then they

would assuredly have taken their rifles with them. The more I tried to think it out with my confused and

weary brain the less could I find any plausible explanation. I searched round in the forest, but could see no

tracks which could help me to a conclusion. Once I lost myself, and it was only by good luck, and after an

Suddenly a thought came to me and brought some little comfort to my heart. I was not absolutely alone in the

world. Down at the bottom of the cliff, and within call of me, was waiting the faithful Zambo. I went to the

edge of the plateau and looked over. Sure enough, he was squatting among his blankets beside his fire in his

little camp. But, to my amazement, a second man was seated in front of him. For an instant my heart leaped

for joy, as I thought that one of my comrades had made his way safely down. But a second glance dispelled

the hope. The rising sun shone red upon the man's skin. He was an Indian. I shouted loudly and waved my

handkerchief. Presently Zambo looked up, waved his hand, and turned to ascend the pinnacle. In a short time

he was standing close to me and listening with deep distress to the story which I told him.

"Devil got them for sure, Massa Malone," said he. "You got into the devil's country, sah, and he take you all

to himself. You take advice, Massa Malone, and come down quick, else he get you as well."

"You get creepers from trees, Massa Malone. Throw them over here. I make fast to this stump, and so you

"Send to Indian villages, sah. Plenty hide rope in Indian village. Indian down below; send him."

"One of our Indians. Other ones beat him and take away his pay. He come back to us. Ready now to take

To take a letter! Why not? Perhaps he might bring help; but in any case he would ensure that our lives were

not spent for nothing, and that news of all that we had won for Science should reach our friends at home. I

had two completed letters already waiting. I would spend the day in writing a third, which would bring my

experiences absolutely up to date. The Indian could bear this back to the world. I ordered Zambo, therefore,

to come again in the evening, and I spent my miserable and lonely day in recording my own adventures of the

night before. I also drew up a note, to be given to any white merchant or captain of a steamboat whom the

Indian could find, imploring them to see that ropes were sent to us, since our lives must depend upon it.

These documents I threw to Zambo in the evening, and also my purse, which contained three English

sovereigns. These were to be given to the Indian, and he was promised twice as much if he returned with the

So now you will understand, my dear Mr. McArdle, how this communication reaches you, and you will also

know the truth, in case you never hear again from your unfortunate correspondent. Tonight I am too weary

and too depressed to make my plans. Tomorrow I must think out some way by which I shall keep in touch

Just as the sun was setting upon that melancholy night I saw the lonely figure of the Indian upon the vast

plain beneath me, and I watched him, our one faint hope of salvation, until he disappeared in the rising mists

of evening which lay, rosetinted from the setting sun, between the faroff river and me.

It was quite dark when I at last turned back to our stricken camp, and my last vision as I went was the red

gleam of Zambo's fire, the one point of light in the wide world below, as was his faithful presence in my own

shadowed soul. And yet I felt happier than I had done since this crushing blow had fallen upon me, for it was

good to think that the world should know what we had done, so that at the worst our names should not perish

with our bodies, but should go down to posterity associated with the result of our labors.

It was an awesome thing to sleep in that illfated camp; and yet it was even more unnerving to do so in the

jungle. One or the other it must be. Prudence, on the one hand, warned me that I should remain on guard, but

exhausted Nature, on the other, declared that I should do nothing of the kind. I climbed up on to a limb of the

great gingko tree, but there was no secure perch on its rounded surface, and I should certainly have fallen off

and broken my neck the moment I began to doze. I got down, therefore, and pondered over what I should do.

Finally, I closed the door of the zareba, lit three separate fires in a triangle, and having eaten a hearty supper

dropped off into a profound sleep, from which I had a strange and most welcome awakening. In the early

morning, just as day was breaking, a hand was laid upon my arm, and starting up, with all my nerves in a

tingle and my hand feeling for a rifle, I gave a cry of joy as in the cold gray light I saw Lord John Roxton

It was heand yet it was not he. I had left him calm in his bearing, correct in his person, prim in his dress.

Now he was pale and wildeyed, gasping as he breathed like one who has run far and fast. His gaunt face

was scratched and bloody, his clothes were hanging in rags, and his hat was gone. I stared in amazement, but

he gave me no chance for questions. He was grabbing at our stores all the time he spoke.

"Quick, young fellah! Quick!" he cried. "Every moment counts. Get the rifles, both of them. I have the other

two. Now, all the cartridges you can gather. Fill up your pockets. Now, some food. Half a dozen tins will do.

Still halfawake, and unable to imagine what it all might mean, I found myself hurrying madly after him

through the wood, a rifle under each arm and a pile of various stores in my hands. He dodged in and out

through the thickest of the scrub until he came to a dense clump of brushwood. Into this he rushed,

regardless of thorns, and threw himself into the heart of it, pulling me down by his side.

"There!" he panted. "I think we are safe here. They'll make for the camp as sure as fate. It will be their first

"What is it all?" I asked, when I had got my breath. "Where are the professors? And who is it that is after us?"

"The apemen," he cried. "My God, what brutes! Don't raise your voice, for they have long earssharp

eyes, too, but no power of scent, so far as I could judge, so I don't think they can sniff us out. Where have you

"Pretty bad," said he, when he had heard of the dinosaur and the pit. "It isn't quite the place for a rest cure.

What? But I had no idea what its possibilities were until those devils got hold of us. The maneatin' Papuans

"It was in the early mornin'. Our learned friends were just stirrin'. Hadn't even begun to argue yet. Suddenly it

rained apes. They came down as thick as apples out of a tree. They had been assemblin' in the dark, I

suppose, until that great tree over our heads was heavy with them. I shot one of them through the belly, but

before we knew where we were they had us spreadeagled on our backs. I call them apes, but they carried

sticks and stones in their hands and jabbered talk to each other, and ended up by tyin' our hands with

creepers, so they are ahead of any beast that I have seen in my wanderin's. Apementhat's what they

areMissin' Links, and I wish they had stayed missin'. They carried off their wounded comradehe was

bleedin' like a pigand then they sat around us, and if ever I saw frozen murder it was in their faces. They

were big fellows, as big as a man and a deal stronger. Curious glassy gray eyes they have, under red tufts, and

they just sat and gloated and gloated. Challenger is no chicken, but even he was cowed. He managed to

struggle to his feet, and yelled out at them to have done with it and get it over. I think he had gone a bit off

his head at the suddenness of it, for he raged and cursed at them like a lunatic. If they had been a row of his

"Well, what did they do?" I was enthralled by the strange story which my companion was whispering into my

ear, while all the time his keen eyes were shooting in every direction and his hand grasping his cocked rifle.

"I thought it was the end of us, but instead of that it started them on a new line. They all jabbered and

chattered together. Then one of them stood out beside Challenger. You'll smile, young fellah, but 'pon my

word they might have been kinsmen. I couldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. This old

apemanhe was their chiefwas a sort of red Challenger, with every one of our friend's beauty points,

only just a trifle more so. He had the short body, the big shoulders, the round chest, no neck, a great ruddy

frill of a beard, the tufted eyebrows, the `What do you want, damn you!' look about the eyes, and the whole

catalogue. When the apeman stood by Challenger and put his paw on his shoulder, the thing was complete.

Summerlee was a bit hysterical, and he laughed till he cried. The apemen laughed too or at least they put

up the devil of a cacklin'and they set to work to drag us off through the forest. They wouldn't touch the

guns and thingsthought them dangerous, I expectbut they carried away all our loose food. Summerlee

and I got some rough handlin' on the waythere's my skin and my clothes to prove itfor they took us a

beeline through the brambles, and their own hides are like leather. But Challenger was all right. Four of

"There they go!" said my companion, slipping cartridges into the second double barrelled "Express." "Load

them all up, young fellah my lad, for we're not going to be taken alive, and don't you think it! That's the row

they make when they are excited. By George! they'll have something to excite them if they put us up. The

`Last Stand of the Grays' won't be in it. `With their rifles grasped in their stiffened hands, mid a ring of the

"That little lot will do no good, but I expect their search parties are all over the wood. Well, I was telling you

my tale of woe. They got us soon to this town of theirsabout a thousand huts of branches and leaves in a

great grove of trees near the edge of the cliff. It's three or four miles from here. The filthy beasts fingered me

all over, and I feel as if I should never be clean again. They tied us upthe fellow who handled me could tie

like a bosunand there we lay with our toes up, beneath a tree, while a great brute stood guard over us with

a club in his hand. When I say `we' I mean Summerlee and myself. Old Challenger was up a tree, eatin' pines

and havin' the time of his life. I'm bound to say that he managed to get some fruit to us, and with his own

hands he loosened our bonds. If you'd seen him sitting up in that tree hobnobbin' with his twin brotherand

singin' in that rollin' bass of his, `Ring out, wild bells,' cause music of any kind seemed to put 'em in a good

humor, you'd have smiled; but we weren't in much mood for laughin', as you can guess. They were inclined,

within limits, to let him do what he liked, but they drew the line pretty sharply at us. It was a mighty

consolation to us all to know that you were runnin' loose and had the archives in your keepin'.

"Well, now, young fellah, I'll tell you what will surprise you. You say you saw signs of men, and fires, traps,

and the like. Well, we have seen the natives themselves. Poor devils they were, downfaced little chaps, and

had enough to make them so. It seems that the humans hold one side of this plateauover yonder, where you

saw the cavesand the apemen hold this side, and there is bloody war between them all the time. That's the

situation, so far as I could follow it. Well, yesterday the apemen got hold of a dozen of the humans and

brought them in as prisoners. You never heard such a jabberin' and shriekin' in your life. The men were little

red fellows, and had been bitten and clawed so that they could hardly walk. The apemen put two of them to

death there and thenfairly pulled the arm off one of themit was perfectly beastly. Plucky little chaps

they are, and hardly gave a squeak. But it turned us absolutely sick. Summerlee fainted, and even Challenger

We listened intently, but nothing save the calling of the birds broke the deep peace of the forest. Lord Roxton

"I Think you have had the escape of your life, young fellah my lad. It was catchin' those Indians that put you

clean out of their heads, else they would have been back to the camp for you as sure as fate and gathered you

in. Of course, as you said, they have been watchin' us from the beginnin' out of that tree, and they knew

perfectly well that we were one short. However, they could think only of this new haul; so it was I, and not a

bunch of apes, that dropped in on you in the morning. Well, we had a horrid business afterwards. My God!

what a nightmare the whole thing is! You remember the great bristle of sharp canes down below where we

found the skeleton of the American? Well, that is just under apetown, and that's the jumpin'off place of

their prisoners. I expect there's heaps of skeletons there, if we looked for 'em. They have a sort of clear

paradeground on the top, and they make a proper ceremony about it. One by one the poor devils have to

jump, and the game is to see whether they are merely dashed to pieces or whether they get skewered on the

canes. They took us out to see it, and the whole tribe lined up on the edge. Four of the Indians jumped, and

the canes went through 'em like knittin' needles through a pat of butter. No wonder we found that poor

Yankee's skeleton with the canes growin' between his ribs. It was horriblebut it was doocedly interestin'

too. We were all fascinated to see them take the dive, even when we thought it would be our turn next on the

"Well, it wasn't. They kept six of the Indians up for today that's how I understood itbut I fancy we

were to be the star performers in the show. Challenger might get off, but Summerlee and I were in the bill.

Their language is more than half signs, and it was not hard to follow them. So I thought it was time we made

a break for it. I had been plottin' it out a bit, and had one or two things clear in my mind. It was all on me, for

Summerlee was useless and Challenger not much better. The only time they got together they got slangin'

because they couldn't agree upon the scientific classification of these redheaded devils that had got hold of

us. One said it was the dryopithecus of Java, the other said it was pithecanthropus. Madness, I call

itLoonies, both. But, as I say, I had thought out one or two points that were helpful. One was that these

brutes could not run as fast as a man in the open. They have short, bandy legs, you see, and heavy bodies.

