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I \ have wrought my simple plan
If I give one hour of joy
To the boy- wh0’s half a man,
01 thé man who’s half a boy.





8 THE LOST WORLD
real sex feeling begins, timidity and distrust are its compan-
ions, 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 un-
shrinking gaze and frank reply, are the truel signals of passion.
Even in my short life I had learned as much as that—or had
inherited it in that race memory which we call instinct.
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 exqiiisite lips,—
all the stigmata of passion were there. But I was sadly con-
scious 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 to-night. She could but
refuse me, and better be a repulsed lover than an accepted
brother.
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 wonder.
“Don't women always know? Do you suppose any woman
in the world was ever taken unawares? But—oh, 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 station-master.” I can't imagine how that-of-
ficial 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, and—oh,
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 a pity! Why
can’t you control yourself?”
“I didn’t invent it,” I pleaded. “It's nature. It's love.”


ARE HEROISMS ALL AROUND US 11
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 famous man!”
“V!/hy 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 Clive—just a clerk,
and he conquered India! By George! I'll do something in the
world yet!”
She laughed at my sudden Irish effervescence. “VVhy not?”
she said. “You have everything a man could have,—youth,
health, strength, education, energy. I was sorry you spoke.
And now I am glad—so glad—if it wakens these thoughts in
you!” ’
“And if I do—”
Her dear hand rested like warm velvet upon my lips. “Not
another word, Sir! You should have been at the oflice for
evening duty half an hour ago; only I hadn’t the heart to
remind you. Some day, perhaps, when you have won your
place in the world, we shall talk it over again.”
And so it was that I found myself that foggy November eve-
ning 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 who-—who 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
three-and-twenty in the fever of his first love.


PROFESSOR CHALLENGER 13
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 fraud—a modern Munchausen—-
and 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?”
“Anything—anywhere—-I care nothing.”
McArdle was plunged in thought for some minutes.
“I wonder whether you could get on friendly—or at least
on talking terms with the fellow,” he said, at last. “You seem
to have a sort of genius for establishing relations with people
—seempathy, I suppose, or animal magnetism, or youthful
vitality, or something. I am conscious of it myself.”
“You are very good, sir.”
“So why should you not try your luck with Professor
Challenger, of Enmore Park?”
I dare say I looked a little startled.
“Challenger!” I cried. “Professor Challenger, the famous
zoologist! Wasn’t he the man who broke the skull of Blundell,
of the Telegraph?”
The news editor smiled grimly.
“Do you mind? Didn’t you say it was adventures you were
after?” .
“It is all in the way of business, sir,” I answered.
“Exactly. I don't suppose he can always be so violent as
that. I'm thinking that Blundell got him at the wrong mo-
ment, maybe, or in the wrong fashion. You may have better
luck, or more tact in.handling him. There’s something in your
line there, I am sure, and the Gazette should work it.”
“I really know nothing about him,”'said I. “I only remem-
ber his name in connection with the police-court proceedings,
for striking Blundell.” A
“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 Mu-
seum Assistant, 1892. Assistant-Keeper of Comparative An-
thropology Department, l893. Resigned after acrimonious


. _ l
14 THE LOST WORLD
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—‘Société Belge,
American Academy of Sciences, La Plata, etc., etc. Ex-Presi-
dent Palsntological Society. Section H, British Association’
—so on, so on!-‘Publications: “Some Observation Upon a
Series of Kalmuck Skulls”; “Outlines of Vertebrate Evolution”;
and numerous papers, including “The underlying fallacy of
Weismannism,” which caused heated discussion at the Zoo-
logical Congress of Vienna. Recreations: Walking, Alpine
climbing. Address: Enmore Park, Kensington, W.’
“There, take it with you. I’ve nothing more for you to-
night.” '
I pocketed the slip of paper.
“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?”
The face flashed back again.
“Went to South America on a solitary expedition 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 happened—or the man’s a champion liar, which is
the more probable supposeetion. Had some damaged photo-
graphs, 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 tum
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 safe. Employers’
Liability Act, you know.” .
. A grinning red face turned once moreinto 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,


PROFESSOR CHALLENGER I5
twice mentioned in his skeleton biography, could only mean
that he was a fanatic in science. Was there not an exposed
margin there upon which he might be accessible? I would
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 arm-chair by the
fire. He turned as I drew my chair up to him. It was theman
of all others whom I should have chosen—Tarp 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 subject. -
“What do you know of Professor Challenger?”
“Challenger?” He gathered his brdws in scientific disap-
proval. “Challenger was the man who came with some cock-
and-bull story from South America.”
“What story?” .
“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 dis-
creditable business. There were one or two folk who were
inclined to take him seriously, but he soon choked them off.”
“How?” -
“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 next meeting.’ The answer was un-
printable.”
“You don’t say?”
“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.’ ”
“Good Lord!”
“Yes, I expect that’s what old Wadley said. I remember his
wail at the meeting, which began ‘In fifty years experience of
scientific intercoursei’ It quite broke.the old man up.”
“Anything more about Challenger?”
“Well, I'm a bacteriologist, you know. I live in a nine-hun-
ded-diameter microscope. I can hardly claim to take serious
notice of anything I can see_ with my naked eye. I'm a fron-
\.


16 ' THE LOST WORLD
tiersman 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 ’em—a
full-charged battery of force and vitality, but a quarrelsome,
ill-conditioned faddist, and unscrupulous at that. He had gone
the length of faking some photographs over the South Amer-
ican business.”
“You say he is a faddist. What is his particular fad?”
“He has a thousand, but the latest is something about
Weismann and Evolution. He had a fearful row about it in
Vienna, I believe.” '
“Can't you tell me the point?”
“Not at the moment, but a translation of the proceedings
exists. We have it filed at the office. Would you care to
come?” .
“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 of you to
give me a lift. I'll go with you now, if it is not. too late.”
Half an hour later I was seated in the newspaper ofiice with
a huge tome in front of me, which had been opened at the
article “Weismann 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. “Pro-
tests,” “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 in Chinese for any
definite meaning that it conveyed to my brain.
“I wish you could translate it into English for me,” I said,
pathetically, to my help-mate.
“Well, it is a translation.”
“Then I’d better try my luck with the original.”
“It is certainly rather deep for a layman.”
“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 out. This shall be
my link with the terrible Professor.”


18 THE LOST WORLD
Chain mail, or an American football suit—that’s what you'll
want. Well, good-bye. I'll have the answer for you here on
Wednesday morning—if he ever deigns to answer you. He is
a violent, dangerous, cantankerous character, hated by every-
one 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 for you if you never heard from the fellow at all.”


CHAPTER III
“HE IS A PERFECTLY IMPOSSIBLE PERSON”
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 looked like a
barbed-wire railing. The contents were as follows:—
" “ENMo1u’. PARK,W.
“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 lec-
ture, and appear to have some difficulty in understanding it.
I should have thought that only a sub-human 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 exceedingly distaste-
ful 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.’
“Yours faithfully,
‘ GEORGE EDWARD CHALLENGER.”
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 stufi, cuticura or some-
19


20 THE LOST_ WORLD
thing, which is better than arnica.” Some people have such
extraordinary notions of humor.
It was nearly-half-past ten before I had received my message,
but a taxicab took me round in good time for my appoint-
ment. It was an imposing porticoed house at which we
stopped, and the heavily-curtained windows gaveevery indica-
tion of wealth upon the part of this formidable Professor. The
door was opened by an odd, swarthy, dried-up person of un-
certain 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 me
up and down with a searching light blue eye.
“Expected?” he asked. -
“An appointment.”
“Got your letter?”
I produced the envelope.
“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 dining-
room door. She was a bright, vivacious, dark-eyed lady, more
French than English in her type.
“One moment,” she said. “You can wait, Austin. Step in
here, sir. May I ask if you have met my husband before ”
“No, madam, I have not had the honor.”
“Then I apologize to you in advance. I must tell you that
he is a perfectly impossible person—-absolutely impossible. If
you are forewarned you will be the more ready to make
allowances.” .
“It is most considerate of you, madam.”
“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 us. I suppose it
wasn't about South America you wanted to see him?”
I could not lie to a lady.
“Dear me! That is his most dangerous subject. You won’t
believe a word he says—l’m sure I don't wonder. But don't
tell him so,- for it makes him very yiolent. 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 dangerous—really dangerous—ring the bell and hold


HE IS A PERFECTLY IMPOSSIBLE PERSON Z1
him off until I come. Even at his worst I can usually control
him.” ~ “
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 over-
powering a personality as this. It was his size which took
one's breath away—his size and his imposing presence. His
head was enormous, the largest I have ever seen upon a
human being. I am sure that his top-hat, had I ever ven-
tured 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, spade-shaped
and rippling down over his chest. The hair was peculiar,
plastered down in front in a long, curving wisp over his mas-
sive forehead. The eyes were blue-gray 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 the notorious
Professor Challenger.
“Well?” said he, with a most insolent stare. “What now?”
I must keep up my deception for at least a little time longer,
otherwise here was evidently an end of the interview.
“You were good enough to give me an appointment, sir,”
said I, humbly, producing his envelope.
He took my letter from his desk and laid it out before him.
“Oh, you are the young person who cannot understand
plain English, are you? My general conclusions you are good
enough to approve, as I understand?”
“Entirely, sir—entirely!” I was very emphatic.
“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
s


22 THE LOST WORLD
offensive than the isolated effort of the British hog.” He glared
at me as the present representative of the beast.
“They seem to have behaved abominably,” said I..
“I assure you that I can fight my owmbattles, 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 rumbled. _
“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 Weismann in this matter. Has not the general evidence
since that date tended to—well, to strengthen his position?”
“What evidence?” He spoke with a menacing calm.
“Well, of course, I am aware that there is not any what you
might call definite evidence. I alluded merely to the trend of
moder n thought and the general scientific point of view, if I
might so express it.”
He leaned forward with great earnestness.
“I suppose you are aware,” said he, checking off points
upon his fingers, “that the cranial index is a constant factor "
“Naturally,” said I.
“And that telegony is still sub judice?”
“Undoubtedly.”
“And that the germ plasma is different from the parthe-
nogenetic egg?”
“VVhy, surely!” I cried, and gloried in my own audacity.
“But what does that prove?” he asked, in a gentle, persua-
sive voice.
“Ah, what indeed?” I murmured. “What does it prove?”
“Shall I tell you?” he cooed. -
“Pray do.”
“It proves,” he roared, with a sudden blast of fury, “that
you are the damnedest imposter in London—a vile, crawling
journalist, who has no more science than he has decency in
his composition!”


HE IS A PERFECTLY IMPOSSIBLE PERSON 23
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 shoulder—a stunted Hercules whose tremendous
vitality had all run to depth, breadth, and brain.
“Gibberish!” he cried, leaning forward, with his fingers on
the table and his face projecting. “That’s what I have been
talking to you, sir—scientific gibberish! Did you think you
could match cunning with me—you 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 gas-bags! 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 oif, 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 it strikes me that you have lost it.”
“Look here, sir,” said I, backing to the door and opening
it; “you can be as abusive as you like. But there is a limit.
You shall not assault me.” '
- “Shall I not?” He was slowly advancing in a peculiarly
menacing way, but he stopped now and put his big hands
into the side-pockets 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 each—that 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 menaces were putting me in
the right.
“I'll trouble you to keep your hands off, sir. I'll not stand
it-,7 -
“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


24 THE LOST WORLD
hope for?. I'm fifteenstone, as hard as nails, and play center
three-quarter every Saturday for the London Irish. I'm not
the man ”
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 Catharine-wheel 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 watch-
ful 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 ap-
pears 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 fists
and wheezing like an asthmatic.
“Had enough?” he panted.
“You infernal bully!” I cried, as I gathered myself together.
_
Then and there we should have tried the thing out, for he
was elfervescing with fight, but fortunately I was rescued
from an odious situation. A policeman was beside us, his note-
book in his hand. ' _
“What’s all this? You ought to be ashamed,” said the police
man. It was the most rational remark which I had heard in
Enmore Park. “Well,” he. insisted, turning to me, “what is
it, then?”
“This man attacked me,” said I.
“Did you attack him?” asked the policeman.
The Professor breathed hard and said nothing.
“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?”
I relented.
“No,” said I, “I do not.”
“What's that?” said the policeman.
“I was to blame myself. I intruded upon him. He gave me
fair warning.”
The policeman snapped up his notebook.
“Don’t let us have any more such goings-on,” 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


.1“
HE IS A PERFECTLY IMPOSSIBLE PERSON 25
clumped heavily down the street, driving this little flock be-
fore him. The Professor looked at me, and there was some-
thing humorous at the back of his eyes.
“Come in!” said he. “I’ve not done with you yet.”
The speech had a sinister sound, but I followed him none
the less into the'house. The man-servant, Austin, like a
wooden image, closed the door behind us. .