Even Challenger could give a few yards in a hundred to the best of them, and you or I would be a perfect

Shrubb. Another point was that they knew nothin' about guns. I don't believe they ever understood how the

fellow I shot came by his hurt. If we could get at our guns there was no sayin' what we could do.

"So I broke away early this mornin', gave my guard a kick in the tummy that laid him out, and sprinted for

"Well, we must just go back and fetch 'em. I couldn't bring 'em with me. Challenger was up the tree, and

Summerlee was not fit for the effort. The only chance was to get the guns and try a rescue. Of course they

may scupper them at once in revenge. I don't think they would touch Challenger, but I wouldn't answer for

Summerlee. But they would have had him in any case. Of that I am certain. So I haven't made matters any

worse by boltin'. But we are honor bound to go back and have them out or see it through with them. So you

can make up your soul, young fellah my lad, for it will be one way or the other before evenin'."

I have tried to imitate here Lord Roxton's jerky talk, his short, strong sentences, the halfhumorous,

halfreckless tone that ran through it all. But he was a born leader. As danger thickened his jaunty manner

would increase, his speech become more racy, his cold eyes glitter into ardent life, and his Don Quixote

moustache bristle with joyous excitement. His love of danger, his intense appreciation of the drama of an

adventureall the more intense for being held tightly inhis consistent view that every peril in life is a

form of sport, a fierce game betwixt you and Fate, with Death as a forfeit, made him a wonderful companion

at such hours. If it were not for our fears as to the fate of our companions, it would have been a positive joy to

throw myself with such a man into such an affair. We were rising from our brushwood hidingplace when

From where we lay we could look down a brown aisle, arched with green, formed by the trunks and branches.

Along this a party of the apemen were passing. They went in single file, with bent legs and rounded backs,

their hands occasionally touching the ground, their heads turning to left and right as they trotted along. Their

crouching gait took away from their height, but I should put them at five feet or so, with long arms and

enormous chests. Many of them carried sticks, and at the distance they looked like a line of very hairy and

deformed human beings. For a moment I caught this clear glimpse of them. Then they were lost among the

"Not this time," said Lord John, who had caught up his rifle. "Our best chance is to lie quiet until they have

given up the search. Then we shall see whether we can't get back to their town and hit 'em where it hurts

We filled in the time by opening one of our food tins and making sure of our breakfast. Lord Roxton had had

nothing but some fruit since the morning before and ate like a starving man. Then, at last, our pockets bulging

with cartridges and a rifle in each hand, we started off upon our mission of rescue. Before leaving it we

carefully marked our little hidingplace among the brushwood and its bearing to Fort Challenger, that we

might find it again if we needed it. We slunk through the bushes in silence until we came to the very edge of

the cliff, close to the old camp. There we halted, and Lord John gave me some idea of his plans.

"So long as we are among the thick trees these swine are our masters, said he. They can see us and we cannot

see them. But in the open it is different. There we can move faster than they. So we must stick to the open all

we can. The edge of the plateau has fewer large trees than further inland. So that's our line of advance. Go

slowly, keep your eyes open and your rifle ready. Above all, never let them get you prisoner while there is a

When we reached the edge of the cliff I looked over and saw our good old black Zambo sitting smoking on a

rock below us. I would have given a great deal to have hailed him and told him how we were placed, but it

was too dangerous, lest we should be heard. The woods seemed to be full of the apemen; again and again

we heard their curious clicking chatter. At such times we plunged into the nearest clump of bushes and lay

still until the sound had passed away. Our advance, therefore, was very slow, and two hours at least must

have passed before I saw by Lord John's cautious movements that we must be close to our destination. He

motioned to me to lie still, and he crawled forward himself. In a minute he was back again, his face quivering

I found myself shaking with nervous excitement as I scrambled forward and lay down beside him, looking

It was a sight which I shall never forget until my dying dayso weird, so impossible, that I do not know how

I am to make you realize it, or how in a few years I shall bring myself to believe in it if I live to sit once more

on a lounge in the Savage Club and look out on the drab solidity of the Embankment. I know that it will seem

then to be some wild nightmare, some delirium of fever. Yet I will set it down now, while it is still fresh in

my memory, and one at least, the man who lay in the damp grasses by my side, will know if I have lied.

A wide, open space lay before ussome hundreds of yards acrossall green turf and low bracken growing

to the very edge of the cliff. Round this clearing there was a semicircle of trees with curious huts built of

foliage piled one above the other among the branches. A rookery, with every nest a little house, would best

convey the idea. The openings of these huts and the branches of the trees were thronged with a dense mob of

apepeople, whom from their size I took to be the females and infants of the tribe. They formed the

background of the picture, and were all looking out with eager interest at the same scene which fascinated

In the open, and near the edge of the cliff, there had assembled a crowd of some hundred of these shaggy,

redhaired creatures, many of them of immense size, and all of them horrible to look upon. There was a

certain discipline among them, for none of them attempted to break the line which had been formed. In front

there stood a small group of Indianslittle, cleanlimbed, red fellows, whose skins glowed like polished

bronze in the strong sunlight. A tall, thin white man was standing beside them, his head bowed, his arms

folded, his whole attitude expressive of his horror and dejection. There was no mistaking the angular form of

In front of and around this dejected group of prisoners were several apemen, who watched them closely and

made all escape impossible. Then, right out from all the others and close to the edge of the cliff, were two

figures, so strange, and under other circumstances so ludicrous, that they absorbed my attention. The one was

our comrade, Professor Challenger. The remains of his coat still hung in strips from his shoulders, but his

shirt had been all torn out, and his great beard merged itself in the black tangle which covered his mighty

chest. He had lost his hat, and his hair, which had grown long in our wanderings, was flying in wild disorder.

A single day seemed to have changed him from the highest product of modern civilization to the most

desperate savage in South America. Beside him stood his master, the king of the apemen. In all things he

was, as Lord John had said, the very image of our Professor, save that his coloring was red instead of black.

The same short, broad figure, the same heavy shoulders, the same forward hang of the arms, the same

bristling beard merging itself in the hairy chest. Only above the eyebrows, where the sloping forehead and

low, curved skull of the apeman were in sharp contrast to the broad brow and magnificent cranium of the

European, could one see any marked difference. At every other point the king was an absurd parody of the

All this, which takes me so long to describe, impressed itself upon me in a few seconds. Then we had very

different things to think of, for an active drama was in progress. Two of the apemen had seized one of the

Indians out of the group and dragged him forward to the edge of the cliff. The king raised his hand as a

signal. They caught the man by his leg and arm, and swung him three times backwards and forwards with

tremendous violence. Then, with a frightful heave they shot the poor wretch over the precipice. With such

force did they throw him that he curved high in the air before beginning to drop. As he vanished from sight,

the whole assembly, except the guards, rushed forward to the edge of the precipice, and there was a long

pause of absolute silence, broken by a mad yell of delight. They sprang about, tossing their long, hairy arms

in the air and howling with exultation. Then they fell back from the edge, formed themselves again into line,

This time it was Summerlee. Two of his guards caught him by the wrists and pulled him brutally to the front.

His thin figure and long limbs struggled and fluttered like a chicken being dragged from a coop. Challenger

had turned to the king and waved his hands frantically before him. He was begging, pleading, imploring for

his comrade's life. The apeman pushed him roughly aside and shook his head. It was the last conscious

movement he was to make upon earth. Lord John's rifle cracked, and the king sank down, a tangled red

There are strange red depths in the soul of the most commonplace man. I am tenderhearted by nature, and

have found my eyes moist many a time over the scream of a wounded hare. Yet the blood lust was on me

now. I found myself on my feet emptying one magazine, then the other, clicking open the breech to reload,

snapping it to again, while cheering and yelling with pure ferocity and joy of slaughter as I did so. With our

four guns the two of us made a horrible havoc. Both the guards who held Summerlee were down, and he was

staggering about like a drunken man in his amazement, unable to realize that he was a free man. The dense

mob of apemen ran about in bewilderment, marveling whence this storm of death was coming or what it

might mean. They waved, gesticulated, screamed, and tripped up over those who had fallen. Then, with a

sudden impulse, they all rushed in a howling crowd to the trees for shelter, leaving the ground behind them

spotted with their stricken comrades. The prisoners were left for the moment standing alone in the middle of

Challenger's quick brain had grasped the situation. He seized the bewildered Summerlee by the arm, and they

both ran towards us. Two of their guards bounded after them and fell to two bullets from Lord John. We ran

forward into the open to meet our friends, and pressed a loaded rifle into the hands of each. But Summerlee

was at the end of his strength. He could hardly totter. Already the apemen were recovering from their panic.

They were coming through the brushwood and threatening to cut us off. Challenger and I ran Summerlee

along, one at each of his elbows, while Lord John covered our retreat, firing again and again as savage heads

snarled at us out of the bushes. For a mile or more the chattering brutes were at our very heels. Then the

pursuit slackened, for they learned our power and would no longer face that unerring rifle. When we had at

So it seemed to us; and yet we were mistaken. We had hardly closed the thornbush door of our zareba,

clasped each other's hands, and thrown ourselves panting upon the ground beside our spring, when we heard

a patter of feet and then a gentle, plaintive crying from outside our entrance. Lord Roxton rushed forward,

rifle in hand, and threw it open. There, prostrate upon their faces, lay the little red figures of the four

surviving Indians, trembling with fear of us and yet imploring our protection. With an expressive sweep of

his hands one of them pointed to the woods around them, and indicated that they were full of danger. Then,

darting forward, he threw his arms round Lord John's legs, and rested his face upon them.

"By George!" cried our peer, pulling at his moustache in great perplexity, "I saywhat the deuce are we to

"We've got to see them safe," said he. "You've pulled us all out of the jaws of death. My word! it was a good

"Admirable!" cried Challenger. "Admirable! Not only we as individuals, but European science collectively,

owe you a deep debt of gratitude for what you have done. I do not hesitate to say that the disappearance of

Professor Summerlee and myself would have left an appreciable gap in modern zoological history. Our

He beamed at us with the old paternal smile, but European science would have been somewhat amazed could

they have seen their chosen child, the hope of the future, with his tangled, unkempt head, his bare chest, and

his tattered clothes. He had one of the meattins between his knees, and sat with a large piece of cold

Australian mutton between his fingers. The Indian looked up at him, and then, with a little yelp, cringed to

"Don't you be scared, my bonnie boy," said Lord John, patting the matted head in front of him. "He can't stick

your appearance, Challenger; and, by George! I don't wonder. All right, little chap, he's only a human, just the

"Well, it's lucky for you, Challenger, that you ARE a little out of the ordinary. If you hadn't been so like the

"I beg, sir, that you will change the subject. Your remarks are irrelevant and unintelligible. The question

before us is what are we to do with these Indians? The obvious thing is to escort them home, if we knew

"There is no difficulty about that," said I. "They live in the caves on the other side of the central lake."

"Our young friend here knows where they live. I gather that it is some distance."

"I, for one, could never get there. Surely I hear those brutes still howling upon our track."

As he spoke, from the dark recesses of the woods we heard far away the jabbering cry of the apemen. The

"We must move, and move quick!" said Lord John. "You help Summerlee, young fellah. These Indians will

In less than halfanhour we had reached our brushwood retreat and concealed ourselves. All day we heard

the excited calling of the apemen in the direction of our old camp, but none of them came our way, and the

tired fugitives, red and white, had a long, deep sleep. I was dozing myself in the evening when someone

"You keep a diary of these events, and you expect eventually to publish it, Mr. Malone," said he, with

"Exactly. You may have heard some rather fatuous remarks of Lord John Roxton's which seemed to imply

"I need not say that any publicity given to such an ideaany levity in your narrative of what

"Lord John's observations are frequently exceedingly fanciful, and he is capable of attributing the most

absurd reasons to the respect which is always shown by the most undeveloped races to dignity and character.

"I leave the matter to your discretion." Then, after a long pause, he added: "The king of the apemen was

really a creature of great distinctiona most remarkably handsome and intelligent personality. Did it not

And the Professor, much eased in his mind, settled down to his slumber once more.

We had imagined that our pursuers, the apemen, knew nothing of our brushwood hidingplace, but we

were soon to find out our mistake. There was no sound in the woodsnot a leaf moved upon the trees, and

all was peace around usbut we should have been warned by our first experience how cunningly and how

patiently these creatures can watch and wait until their chance comes. Whatever fate may be mine through

life, I am very sure that I shall never be nearer death than I was that morning. But I will tell you the thing in

We all awoke exhausted after the terrific emotions and scanty food of yesterday. Summerlee was still so

weak that it was an effort for him to stand; but the old man was full of a sort of surly courage which would

never admit defeat. A council was held, and it was agreed that we should wait quietly for an hour or two

where we were, have our muchneeded breakfast, and then make our way across the plateau and round the

central lake to the caves where my observations had shown that the Indians lived. We relied upon the fact that

we could count upon the good word of those whom we had rescued to ensure a warm welcome from their

fellows. Then, with our mission accomplished and possessing a fuller knowledge of the secrets of Maple

White Land, we should turn our whole thoughts to the vital problem of our escape and return. Even

Challenger was ready to admit that we should then have done all for which we had come, and that our first

duty from that time onwards was to carry back to civilization the amazing discoveries we had made.

We were able now to take a more leisurely view of the Indians whom we had rescued. They were small men,

wiry, active, and wellbuilt, with lank black hair tied up in a bunch behind their heads with a leathern thong,

and leathern also were their loinclothes. Their faces were hairless, well formed, and goodhumored. The

lobes of their ears, hanging ragged and bloody, showed that they had been pierced for some ornaments which

their captors had torn out. Their speech, though unintelligible to us, was fluent among themselves, and as

they pointed to each other and uttered the word "Accala" many times over, we gathered that this was the

name of the nation. Occasionally, with faces which were convulsed with fear and hatred, they shook their

clenched hands at the woods round and cried: "Doda! Doda!" which was surely their term for their enemies.

What do you make of them, Challenger?" asked Lord John. "One thing is very clear to me, and that is that the

It was indeed evident that this man stood apart from the others, and that they never ventured to address him

without every sign of deep respect. He seemed to be the youngest of them all, and yet, so proud and high was

his spirit that, upon Challenger laying his great hand upon his head, he started like a spurred horse and, with a

quick flash of his dark eyes, moved further away from the Professor. Then, placing his hand upon his breast

and holding himself with great dignity, he uttered the word "Maretas" several times. The Professor,

unabashed, seized the nearest Indian by the shoulder and proceeded to lecture upon him as if he were a potted

"The type of these people," said he in his sonorous fashion, "whether judged by cranial capacity, facial angle,

or any other test, cannot be regarded as a low one; on the contrary, we must place it as considerably higher in

the scale than many South American tribes which I can mention. On no possible supposition can we explain

the evolution of such a race in this place. For that matter, so great a gap separates these apemen from the

primitive animals which have survived upon this plateau, that it is inadmissible to think that they could have

"A question which will, no doubt, be eagerly discussed in every scientific society in Europe and America,"

the Professor answered. "My own reading of the situation for what it is worth" he inflated his chest

enormously and looked insolently around him at the words "is that evolution has advanced under the

peculiar conditions of this country up to the vertebrate stage, the old types surviving and living on in

company with the newer ones. Thus we find such modern creatures as the tapiran animal with quite a

respectable length of pedigreethe great deer, and the anteater in the companionship of reptilian forms of

jurassic type. So much is clear. And now come the apemen and the Indian. What is the scientific mind to

think of their presence? I can only account for it by an invasion from outside. It is probable that there existed

an anthropoid ape in South America, who in past ages found his way to this place, and that he developed into

the creatures we have seen, some of which"here he looked hard at me"were of an appearance and shape

which, if it had been accompanied by corresponding intelligence, would, I do not hesitate to say, have

reflected credit upon any living race. As to the Indians I cannot doubt that they are more recent immigrants

from below. Under the stress of famine or of conquest they have made their way up here. Faced by ferocious

creatures which they had never before seen, they took refuge in the caves which our young friend has

described, but they have no doubt had a bitter fight to hold their own against wild beasts, and especially

against the apemen who would regard them as intruders, and wage a merciless war upon them with a

cunning which the larger beasts would lack. Hence the fact that their numbers appear to be limited. Well,

gentlemen, have I read you the riddle aright, or is there any point which you would query?"

Professor Summerlee for once was too depressed to argue, though he shook his head violently as a token of

general disagreement. Lord John merely scratched his scanty locks with the remark that he couldn't put up a

fight as he wasn't in the same weight or class. For my own part I performed my usual role of bringing things

down to a strictly prosaic and practical level by the remark that one of the Indians was missing.

"He has gone to fetch some water," said Lord Roxton. "We fitted him up with an empty beef tin and he is

"No, to the brook. It's among the trees there. It can't be more than a couple of hundred yards. But the beggar

"I'll go and look after him," said I. I picked up my rifle and strolled in the direction of the brook, leaving my

friends to lay out the scanty breakfast. It may seem to you rash that even for so short a distance I should quit

the shelter of our friendly thicket, but you will remember that we were many miles from Apetown, that so

far as we knew the creatures had not discovered our retreat, and that in any case with a rifle in my hands I had

I could hear the murmur of our brook somewhere ahead of me, but there was a tangle of trees and brushwood

between me and it. I was making my way through this at a point which was just out of sight of my

companions, when, under one of the trees, I noticed something red huddled among the bushes. As I

approached it, I was shocked to see that it was the dead body of the missing Indian. He lay upon his side, his

limbs drawn up, and his head screwed round at a most unnatural angle, so that he seemed to be looking

straight over his own shoulder. I gave a cry to warn my friends that something was amiss, and running

forwards I stooped over the body. Surely my guardian angel was very near me then, for some instinct of fear,

or it may have been some faint rustle of leaves, made me glance upwards. Out of the thick green foliage

which hung low over my head, two long muscular arms covered with reddish hair were slowly descending.

Another instant and the great stealthy hands would have been round my throat. I sprang backwards, but quick

as I was, those hands were quicker still. Through my sudden spring they missed a fatal grip, but one of them

caught the back of my neck and the other one my face. I threw my hands up to protect my throat, and the next

moment the huge paw had slid down my face and closed over them. I was lifted lightly from the ground, and

I felt an intolerable pressure forcing my head back and back until the strain upon the cervical spine was more

than I could bear. My senses swam, but I still tore at the hand and forced it out from my chin. Looking up I

saw a frightful face with cold inexorable light blue eyes looking down into mine. There was something

hypnotic in those terrible eyes. I could struggle no longer. As the creature felt me grow limp in his grasp, two

white canines gleamed for a moment at each side of the vile mouth, and the grip tightened still more upon my

chin, forcing it always upwards and back. A thin, ovaltinted mist formed before my eyes and little silvery

bells tinkled in my ears. Dully and far off I heard the crack of a rifle and was feebly aware of the shock as I

I awoke to find myself on my back upon the grass in our lair within the thicket. Someone had brought the

water from the brook, and Lord John was sprinkling my head with it, while Challenger and Summerlee were

propping me up, with concern in their faces. For a moment I had a glimpse of the human spirits behind their

scientific masks. It was really shock, rather than any injury, which had prostrated me, and in halfanhour, in

"But you've had the escape of your life, young fellah my lad," said Lord Roxton. "When I heard your cry and

ran forward, and saw your head twisted halfoff and your stohwassers kickin' in the air, I thought we were

one short. I missed the beast in my flurry, but he dropped you all right and was off like a streak. By George! I

wish I had fifty men with rifles. I'd clear out the whole infernal gang of them and leave this country a bit

It was clear now that the apemen had in some way marked us down, and that we were watched on every

side. We had not so much to fear from them during the day, but they would be very likely to rush us by night;

so the sooner we got away from their neighborhood the better. On three sides of us was absolute forest, and

there we might find ourselves in an ambush. But on the fourth sidethat which sloped down in the direction

of the lakethere was only low scrub, with scattered trees and occasional open glades. It was, in fact, the

route which I had myself taken in my solitary journey, and it led us straight for the Indian caves. This then

One great regret we had, and that was to leave our old camp behind us, not only for the sake of the stores

which remained there, but even more because we were losing touch with Zambo, our link with the outside

world. However, we had a fair supply of cartridges and all our guns, so, for a time at least, we could look

after ourselves, and we hoped soon to have a chance of returning and restoring our communications with our

negro. He had faithfully promised to stay where he was, and we had not a doubt that he would be as good as

It was in the early afternoon that we started upon our journey. The young chief walked at our head as our

guide, but refused indignantly to carry any burden. Behind him came the two surviving Indians with our

scanty possessions upon their backs. We four white men walked in the rear with rifles loaded and ready. As

we started there broke from the thick silent woods behind us a sudden great ululation of the apemen, which

may have been a cheer of triumph at our departure or a jeer of contempt at our flight. Looking back we saw

only the dense screen of trees, but that longdrawn yell told us how many of our enemies lurked among

them. We saw no sign of pursuit, however, and soon we had got into more open country and beyond their

As I tramped along, the rearmost of the four, I could not help smiling at the appearance of my three

companions in front. Was this the luxurious Lord John Roxton who had sat that evening in the Albany amidst

his Persian rugs and his pictures in the pink radiance of the tinted lights? And was this the imposing Professor

who had swelled behind the great desk in his massive study at Enmore Park? And, finally, could this be the

austere and prim figure which had risen before the meeting at the Zoological Institute? No three tramps that

one could have met in a Surrey lane could have looked more hopeless and bedraggled. We had, it is true,

been only a week or so upon the top of the plateau, but all our spare clothing was in our camp below, and the

one week had been a severe one upon us all, though least to me who had not to endure the handling of the

apemen. My three friends had all lost their hats, and had now bound handkerchiefs round their heads, their

clothes hung in ribbons about them, and their unshaven grimy faces were hardly to be recognized. Both

Summerlee and Challenger were limping heavily, while I still dragged my feet from weakness after the shock

of the morning, and my neck was as stiff as a board from the murderous grip that held it. We were indeed a

sorry crew, and I did not wonder to see our Indian companions glance back at us occasionally with horror and

In the late afternoon we reached the margin of the lake, and as we emerged from the bush and saw the sheet

of water stretching before us our native friends set up a shrill cry of joy and pointed eagerly in front of them.

It was indeed a wonderful sight which lay before us. Sweeping over the glassy surface was a great flotilla of

canoes coming straight for the shore upon which we stood. They were some miles out when we first saw

them, but they shot forward with great swiftness, and were soon so near that the rowers could distinguish our

persons. Instantly a thunderous shout of delight burst from them, and we saw them rise from their seats,

waving their paddles and spears madly in the air. Then bending to their work once more, they flew across the

intervening water, beached their boats upon the sloping sand, and rushed up to us, prostrating themselves

with loud cries of greeting before the young chief. Finally one of them, an elderly man, with a necklace and

bracelet of great lustrous glass beads and the skin of some beautiful mottled ambercolored animal slung

over his shoulders, ran forward and embraced most tenderly the youth whom we had saved. He then looked at

us and asked some questions, after which he stepped up with much dignity and embraced us also each in turn.

Then, at his order, the whole tribe lay down upon the ground before us in homage. Personally I felt shy and

uncomfortable at this obsequious adoration, and I read the same feeling in the faces of Roxton and

"They may be undeveloped types," said he, stroking his beard and looking round at them, "but their

deportment in the presence of their superiors might be a lesson to some of our more advanced Europeans.

It was clear that the natives had come out upon the warpath, for every man carried his speara long

bamboo tipped with bonehis bow and arrows, and some sort of club or stone battleaxe slung at his side.