CHAPTER IV
“IT'S IUST THE VERY BIGGEST THING IN THE
WORLD”
Hardly was it shut when Mrs. Challenger darted out from the .
dining-room. 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 that she had seen my exit, but had
not observed my return.
“You brute, George!" she screamed. “You’ve hurt that nice
young man.” - '
.He jerked backwards with his thumb.
“Here he is, safe and sound behind me.”
She was confused, but not unduly so.
“I am so sorry, I didn’t see you.”
“I assure you, madam, that it is all right.”
“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 me. You’ve finished
my patience. This ends it.”
“Dirty linen,” he rumbled.
“It's not a secret,” she cried. “Do you suppose that the
whole street—the 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 students all revering you. Where is your
dignity, George?”
“How about yours, my dear?”
“You try me too much. A ruffian—a common brawling
ruffian—that’s what you have become.” '
“Be good, Iessie.”
“A roaring, raging bully!” . .
“That’s done it! Stool of penance!” said he.
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
26


THE BIGGEST THING IN .THE WORLD 27
\
presented cooked up, there with her face convulsed with
anger, her feet dangling, and her body rigid for fear of an
upset, I could not imagine.
“Let me down!” she wailed.
“Say ‘please.’ ” .
“You brute, George! Let me down this instant!”
“Come into the study, Mr. Malone.”
“Really, sir !” said I, looking at the lady.
“Here's Mr. Malone pleading for. you, Iessie. Say ‘please,’
and down you come.”
“Oh, you brute! Please! please!”
He took her down as if she had been a canary.
“You must behave yourself, dear. Mr. Malone is a Press-
man. 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
sub-title, ‘Glimpse of a singular ménage.’ He’s a foul feeder,
is Mr. Malone, a carrion eater, like all of his kind—porcus ex
grege diaboli— a swine from the devil’s herd. That's it, Ma-
lone~—-what?’’ '
“You are really intolerable!” said I, hotly.
He bellowed with laughter.
“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 Chal-
lenger. 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 continued, with
a great accession of dignity, “this way, if you please.”
_
We re-entered the room which we had left so tumultuously
ten minutes before. The Professor .closed the door carefully
behind us, motioned me into an arm-chair, and pushed a
cigar-box under my nose.
“Real San Iuan Colorado,” he said. “Excitable people like
you are the better for narcotics. Heavens! don’t bite it! Cut-
and cut with reverence! Now lean back, and listen attentively


28 THE LOST WORLD
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 retur n 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 well_-merited 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 part—-
more, 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 sub-speices of the human race to which you un-
fortunately 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 retur
n
with me, as I was minded to make your further acquaintance.
You will kindly deposit your ash in the small Iapanese tray
on the bamboo table which stands at your left elbow.”
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 bull-frog, his
headlaid back and his eyes half-covered 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 presently with what looked like a very tattered
sketch-book in his hand. '-
“I am going to talk to you about South America,” said he.
“No comments if you please. First of all, I wish you to under-
stand that nothing I tell you now is to be repeated in any
public way unless you have my express permission. That per-
mission will, in all human probability, never be given. Is that
clear?” '
“It is very hard,” said I. “Surely a judicious accoun
He replaced the notebook upon the table.
“That ends it,” said he. “I wish you a very good morning.”
“No, no!”\I cried. “I submit to any conditions. So far as I
can see, I have no choice.” .
“None in the world,” said he.
“Well, then, I promise.”
“Word of honor?”
. “Word of honor.”
7’


THE BIGGEST THING IN THE WORLD 29
He looked at me with doubt in his insolent eyes.
“After all, what do I know about your honor?” said he. -
'“Upon my word, sir,” I cried, angrily, “you take very great
liberties! I have never been so insulted in my life.”
He seemed more interested than annoyed at my outbreak.
“Round-headed,” he muttered. “Brachycephalic, gray-eyed,
black-haired, with suggestion of the negroid. Celtic, I pre-
sume?”
“I am an Irishman, sir.”
“Irish Irish?"
“Yes, sir.”
“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 giveyou a few indications which will be of inter-
est. In the first place, you are probably aware that two years
ago_I made a journey to South America—one 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 opened up an entirely fresh line of
inquiry.
“You are aware—or probably, in this half-educated age,
you are not aware—that the country round some parts of the
Amazon is still only partially explored, and that a great num-
ber of tributaries, some of them entirely uncharted, run into
the main river. It was my business to visit this little-known
back-country and to examine its fauna, which furnished me
with the materials for several chapters for that great and monu-
mental 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 tributary—the name and position of which I withhold
—<_)pens into the main river. The natives were Cucama In-
dians, 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


30 THE LOST WORLD
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 flaxen-haired 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
through the woods alone and in the last stage of exhaustion.
“The man’s knapsack lay beside the couch, and I examined
the contents. His name was written upon a tab within it-
Maple 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 comes to be apportioned.
“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 paint-box, 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 some-
thing projected from the front of his ragged jacket. It was
this sketch-book, which was as dilapidated then as you see
it now. Indeed, I can assure you that a first folio of Shake-
speare could not be treated with greater reverence than this
relic has been since it came into my possesion. 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 which
this document would produce.
I had opened the volume with some expectation of a revela-
tion, though of what nature I could not imagine. The fifst
page was disappointing, however, as it contained nothing but
the picture of a very fat man in a pea-jacket, with the legend,
“Iimmy Colver on the Mail-boat,” written beneath it. There
followed several pages which were filled with small sketches


E5 T
. ~. ‘THE BIGGEST THING IN THE WORLD 21
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 accoun-
ted 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 pig-
like animal; and finally came a double page of studies of long-
snouted and vei‘y unpleasant saurians. I could make nothing
of it, and said so to the Professor.
“Surely these are only crocodiles?”
“Alligators! Alligators! There is hardly such a thing as a
true crocodile in South America. The distinction between
them ” '
“I meant- that I could see nothing unusual—nothing to
justify what you have said.”
He smiled serenely.
“Try the next page,” said he.
I was still unable to sympathize. It was a full-page sketch
of a landscape roughly tinted in color_—the kind of painting
which an open-air artist takes as a guide to a future more
elaborate effort. There was a pale-green 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 fringed the
summit of the ruddy cliff. '
“Well?” he asked. A
“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 possibility. Now
the next.” -
I turned it over, and gave an exclamation of surprise. There
was a full-page 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 fur-
nished_with upward-turned spikes, and the curved back was
edged- with a high serrated fringe, which looked like a dozen


34 ' THE LOST WORLD
_
give you some idea of the size of the creature. You will ob-
serve from the cartilage that this is no fossil specimen, but
recent. What do you say to that?” .
“Surely in an elephant ”
He winced as if in pain.
_
“Don’t! Don't talk of elephants in South America. Even in '
these days of Board schools?”
“Well,” I interrupted, “any large South American animal——
a tapir, for example.” -
“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 of science. You are still
unconvinced?”
“I am at least deeply interested.”
“Then your case is not hopeless. I feel that there is reason
lurking in you somewhere, so we may patiently grope around
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 heard,
no doubt, of Curupuri?”
“Never.”
“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. Something terrible lay that way. It was
my business to find out what it was.”
“What did you do?” My flippancy was gone. This massive
man compelled one's attention and respect.
“I overcame the extreme reluctance of the natives—~a reluc-
tance which extends even to talk upon the subject—and by
judicious persuasion and gifts, aided, I will admit, bysome
threats of coercion, I got two of them to act as guides. After
many adventures which I need not describe, and after travel-
ing a distance which I will not mention, in a direction which


36 THE LOST WORLD
“You have it, then?” Here at last was tangible corrobora-
tion.
“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 it before you.”
From the drawer he produced what seemed to me to be the
upper portion of the wing of a large bat. It was at least two
feet in length, a curved bone, with a membranous veil be-
neath it.
“A monstrous bat!” I suggested. .
“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?”
My small stock of knowledge was exhausted.
“I really do not. know,” said I.
He opened the standard work to which he had already
referred me.
“Here,” said he, pointing to the picture of an extraor-
dinary flying monster, “is an excellent reproduction of the
dimorphodon, or pterodactyl, a flying reptile of the Iurassic
period. On the next page is a diagram of the mechanism of
its wing. Kindly compare it with the specimen in your hand.”
A wave of amazement passed over me as I looked. I was
convinced. There could be no getting away from it. The cumu-
lative proof was overwhelming. The sketch, the photographs,
the narrative, and now the actual specimen—the evidence
was complete. I said so—I said so warrnly, for I felt that the-
Professor was an ill-used man. He leaned back in his chair
with drooping eyelids and a tolerant smile, basking in_ this
sudden gleam of sunshine. .
‘‘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 Colum-


THE BIGGEST THING IN THE WORLD 37
bus 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 when I see it, and thisshould be good
enough for. anyone.”
The Professor purred with satisfaction.
“And then, sir, what did you do next?”
“It was the wet season, Mr. Malone, and my stores were ex-
hausted. I explored some portion of this huge cliff, but I was
unable to find anyway 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 green-capped cliffs. Below, it is a swampy,
iungly region, full of snakes, insects, and fever. It is a natural
protection to this singular country.”
“Did you see any other trace of life?”
“No, sir, I did not; but during the week that we lay en-
camped at the base of the cliff we heard some very strange
noises from above.”
“But the creature that the American drew? How do you
account for that?”
“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 have come down and
overrun the surrounding country. Surely that is clear?”
“But how did they come to be there?”
-“I do not thinkthat 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 of f 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 neutral-
ized or altered. Creatures survive which would otherwise
disappear. You will observe that both the pterodactyl and the


38. - THE LOST WORLD
_
stegosaurus are Iurassic, and therefore of a great age in the
order of life. They have been artificially conserved by those
strange accidental conditions.” ' -
“But surely your evidence is conclusive. You have only to
layit 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 tur n by incredulity, bor n 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 me—I
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 provocation I am
inclined to be violent. I fear you may have remarked it.”
I nursed my eye and was silent.
“My wife has frequently remonstrated with me upon the
subject, and yet I fancy that any man of honor would feel
the same. To-night, 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 eight-thirty at the Zoological Institute’s Hall upon ‘The
Record of the Ages.’ I have been specially invited to be pres-
ent 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
maylarouse 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 self-restraint I attain a more favorable
result.”
“And I may come?” I asked eagerly.
“Why, surely,” he answered, cordially. He had an enor-
mously massive genial manner, which was almost as over-
powering as his violence. His smile of benevolence was a
wonderful thing, when his cheeks would suddenly bunch into
two red apples, between his half-closed eyes and his great
black beard. “By all means, come. It will be a comfort to me


THE BIGGEST THING IN THE WORLD 39
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 to-night.
In the meantime, you will understand that no public use is
to be made of any of the material that I have given you.”
“But Mr. McArdle—my news editor, you know—will want
to know what I have done.”-
“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 riding-whip. But I leave it to you that noth-
ing of all this appears in print. Very good. Then the Zoological
Institute's Hall at eight-thirty to-night.” I had a last impression
of red cheeks, blue rippling beard, and intolerant eyes, as
he waved me out of the room.