Their dark, angry glances at the woods from which we had come, and the frequent repetition of the word

"Doda," made it clear enough that this was a rescue party who had set forth to save or revenge the old chief's

son, for such we gathered that the youth must be. A council was now held by the whole tribe squatting in a

circle, whilst we sat near on a slab of basalt and watched their proceedings. Two or three warriors spoke, and

finally our young friend made a spirited harangue with such eloquent features and gestures that we could

"What is the use of returning?" he said. "Sooner or later the thing must be done. Your comrades have been

murdered. What if I have returned safe? These others have been done to death. There is no safety for any of

us. We are assembled now and ready." Then he pointed to us. "These strange men are our friends. They are

great fighters, and they hate the apemen even as we do. They command," here he pointed up to heaven, "the

thunder and the lightning. When shall we have such a chance again? Let us go forward, and either die now or

live for the future in safety. How else shall we go back unashamed to our women?"

The little red warriors hung upon the words of the speaker, and when he had finished they burst into a roar of

applause, waving their rude weapons in the air. The old chief stepped forward to us, and asked us some

questions, pointing at the same time to the woods. Lord John made a sign to him that he should wait for an

"Well, it's up to you to say what you will do," said he; "for my part I have a score to settle with these

monkeyfolk, and if it ends by wiping them off the face of the earth I don't see that the earth need fret about

it. I'm goin' with our little red pals and I mean to see them through the scrap. What do you say, young fellah?"

"We seem to be drifting very far from the object of this expedition, Lord John. I assure you that I little

thought when I left my professional chair in London that it was for the purpose of heading a raid of savages

"To such base uses do we come," said Lord John, smiling. "But we are up against it, so what's the decision?"

"It seems a most questionable step," said Summerlee, argumentative to the last, "but if you are all going, I

"Then it is settled," said Lord John, and turning to the chief he nodded and slapped his rifle.

The old fellow clasped our hands, each in turn, while his men cheered louder than ever. It was too late to

advance that night, so the Indians settled down into a rude bivouac. On all sides their fires began to glimmer

and smoke. Some of them who had disappeared into the jungle came back presently driving a young

iguanodon before them. Like the others, it had a daub of asphalt upon its shoulder, and it was only when we

saw one of the natives step forward with the air of an owner and give his consent to the beast's slaughter that

we understood at last that these great creatures were as much private property as a herd of cattle, and that

these symbols which had so perplexed us were nothing more than the marks of the owner. Helpless, torpid,

and vegetarian, with great limbs but a minute brain, they could be rounded up and driven by a child. In a few

minutes the huge beast had been cut up and slabs of him were hanging over a dozen camp fires, together with

Summerlee had lain down and slept upon the sand, but we others roamed round the edge of the water, seeking

to learn something more of this strange country. Twice we found pits of blue clay, such as we had already

seen in the swamp of the pterodactyls. These were old volcanic vents, and for some reason excited the

greatest interest in Lord John. What attracted Challenger, on the other hand, was a bubbling, gurgling mud

geyser, where some strange gas formed great bursting bubbles upon the surface. He thrust a hollow reed into

it and cried out with delight like a schoolboy then he was able, on touching it with a lighted match, to cause a

sharp explosion and a blue flame at the far end of the tube. Still more pleased was he when, inverting a

leathern pouch over the end of the reed, and so filling it with the gas, he was able to send it soaring up into

"An inflammable gas, and one markedly lighter than the atmosphere. I should say beyond doubt that it

contained a considerable proportion of free hydrogen. The resources of G. E. C. are not yet exhausted, my

young friend. I may yet show you how a great mind molds all Nature to its use." He swelled with some secret

There was nothing which we could see upon the shore which seemed to me so wonderful as the great sheet of

water before us. Our numbers and our noise had frightened all living creatures away, and save for a few

pterodactyls, which soared round high above our heads while they waited for the carrion, all was still around

the camp. But it was different out upon the rosetinted waters of the central lake. It boiled and heaved with

strange life. Great slatecolored backs and high serrated dorsal fins shot up with a fringe of silver, and then

rolled down into the depths again. The sandbanks far out were spotted with uncouth crawling forms, huge

turtles, strange saurians, and one great flat creature like a writhing, palpitating mat of black greasy leather,

which flopped its way slowly to the lake. Here and there high serpent heads projected out of the water,

cutting swiftly through it with a little collar of foam in front, and a long swirling wake behind, rising and

falling in graceful, swanlike undulations as they went. It was not until one of these creatures wriggled on to

a sandbank within a few hundred yards of us, and exposed a barrelshaped body and huge flippers behind

the long serpent neck, that Challenger, and Summerlee, who had joined us, broke out into their duet of

"Plesiosaurus! A freshwater plesiosaurus!" cried Summerlee. "That I should have lived to see such a sight!

We are blessed, my dear Challenger, above all zoologists since the world began!"

It was not until the night had fallen, and the fires of our savage allies glowed red in the shadows, that our two

men of science could be dragged away from the fascinations of that primeval lake. Even in the darkness as

we lay upon the strand, we heard from time to time the snort and plunge of the huge creatures who lived

At earliest dawn our camp was astir and an hour later we had started upon our memorable expedition. Often

in my dreams have I thought that I might live to be a war correspondent. In what wildest one could I have

conceived the nature of the campaign which it should be my lot to report! Here then is my first despatch from

Our numbers had been reinforced during the night by a fresh batch of natives from the caves, and we may

have been four or five hundred strong when we made our advance. A fringe of scouts was thrown out in

front, and behind them the whole force in a solid column made their way up the long slope of the bush

country until we were near the edge of the forest. Here they spread out into a long straggling line of spearmen

and bowmen. Roxton and Summerlee took their position upon the right flank, while Challenger and I were on

the left. It was a host of the stone age that we were accompanying to battlewe with the last word of the

We had not long to wait for our enemy. A wild shrill clamor rose from the edge of the wood and suddenly a

body of apemen rushed out with clubs and stones, and made for the center of the Indian line. It was a valiant

move but a foolish one, for the great bandylegged creatures were slow of foot, while their opponents were

as active as cats. It was horrible to see the fierce brutes with foaming mouths and glaring eyes, rushing and

grasping, but forever missing their elusive enemies, while arrow after arrow buried itself in their hides. One

great fellow ran past me roaring with pain, with a dozen darts sticking from his chest and ribs. In mercy I put

a bullet through his skull, and he fell sprawling among the aloes. But this was the only shot fired, for the

attack had been on the center of the line, and the Indians there had needed no help of ours in repulsing it. Of

all the apemen who had rushed out into the open, I do not think that one got back to cover.

But the matter was more deadly when we came among the trees. For an hour or more after we entered the

wood, there was a desperate struggle in which for a time we hardly held our own. Springing out from among

the scrub the apemen with huge clubs broke in upon the Indians and often felled three or four of them before

they could be speared. Their frightful blows shattered everything upon which they fell. One of them knocked

Summerlee's rifle to matchwood and the next would have crushed his skull had an Indian not stabbed the

beast to the heart. Other apemen in the trees above us hurled down stones and logs of wood, occasionally

dropping bodily on to our ranks and fighting furiously until they were felled. Once our allies broke under the

pressure, and had it not been for the execution done by our rifles they would certainly have taken to their

heels. But they were gallantly rallied by their old chief and came on with such a rush that the apemen began

in turn to give way. Summerlee was weaponless, but I was emptying my magazine as quick as I could fire,

and on the further flank we heard the continuous cracking of our companion's rifles.

Then in a moment came the panic and the collapse. Screaming and howling, the great creatures rushed away

in all directions through the brushwood, while our allies yelled in their savage delight, following swiftly after

their flying enemies. All the feuds of countless generations, all the hatreds and cruelties of their narrow

history, all the memories of illusage and persecution were to be purged that day. At last man was to be

supreme and the manbeast to find forever his allotted place. Fly as they would the fugitives were too slow to

escape from the active savages, and from every side in the tangled woods we heard the exultant yells, the

twanging of bows, and the crash and thud as apemen were brought down from their hidingplaces in the

I was following the others, when I found that Lord John and Challenger had come across to join us.

"It's over," said Lord John. "I think we can leave the tidying up to them. Perhaps the less we see of it the

"We have been privileged," he cried, strutting about like a gamecock, "to be present at one of the typical

decisive battles of historythe battles which have determined the fate of the world. What, my friends, is the

conquest of one nation by another? It is meaningless. Each produces the same result. But those fierce fights,

when in the dawn of the ages the cavedwellers held their own against the tiger folk, or the elephants first

found that they had a master, those were the real conqueststhe victories that count. By this strange turn of

fate we have seen and helped to decide even such a contest. Now upon this plateau the future must ever be for

It needed a robust faith in the end to justify such tragic means. As we advanced together through the woods

we found the apemen lying thick, transfixed with spears or arrows. Here and there a little group of shattered

Indians marked where one of the anthropoids had turned to bay, and sold his life dearly. Always in front of us

we heard the yelling and roaring which showed the direction of the pursuit. The apemen had been driven

back to their city, they had made a last stand there, once again they had been broken, and now we were in

time to see the final fearful scene of all. Some eighty or a hundred males, the last survivors, had been driven

across that same little clearing which led to the edge of the cliff, the scene of our own exploit two days

before. As we arrived the Indians, a semicircle of spearmen, had closed in on them, and in a minute it was

over, Thirty or forty died where they stood. The others, screaming and clawing, were thrust over the

precipice, and went hurtling down, as their prisoners had of old, on to the sharp bamboos six hundred feet

below. It was as Challenger had said, and the reign of man was assured forever in Maple White Land. The

males were exterminated, Ape Town was destroyed, the females and young were driven away to live in

For us the victory brought much advantage. Once again we were able to visit our camp and get at our stores.

Once more also we were able to communicate with Zambo, who had been terrified by the spectacle from afar

"Come away, Massas, come away!" he cried, his eyes starting from his head. "The debbil get you sure if you

"It is the voice of sanity!" said Summerlee with conviction. "We have had adventures enough and they are

neither suitable to our character or our position. I hold you to your word, Challenger. From now onwards you

devote your energies to getting us out of this horrible country and back once more to civilization."

I write this from day to day, but I trust that before I come to the end of it, I may be able to say that the light

shines, at last, through our clouds. We are held here with no clear means of making our escape, and bitterly

we chafe against it. Yet, I can well imagine that the day may come when we may be glad that we were kept,

against our will, to see something more of the wonders of this singular place, and of the creatures who inhabit

The victory of the Indians and the annihilation of the apemen, marked the turning point of our fortunes.

From then onwards, we were in truth masters of the plateau, for the natives looked upon us with a mixture of

fear and gratitude, since by our strange powers we had aided them to destroy their hereditary foe. For their

own sakes they would, perhaps, be glad to see the departure of such formidable and incalculable people, but

they have not themselves suggested any way by which we may reach the plains below. There had been, so far

as we could follow their signs, a tunnel by which the place could be approached, the lower exit of which we

had seen from below. By this, no doubt, both apemen and Indians had at different epochs reached the top,

and Maple White with his companion had taken the same way. Only the year before, however, there had been

a terrific earthquake, and the upper end of the tunnel had fallen in and completely disappeared. The Indians

now could only shake their heads and shrug their shoulders when we expressed by signs our desire to

descend. It may be that they cannot, but it may also be that they will not, help us to get away.

At the end of the victorious campaign the surviving apefolk were driven across the plateau (their wailings

were horrible) and established in the neighborhood of the Indian caves, where they would, from now

onwards, be a servile race under the eyes of their masters. It was a rude, raw, primeval version of the Jews in

Babylon or the Israelites in Egypt. At night we could hear from amid the trees the longdrawn cry, as some

primitive Ezekiel mourned for fallen greatness and recalled the departed glories of Ape Town. Hewers of

We had returned across the plateau with our allies two days after the battle, and made our camp at the foot of

their cliffs. They would have had us share their caves with them, but Lord John would by no means consent

to it considering that to do so would put us in their power if they were treacherously disposed. We kept our

independence, therefore, and had our weapons ready for any emergency, while preserving the most friendly

relations. We also continually visited their caves, which were most remarkable places, though whether made

by man or by Nature we have never been able to determine. They were all on the one stratum, hollowed out

of some soft rock which lay between the volcanic basalt forming the ruddy cliffs above them, and the hard

The openings were about eighty feet above the ground, and were led up to by long stone stairs, so narrow and

steep that no large animal could mount them. Inside they were warm and dry, running in straight passages of

varying length into the side of the hill, with smooth gray walls decorated with many excellent pictures done

with charred sticks and representing the various animals of the plateau. If every living thing were swept from

the country the future explorer would find upon the walls of these caves ample evidence of the strange

faunathe dinosaurs, iguanodons, and fish lizardswhich had lived so recently upon earth.