CHAPTER V
“QUESTION!”
What with the physical shocks incidental to my first interview
with Professor Challenger and the mental ones which accom-
panied 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
into it and drove down to the ofice. McArd1e was at his
post as usual.
“Well,” he cried, expectantly, “what may it run to? I'm
thinking, young man, you have been in the wars. Don't tell
me that he assaulted you.” '
“We had a little difference at first.”
“What a man it is! What did. you do?”
“Well, he became more reasonable and we had a chat. But
I got nothing out of him—nothing for publication.”
“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 bearirigs.
I'll have a leaderette" on him tomorrow that will raise a blister.
Iust give me the material and I will engage to brand the
fellow forever. Professor Munchausen—how’s that for an inset
headline? Sir Iohn Mandeville redivivus—Cagliostro—all the
imposters and bullies in history. I'll show him up for the
fraud he is.”
“I wouldn’t do that, sir.”
“Why not?” I _
“Because he is not a fraud at all.” _
“What!” roared McArdle. “You don't mean to say you
really believe this stuff of his about mammoths and mastodons
and great sea sairpents?”
“Well, I don't know about that. I don't think he makes any
40


QUESTION! 41
claims of that kind. But I do believe he has got something
new.” .
“Then for Heaven’s sake, man, write it up!”
“I'm longing to, but all 1 know he ga_ve me in confidence
and on condition that I didn’t.” I condensed into a few
sentences the Professor’s narrative. “That’s how it stands.”
McArdle looked deeply incredulous.
“Well, Mr. Malone,” he said at last, “about this scientific
meeting to-night; 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 skeptical smile on his
gaunt face, and roared with laughter on hearing that the
Professor had convinced me.
“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 monkey-house at the Zoo. It’s all bosh.”
“But the American poet?”
“He never existed.”
_ “I saw his sketch-book.”
“Challenger’s sketch-book.”
“You think he drew that animal?”
“Of course he did. Who else?”
“Well, then, the photographs?”
“There was nothing in the photographs. By your own ad-
mission you only saw a bird.” .
“A pterodactyl.”
“That’s what he says. He put the pterodactyl into your
head.”
"Well, then, the bones?”
“First one out of an Irish stew. Second one vamped up for
the occasion. If you are clever and know your business you
can fake a bone as easily as you can a photograph.” '
_ I began to feel uneasy. Perhaps, after all, I had been prema-
ture in my acquiescence. Then I had a sudden happy thought.
“Will you come to the meeting?” I asked.
Tarp Henry looked thoughtful.


42 THE LOST WORLD
_
“He is not a popular person, the genial Challenger,” said
be. “A lot of people have accounts to settle with him. I
should say he is about the best-hated man in London. If the
medical students turn out there will be no end of a rag. I
don’t want to get into a bear-garden.”
“You might at least do him the justice to hear him state
his own case.” .
“Well, perhaps it’s only fair. All right. I'm your man for
the evening.”
When we arrived at the hall we found a much greater con-
course than I had expected. A line of electric broughams
discharged their little cargoes of white-bearded 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 be-
havior of the audience at present was good-humored, 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 might be to the recipients of these dubious honors.
Thus, when old Doctor Meldrum, with his well-known
curly-brimmed opera-hat, appeared upon the platform, there
was such a universal query of “VVhere did you get that tale?"
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 pro-
truded 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 proceedings.


QUESTION! 43
There was some sympathetic laughter on his entrance
among the front benches of well-dressed 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 bucket-bearing keeper is heard in the distance.
There was an offensive tone in it, perhaps, and yet in the
main it struck me as mereriotous 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 lecturer, threaded their way to the front, and
the proceedings began.
Professor Murray will, I am sure, excuse me if I say that
he has the common fault of most Englishmen of being in-
audible. 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
moder n life. Their methods are as reasonable as to try to
pour some precious stuff from the spring to the reservoir
through a non-conducting pipe, which could by the least
effort be opened. Professor Murray made several profound
remarks to his white tie and to the water-carafe upon the
table, with a humorous, twinkling aside to the silver candle-
stick 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 by him.
It was a bird’s-eye view of creation, as interpreted by
science, which, in language always clear and sometimes pic-
turesque, 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


44 THE LOST WORLD
forrned 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 cer-
tain. Therefore it had come later. Had it built itself out of
the cooling, inorganic elements of the globe? Very likely. Had
the girms 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 not—or 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 thefi: 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 matter must be left.
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 kangaroo—rat, a creature which brought forth
its young alive, the direct ancestor of all mammals, and pre-
sumably, therefore, of everyone in the audience. (“No, no,”
from a skeptical student in the back row.) If the young
gentleman in the red tie who cried “No, no,” and who pre-
sumably 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 age-long 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 type-
the be-all and end-all 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 still
working, and even greater achievements were in store.
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 sand-
bank, the sluggish, viscous life which lay upon their margins,
the overcrowded lagoons, the tendency of the sea creatures
to take refuge upon the mud-flats, the abundance of food


QUESTION! ' 45
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 Weal-
den or in the Solenhofen slates, but which were fortunately
extinct long before the first appearance of mankind upon this
planet.” '
“Question!” boomed a voice from the platform.
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 flat-
earth fanatic. He paused for a moment, and then, raising his
voice, repeated slowly the words: “Which were extinct be-
fore the coming of man.”
“Question!” boomed the voice once more.
Waldron looked with amazement along the line of profes-
sors 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 smiling in his sleep.
“I see!” said Waldron, with a shrug. “It is my friend Pro-
fessor Challenger,” and amid laughter he renewed his lecture
as if this was a final explanation and no more need be said.
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 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 cause of his
troubles.
“This is really intolerable!” he cried, glaring across the plat-
form. “I must ask you, Professor Challenger, to cease these
ignorant and unmannerly interruptions.”
There was a hush over the hall, the students rigid with
delight at seeing the high gods on Olympus quarrelling


QUESTION! 47
.
an ignorant audience.” (Ironical cheering.) “Popular lec-
turers 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 breth-
ren. One smallest new fact obtained in the laboratory, one
brick built into the temple of science, far outweighs any
second-hand 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 propor-
tion and. mistake the acolyte for the high priest.” (At this
point Mr. Waldron whispered to the chairman, who half rose
and said something severly to his water-carafe.) “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 so-called 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 sup-
posed to be Iurassic, monsters who would hunt down and
devour our largest and fiercest mammals, stillxist.” (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 some-
one 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, strug-
gling 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 Iaek-in-the-box.) “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 des-


QUESTION! ' 49
Professor Challenger answered that they had. _
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 scientific repute.
Professor Challenger answered that Mr. Summerlee ap-
peared 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 im-
possible 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 country in which prehistoric
animals were to be found. ,
Professor Challenger replied that he reserved such infor-
mation 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 serve on such a com-
mittee and test his story. in person?
Mr. Summerlee: “Yes, I will.” (Great cheering.)
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
ditficulties and dangers. Mr. Summerlee will need a younger
colleague. May I ask for volunteers?”
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 Gladys—'was it not the
very opportunity of which she spoke? Gladys would have told
me tolgo. 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


CHAPTER V1
‘‘I WAS THE FLAIL OF THE LORD”
Lord Iohn Roxton and I tumed down Vigo Street together
and through the dingy portals of the famous aristocratic
rookery. At the end of a long drab passage my new acquaint-
ance 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 im-
pression 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 ballet-girls, and
of race-horses alternated with a sensuous Fragonard, a martial
Cirardet, and a dreamy Turner. But amid these varied orna-
ments there were scattered the trophies which brought back
strongly to my recollection the fact that Lord Iohn Roxton
was one of the great all-round sportsmen and athletes of his
day. A dark-blue oar crossed with a cherry-pink one above
his mantel-piece spoke of the old Oxonian and Leander
man, while the foils and boxing-gloves 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 game-heads, the best of their sort from every quarter
of the world, with the rare white rhinoceros of the Lado
Enclave drooping its supercilious lip above them all.
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 cigar-
stumps. On it stood a silver tray of smokables and a burnished
spirit-stand; from it and an adjacent siphon my silent host
51


54 THE LOST WORLD
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 mind—what? You see, be-
tween you an’ me close-tiled, 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
dry-nur'sin’ from the first. .By the way, are vou by any chance
the Malone who is expected to get his Rugby cap for Ire-
land?” '
“A reserve, perhaps.” .
“I thought I remembered your face. Why, I was there
when you got that try against Richmond—as 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 it—what? Very good. I'll fix it with him. What about
your outfit?”
“My paper will see to that.”
“Can you shoot?” . .
“About average Territorial standard.” "
“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 0' 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 barrels, like
the pipes of an organ.
“I'll seewhat I can spare you out of my own battery,” said
he. . -
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 rhinoceros.


I WAS THE FLAIL OF THE LORD 55
“Ten more yards, and he would have added me to his
collection.
‘On that conical bullet his one chance hangs,
'T is weak one’s advantage fair.’
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, point-blank
up to three-fifty. That’s the rifle I used against the Peruvian
slave-drivers 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
Blue-book. 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 murderer—a good row of
them—what? 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 brown-and-silver rifle. “Well rubbered at the stock,
sharply sighted, five cartridges to the clip. You can trust your
life to that.” He handed it to me and closed the door of his
oak cabinet.
“By the way,” he continued, coming back to his chair, “what
do you know of this Professor Challenger?”
“I never saw him till to-day.’.’
“VVell, 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 interest in the
affair?”
I told him shortly my experiences of the morning, and he
listened intently. Then he drew out a map of South America
and laid it on the table.
“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


56 THE LOST WORLD
I spoke of the war I made on the slave-dealers. Well, when
I was up there I heard some yarns.of the same kind—tradi-
tions 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 pos-
sible—anythin’. There are just some narrow water-lanes 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 coun-
tries meet, nothin’ would surprise me. As that chap said to-
night, there are fifty-thousand miles of water-way 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. VVhy, the river rises and falls the best part
of forty feet, and'half the country is a morass that you can’t
pass over. VVhy 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 golf-ball—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 lobster-
supper dream is a brand-new sensation.” He chuckled with-
glee at the prospect.
Perhaps I have dwelt too long upon this new acquaint-
ance, 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. ' _


58 THE LOST WORLD
and his thin, eager face beams forth between his hunting-
cap and his muffler. As for myself, I am glad to have got the
bustling days of preparation and the pangs of leave-taking
behind me, and I have no doubt that I show it in my hearing.
Suddenly, just as we reach the vessel, there is a shout be-
hind us. It is Professor Challenger, who had promised to see
us off. He runs after us, a puffing, red-faced, irascible figure.
“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 ob-
servance 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. Good-bye, sir. You have done something to
mitigate my feelings for the loathsome profession to which
you unhappily belong. Good-bye,'Lord Iohn. Science is, as I
understand, a sealed book to you; but you may congratulate
yourself upon the hunting-field which awaits .you. You will,
no doubt, have the opportunity of describing in the Field how
you brought down the rocketing dimorphodon. And good-bye
to you also, Professor Summerlee. If you are still capable of
self-improvement, of which I am frankly unconvinced, you
will surely retur n 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 good-bye to the pilot. We'll be “down, hull-down, on the
old trail” from now on. God blessall we leave behind us,
and send us safely back.


CHAPTER VII
“TO-MORROW WE DISAPPEAR INTO THE
UNKNOWN” _ ,
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,
slow-moving, clay-tinted 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. Short-
man, 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 hands that this report must pass before it reaches the
world.
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 insensi-
ble to fatigue, and his dry, half-sarcastic, and often wholly
unsympathetic manner is uninfiuenced by any change in his
surroundings. Though in his sixty-sixth year, I have never
heard him express any dissatisfaction at the occasional hard-
ships 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
59


60 THE LOST WORLD
_
endurance is as great as my own. In temper he is naturally
acid and skeptical. From the beginning he has never con-
cealed his belief that Professor Challenger is an absolute fraud,
that we are all embarked upon an absurd wild-goose 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, goat-
like beard, he _poured into our ears all the way from South-
ampton 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 whole-
hearted in his devotion to science. He spends his days flitting
through the woods with his shot-gun and his butterfly-net,
. and his evenings in mounting the many specimens he has
acquired. Among his minor peculiarities are that he islcareless
as to his attire, unclean in his person, exceedingly absent-
minded 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 Rob-
ertson in Papua), and the life of the camp and the canoe
is nothing fresh to him.
Lord Iohn Roxton has some points in common with Profes-
sor Summerlee, and others in which they are the very anti-
thesis 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 mosquito-boots,
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 con-
versation, talking in a queer, jerky, half-humorous fashion. His
knowledge of the world, and very especially of South America,
is surprising, and he has a whole-hearted belief in the possi-
bilities 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 pres-


WE DISAPPEAR INTO THE UNKNOWN 61
ence 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 lear n them, were amazing
enough.
These were that Lord Iohn had found himself some years
before in that no-man’s-land which is formed by the half-
defined 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
half-breeds dominated the country, armed such Indians as
would support them, and turned the rest into slaves, terror-
izing them with the most inhuman tortures in order to force
them to gather the india-rubber, which was then floated down
the river to Para. Lord Iohn 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 slave-drivers, 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 half-breed and breaking down the
system which he represented.
N o wonder that the ginger-headed 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 resent-
ment 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, one-third Portu-
guese and two-thirds Indian, which is current all over Brazil.
I have said before that Lord Iohn 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 glamor 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 skeptical 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


64 1 THE LOST WORLD
it over. Again it was blank. We looked at each other in a be-
wildered silence, which was broken by a discordant burst of
derisive laughter f1:om_Professor Summerlee.
“It is an open admission,” he cried. “What more do you
want? The fellow is a self-confessed humbug. We have only
to retur n home and report him as the brazen imposter that
he is.”
“Invisible ink!” I suggested.
“I don’t think!” said Lord Roxton, holding the paper to
the light. “No, young fella my lad, there is no’use deceiving
yourself. I'll go bail for it that nothing has ever been written
upon this paper.” I
“May I come in?” boomed a voice from the veranda.
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 Chal-
lenger,,in a round, boyish straw-hat with a colored ribbon—
Challenger, with his hands in his jacket-pockets and his can-
vas 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 in-
tolerant eyes. '
“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 Iohn, with some stem-
ness 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 understand why you
should have worked it in so extraordinary .a manner.”
Instead of answering, Professor Challenger entered, shook
hands with myself and Lord Iohn, bowed with ponderous
insolence to Professor Summerlee, and sank back into a has-
ket-chair, which creaked and swayed beneath his weight.
“Is all ready for your journey?” he asked.
“We can start tomorrow.” '
“Then so yop shall. You need no chart of directions now,
_


WE DISAPPEAR INTO THE UNKNOWN 65
since you will.have the inestimable advantage of my own
guidance. From the first I had determined that I would my-
self 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
	hat, 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 heart-
ily. “So long as there was another ship upon the Atlantic.”
Challenger waved him away with his great hairy hand.
“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 to-night, 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 demonstrated what
you have come to see.” .
Lord Iohn Roxton has chartered a large steam launch, the
Esmeralda, which was to carry us up the river. So far as cli-
mate goes, it was immaterial what time we chose for our ex-
pedition, as the temperature ranges from seventy-five to ninety
degrees both summer and winter, with no appreciable differ-
ence 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 low-water mark. It floods the banks, ex-
tends in great lagoonsover a monstrous waste of country, and
forms a huge district, called locally the Gapo, which is for
the most part too marshy for foot-travel and too shallow for
boating. About Iune the waters being 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 trib-
utaries were more or less in a normal condition.
The current of the river is 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 south-
east, and sailing boats may make a continuous progress to the


WE DISAPPEAR INTO THE UNKNOWN 67
S0 tomorrow we disappear into the unknown. This account
I am transmitting down the iiver by canoe, and it may be our
last word to those who are interested in our fate. I have, ac-
. cording 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 manner—and in spite of the continued skepticism
_ of Professor Summerlee—I have no doubt that our leader
will make good his statement, and that we are really on the
eve of some most remarkable experiences.


5
CHAPTER vrrr
. “THE OUTLYING PICKETS OF THE NEW WORLD”
I
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 Pro-
fessors) occurred this evening, and might have had a tragic
_
ending. I have spoken of our English-speaking half-breed,.
G0mez—a 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 half-breeds, 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 Chal-
lenger is provocative in the last degree, but Summerlee has an
68


OUTLYING PICKETS OF THE NEW WORLD 69
acid tongue, which makes matters worse. Last night Chal-
lenger said that he never cared to walk on the Thames Em-
bankment 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, how-
ever, 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 pity-
ing tone one would use to a child. Indeed, they are children
both—-the one wizened and cantankerous, the other formi-
dable and overbearing, yet each with a brain which has put
him in the front rank of his scientific age. Brain, character,
soul—only as one sees more of life does one understand how
distinct is each.
The very next day we did actually make ourstart 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 hu-
mor, 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 sur-
prised when the thunderstotms 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 half-tremulous doubt as to what sudden tur n his for-
midable temper may take.
For two days we made our way up a good-sized river,
some hundreds of yards broad, and dark in color, but trans-
parent, 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 demy, 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 pene-
trated 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 town-bred life could have imagined, shooting upwards in


70 THE LOST WORLD
~i_
magnificent columns until, at an enormous distance above our
heads, we could dimly discer n the spot where they threw out
their side-branches into Gothic upward curves which coa-
lesced to form one great matted roof of verdure, through
which only an occasional golden ray of sunshine shot down-
wards 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 Pro-
fessor Challenger’s full-chested notes sank into a whisper.
Alone, I should have been ignorant of the names of thesegiant
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 back-
ward in those products which come from animal life. Vivid
orchids and wonderful colored lichens smoldered upon the
swarthy tree-trunks and where a wandering shaft of light fell
full upon the golden allamanda, the scarlet star-clusters of the
tacsonia,\or the rich deep blue of ipomza, 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 leam
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 im--
measurably 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
car, while nothing moved amid the solemn vistas of stupen-
dous trunks, fading away into the darkness which held us in.
Once some bandy-legged, lurching creature, an ant-eater or a


OUTLYING PICKETS OF THE NEW WORLD 71
bear, scuttled clumsily amid the shadows. It was the only sign
of earth life which I saw in this great Amazonian forest.
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 through-
out 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 with expressions of terror upon their faces.
“What is it, then?” I asked.
“Drums,” said Lord Iohn, carelessly; “war drums. I have
heard them before.”
“Yes, sir, war drums,” said Gomez, the half-breed. “Wild
Indians, bravos, not mansos; they watch us every mile of the
way; kill us if they can.”
“How can they watch us?” I asked, gazing into the dark,
motionless void.
The half-breed shrugged his broad shoulders.
“The Indians know. They have their own way. They watch
us. They talk the drum talk to each other. .Kill us if they can.”
By the afternoon of that day—my pocket diary shows me
_. that it was Tuesday, August 18th—at 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 nerve-shaking
and menacing in that constant mutter, which seemed to shape
itself into the very syllables of the half-breed, endlessly re-
peated, “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 veg-
etation, but away from behind there came ever the one mes-
sage from our fellow-man. “We will kill you if we can,” said
the men in the east. “We will kill you if we can,” said the
men in the north.
All day the drums rumbled and whispered, while their
menace reflected itself in the faces of our colored companions.
Even the hardy, swaggering half-breed 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 up-


OUTLYING PICKETS THE NEW WORLD 73
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 less than
a hundred miles up the tributary from the main stream.
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 the stream.
“What do you make .of that?” he asked.
“It is surely an Assai palm,” said Summerlee.
“Exactly. It was an Assai palm which I took for any land-
mark. 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 light-
green rushes instead of dark-green undergrowth, there be-
tween 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 light-green rushes, we poled our two
(anoes through them for some hundreds of yards, and even-
tually 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 the fairyland beyond. '
For a fairyland it was—the mostlwonderful that the imagi-
nation of man could conceive. The thick vegetation met over-
head, interlacing into a natural pergola, and through this
tunnel of verdure in a golden twilight flowed the green, pel-
lucid river, beautiful in itself, but marvelous from the strange
tints thrown by the vivid light from above filtered and tem-
pered 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
tamenessof the creatures showed that they knew nothing of


OUTLYING PICKETS OF THE NEW WORLD 75
an aneroid barometer), the matter suddenly came to a head.
“May I ask, sir,” said Summerlee, with vicious calm, “in
what capacity you take it upon yourself to issue these orders?”
Challenger glared and bristled.
“I do it, Professor Summerlee, as leader of this expedition.”
‘‘I am compelled to tell you, sir, that I do not recognize you
in that capacity.”
“Indeed!” Challenger bowed with unwieldy sarcasm. “Per-
haps 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 your
judges.”
“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 men—Lord Iohn
Roxton and myself—to prevent the petulance and folly of our
leamed Professors from sending us back empty-handed 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 for-
tune 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 detestation and
abuse of this common rival.
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 sponge-like 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


76 ' THE LOST WORLD
the alluvial Amazonian plain gave place to the Phoenix and
coco palms, growing in scattered clumps, with thick brush-
wood 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 opin-
ion 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 moder n European culture.” That
we were justified in doing so was shown upon the third day,
when Challenger admitted that he recognized several land-
marks of his former journey, and in one spot we actually came
upon four fire-blackened stones, which must have marked a
camping-place. .
The road still ascended, and we crossed a rock-studded
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 N uttonia Vexillaria and the glo-
rious pink and scarlet blossoms of Cattleya and odontoglossum.
Occasional brooks with pebbly bottoms and fern-draped banks
gurgled down the shallow gorges in the hill, and offered good
camping-grounds every evening on the banks of some rock-
studded pool, where swarms of little blue-backed fish, about
the size and shape of English trout, gave us a delicious supper.
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 wil-
derness of bamboo, which grew so thickly that we could only .
penetrate it by cutting a pathway with the machetes and bill-
hooks 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
Iohn’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
knife-edge 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 an-
imals quite close to us. From their sounds Lord Iohn judged


OUTLYING PICKETS OF THE NEW WORLD 77
them to be some form of wild cattle. Iust as night fell we
cleared the belt of bamboos, and at once formed our camp,
exhausted by the interminable day. \
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 tree-ferns, the whole
curving before us until it ended in a long, whale-backed 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 sky-line. 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, until it was lost among the tree-ferns.
“Did you see it?” cried Challenger, in exultation. “Summer-
lee, did you see it?”
His colleague was staring at the spot where the creature
had disappeared.
“What do you claim that it was?” he asked.
“To the best of my belief, a pterodactyl.”
Summerlee burst into derisive laughter. “A pter-fiddle-
stick!" 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 Iohn
came abreast of me, however, and his face was more grave
than was his wont. He had his Zeiss glasses in his hand.
“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
allpne, for we saw nothing more which could be called remark-
a le.