Since we had learned that the huge iguanodons were kept as tame herds by their owners, and were simply

walking meatstores, we had conceived that man, even with his primitive weapons, had established his

ascendancy upon the plateau. We were soon to discover that it was not so, and that he was still there upon

It was on the third day after our forming our camp near the Indian caves that the tragedy occurred. Challenger

and Summerlee had gone off together that day to the lake where some of the natives, under their direction,

were engaged in harpooning specimens of the great lizards. Lord John and I had remained in our camp, while

a number of the Indians were scattered about upon the grassy slope in front of the caves engaged in different

ways. Suddenly there was a shrill cry of alarm, with the word "Stoa" resounding from a hundred tongues.

From every side men, women, and children were rushing wildly for shelter, swarming up the staircases and

Looking up, we could see them waving their arms from the rocks above and beckoning to us to join them in

their refuge. We had both seized our magazine rifles and ran out to see what the danger could be. Suddenly

from the near belt of trees there broke forth a group of twelve or fifteen Indians, running for their lives, and at

their very heels two of those frightful monsters which had disturbed our camp and pursued me upon my

solitary journey. In shape they were like horrible toads, and moved in a succession of springs, but in size they

were of an incredible bulk, larger than the largest elephant. We had never before seen them save at night, and

indeed they are nocturnal animals save when disturbed in their lairs, as these had been. We now stood

amazed at the sight, for their blotched and warty skins were of a curious fishlike iridescence, and the

We had little time to watch them, however, for in an instant they had overtaken the fugitives and were

making a dire slaughter among them. Their method was to fall forward with their full weight upon each in

turn, leaving him crushed and mangled, to bound on after the others. The wretched Indians screamed with

terror, but were helpless, run as they would, before the relentless purpose and horrible activity of these

monstrous creatures. One after another they went down, and there were not halfadozen surviving by the

time my companion and I could come to their help. But our aid was of little avail and only involved us in the

same peril. At the range of a couple of hundred yards we emptied our magazines, firing bullet after bullet into

the beasts, but with no more effect than if we were pelting them with pellets of paper. Their slow reptilian

natures cared nothing for wounds, and the springs of their lives, with no special brain center but scattered

throughout their spinal cords, could not be tapped by any modern weapons. The most that we could do was to

check their progress by distracting their attention with the flash and roar of our guns, and so to give both the

natives and ourselves time to reach the steps which led to safety. But where the conical explosive bullets of

the twentieth century were of no avail, the poisoned arrows of the natives, dipped in the juice of strophanthus

and steeped afterwards in decayed carrion, could succeed. Such arrows were of little avail to the hunter who

attacked the beast, because their action in that torpid circulation was slow, and before its powers failed it

could certainly overtake and slay its assailant. But now, as the two monsters hounded us to the very foot of

the stairs, a drift of darts came whistling from every chink in the cliff above them. In a minute they were

feathered with them, and yet with no sign of pain they clawed and slobbered with impotent rage at the steps

which would lead them to their victims, mounting clumsily up for a few yards and then sliding down again to

the ground. But at last the poison worked. One of them gave a deep rumbling groan and dropped his huge

squat head on to the earth. The other bounded round in an eccentric circle with shrill, wailing cries, and then

lying down writhed in agony for some minutes before it also stiffened and lay still. With yells of triumph the

Indians came flocking down from their caves and danced a frenzied dance of victory round the dead bodies,

in mad joy that two more of the most dangerous of all their enemies had been slain. That night they cut up

and removed the bodies, not to eatfor the poison was still activebut lest they should breed a pestilence.

The great reptilian hearts, however, each as large as a cushion, still lay there, beating slowly and steadily,

with a gentle rise and fall, in horrible independent life. It was only upon the third day that the ganglia ran

Some day, when I have a better desk than a meattin and more helpful tools than a worn stub of pencil and a

last, tattered notebook, I will write some fuller account of the Accala Indiansof our life amongst them,

and of the glimpses which we had of the strange conditions of wondrous Maple White Land. Memory, at

least, will never fail me, for so long as the breath of life is in me, every hour and every action of that period

will stand out as hard and clear as do the first strange happenings of our childhood. No new impressions

could efface those which are so deeply cut. When the time comes I will describe that wondrous moonlit night

upon the great lake when a young ichthyosaurusa strange creature, half seal, half fish, to look at, with

bonecovered eyes on each side of his snout, and a third eye fixed upon the top of his headwas entangled

in an Indian net, and nearly upset our canoe before we towed it ashore; the same night that a green

watersnake shot out from the rushes and carried off in its coils the steersman of Challenger's canoe. I will

tell, too, of the great nocturnal white thingto this day we do not know whether it was beast or

reptilewhich lived in a vile swamp to the east of the lake, and flitted about with a faint phosphorescent

glimmer in the darkness. The Indians were so terrified at it that they would not go near the place, and, though

we twice made expeditions and saw it each time, we could not make our way through the deep marsh in

which it lived. I can only say that it seemed to be larger than a cow and had the strangest musky odor. I will

tell also of the huge bird which chased Challenger to the shelter of the rocks one daya great running bird,

far taller than an ostrich, with a vulturelike neck and cruel head which made it a walking death. As

Challenger climbed to safety one dart of that savage curving beak shore off the heel of his boot as if it had

been cut with a chisel. This time at least modern weapons prevailed and the great creature, twelve feet from

head to footphororachus its name, according to our panting but exultant Professorwent down before

Lord Roxton's rifle in a flurry of waving feathers and kicking limbs, with two remorseless yellow eyes

glaring up from the midst of it. May I live to see that flattened vicious skull in its own niche amid the trophies

of the Albany. Finally, I will assuredly give some account of the toxodon, the giant tenfoot guinea pig, with

projecting chisel teeth, which we killed as it drank in the gray of the morning by the side of the lake.

All this I shall some day write at fuller length, and amidst these more stirring days I would tenderly sketch in

these lovely summer evenings, when with the deep blue sky above us we lay in good comradeship among the

long grasses by the wood and marveled at the strange fowl that swept over us and the quaint new creatures

which crept from their burrows to watch us, while above us the boughs of the bushes were heavy with

luscious fruit, and below us strange and lovely flowers peeped at us from among the herbage; or those long

moonlit nights when we lay out upon the shimmering surface of the great lake and watched with wonder and

awe the huge circles rippling out from the sudden splash of some fantastic monster; or the greenish gleam, far

down in the deep water, of some strange creature upon the confines of darkness. These are the scenes which

But, you will ask, why these experiences and why this delay, when you and your comrades should have been

occupied day and night in the devising of some means by which you could return to the outer world? My

answer is, that there was not one of us who was not working for this end, but that our work had been in vain.

One fact we had very speedily discovered: The Indians would do nothing to help us. In every other way they

were our friendsone might almost say our devoted slavesbut when it was suggested that they should

help us to make and carry a plank which would bridge the chasm, or when we wished to get from them

thongs of leather or liana to weave ropes which might help us, we were met by a goodhumored, but an

invincible, refusal. They would smile, twinkle their eyes, shake their heads, and there was the end of it. Even

the old chief met us with the same obstinate denial, and it was only Maretas, the youngster whom we had

saved, who looked wistfully at us and told us by his gestures that he was grieved for our thwarted wishes.

Ever since their crowning triumph with the apemen they looked upon us as supermen, who bore victory in

the tubes of strange weapons, and they believed that so long as we remained with them good fortune would

be theirs. A little redskinned wife and a cave of our own were freely offered to each of us if we would but

forget our own people and dwell forever upon the plateau. So far all had been kindly, however far apart our

desires might be; but we felt well assured that our actual plans of a descent must be kept secret, for we had

In spite of the danger from dinosaurs (which is not great save at night, for, as I may have said before, they are

mostly nocturnal in their habits) I have twice in the last three weeks been over to our old camp in order to see

our negro who still kept watch and ward below the cliff. My eyes strained eagerly across the great plain in the

hope of seeing afar off the help for which we had prayed. But the long cactusstrewn levels still stretched

"They will soon come now, Massa Malone. Before another week pass Indian come back and bring rope and

I had one strange experience as I came from this second visit which had involved my being away for a night

from my companions. I was returning along the wellremembered route, and had reached a spot within a

mile or so of the marsh of the pterodactyls, when I saw an extraordinary object approaching me. It was a man

who walked inside a framework made of bent canes so that he was enclosed on all sides in a bellshaped

cage. As I drew nearer I was more amazed still to see that it was Lord John Roxton. When he saw me he

slipped from under his curious protection and came towards me laughing, and yet, as I thought, with some

"Interestin' beasts, don't you think? But unsociable! Nasty rude ways with strangers, as you may remember.

So I rigged this framework which keeps them from bein' too pressin' in their attentions."

"Don't you think other people besides Professors can want to know things?" he said at last. "I'm studyin' the

"No offense, young fellah. I'm goin' to get a young devil chick for Challenger. That's one of my jobs. No, I

don't want your company. I'm safe in this cage, and you are not. So long, and I'll be back in camp by

He turned away and I left him wandering on through the wood with his extraordinary cage around him.

If Lord John's behavior at this time was strange, that of Challenger was more so. I may say that he seemed to

possess an extraordinary fascination for the Indian women, and that he always carried a large spreading palm

branch with which he beat them off as if they were flies, when their attentions became too pressing. To see

him walking like a comic opera Sultan, with this badge of authority in his hand, his black beard bristling in

front of him, his toes pointing at each step, and a train of wideeyed Indian girls behind him, clad in their

slender drapery of bark cloth, is one of the most grotesque of all the pictures which I will carry back with me.

As to Summerlee, he was absorbed in the insect and bird life of the plateau, and spent his whole time (save

that considerable portion which was devoted to abusing Challenger for not getting us out of our difficulties)

Challenger had been in the habit of walking off by himself every morning and returning from time to time

with looks of portentous solemnity, as one who bears the full weight of a great enterprise upon his shoulders.

One day, palm branch in hand, and his crowd of adoring devotees behind him, he led us down to his hidden

The place was a small clearing in the center of a palm grove. In this was one of those boiling mud geysers

which I have already described. Around its edge were scattered a number of leathern thongs cut from

iguanodon hide, and a large collapsed membrane which proved to be the dried and scraped stomach of one of

the great fish lizards from the lake. This huge sack had been sewn up at one end and only a small orifice left

at the other. Into this opening several bamboo canes had been inserted and the other ends of these canes were

in contact with conical clay funnels which collected the gas bubbling up through the mud of the geyser. Soon

the flaccid organ began to slowly expand and show such a tendency to upward movements that Challenger

fastened the cords which held it to the trunks of the surrounding trees. In half an hour a goodsized gasbag

had been formed, and the jerking and straining upon the thongs showed that it was capable of considerable

lift. Challenger, like a glad father in the presence of his firstborn, stood smiling and stroking his beard, in

silent, selfsatisfied content as he gazed at the creation of his brain. It was Summerlee who first broke the

"You don't mean us to go up in that thing, Challenger?" said he, in an acid voice.

"I mean, my dear Summerlee, to give you such a demonstration of its powers that after seeing it you will, I

"You can put it right out of your head now, at once," said Summerlee with decision, "nothing on earth would

induce me to commit such a folly. Lord John, I trust that you will not countenance such madness?"

"So you shall," said Challenger. "For some days I have exerted my whole brain force upon the problem of

how we shall descend from these cliffs. We have satisfied ourselves that we cannot climb down and that there

is no tunnel. We are also unable to construct any kind of bridge which may take us back to the pinnacle from

which we came. How then shall I find a means to convey us? Some little time ago I had remarked to our

young friend here that free hydrogen was evolved from the geyser. The idea of a balloon naturally followed. I

was, I will admit, somewhat baffled by the difficulty of discovering an envelope to contain the gas, but the

contemplation of the immense entrails of these reptiles supplied me with a solution to the problem. Behold

He put one hand in the front of his ragged jacket and pointed proudly with the other.

By this time the gasbag had swollen to a goodly rotundity and was jerking strongly upon its lashings.

Lord John was delighted with the whole idea. "Clever old dear, ain't he?" he whispered to me, and then

"The car will be my next care. I have already planned how it is to be made and attached. Meanwhile I will

simply show you how capable my apparatus is of supporting the weight of each of us."

"No, it is part of my plan that each in turn shall descend as in a parachute, and the balloon be drawn back by

means which I shall have no difficulty in perfecting. If it will support the weight of one and let him gently

down, it will have done all that is required of it. I will now show you its capacity in that direction."

He brought out a lump of basalt of a considerable size, constructed in the middle so that a cord could be

easily attached to it. This cord was the one which we had brought with us on to the plateau after we had used

it for climbing the pinnacle. It was over a hundred feet long, and though it was thin it was very strong. He had

prepared a sort of collar of leather with many straps depending from it. This collar was placed over the dome

of the balloon, and the hanging thongs were gathered together below, so that the pressure of any weight

would be diffused over a considerable surface. Then the lump of basalt was fastened to the thongs, and the

rope was allowed to hang from the end of it, being passed three times round the Professor's arm.

"I will now," said Challenger, with a smile of pleased anticipation, "demonstrate the carrying power of my

Never was our expedition in more imminent danger of complete annihilation. The inflated membrane shot up

with frightful velocity into the air. In an instant Challenger was pulled off his feet and dragged after it. I had

just time to throw my arms round his ascending waist when I was myself whipped up into the air. Lord John

had me with a rattrap grip round the legs, but I felt that he also was coming off the ground. For a moment I

had a vision of four adventurers floating like a string of sausages over the land that they had explored. But,

happily, there were limits to the strain which the rope would stand, though none apparently to the lifting

powers of this infernal machine. There was a sharp crack, and we were in a heap upon the ground with coils

of rope all over us. When we were able to stagger to our feet we saw far off in the deep blue sky one dark

"Splendid!" cried the undaunted Challenger, rubbing his injured arm. "A most thorough and satisfactory

demonstration! I could not have anticipated such a success. Within a week, gentlemen, I promise that a

second balloon will be prepared, and that you can count upon taking in safety and comfort the first stage of

our homeward journey." So far I have written each of the foregoing events as it occurred. Now I am rounding

off my narrative from the old camp, where Zambo has waited so long, with all our difficulties and dangers

left like a dream behind us upon the summit of those vast ruddy crags which tower above our heads. We have

descended in safety, though in a most unexpected fashion, and all is well with us. In six weeks or two months

we shall be in London, and it is possible that this letter may not reach you much earlier than we do ourselves.

Already our hearts yearn and our spirits fly towards the great mother city which holds so much that is dear to

It was on the very evening of our perilous adventure with Challenger's homemade balloon that the change

came in our fortunes. I have said that the one person from whom we had had some sign of sympathy in our

attempts to get away was the young chief whom we had rescued. He alone had no desire to hold us against

our will in a strange land. He had told us as much by his expressive language of signs. That evening, after

dusk, he came down to our little camp, handed me (for some reason he had always shown his attentions to

me, perhaps because I was the one who was nearest his age) a small roll of the bark of a tree, and then

pointing solemnly up at the row of caves above him, he had put his finger to his lips as a sign of secrecy and

I took the slip of bark to the firelight and we examined it together. It was about a foot square, and on the inner

They were neatly done in charcoal upon the white surface, and looked to me at first sight like some sort of

"Whatever it is, I can swear that it is of importance to us," said I. "I could read that on his face as he gave it."

"Unless we have come upon a primitive practical joker," Summerlee suggested, "which I should think would

"Looks like a guinea puzzle competition," remarked Lord John, craning his neck to have a look at it. Then

"By George!" he cried, "I believe I've got it. The boy guessed right the very first time. See here! How many

marks are on that paper? Eighteen. Well, if you come to think of it there are eighteen cave openings on the

"Well, that settles it. This is a chart of the caves. What! Eighteen of them all in a row, some short, some deep,

some branching, same as we saw them. It's a map, and here's a cross on it. What's the cross for? It is placed to

"I believe our young friend has read the riddle," said Challenger. "If the cave does not go through I do not

understand why this person, who has every reason to mean us well, should have drawn our attention to it. But

if it does go through and comes out at the corresponding point on the other side, we should not have more

"Well, our rope is still more than a hundred feet long," I cried. "Surely we could get down."

"There are no Indians in any of the caves above our heads," said I. "They are all used as barns and

There is a dry bituminous wood upon the plateaua species of araucaria, according to our botanistwhich

is always used by the Indians for torches. Each of us picked up a faggot of this, and we made our way up

weedcovered steps to the particular cave which was marked in the drawing. It was, as I had said, empty,

save for a great number of enormous bats, which flapped round our heads as we advanced into it. As we had

no desire to draw the attention of the Indians to our proceedings, we stumbled along in the dark until we had

gone round several curves and penetrated a considerable distance into the cavern. Then, at last, we lit our

torches. It was a beautiful dry tunnel with smooth gray walls covered with native symbols, a curved roof

which arched over our heads, and white glistening sand beneath our feet. We hurried eagerly along it until,

with a deep groan of bitter disappointment, we were brought to a halt. A sheer wall of rock had appeared

before us, with no chink through which a mouse could have slipped. There was no escape for us there.

We stood with bitter hearts staring at this unexpected obstacle. It was not the result of any convulsion, as in

the case of the ascending tunnel. The end wall was exactly like the side ones. It was, and had always been, a

"Never mind, my friends," said the indomitable Challenger. "You have still my firm promise of a balloon."

"No use, young fellah," said Lord John, with his finger on the chart. "Seventeen from the right and second

I looked at the mark to which his finger pointed, and I gave a sudden cry of joy.

I hurried back along the way we had come, my torch in my hand. "Here," said I, pointing to some matches

"Well, it is marked as a forked cave, and in the darkness we passed the fork before the torches were lit. On

It was as I had said. We had not gone thirty yards before a great black opening loomed in the wall. We turned

into it to find that we were in a much larger passage than before. Along it we hurried in breathless impatience

for many hundreds of yards. Then, suddenly, in the black darkness of the arch in front of us we saw a gleam

of dark red light. We stared in amazement. A sheet of steady flame seemed to cross the passage and to bar our

way. We hastened towards it. No sound, no heat, no movement came from it, but still the great luminous

curtain glowed before us, silvering all the cave and turning the sand to powdered jewels, until as we drew

It was indeed the full moon which shone straight down the aperture which opened upon the cliffs. It was a

small rift, not larger than a window, but it was enough for all our purposes. As we craned our necks through it

we could see that the descent was not a very difficult one, and that the level ground was no very great way

below us. It was no wonder that from below we had not observed the place, as the cliffs curved overhead and

an ascent at the spot would have seemed so impossible as to discourage close inspection. We satisfied

ourselves that with the help of our rope we could find our way down, and then returned, rejoicing, to our

What we did we had to do quickly and secretly, since even at this last hour the Indians might hold us back.

Our stores we would leave behind us, save only our guns and cartridges. But Challenger had some unwieldy

stuff which he ardently desired to take with him, and one particular package, of which I may not speak, which

gave us more labor than any. Slowly the day passed, but when the darkness fell we were ready for our

departure. With much labor we got our things up the steps, and then, looking back, took one last long survey

of that strange land, soon I fear to be vulgarized, the prey of hunter and prospector, but to each of us a

dreamland of glamour and romance, a land where we had dared much, suffered much, and learned

muchOUR land, as we shall ever fondly call it. Along upon our left the neighboring caves each threw out

its ruddy cheery firelight into the gloom. From the slope below us rose the voices of the Indians as they

laughed and sang. Beyond was the long sweep of the woods, and in the center, shimmering vaguely through

the gloom, was the great lake, the mother of strange monsters. Even as we looked a high whickering cry, the

call of some weird animal, rang clear out of the darkness. It was the very voice of Maple White Land bidding

Two hours later, we, our packages, and all we owned, were at the foot of the cliff. Save for Challenger's

luggage we had never a difficulty. Leaving it all where we descended, we started at once for Zambo's camp.

In the early morning we approached it, but only to find, to our amazement, not one fire but a dozen upon the

plain. The rescue party had arrived. There were twenty Indians from the river, with stakes, ropes, and all that

could be useful for bridging the chasm. At least we shall have no difficulty now in carrying our packages,

And so, in humble and thankful mood, I close this account. Our eyes have seen great wonders and our souls

are chastened by what we have endured. Each is in his own way a better and deeper man. It may be that when

we reach Para we shall stop to refit. If we do, this letter will be a mail ahead. If not, it will reach London on

the very day that I do. In either case, my dear Mr. McArdle, I hope very soon to shake you by the hand.

I should wish to place upon record here our gratitude to all our friends upon the Amazon for the very great

kindness and hospitality which was shown to us upon our return journey. Very particularly would I thank

Senhor Penalosa and other officials of the Brazilian Government for the special arrangements by which we

were helped upon our way, and Senhor Pereira of Para, to whose forethought we owe the complete outfit for

a decent appearance in the civilized world which we found ready for us at that town. It seemed a poor return

for all the courtesy which we encountered that we should deceive our hosts and benefactors, but under the

circumstances we had really no alternative, and I hereby tell them that they will only waste their time and

their money if they attempt to follow upon our traces. Even the names have been altered in our accounts, and

I am very sure that no one, from the most careful study of them, could come within a thousand miles of our

The excitement which had been caused through those parts of South America which we had to traverse was

imagined by us to be purely local, and I can assure our friends in England that we had no notion of the uproar

which the mere rumor of our experiences had caused through Europe. It was not until the Ivernia was within

five hundred miles of Southampton that the wireless messages from paper after paper and agency after

agency, offering huge prices for a short return message as to our actual results, showed us how strained was

the attention not only of the scientific world but of the general public. It was agreed among us, however, that

no definite statement should be given to the Press until we had met the members of the Zoological Institute,

since as delegates it was our clear duty to give our first report to the body from which we had received our

commission of investigation. Thus, although we found Southampton full of Pressmen, we absolutely refused

to give any information, which had the natural effect of focussing public attention upon the meeting which

was advertised for the evening of November 7th. For this gathering, the Zoological Hall which had been the

scene of the inception of our task was found to be far too small, and it was only in the Queen's Hall in Regent

Street that accommodation could be found. It is now common knowledge the promoters might have ventured

It was for the second evening after our arrival that the great meeting had been fixed. For the first, we had

each, no doubt, our own pressing personal affairs to absorb us. Of mine I cannot yet speak. It may be that as it

stands further from me I may think of it, and even speak of it, with less emotion. I have shown the reader in

the beginning of this narrative where lay the springs of my action. It is but right, perhaps, that I should carry

on the tale and show also the results. And yet the day may come when I would not have it otherwise. At least

I have been driven forth to take part in a wondrous adventure, and I cannot but be thankful to the force that

And now I turn to the last supreme eventful moment of our adventure. As I was racking my brain as to how I

should best describe it, my eyes fell upon the issue of my own Journal for the morning of the 8th of

November with the full and excellent account of my friend and fellowreporter Macdona. What can I do

better than transcribe his narrativeheadlines and all? I admit that the paper was exuberant in the matter,

out of compliment to its own enterprise in sending a correspondent, but the other great dailies were hardly

"The muchdiscussed meeting of the Zoological Institute, convened to hear the report of the Committee of

Investigation sent out last year to South America to test the assertions made by Professor Challenger as to the

continued existence of prehistoric life upon that Continent, was held last night in the greater Queen's Hall,

and it is safe to say that it is likely to be a red letter date in the history of Science, for the proceedings were of

so remarkable and sensational a character that no one present is ever likely to forget them." (Oh, brother

scribe Macdona, what a monstrous opening sentence!) "The tickets were theoretically confined to members

and their friends, but the latter is an elastic term, and long before eight o'clock, the hour fixed for the

commencement of the proceedings, all parts of the Great Hall were tightly packed. The general public,

however, which most unreasonably entertained a grievance at having been excluded, stormed the doors at a

quarter to eight, after a prolonged melee in which several people were injured, including Inspector Scoble of

H. Division, whose leg was unfortunately broken. After this unwarrantable invasion, which not only filled

every passage, but even intruded upon the space set apart for the Press, it is estimated that nearly five

thousand people awaited the arrival of the travelers. When they eventually appeared, they took their places in

the front of a platform which already contained all the leading scientific men, not only of this country, but of

France and of Germany. Sweden was also represented, in the person of Professor Sergius, the famous

Zoologist of the University of Upsala. The entrance of the four heroes of the occasion was the signal for a

remarkable demonstration of welcome, the whole audience rising and cheering for some minutes. An acute

observer might, however, have detected some signs of dissent amid the applause, and gathered that the

proceedings were likely to become more lively than harmonious. It may safely be prophesied, however, that

no one could have foreseen the extraordinary turn which they were actually to take.