78 THE LOST woaro
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 tree-
ferns. At last our destination lay in full sight of us. When we
had crossed the second ridge we saw before us an irregular,
palm-studded 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
skeptical. Another day should bring some of our doubtsto an
end. Meanwhile, as Iosé, 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 effect
of making the account rather easier to understand.
_


CHAPTER IX
“WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN IT?”
A dreadful thing has happened to us. VVho could have fore-
seen 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 loan
hardly think clearly of the facts of the present or of the
chances of the future. To my astounded senses the one seems
most terrible and the other as black as night.
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 all human probability be
decided long before it could arrive in South America.
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 re-
.markable men, men of great brain-power 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 they. Inwardly I am filledwith ap-
prehension.
Let me give you, with as much details 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 en-
circled, 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 Ihe had stated
—running up in parts to at least a thousand feet—and they
were curiously striated, in a manner which is, I believe, char-
acteristic 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 no indi- '
cation of any life that we could see.
79


80 THE LOST WORLD
That night we pitched our camp immediately under the
cliff—a most wild and desolate spot. The crags above us were
not merely perpendicular, but curved outwards at the top, so
thatascent 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 be-
tween. On the summit of it there grew one high tree. Both
pinnacle and clif f were comparatively low—some five or six
hundred feet, I should think. '
“It was on that,” said Professor Challenger, pointing to this
tree, “that the pterodactyl was perched. I climbed half-way
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 Profes-
sor 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 taste of victory.
“Of course,” said he, with his clumsy and ponderous sar-
casm, “Professor Summerlee will understand that when I
speak of a pterodactyl I mean a stork—only 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 and walked away.
In the morning, after a frugal breakfast of coffee and manioc
—we had to be economical of our stores—we 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 Iustice 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 our future movements.
Beneath hi~ you might have seen the three of us—myself,
sunburnt, young, and vigorous after our open-air tramp; Sum-
merlee, solemn but still critical, behind his eternal pipe; Lord
Iohn, as keen as a razor-edge, with his supple, alert figure
leaning upon his rifle, and his eager eyes fixed eagerly upon


WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN IT? 81
the speaker. Behind us were grouped the two swarthy half- .
breeds and the little knot of Indians, while in front and above
us towered those huge, ruddy ribs of rocks which kept us from
our goal. _
“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 rock-climber with me, but I have taken
the precaution to bring them now. With their aid I am pos-
itive 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 ap-
proach 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 clif
f
to the east of us, finding no possible way up. What, then,
shall we now do?”
“There seems to be only one reasonable course,” said Pro-
fessor 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 Iohn. “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 eflected 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.”
“How do you know that, sir?” asked Summerlee, sharply.
“Because my predecessor, the American Maple White, ac-
tually made such an ascent. How otherwise could he have
seen the monster which he sketched in his notebook?”
“There you reason somewhat ahead of the proved facts,”
said the stubborn Summerlee. “I admit your plateau, because


82 THE LOST WORLD
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 intelli-
gence.” 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 some animal life?”
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, spade--
like head. It wavered and quivered above us for a minute,
the morning sun gleaming upon its sleek, sinuous coils. Then
it slowly drew inwards and disappeared. '
Summerlee had been so interested that he had stood unre-
sisting while Challenger tilted his head into the air. Now he
shook his colleague off and came back to his dignity.
“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
it very ordinary rock python does not appear to justify such a
'berty.”
“But there is life upon the plateau all the same,” his col-
league replied in triumph. “And now, having demonstrated
this important conclusion so that it is clear to anyone, how-
ever prejudiced or obtuse, I am of opinion that we cannot do
better tharr~break up our camp and travel to westward until
we find some means of ascent.”
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 tin-opener, and
a quantity of other travelers’ débris. A crumpled, disinte-
grated newspaper revealed itself as the Chicago Democrat,
though the date had been obliterated.
“Not mine,” said Challenger. “It must be Maple White’s.”
Lord Iohn had been gazing curiously at a great tree-fer
n
which overshadowed the encampment. “I say, look at this,”
said he. “I believe it is meant for a sign-post.”


Il T“?
84 THE LOST WORLD
upon his beliefs, he none the less gave me some positive in-
formation. 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 Iames Col--
ver, who remained in the boat and did not meet this ecclesi-
astic. I think, therefore, that there can be no doubt that we
are now looking upon the remains of this Iames Colver.”
“Nor,” said Lord Iohn, “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 stuck through by these
canes with their points so high above our heads?”
A hush came over us as we stood round these shattered
remains and realized the truth of Lord Iohn Roxton’s words.
The beetling head of the cliff projected over the cane-brake.
Undoubtedly he had fallen'from above. But had he fallen?
Had it been an accident? Or—already ominous and terrible
possibilities began to form round that unknown land.
We moved off in silence, and continued to cast round the
line of cliffs, which were as even and unbroken as ‘some of
those monstrous Antarctic ice-fields which I have seen de-
picted as stretching from horizon to horizon and towering
high above the mast-heads of the exploring vessel.
In five miles we saw no rift or break. And then suddenly we
perceived something which filled us with new hope. In a hol-
low of the rock, protected from rain, there was drawn a rough
arrow in chalk, pointing still to the westwards.
“Maple VVhite again,” said Professor Challenger. “He had
some presentiment that worthy footsteps would follow close
behind him.” '
“He had chalk, then?”
“A box of colored chalks was among the effects I found in
his knapsack. I remember that the white one was worn to a
stump.” _ _
“That is certainly good evidence,” said Summerlee. “We
can only accept his guidance and follow on to the westward.”
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 clifl? 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 the level of the ground.
It was a solemn place, for the walls were so gigantic and


WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN IT? 8f
the slit of blue sky so narrow and so obscured by a double
fringe of verdure, that only a dim a.nd shadowy light pene-
trated 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 or-
dered the camp to be pitched, however, and, leaving the
Indians to arrange it, we four, with the two half-breeds, pro-
ceeded up the narrow george. '
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 back—
the whole gorge was not more than a quarter of a mile deep—
and then suddenly the quick eyes of Lord Iohn 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 he point, and this the means by
which Maple White and his ill-fated comrade had made
their ascent.
We were too excited to retur n to the camp, but must make
our first exploration at once. Lord Iohn had an electric torch
in his knapsack, and this had to serve us as light. He advanced,
throwing his little clear circlet of yellow radiance before him,
while in single file we followed at his heels.
The cave had evidently been water-worn, 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 stoop-
ing. For fifty yards it ran almost straight into the rock, and
then it ascended at an angle of forty-five. Presently this incline
became even steeper, and we found ourselves climbing upon
hands and knees among loose rubble which slid from be-
neath us. Suddenly an exclamation broke from Lord Roxton.
“It’s blocked!” said he.
Clustering behind him we saw in the yellow field of light a
wall of broken basalt which extended to the ceiling.
“The roof has fallen in!”
In vain we dragged out some of the pieces. The only effect
-was that the larger ones became detached and threatened to


86 THE LOST WORLD
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 afterwards.
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 downwards and 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 half-breed servants, who were still at the open-
ing 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 incident
surely pointed to humanity—and malevolent humanity—.up0n
the plateau. . ~
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 hun-
dreds 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 al-
ready begun to trend from west to north, and if we could take
this as representing the are of a circle, the whole circumfer-
ence could not be very great. At the worst, then, we should
be back in a few days atour starting-point.
We made a march that day which totaled some two-and-
twenty miles, without any change in our prospects. I may
mention that our aneroid shows us that in the continual in-
cline which we have ascended since we abandoned our canoes
we have risen to no less than three thousand feet above


WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN IT? 89
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 the stony desert. . _
“Surely,” said I, as we discussed the situation, “the rain
must find its way down somehow. There are bound to be
water-channels in the rocks.” .
“Our young friend has glimpses of lucidity,” said Professor
Challenger, patting me upon the shoulder.
“The rain must go somewhere,” I repeated.
“He keeps a firm grip upon actuality. The only drawback
is that we have conclusively proved by ocular demonstration
that- there are no water channels down the rocks.”
“Where, then, does it go?” I persisted.
“I think it may be fairly assumed that if it does not come
outwards it must run inwards.”
“Then there is a lake in the center.”
“So I should suppose.” - ' \
“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, into the marshes of the Iaracaca
Swamp.” , -
“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 comprehen-
sible 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 chalk-marks had in-
dli)<1:ated as his own means of access was now entirely impass-
a e.
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


90. THE LOST WORLD
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 bull-frog, by the fire, his huge
head in his hands, sunk apparently in the deepest thought,
and entirely oblivious to the good-night which I wished him.
But it was a very different Challenger who greeted us in the
morning—a Challenger with contentment and self-congratula-
tion shining from his whole person. He faced us as we as-
sembled 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 ped-
estal in Trafalgar Square, and adding onemore to the horrors
of the London streets. .
“Eureka!” he cried, his teeth shining through his beard.
“Gentlemen, you may congratulate me and we may congratu-
late each other. The problem is solved.” \
“You have found a way up?”
“I venture to think so.”
.“And where?”
For answer he pointed to the spire-like pinnacle upon our
right.
Our faces—or mine, at least—fell as we surveyed it. That it
could be climbed we had our companion’s assurance. But a
horrible abyss lay between it and the plateau.
“We can never get across,” I gasped.
“We can at least all reach the summit,” said he. “When we
are up I may be able to show you that the resources of an
inventive mind are not yet exhausted.”
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
Iohn was an experienced mountaineer, and Summerlee had
done some rough climbing at various times, so that I was really
the novice at rock-work of the party; but my strength and
activity may have made up for my want of experience.


92 I THE LOST WORLD
small, ribbed leaves seemed familiar to my eyes. “Why,” I
cried, “it’s a beech!”
“Exactly,” said Summerlee. “A fellow-countryman in a far
land.”
“Not only a fellow-countryman, my good sir,” said Chal-
lenger, “but also, if I may be allowed to enlarge your simile,
an ally of the first value. This beech tree will be our saviour.”
“By George!” cried Lord Iohn, “a bridge!”
“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 will-power and intellect go together,
there is always a way out. A drawbridge had to be found
which could be dropped across the abyss. Behold it!”
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 he handed it to me.
“Our young friend has the thews and sinews,” said he. “I
think he will be the most useful at this task. I must beg, how-
ever, that you will kindly refrain from thinking for yourself,
and that you will do exactly what you are told.”
Under his direction I cut such gashes in the sides of the
tree 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 Iohn.
In a little over an hour there was a loud crack, the tree
swayed foward, 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, how-
ever, a few inches from the edge, and there was our bridge
to the unknown.
All of us, without a word, shook hands with Professor Chal-
lenger, who raised his straw hat and bowed deeply to each
in/turn.
“I claim the honor,” said he, “to be the first to cross to the
unknown land—a fitting subject, no doubt, for some future
historical painting.”


. WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN IT? 95
“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 trapped, every one of
you!”
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 presently it was up
again, more frantic than before.
“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 happy now, for
his memory has been avenged.” A furious hand was shaken
at us, and then all was quiet.
Had the half-breed simply wrought his vengeance and then
escaped, all might have been well with him. It was that fool-
ish, 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 half-breed was
descending on the farther side of the pinnacle; but before he
could reach the ground Lord Iohn had run along 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 blood-
feuds, and have been more upon my guard.”
“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 had
killed him, for he must, as you say, have lent a hand.”
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 half-breed—his constant desire to know our plans, his ar-
rest outside our tent when he was over-hearing them, the
furtive looks of hatred which from time to time one or the other


96 THE LOST WORLD
of us had surprised. We were still discussing it, endeavoring
to adjust our minds to these new conditions, when a singular
scene in the plain below arrested our attention.
A man in white clothes, who could only be the surviving
half-breed, 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. 1
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
of the great plain. .
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 lives. One instant had altered the whole conditions of
our existence.
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 Herculean figure emerged upon the
top of the pinnacle. i
“What I do now?” he cried. “You tell me and I do it.” i
It was a question which it was easier to ask than to answer.
One thing only was clear. He was our one trusty link with the
.outside world. On no account must he leave us.
“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 keep them.”
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 them.


wrro COULD HAVE FORESEEN IT? 97
“Make them wait till to-morrow, Zambo,” I shouted; “then
I can send letter back by them.” '
“Very good, sarr! I promise they wait till to-morrow,” 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 tree-stump and threw one end of it across to us.
It was not thicker than a clothes-line, 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 car-
ried up two other packets of mixed goods—'a box of ammuni-
tion and a number of other things, all of which we got across
by throwing our rope to him and hauling it back. It was eve-
ning when he at last climbed down, with a final assurance
that he would keep the Indians till next morning.
And so it is that I have spent nearly the whole of this our
first night upon the plateau writing up our experiences by the
light of a single candlelantern.
. 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 Iohn himself had had adventures enough for
one day, and none of us felt inclined to make the first push
into the unknown. We forbore to light a fire or to make any .
unnecessary sound.
To-morrow (or to-day,' rather, for it is already dawn as I
write) we shall make our first venture into this strange land.
VVhen I shall be able to write again—or if I ever shall write
again—l 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 get my letter. I only trust that it
will come to hand. .
P.S..—The more I think the more desperate does our posi-
tion 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 hopeless—hopeless!


CHAPTER X
“THE MOST WONDERFUL THINGS HAVE
HAPPENED"
pf
‘The most wonderful things have happened and. are continu-
ally happening to us. All the paper that I possess consists of
five old note-books 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 actu-
ally overtake us. Vi/hether Zambo can at last take these let-
ters to the river, or whether I shall myself in some miraculous
way carry them back with me, or, finally, whether some dar-
ing explorer, coming upon our tracks with the advantage, per-
haps, 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 experi-
ences. The first incident in it was not such as to give me a
very favorable opinion of the place to which we had wan-
dered. 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, pur-
plish grape. Astonished at the sight, I leaned forward to pick
it off, when, to my horror, it burst between myfinger, and
thumb, squirting blood in every direction. My cry of disgust
had brought the two professor to my side.
“Most interesting,” said Summerlee, bending over my shin.
“An enormous blood-tick, as yet, I believe, unclassified.”-
“The first-fruits of our labors,” said Challenger in his boom-
ing, pedantic fashion. “We cannot do less than call it Ixodes
Maloni. The very small inconvenience of being bitten, my
98


WONDERFUL THINGS HAVE HAPPENED 99
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.”
“Filthy vermin!” I cried.
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 tempera-
ment like myself the blood-tick, with its lancet-like proboscis
and its distending stomach, is as beautiful a work of Nature
as the peacock or, for that matter, the auiora 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 shirt-collar.”
Challenger sprang into the air bellowing like a bull, and
tore frantically at his coat and shirt to get them off. Summer-
lee and I laughed so that we could hardly help him. At last
we exposed that monstrous torso (fifty-four inches, by the tail-
or’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.was clear that we must shift our camp.
But first of all it was necessary to make our arrangements
with the faithful negro, who appeared presently on the pin-
nacle 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 laterwe 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 there he remained,
our one link with the world below. .
And now we had to decide upon our immediate move-
ments. We shifted our position from among the tick-laden
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


100 THELOST worru)
_
invasion of this new country. Birds were calling among the
f0liage—especially one with a peculiar whooping cry which
was new to us—but beyond these sounds there were no signs
of life.
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 acrosson 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 shot-gun, 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, includ-
ing alarge telescope and a good field-glass. All these things
we collected together in the clearing, and as a first precau-
tion, 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
time—our place of refuge against sudden danger and the
guard-house for our stores. Fort Challenger, we called it.
It wasmidday before we had made ourselves secure, buLthe
. 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 con-
structed. In its shade we continued our discussion, while Lord
Iohn, who had quickly taken command in the hour of action,
gave us his views. I
“So long as neither man nor beast has seenor 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 neigh-
bors before we get on visitin’ terms.”
“But we must advance,” I ventured to remark.
“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.”
“But you fired yesterday,” said Summerlee.


WONDERFUL THINGS HAVE HAPPENED 103
the sun shone upon it. All five were sitting up, balancing
themselves upon their broad, powerful tails and their huge
three-toed hind-feet, while with their small five-fingered
front-feet 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 mon-
strous 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 dificulty in reaching a bunch of foliage which grew
upon a considerable-sized tree, put his fore-legs 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 a 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 tree-trunks, and their
hands undulating high above the brushwood. Then they van-
ished from our sight.
I looked at my comrades. Lord Iohn was standing at gaze
with his finger on the trigger of his elephant-gun, 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 won-
ders 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 chil-
dren inthe presence of a marvel, Challenger’s cheeks bunched
up into a seraphic smile, and Summerlee’s sardonic face
softening for the moment into wonder and reverence.
“Nunc dimittis!” he cried at last. “What will they say in
England of this?”


104 THE LOST WORLD -
“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 said of me.”
“In the face of photographs?”
“Faked, Summerlee! Clumsily faked!”
“In the face of specimens?”
“Ah, there we may have them! Malone and his filthy Fleet
Street crew may be all yelping our praises yet. August the
twenty-eighth—the day we saw five live iguanodons in a glade
of Maple White Land. Put it down in your diary, my young
friend, and send it to your rag.”
“And be ready to get the toe-end of the editorial boot in
return,” said Lord Iohn. “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 be-
lieved. Who’s to blame them? For this will seem a bit of a
dream to ourselves in a month or two. What did you say they
were?”
“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 green-stuff to keep them going. Conditions have
changed, and the beasts died. Here it seems that the condi-
tions have not changed, and the beasts have lived.”
“If ever we get out of this alive, I must have a head with
me,” said Lord Iohn. “Lord, how some of that Somalila.nd-
Uganda crowd would tur n a beautiful pea-green if theysaw
it! I don't know what you chaps think, but it strikes me that
we are on mighty thin ice all this time.”
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 tenors
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 be+what 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. VVhat if these also were to be found
in the woods of Maple White Land!


106 THE LOST WORLD '
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 rat-trap beaks as a dragon-fly went
past them. Their huge, membranous wings were closed by
folding their forearms, so that they sat like gigantic old
women, wrapped in hideous, web-colored shawls, and with
their ferocious heads protruding above them. Large and small,
not less than a thousand of these filthy creatures lay in the
hollow before us.
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 well-
defined areas, as in the Cambridge Green-sand, 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 flap-
ped its twenty-foot span of leathery wings as it soared up into
the air. The females and young ones huddled together be-
side 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 wing-strokes 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-slate-colored wings filling the air with a volume of
sound that made me think of Hendon aerodrome upon a race
day.
“Make for the wood and keep together,” cried Lord Iohn,
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.


WONDERFUL THINGS HAVE HAPPENED 107
Then suddenly out of the whizzing, slate-colored 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 Iohn’s elephant-
gun, and, looking up, saw one of the creatures with a broken
wing struggling upon the ground, spitting and gurgling at us
with a wide-opened beak and blood-shot, goggled eyes, like
some devil in a medieval picture. Its comrades had flown
highler at the sudden sound, and were circling above our
hea s.
“Now,” cried Lord Iohn, “now for our lives!”
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 wood-pigeons, 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 more.
“A most interesting and convincing experience,” said Chal-
lenger, 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 pterodacty .”
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 Iohn had the shoulder of his coat tor n away, but the
creature's teeth had only grazed the flesh.
“It is worth noting,” Challenger continued, “that . our
young friend has received an undoubted stab, while Lord
Iohn’s coat could only have been tor n by a bite. In my own
case, I was beaten about the head by their wings, so we have
had a remarkable exhibition of their various methods of
offense.”
“It has been touch and go for our lives,” said Lord Iohn,
gravely, “and I could not think of a more rotten sort of death


108 THE LOST WORLD
than to be outed by such filthy vermin. I was sorry to fire my
rifle, but, by love! there was no great choice.”
“We should not be here if you hadn't,” said I, with con-
viction.
“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 car-
bolic. Who knows what venom these beasts may have in their
hideous jaws?”
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 foot-mark showed a trace of its
nature, and only the overhanging branch of the enormous
gingko 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 cartiridges 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 fright-
ened 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
upon the top of the opposite pinnacle.
“All well, Massa Challenger, all well!” he cried. “Me stay
here. No fear. You always find me when you want.”
His honest black face, and the immense view before us,
which carried us half-way 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,


WONDERFUL THINGS HA\A/'E HAPPENED 109
while we, marooned among the creatures of a bygone age,
could but gaze towards it and yearn for all that it meant!
One other memory remains with me of this wonderful day,
and with it I will close this letter. The two professors, their
ternpersaggravated 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 Iohn
strolled over in my direction.
“I say, Malone,” said he, “do you remember that place
where those beasts were?” I '
“Very clearly.”
“A sort of volcanic pit, was it not?”
“Exactly,” said I. "
“Did you notice the soil?” ' - .
“Rocks.” .
“But round the water—where the reeds were?”
“It was a bluish soil. It looked like clay.”
“Exactly. A volcanic tube full of blue clay.”
“What of that?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” said he, and strolled back to where
the voices of the contending men of science rose in a pro-
longed duet, the high, strident note of Summerlee rising and
falling to the sonorous bass.of Challenger. I should have
thought no more of Lord Iohn’s remark were it not that once
again that night I heard him mutter to himself: “Blue clay—
clay in a volcanic tube!” They were the last words I heard
before I dropped into an exhausted sleep.


CHAPTER XI
“FOR ONCE I WAS THE HERO”
Lord Iohn 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 Iohn 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 whence I could
give no guess.
So strong was the impression that I told Professor Chal-
lenger 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 Curupuri—the dreadful, lurking spirit of the woods—and
I could have imagined that his terrible presence haunted
those who had invaded his most remote and sacred retreat.
That night (our third in Maple White Land) we had an ex-
perience which left a fearful impression upon our minds, and
made us thankful that Lord Iohn had worked so hard in mak-
ing our retreat impregnable. We were all sleeping round our
dying fire when we were aroused—or, rather, I should say,
shot out of our slumbers—by a succession of the most fright-
ful 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
110


FOR ONCE I WAS THE HERO lll
of our camp. It was as ear-splitting as any whistle.of a railway-
engine; but whereas the whistle is a clear, mechanical, sharp-
edged 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 nerve-shaking 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 sor-
rows, seemed to be centered and condensed into that one
dreadful, agonized cry. And then, under this high-pitched,
ringing sound there was another, more intermittent, a low,
deep-chested 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
Iohn 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 above our heads.
“What was it?” i whispered.
“We shall know in the morning,” said Lord Iohn. “It was
close to us—not 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 Iurassic 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 throwing-stick, or his arrow avail him against such
forces as have been loose to-night? Even with a modern rifle
it would be all odds on the monster.”
“I think I should back my little friend,” said Lord Iohn,
caressing his Express. “But the beast would certainly have a
good sporting chance.”
Summerlee raised his hand.
“Hush!” he cried. “Surely I hear something?”
From the utter silence there emerged a deep, regular pat-pat.
It was the tread of some animal—the rhythm of soft but
heavy pads placed cautiously upon the ground. It stole slowly
round the camp, and then halted near our gateway. There


112 THE LOST WORLD
was a low, sibilant rise and fall—the 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 Iohn had
pulled out a small bush to make an embrasure in the hedge.
“By George!” he whispered. “I think I can see it!”
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, vague—a 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 full-volumed 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 forward.
“I believe it is going to spring!” said I, cocking my rifle.
“Don't fire! Don’t fire!” whispered Lord Iohn. “The crash
of a gun in this silent night would be heard for miles. Keep
it as a last card.” _
“If it gets over the hedge we're done,” said Summerlee,
and his voice crackled into a nervous laugh as he spoke.
“No, it must not get over,” cried Lord Iohn; “but hold
your fire to the last. Perhaps I can make something of the
fellow. I'll chance it, anyhow.”
It was as brave an act as ever I saw a man do. He stooped
to theIfire, picked up a blazing branch, and slipped in an
instant through a sallyport which he had made in our gate-
way. The thing moved forward with a dreadful snarl. Lord
Iohn 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 month all
beslobbered with fresh blood. The next, there was a crash in
the underwood and our dreadful visitor was gone.
“I thought he wouldn't face the fire,” said Lord Iohn,
laughing, as he came back and threw his branch among the
faggots. _
“You should not have taken such a risk!” we all cried.
“There was nothin’ else to be done. If he had got among us
we should have shot each other 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 us—to say"nothin’
of giving ourselves away. On the whole, I think that we are
jolly well out of it. What was he, then?”
0


FOR ONCE IWAS THE HERO 115
which has left its traces in this glade.iWe 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 ex-
hausted their food supply and have been compelled to either
modify their flesh-eating 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 in-
teresting problems, therefore, which await our solution is to
discover what that check may be and how it operates. I ven-
ture to trust that we may have some future opportunity for
the closer study of the carnivorous dinosaurs.”
“And I venture to trust we may not,” I observed.
The Professor only raised his great eyebrows, as the school-
master meets the irrelevant observation of the naughty boy. -
“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 birth-rate were weighed against the de-
cline of the food supply as a check in the struggle for exist-
ence.
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, with so much undergrowth
that our progress was very slow. ~
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 flowers—mostly, as I
observed, white or yellow in color, these being, as our pro-
fessors explained, the primitive flower-shades. In many places
the ground was absolutely covered with them, and as we
walked ankle-deep 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
peeked by the birds we avoided all danger of poison and