"Of the appearance of the four wanderers little need be said, since their photographs have for some time been

appearing in all the papers. They bear few traces of the hardships which they are said to have undergone.

Professor Challenger's beard may be more shaggy, Professor Summerlee's features more ascetic, Lord John

Roxton's figure more gaunt, and all three may be burned to a darker tint than when they left our shores, but

each appeared to be in most excellent health. As to our own representative, the wellknown athlete and

international Rugby football player, E. D. Malone, he looks trained to a hair, and as he surveyed the crowd a

smile of goodhumored contentment pervaded his honest but homely face." (All right, Mac, wait till I get

"When quiet had been restored and the audience resumed their seats after the ovation which they had given to

the travelers, the chairman, the Duke of Durham, addressed the meeting. `He would not,' he said, `stand for

more than a moment between that vast assembly and the treat which lay before them. It was not for him to

anticipate what Professor Summerlee, who was the spokesman of the committee, had to say to them, but it

was common rumor that their expedition had been crowned by extraordinary success.' (Applause.)

`Apparently the age of romance was not dead, and there was common ground upon which the wildest

imaginings of the novelist could meet the actual scientific investigations of the searcher for truth. He would

only add, before he sat down, that he rejoicedand all of them would rejoicethat these gentlemen had

returned safe and sound from their difficult and dangerous task, for it cannot be denied that any disaster to

such an expedition would have inflicted a wellnigh irreparable loss to the cause of Zoological science.'

"Professor Summerlee's rising was the signal for another extraordinary outbreak of enthusiasm, which broke

out again at intervals throughout his address. That address will not be given in extenso in these columns, for

the reason that a full account of the whole adventures of the expedition is being published as a supplement

from the pen of our own special correspondent. Some general indications will therefore suffice. Having

described the genesis of their journey, and paid a handsome tribute to his friend Professor Challenger,

coupled with an apology for the incredulity with which his assertions, now fully vindicated, had been

received, he gave the actual course of their journey, carefully withholding such information as would aid the

public in any attempt to locate this remarkable plateau. Having described, in general terms, their course from

the main river up to the time that they actually reached the base of the cliffs, he enthralled his hearers by his

account of the difficulties encountered by the expedition in their repeated attempts to mount them, and finally

described how they succeeded in their desperate endeavors, which cost the lives of their two devoted

halfbreed servants." (This amazing reading of the affair was the result of Summerlee's endeavors to avoid

"Having conducted his audience in fancy to the summit, and marooned them there by reason of the fall of

their bridge, the Professor proceeded to describe both the horrors and the attractions of that remarkable land.

Of personal adventures he said little, but laid stress upon the rich harvest reaped by Science in the

observations of the wonderful beast, bird, insect, and plant life of the plateau. Peculiarly rich in the coleoptera

and in the lepidoptera, fortysix new species of the one and ninetyfour of the other had been secured in the

course of a few weeks. It was, however, in the larger animals, and especially in the larger animals supposed

to have been long extinct, that the interest of the public was naturally centered. Of these he was able to give a

goodly list, but had little doubt that it would be largely extended when the place had been more thoroughly

investigated. He and his companions had seen at least a dozen creatures, most of them at a distance, which

corresponded with nothing at present known to Science. These would in time be duly classified and

examined. He instanced a snake, the cast skin of which, deep purple in color, was fiftyone feet in length,

and mentioned a white creature, supposed to be mammalian, which gave forth wellmarked phosphorescence

in the darkness; also a large black moth, the bite of which was supposed by the Indians to be highly

poisonous. Setting aside these entirely new forms of life, the plateau was very rich in known prehistoric

forms, dating back in some cases to early Jurassic times. Among these he mentioned the gigantic and

grotesque stegosaurus, seen once by Mr. Malone at a drinkingplace by the lake, and drawn in the

sketchbook of that adventurous American who had first penetrated this unknown world. He described also

the iguanodon and the pterodactyltwo of the first of the wonders which they had encountered. He then

thrilled the assembly by some account of the terrible carnivorous dinosaurs, which had on more than one

occasion pursued members of the party, and which were the most formidable of all the creatures which they

had encountered. Thence he passed to the huge and ferocious bird, the phororachus, and to the great elk

which still roams upon this upland. It was not, however, until he sketched the mysteries of the central lake

that the full interest and enthusiasm of the audience were aroused. One had to pinch oneself to be sure that

one was awake as one heard this sane and practical Professor in cold measured tones describing the

monstrous threeeyed fishlizards and the huge watersnakes which inhabit this enchanted sheet of water.

Next he touched upon the Indians, and upon the extraordinary colony of anthropoid apes, which might be

looked upon as an advance upon the pithecanthropus of Java, and as coming therefore nearer than any known

form to that hypothetical creation, the missing link. Finally he described, amongst some merriment, the

ingenious but highly dangerous aeronautic invention of Professor Challenger, and wound up a most

memorable address by an account of the methods by which the committee did at last find their way back to

"It had been hoped that the proceedings would end there, and that a vote of thanks and congratulation, moved

by Professor Sergius, of Upsala University, would be duly seconded and carried; but it was soon evident that

the course of events was not destined to flow so smoothly. Symptoms of opposition had been evident from

time to time during the evening, and now Dr. James Illingworth, of Edinburgh, rose in the center of the hall.

Dr. Illingworth asked whether an amendment should not be taken before a resolution.

"PROFESSOR SUMMERLEE (springing to his feet): `Might I explain, your Grace, that this man is my

personal enemy ever since our controversy in the Quarterly Journal of Science as to the true nature of

"Dr. Illingworth was imperfectly heard in part of his remarks on account of the strenuous opposition of the

friends of the explorers. Some attempts were also made to pull him down. Being a man of enormous

physique, however, and possessed of a very powerful voice, he dominated the tumult and succeeded in

finishing his speech. It was clear, from the moment of his rising, that he had a number of friends and

sympathizers in the hall, though they formed a minority in the audience. The attitude of the greater part of the

"Dr. Illingworth began his remarks by expressing his high appreciation of the scientific work both of

Professor Challenger and of Professor Summerlee. He much regretted that any personal bias should have

been read into his remarks, which were entirely dictated by his desire for scientific truth. His position, in fact,

was substantially the same as that taken up by Professor Summerlee at the last meeting. At that last meeting

Professor Challenger had made certain assertions which had been queried by his colleague. Now this

colleague came forward himself with the same assertions and expected them to remain unquestioned. Was

this reasonable? (`Yes,' `No,' and prolonged interruption, during which Professor Challenger was heard from

the Press box to ask leave from the chairman to put Dr. Illingworth into the street.) A year ago one man said

certain things. Now four men said other and more startling ones. Was this to constitute a final proof where the

matters in question were of the most revolutionary and incredible character? There had been recent examples

of travelers arriving from the unknown with certain tales which had been too readily accepted. Was the

London Zoological Institute to place itself in this position? He admitted that the members of the committee

were men of character. But human nature was very complex. Even Professors might be misled by the desire

for notoriety. Like moths, we all love best to flutter in the light. Heavygame shots liked to be in a position to

cap the tales of their rivals, and journalists were not averse from sensational coups, even when imagination

had to aid fact in the process. Each member of the committee had his own motive for making the most of his

results. (`Shame! shame!') He had no desire to be offensive. (`You are!' and interruption.) The corroboration

of these wondrous tales was really of the most slender description. What did it amount to? Some

photographs. {Was it possible that in this age of ingenious manipulation photographs could be accepted as

evidence?} What more? We have a story of a flight and a descent by ropes which precluded the production of

larger specimens. It was ingenious, but not convincing. It was understood that Lord John Roxton claimed to

have the skull of a phororachus. He could only say that he would like to see that skull.

"THE CHAIRMAN: `Order! order! Dr. Illingworth, I must direct you to bring your remarks to a conclusion

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: `Your Grace, I have more to say, but I bow to your ruling. I move, then, that, while

Professor Summerlee be thanked for his interesting address, the whole matter shall be regarded as

`nonproven,' and shall be referred back to a larger, and possibly more reliable Committee of Investigation.'

"It is difficult to describe the confusion caused by this amendment. A large section of the audience expressed

their indignation at such a slur upon the travelers by noisy shouts of dissent and cries of, `Don't put it!'

`Withdraw!' `Turn him out!' On the other hand, the malcontentsand it cannot be denied that they were

fairly numerouscheered for the amendment, with cries of `Order!' `Chair!' and `Fair play!' A scuffle broke

out in the back benches, and blows were freely exchanged among the medical students who crowded that part

of the hall. It was only the moderating influence of the presence of large numbers of ladies which prevented

an absolute riot. Suddenly, however, there was a pause, a hush, and then complete silence. Professor

Challenger was on his feet. His appearance and manner are peculiarly arresting, and as he raised his hand for

"`It will be within the recollection of many present,' said Professor Challenger, `that similar foolish and

unmannerly scenes marked the last meeting at which I have been able to address them. On that occasion

Professor Summerlee was the chief offender, and though he is now chastened and contrite, the matter could

not be entirely forgotten. I have heard tonight similar, but even more offensive, sentiments from the person

who has just sat down, and though it is a conscious effort of selfeffacement to come down to that person's

mental level, I will endeavor to do so, in order to allay any reasonable doubt which could possibly exist in the

minds of anyone.' (Laughter and interruption.) `I need not remind this audience that, though Professor

Summerlee, as the head of the Committee of Investigation, has been put up to speak tonight, still it is I who

am the real prime mover in this business, and that it is mainly to me that any successful result must be

ascribed. I have safely conducted these three gentlemen to the spot mentioned, and I have, as you have heard,

convinced them of the accuracy of my previous account. We had hoped that we should find upon our return

that no one was so dense as to dispute our joint conclusions. Warned, however, by my previous experience, I

have not come without such proofs as may convince a reasonable man. As explained by Professor

Summerlee, our cameras have been tampered with by the apemen when they ransacked our camp, and most

of our negatives ruined.' (Jeers, laughter, and `Tell us another!' from the back.) `I have mentioned the

apemen, and I cannot forbear from saying that some of the sounds which now meet my ears bring back most

vividly to my recollection my experiences with those interesting creatures.' (Laughter.) `In spite of the

destruction of so many invaluable negatives, there still remains in our collection a certain number of

corroborative photographs showing the conditions of life upon the plateau. Did they accuse them of having

forged these photographs?' (A voice, `Yes,' and considerable interruption which ended in several men being

put out of the hall.) `The negatives were open to the inspection of experts. But what other evidence had they?