FOR ONCE I WAS THE HERO 117 -
of it or of its contents. I expected better things of you,
Professor Summerlee.”
“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 sacri-
lege 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 appointment.”
“For example?” asked Summerlee, with a sneer; but Lord
Iohn 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 great deal
more of this place than I do at present.”
“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 wanted.”
“Our young friend makes up for many obvious mental
lacuna by some measure of primitive common sense,” re-
marked Challenger. “The interests of his deplorable profes-
sion are immaterial to us; but, as he observes, we cannot get
down in any case, so it is a waste of_ energy to discuss it.”
“It is a waste of energy to do anything else,” growled Sum-
merlee 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 state-
ments. 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 contri-
bution 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


118 THE LOST WORLD
now call upon him to use the same.ingenuity in getting us
back to the world from which we came.”
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 statements should never reach those
who had doubted them.
“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 inadvis-
able, and that the question of our retur n 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 back with us something in the nature of a chart.”
Professor Summerlee gave a snort of impatience.
“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 view.”
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 watch-
tower which commanded the whole country? Now, ever since
I ran wild as a lad in Ireland I have been a.bold and skilled
tree-climber. 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 off-
shoots, then it would be strange indeed if I could not make
my .way to the top. My comrades were delighted at my idea.
“Our young friend,” said Challenger, bunching up the red
apples of his checks, “is capable of acrobatic exertions which
would be impossible to a man of a more solid, though possibly
of a more commanding, appearance. I applaud his resolution.”
“By George, young fellah, you’ve put your hand on it!”
said Lord Iohn, clapping me on the back. “How we never
. . i ..__...._._
_


l . FOR ONCE .I WAS THE HERO 119
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 under the branch, I will
soon hoist you on to it.” . ;
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 scram-
bled hard with my feet until I had worked, first my body, and
then my knees, on to it. There were three excellent off-shoots,
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 Chal-
lenger’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, bush-like clump which seemed to be a parasite upon a
branch up which I was swarining. I leaned my head round it
in order to see what was beyond, and I nearly fell out of the
tree in my surprise and horror at what I saw. I
A face was gazing into mine+at the distance of only a foot
or two. The creature that owned it had been crouching be-
hind the parasite, and had looked round it at thesameinstant
that I did. It was a human face—or 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 branches.
“What’s the matter?” shouted Roxton from below. “Any-
thing wrong with you?”
“Did you see it?” I cried, with my arms round the branch
and all my nerves tingling.


.FOR ONCE IWAS THE HERO 121
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 mouth of caves. At the opening of
one of these something white was shimmering, but I was un-
able to make out what itwas. 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 dan-
gers. Each of them shook me solemnly by the hand.
But before they discussed the details of my map I had to tell
them of my encounter with the ape-man among the branches.
“He has been there all the time,” said I.
“How do you know that?” asked Lord Iohn.
“Because I have never been without that feeling that some-
thing malevolent was watching us. I mentioned it to you,
. Professor Challenger.”
“Our young friend certainly said something of the ldnd. He
is also the one among us who is endowed with that Celtic
temperament which would make him sensitive to such irn-
pressions.” -
“The whole theory of. telepathy
filling his pipe.
“Is too vast to be now discussed,” said Challenger, with
decision. “Tell me, now,” he added, with.the air of a bishop
addressing a Sunday-school, “did you happen to observe
whether the creature could cross its thumb over its palm?”
“No, indeed.”
“Had it a tail?”
“No-7’
“Was the foot prehensile?”
“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 me—
you will check the observation, Professor Summerlee—some
thirty-six species of monkeys, but the anthropoid ape is un-
known. It is clear, however, that he exists in this country,
and that he is not the hairy, gorilla-like variety, which is never
seen out of Africa or the East.” (I was inclined to inter-
polate, as I looked at him, that I had seen his first cousin in
began Summerlee,


122 - THE LOST WORLD
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 ‘missing link.’ The solution of this
problem is our immediate duty.”
“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 irhmediate duty is to get ourselves safe and
. sound out of this awful place.”
“The flesh-pots of civilization,” groaned Challenger.
“The ink-pots of civilization, sir. It is our task to put on
'record what we have seen, and to leave the further explora-
tion 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 case when I am assured that the result of our expedi-
tion 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 to-morrow I
will tur n my attention to the question of our descent.”
And so the matter was allowed to rest.
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. Challenger’s pencil hovered _
over the great blank which marked the lake.
“What shall we call it?” he asked.
“Why should you not take the chance of perpetuating your
own name?” said Summerlee, with his usual touch of acidity.
“I trust, sir, that my name will have other and more per-
sonal claims upon posterity,” said Challenger, severely. “Any
ignoramus can hand down his worthless memory by imposing
it upon a mountain or a river. I need no such monument.”
Summerlee, with a twisted smile, was about to make some
fresh assault when Lord Iohn hastened to intervene. .
“It's up to you, young fellah, to name the lake,” said he.
“You saw it first, and, by George, if you choose to put ‘Lake
Malone on it, no one has a better right.”


CHAPTER XII
“IT WAS DREADFUL IN THE FOREST”
I have said—or perhaps I have not said, for my memory plays
me sad tricks these days—that 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 self-satisfaction, that
added measure of self-confidence, were to lead- me on that
very night to the most dreadful experience of my life, ending
with a shock which turns my heart sick when I think of it.
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, goat-like beard wagging with each weary nod of his
head. Lord Iohn 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 break-
fast with some record of the place—would I not in that case
be thought an even more worthy associate? Then, _if Summer-
lee carried the day and some means of escape were found,_
we should return to London with first-hand 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 ar-
ticle for the paper! What a foundation for a career! A cor-
respondentship in the next great war might be within my
124


IT WAS DREADFUL IN THE FOREST 125
reach. I clutched at a gun—my pockets were full of cartridges
-—-and, parting the thor n bushes at the gate of our zareba,
quickly slipped out. My last glance showed me the uncon-
scious Summerlee, most futile of sentinels, still nodding away
like a queer mechanical toy in front of the smouldering fire.
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 self-shame 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
\g1oment to have been honorably free of the whole business.
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 dif-
ferent degrees of darkness among the trees—that some were
dimly visible, while between and among them there were
coal-black shadowed patches, like the mouths of caves, from
which I shrank in horror as I passed. I thought of the despair-
ing yell of the tortured iguanodon—that dreadful cry which
had echoed through the woods. I thought, too, of the glimpse
I had in the light of Lord Iohn’s torch of that bloated,
warty, blood-slavering muzzle. Even now I.was on its hunting-
ground. At any instant it might spring upon me from the
shadows—this 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 shot-gun, not the rifle, which I had taken!
Again the impulse to retur n swept over me. Here, surely,
was a most excellent reason for my failure—one for which no .
one would think the less of me. But again the foolish pride
fought against that very word. I could not—must not—fail.
After all, my rifle would probably have been as useless as a
shot-gun 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


. ‘.1? .'1
130 _THE LOST WORLD ' ' - 1
was a part of the strange struggle for existence, but that they
should tur n upon moder n man, that they should deliberately
track and hunt down the predominant human, was a stagger- ,
ing and fearsome thought. I remembered again the blood- \
beslobbered face which we had seen in the glare of Lord
Iohn’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 bushes—nothing 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 every minute.
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, deer-
shaped head of the great three-toed leaf-eater, this beast had
a broad, squat, toad-like 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
flesh-eating dinosaurs, the most terrible beasts which have
ever walked this earth. As the huge brute loped along it
dropped forward upon its fore-paws 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 fowling-
piece 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
_


IT WAS DREADFUL IN THE FOREST 131
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 well-marked, hard-beaten path which ran
across in front of me. We had seen several of the sort, the
runs of various wild beasts, during ourexpeditions. 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 half-mile as I have never done before I
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 my very heels. I was lost.
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 fore-arms. 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 crash—I was falling through space‘, and everything beyond
was darkness and rest.
As I emerged from my unconsciousness—which could not, I
think, have lasted more than a few minutes—I 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 circum-



IT WAS DRli‘.1i\D-FUiL IN THE FOREST I33
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 them-
selves 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“s0me 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 guide. So, with many a frightened
backward glance, I made for home.
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 rifle-shot.
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..'I'hey 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 Chal-
lenger. I raised my voice in a cheery shout to allay their fears.
No answering greeting came back to me. My heart sank at that


|.-__-._:_'___
‘I
134 THE LOST WORLD
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 if was a fearful sight
which met my eyes. Our effects were scattered in wild con-
fusion over the ground; my comrades had disappeared, and
close to the smouldering ashes of our fire the grass was stained
crimson with a hideous pool of blood.
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 com-
panions. No answer came back from the silent shadows. The
horrible thought that I might never see 'them again, that I
might find rnyselfabandoned 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 desper.vtion. I cou!d 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 self-confidence
of Challenfler, and upon the masterful, humorous coolness of
Lord Iohn Roxton. Without them I was like a child in the
dark, helpless and powerless. I did not know which way to
turn or what I shouId do first.
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 appear-
ance of the camp showed that there had been some sort of
attack, and the rifle-shot,no doubt marked the time when
it had occurred. That there should have been only one shot
showed thit it had been all over in an instant. The rifles still
lay upon the around, and one of them—.Lord Iohn’s—had 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 plate-carriers, but none of them were
missing. On the other hand, all the exposed provisions—and
I remembered that there were a considerable quantity of them
—were gone. They were animals, then, and not natives; who
had made the inroad, for surely the latter would have left
nothing behind.
But if animwls, 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


315'“
138 THE LOST WORLD "
pale and wild-eyed, 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 chances for ques-
tions. 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. That's all right!
Don’t wait to talk or think. Get a move on, or we are done!”
Still half-awake, 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 idea. But
this should puzzle ’em.”
“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 ape-men,” he cried. “My God, what brutes! Don’t
raise your voice, for they have long ears—sharp 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 been, young fellah?
You were well out of it.” .
In a_few sentences I whispered what I had done.
“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 man-eatin’ Papuans had me once, but
they are Chesterfields compared to this crowd.”
“How did it happen?” I asked.
“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 spread-eagled on our backs. I called 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


A SIGHT I SHALL NEVER FORGET. 139
in my wanderin’s. Ape-men—that's what they are--Missin’
Links, and I wish they had stayed missin’. They carried off
their wounded comrade—he was bleedin’ like a pig--and 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 favorite Pressmen he
- could not have slanged them worse.”
“Well, what did they do?” I was enthralled by the strange
story which my companion was whispering into my car, 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 ape-man—he was their chief—-
was 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 cata-
logue. When the ape-man 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 ape-men
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 things—_thought them danger-
ous, I expect—but they carried away all our loose food. Sum-
merlee and I got some rough handlin’ on the way-there’s
my skin and my clothes to prove it—for they took us a bee-
line through the brambles, and their own hides are like
leather. But Challenger was all right. Four of them carried
him shoulder high, and he went like a Roman emperor.
What’s that?” _
It was a strange clicking noise in the distance not unlike
castanets.