Under the conditions of their escape it was naturally impossible to bring a large amount of baggage, but they

had rescued Professor Summerlee's collections of butterflies and beetles, containing many new species. Was

"DR. ILLINGWORTH (rising): `Our point is that such a collection might have been made in other places

"PROFESSOR CHALLENGER: `No doubt, sir, we have to bow to your scientific authority, although I must

admit that the name is unfamiliar. Passing, then, both the photographs and the entomological collection, I

come to the varied and accurate information which we bring with us upon points which have never before

been elucidated. For example, upon the domestic habits of the pterodactyl`(A voice: `Bosh,' and

uproar)`I say, that upon the domestic habits of the pterodactyl we can throw a flood of light. I can exhibit

to you from my portfolio a picture of that creature taken from life which would convince you'

"It was at this point that the sensation of the evening arosea sensation so dramatic that it can never have

been paralleled in the history of scientific gatherings. Professor Challenger raised his hand in the air as a

signal, and at once our colleague, Mr. E. D. Malone, was observed to rise and to make his way to the back of

the platform. An instant later he reappeared in company of a gigantic negro, the two of them bearing

between them a large square packingcase. It was evidently of great weight, and was slowly carried forward

and placed in front of the Professor's chair. All sound had hushed in the audience and everyone was absorbed

in the spectacle before them. Professor Challenger drew off the top of the case, which formed a sliding lid.

Peering down into the box he snapped his fingers several times and was heard from the Press seat to say,

`Come, then, pretty, pretty!' in a coaxing voice. An instant later, with a scratching, rattling sound, a most

horrible and loathsome creature appeared from below and perched itself upon the side of the case. Even the

unexpected fall of the Duke of Durham into the orchestra, which occurred at this moment, could not distract

the petrified attention of the vast audience. The face of the creature was like the wildest gargoyle that the

imagination of a mad medieval builder could have conceived. It was malicious, horrible, with two small red

eyes as bright as points of burning coal. Its long, savage mouth, which was held halfopen, was full of a

double row of sharklike teeth. Its shoulders were humped, and round them were draped what appeared to be

a faded gray shawl. It was the devil of our childhood in person. There was a turmoil in the

audiencesomeone screamed, two ladies in the front row fell senseless from their chairs, and there was a

general movement upon the platform to follow their chairman into the orchestra. For a moment there was

danger of a general panic. Professor Challenger threw up his hands to still the commotion, but the movement

alarmed the creature beside him. Its strange shawl suddenly unfurled, spread, and fluttered as a pair of

leathery wings. Its owner grabbed at its legs, but too late to hold it. It had sprung from the perch and was

circling slowly round the Queen's Hall with a dry, leathery flapping of its tenfoot wings, while a putrid and

insidious odor pervaded the room. The cries of the people in the galleries, who were alarmed at the near

approach of those glowing eyes and that murderous beak, excited the creature to a frenzy. Faster and faster it

flew, beating against walls and chandeliers in a blind frenzy of alarm. `The window! For heaven's sake shut

that window!' roared the Professor from the platform, dancing and wringing his hands in an agony of

apprehension. Alas, his warning was too late! In a moment the creature, beating and bumping along the wall

like a huge moth within a gasshade, came upon the opening, squeezed its hideous bulk through it, and was

gone. Professor Challenger fell back into his chair with his face buried in his hands, while the audience gave

"Thenoh! how shall one describe what took place thenwhen the full exuberance of the majority and the

full reaction of the minority united to make one great wave of enthusiasm, which rolled from the back of the

hall, gathering volume as it came, swept over the orchestra, submerged the platform, and carried the four

heroes away upon its crest?" (Good for you, Mac!) "If the audience had done less than justice, surely it made

ample amends. Every one was on his feet. Every one was moving, shouting, gesticulating. A dense crowd of

cheering men were round the four travelers. `Up with them! up with them!' cried a hundred voices. In a

moment four figures shot up above the crowd. In vain they strove to break loose. They were held in their

lofty places of honor. It would have been hard to let them down if it had been wished, so dense was the crowd

around them. `Regent Street! Regent Street!' sounded the voices. There was a swirl in the packed multitude,

and a slow current, bearing the four upon their shoulders, made for the door. Out in the street the scene was

extraordinary. An assemblage of not less than a hundred thousand people was waiting. The closepacked

throng extended from the other side of the Langham Hotel to Oxford Circus. A roar of acclamation greeted

the four adventurers as they appeared, high above the heads of the people, under the vivid electric lamps

outside the hall. `A procession! A procession!' was the cry. In a dense phalanx, blocking the streets from side

to side, the crowd set forth, taking the route of Regent Street, Pall Mall, St. James's Street, and Piccadilly.

The whole central traffic of London was held up, and many collisions were reported between the

demonstrators upon the one side and the police and taxicabmen upon the other. Finally, it was not until after

midnight that the four travelers were released at the entrance to Lord John Roxton's chambers in the Albany,

and that the exuberant crowd, having sung `They are Jolly Good Fellows' in chorus, concluded their program

with `God Save the King.' So ended one of the most remarkable evenings that London has seen for a

So far my friend Macdona; and it may be taken as a fairly accurate, if florid, account of the proceedings. As

to the main incident, it was a bewildering surprise to the audience, but not, I need hardly say, to us. The

reader will remember how I met Lord John Roxton upon the very occasion when, in his protective crinoline,

he had gone to bring the "Devil's chick" as he called it, for Professor Challenger. I have hinted also at the

trouble which the Professor's baggage gave us when we left the plateau, and had I described our voyage I

might have said a good deal of the worry we had to coax with putrid fish the appetite of our filthy companion.

If I have not said much about it before, it was, of course, that the Professor's earnest desire was that no

possible rumor of the unanswerable argument which we carried should be allowed to leak out until the

One word as to the fate of the London pterodactyl. Nothing can be said to be certain upon this point. There is

the evidence of two frightened women that it perched upon the roof of the Queen's Hall and remained there

like a diabolical statue for some hours. The next day it came out in the evening papers that Private Miles, of

the Coldstream Guards, on duty outside Marlborough House, had deserted his post without leave, and was

therefore courtmartialed. Private Miles' account, that he dropped his rifle and took to his heels down the Mall

because on looking up he had suddenly seen the devil between him and the moon, was not accepted by the

Court, and yet it may have a direct bearing upon the point at issue. The only other evidence which I can

adduce is from the log of the SS. Friesland, a DutchAmerican liner, which asserts that at nine next morning,

Start Point being at the time ten miles upon their starboard quarter, they were passed by something between a

flying goat and a monstrous bat, which was heading at a prodigious pace south and west. If its homing

instinct led it upon the right line, there can be no doubt that somewhere out in the wastes of the Atlantic the

And Gladysoh, my Gladys!Gladys of the mystic lake, now to be renamed the Central, for never shall

she have immortality through me. Did I not always see some hard fiber in her nature? Did I not, even at the

time when I was proud to obey her behest, feel that it was surely a poor love which could drive a lover to his

death or the danger of it? Did I not, in my truest thoughts, always recurring and always dismissed, see past

the beauty of the face, and, peering into the soul, discern the twin shadows of selfishness and of fickleness

glooming at the back of it? Did she love the heroic and the spectacular for its own noble sake, or was it for

the glory which might, without effort or sacrifice, be reflected upon herself? Or are these thoughts the vain

wisdom which comes after the event? It was the shock of my life. For a moment it had turned me to a cynic.

But already, as I write, a week has passed, and we have had our momentous interview with Lord John Roxton

Let me tell it in a few words. No letter or telegram had come to me at Southampton, and I reached the little

villa at Streatham about ten o'clock that night in a fever of alarm. Was she dead or alive? Where were all my

nightly dreams of the open arms, the smiling face, the words of praise for her man who had risked his life to

humor her whim? Already I was down from the high peaks and standing flatfooted upon earth. Yet some

good reasons given might still lift me to the clouds once more. I rushed down the garden path, hammered at

the door, heard the voice of Gladys within, pushed past the staring maid, and strode into the sittingroom.

She was seated in a low settee under the shaded standard lamp by the piano. In three steps I was across the

She looked up with amazement in her face. She was altered in some subtle way. The expression of her eyes,

the hard upward stare, the set of the lips, was new to me. She drew back her hands.

"Gladys!" I cried. "What is the matter? You are my Gladys, are you notlittle Gladys Hungerton?"

How absurd life is! I found myself mechanically bowing and shaking hands with a little gingerhaired man

who was coiled up in the deep armchair which had once been sacred to my own use. We bobbed and

"I've told William all about you," said she. "We have no secrets. I am so sorry about it. But it couldn't have

been so very deep, could it, if you could go off to the other end of the world and leave me here alone. You're

"Have some refreshment," said the little man, and he added, in a confidential way, "It's always like this, ain't

it? And must be unless you had polygamy, only the other way round; you understand." He laughed like an

I was through it, when a sudden fantastic impulse came upon me, and I went back to my successful rival, who

"How did you do it? Have you searched for hidden treasure, or discovered a pole, or done time on a pirate, or

flown the Channel, or what? Where is the glamour of romance? How did you get it?"

He stared at me with a hopeless expression upon his vacuous, goodnatured, scrubby little face.

"I am a solicitor's clerk," said he. "Second man at Johnson and Merivale's, 41 Chancery Lane."

"Goodnight!" said I, and vanished, like all disconsolate and brokenhearted heroes, into the darkness, with

One more little scene, and I have done. Last night we all supped at Lord John Roxton's rooms, and sitting

together afterwards we smoked in good comradeship and talked our adventures over. It was strange under

these altered surroundings to see the old, wellknown faces and figures. There was Challenger, with his smile

of condescension, his drooping eyelids, his intolerant eyes, his aggressive beard, his huge chest, swelling and

puffing as he laid down the law to Summerlee. And Summerlee, too, there he was with his short briar

between his thin moustache and his gray goat'sbeard, his worn face protruded in eager debate as he queried

all Challenger's propositions. Finally, there was our host, with his rugged, eagle face, and his cold, blue,

glacier eyes with always a shimmer of devilment and of humor down in the depths of them. Such is the last

It was after supper, in his own sanctumthe room of the pink radiance and the innumerable trophiesthat

Lord John Roxton had something to say to us. From a cupboard he had brought an old cigarbox, and this he

"There's one thing," said he, "that maybe I should have spoken about before this, but I wanted to know a little

more clearly where I was. No use to raise hopes and let them down again. But it's facts, not hopes, with us

now. You may remember that day we found the pterodactyl rookery in the swampwhat? Well, somethin' in

the lie of the land took my notice. Perhaps it has escaped you, so I will tell you. It was a volcanic vent full of

"Well, now, in the whole world I've only had to do with one place that was a volcanic vent of blue clay. That

was the great De Beers Diamond Mine of Kimberleywhat? So you see I got diamonds into my head. I

rigged up a contraption to hold off those stinking beasts, and I spent a happy day there with a spud. This is

He opened his cigarbox, and tilting it over he poured about twenty or thirty rough stones, varying from the

"Perhaps you think I should have told you then. Well, so I should, only I know there are a lot of traps for the

unwary, and that stones may be of any size and yet of little value where color and consistency are clean off.

Therefore, I brought them back, and on the first day at home I took one round to Spink's, and asked him to

He took a pillbox from his pocket, and spilled out of it a beautiful glittering diamond, one of the finest

"There's the result," said he. "He prices the lot at a minimum of two hundred thousand pounds. Of course it is

fair shares between us. I won't hear of anythin' else. Well, Challenger, what will you do with your fifty

"If you really persist in your generous view," said the Professor, "I should found a private museum, which

"I would retire from teaching, and so find time for my final classification of the chalk fossils."

"I'll use my own," said Lord John Roxton, "in fitting a wellformed expedition and having another look at the

dear old plateau. As to you, young fellah, you, of course, will spend yours in gettin' married."

"Not just yet," said I, with a rueful smile. "I think, if you will have me, that I would rather go with you."

Lord Roxton said nothing, but a brown hand was stretched out to me across the table.