140 THE LOST WORLD
“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 dead and dyin’,' as some fathead sings. Can you
hear them now?”
“Very far away.” _
“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 theirs—about 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 up—the fellow who
handled me could tie like a bo’sun—and 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 hob-nobbin’ with his twin brother—and 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, down-faced little chaps, and had enough to make
them so. It seems that the humans hold one side of this
plateau—over yonder, where you saw the caves—and the ape-
men 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 ape-men 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
- /'


A SIGHT I SHALL NEVER FORGET 141
hardly walk. The ape-men put two of them to death there
and then—fairly pulled the arm off one of them—it was per-
fectly beastly. Plucky little chaps they are, and hardly gave
a squeak. But it turned us absolutely sick. Summerlee fainted,
and even Challerrger had as much as he could stand. I think
they have cleared, don’t you?”
We listened intently, but nothing save the calling of the
birds broke the deep peace of the forest. Lord Roxton went
on with his story.
“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 ape-
town, 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 parade-ground 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 horrible~—but 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 springboard.
“Well, it wasn’t. They kept six of the Indians up for to-day
—that’s how I understood it—but 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, fo_r Summerlee was useless and Challenger


..,,a..
142 THE LOST WORLD
‘ not much better. The only time they got together they got
slangin’ because they couldn't agree upon the scientific classi-
fication of these red-headed devils that had got hold of us.
One said it was the dryopithecus of Iava, the other said it was
pithecanthropus. Madness, I call it—Loonies, 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 hun-
dred 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 the camp.
There I got you and the guns, and here we are.”
“But the professors!” I cried, in consternation.
“Well, we must just go back and fetch ’em. I couldn’t
bring ’em with me. Challenger was up the tree, and Summer-
lee 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
'77!
one way or the other before evemn .
\
I have tried to imitate here Lord Roxton’s ierky talk, his
short, strong sentences, the half-humorous, half-reckless tone
that ran through it all. But he was a born leader. As danger
thickened his jaunty manner would increase, his speech be-
come 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 adventure—all the more intense for being held tightly in—
his consistent view that every peril in life is a form of spo~0,
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


A SIGHT TSHALL NEVER FORGET 143
such an affair. We were rising from our brushwood hiding-
place when suddenly I felt his grip upon my arm.
“By George!” he whispered, “here they come!”
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 ape-men were passing. They went in single
file, with bent legs and rounded backs, their hands occa-
sionally 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
bushes.
“Not this time,” said Lord Iohn, 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 most. Give ’em an
hour and we'll mare .”
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 hiding-place
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 Iohn 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 cartridge left—that's my last
. word to you, young fellah.”
When we reached the edge of the cliff I looked over and
saw our good old black Zambo sitting smoking on a rock be-
low us. I would have givena great deal to have hailed him
and told him how we were placed, but it was too dangerous,


A SIGHT I SHALL NEVER FORGET 145
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.
Professor Summerlee.
In front of and around this dejected group of prisoners
were several ape-men, 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 ab-
sorbed 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 tor n 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 dis-
order. A single day seemed to have changed him from the
highest product of moder n civilization to the most desperate
savage in South America. Beside him stood his master, the
king of the ape-men. In all things he was, as Lord Iohn 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 ape-man were in sharp contrast to
the broad brow and magnificant cranium of the European,
could one see any marked difference. At every other point
the king was an absurdparody of the Professor.
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
ape/men 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 be-
ginning to drop. As he vanished from sight, the whole as-
sembly, 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


148 THE LOST WORLD
“Don’t you be scared, my bonnie boy,” said Lord Iohn,
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 same as the rest
of us.”
“Really, sir!” cried the Professor.
“Well, it’s lucky for_you, Challenger, that you are a little
out of the ordinary. If you hadn’t been so like the king ”
“Upon my word, Lord Iohn, you allow yourself great lati-
tude.”
“Well, it's a fact.”
_
“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 where their home was.”
“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.”
“A good twenty miles,” said I.
Summerlee gave a groan.
“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 jibbering cry of the ape-men. The Indians once
more set up a feeble wail of fear.
“We must move, and move quick!” said Lord Iohn. “You
help Summerlee, young fellah. These Indians will carry stores.
Now, then, come along before they can see us.”
In less than half-an-hour we had reached our brushwood
retreat and concealed ourselves. All day we heard the excited
calling of the ape-men 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 plucked my sleeve, and I found Chal-
lenger kneeling beside me.
“You keep a diary of these events, and you expect even-
tually to publish it, Mr. Malone,” said he, with solemnity.
“I am only here as a Press reporter,” I answered.
“Exactly. You may have heard some rather fatuous re-
~ marks of Lord Iohn Roxton’s which seemed to imply that
there was some—some resemblance?”
“Yes, I heard them.”


A SIGHT I SHALL NEVER FORGET I49
"I need not say that any publicity given to such an idea—
any levity in your narrative of what occurred—would be ex-
ceedingly offensive to me.”
“I will keep well within the truth.”
“Lord Iohn’s observations are frequently exceedingly fanci-
ful, 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. You follow my meaning?”
“Entirely.”
“I leave the matter to your discretion.” Then, after a long
pause, he added; “The king of the ape-men was really a
ereatureof great distinction—a most remarkably handsome
and intelligent personality. Did it not strike you?”
“A most remarkable creature,” said I.
And the Professor, much eased in his mind, settled down
to his slumber once more.


CHAPTER XIV
“THOSE WERE THE REAL CONQUESTS”
We had imagined that our pursuers, the ape-men, knew noth-
ing of our brushwood hiding-place, but we were soon to find
out our mistake; There was no sound in the woods—not a leaf
moved upon the trees, and all was peace around us—but we
should have been warned by our first experience how cun-
ningly 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 its due
order. .
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 much-
needed breakfast, and then make our way across the plateau
and round the central lake to the caves where my observa-
tions 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 Whitc Land, we should
tur n 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 well-built, with lank black hair tied up in a bunch
behind their heads with a leather n thong, and leathern also
were their loin-cloths. Their faces were hairless, well formed,
and good-humored. The lobes of their ears, hanging ragged
150


152 THE LOST WORLD
company with the newer ones. Thus we find such modern
creatures as the tapir——an animal with quite a respectable
length of pedigree—the great deer, and the ant-eater in the
companionship of reptilian forms of Iurassic type. So much is
clear. And now come the ape-men and the Indian. VVhat is
the scientific mind to think of their presence? I can only ac-
count 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
ape-men 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 Iohn 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 downto 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 off.”
“To the old camp?” I asked. .
“No, to the brook. It’s among the trees there. It can’t be
more than a couple of hundred yards. But the beggar is
certainly taking his time.”
“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
_


THOSE WERE THE REAL CONQUESTS 155
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 ape-
men, which may have been a cheer of triumph at.our de-
parture or a jeer of contempt atour flight. Looking back we
saw only the dense screen of trees, but that long-drawn 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 power.
As I tramped along, the rearmost ofthe four, I could not
help smiling at the appearance of my three companions in
front. Was this the luxurious Lord Iohn 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? N0 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 ape-men. 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 mur-
derous 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 amazement on their faces. _
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 thunderops shout of de-


156 THE LOST WORLD
light 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 inter-
vening 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 amber-
colored 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 tum. 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 Summerlee, but
Challenger expanded like a flower in the sun.
“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. Strange how correct are the
instincts of the natural man!”
It was clear that the natives had come out upon the war-
path, for every man carried his spear—a long bamboo tipped
with bone—his bow and arrows, and some sort of club or
stone battle-axe 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 elo-
quent features and gestures that we could understand it all
as clearly as if we had known his language.
“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
ape-men even as we do. They command,” here he pointed up


f‘
158 THE LOST WORLD
which had so perplexed us were nothing more than the marks
1
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 great~scaly ganoid fish which had been
speared in the lake.
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 Iohn. What at-
tracted Challenger, on the other hand, was a bubbling, gur-
gling 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 when 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 the air.
“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 purpose, but would say no more.
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 rose-tinted 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, palpitat-
ing 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


THOSE WERE THE REAL COQIQUESTS 159
falling in graceful, swan-like 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 barrel-
shaped body and huge flippers behind the long serpent neck,
that Challenger, and Summerlee, who had joined us, broke
out into their duet of wonder and admiration.
“Plesiosaurus! A fresh-water plesiosaurus!” cried Summer-
lee. “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 therein.
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 a field of battle:
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 ac-
companying to battle—we with the last word of the gun-
smith’s art from St. Iames’s Street and the Strand.
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 ape-men 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 bandy-legged creatures were slow of
foot, while their opponents were as active as cats. It was hor-
.rible 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.


THOSE WERE THE REAL CONQUESTS 161
“It's over,” said Lord Iohn. “I thinkwe can leave the tidy-
ing up to them. Perhaps the less we see of_it the better we
shall sleep.”
Challenger’s eyes were shining with the lust of slaughter.
“We have been privileged,” he cried, strutting about like a
gamecock, “to be present at one of the typical decisive battles
of history—the 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 cave-
dwellers held their own against the tiger folk, or the elephants
first found that they had a master, those were the real con-
quests—the victories that count. By this strange tur n of fate
we have seen and helped to decide even such a contest. Now
upon this plateau the future must ever be for man.”
It needed a robust faith in the end to justify such tragic
means. As we advanced together through the woods we found
the ape-men 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 ape-
men 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 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 as-
sured forever in Maple White Land. The males were extermi-
nated, Ape Town was destroyed, the females and .young were
driven away to live in bondage, and the long rivalry of untold
centuries had reached its bloody end. '
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 of an avalanche of
apes falling from the edge of the cliff.
“Come away, Massas, come away!” he cried, his eyes start-


1'I:,-,:__,.
162 THE LOST WORLD
ing from his bad. “The debbil get you sure if you stay up
there.”
“It is the voice of sanity!” said Summerlee with conviction.
“We have had adventures enough and they are neither suit-
able 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 countzy and back once more to \
civilization.”
_- -, _ _ _—!i


CHAPTER XV
“OUR EYES HAVE SEEN GREAT WONDERS”
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 crea-
tures who inhabit it. _
The victory of the Indians and the annihilation of the a
men, marked the turning point of our fortunes. From then on-
wards, 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 he-
reditary foe. For their own sakes they would, perhaps, be glad
to see the departure of such formidable and incalculable peo-
ple, 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 ape-men 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 win
not, help us to get away.
At the end of the victorious campaign the surviving ape-
folk were driven across the plateau (their wailings were hor-
rible) 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 Iews in Babylon or the Israelites in Egypt. At
163


164 THE LOST WORLD -
night we could hear from amid the trees the long-drawn cry,
as some primitive Ezekiel mourned for fallen greatness and
recalled the departed glories of Ape Town. Hewers of wood
and drawers of water, such were they from now onwards.
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 Iohn would by no means consent to it, considering that
to do so would put us in their power if they were treacher-
ously 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 de-
termine. 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 granite which
formed their base.
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 fauna—the dinosaurs, iguanodons, and fish lizards-—
which 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 meat-
stores, 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 tolerance.
It was on the third day after our forming our camp near the
Indian caves that the tragedy occurred. Challenger and Sum-
merlee had gone off together that day to the lake where some
of the natives, under their direction, were engaged in har-
pooning specimens of the great lizards. Lord Iohn and I had
remained in our cimp, while a number of the Indians were
scattered about upon the grassy slope in front of the caves
_


OUR EYES HAVE SEEN GREAT WONDERS 165
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 into
the caves in a mad stampede.
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 sunlight struck them with an ever-varying
rainbow bloom as they moved. i
We had little time to watch them, hoyvever, for in an in-
stant 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 half-a-dozen surviving by the time my com-
panion 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 wewere 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


.. ,‘ F
--i.
I66 THE LOST WORLD '
in the juice of strophanthus and steeped afterwards in do?
cayed carribn, could succeed. Such arrows were of little avail
to the hunter who attacked the bast, because their action
in that torpid circulation was slow, and before its powezs
failed it could certainly overtake and slay its assailant. But _
now, as the two monsters hounded us to the very foot of the i
stairs, a drift of darts came whistling from every chink in the '
cliff above them. In a minute they were fathered with them,
and yet with no sign of pain they clawed and slobbered with
impotent rage at the steps which would lad them to their 1
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 ame 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 eat—for the poison was still active—but 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 down and the dreadful things were still.
Some day, when I have a better desk than a meat-tin and more
helpful tools than a wor n stub of pencil and a last, tattered
note-book, I will write some fuller account of the Accala In-
dians—or our life amongst them, and of the glimpses which
we had of the strange conditions of wondrous Maple VVhite
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 grat lake
when a young ichthyosaurus—a strange creature, half seal,
half fish, to look at, with bone-covered eyes on each side of
his snout, and a third eyefixed upon the top of his head-
was entangled in an Indian net, and nearly upset our canoe
before we towed it ashore; the same night that a green water-
--‘ti


170 THE LOST WORLD
plateau, and spent his’whole time (save that considerable tion which was devoted to abusing Challenger for not getting
us out of our difficulties) in cleaning and mounting his
specimens.
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 work-shop and took us into the secret
of his plans. '
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 tend-
ency to upward movements that Challenger fastened the cords
which held it to the trunks of the surrounding trees. In half
an hour a goodsized gas-bag 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,
self-satisfied content as he gazed at the creation of his brain.
It was Summerlee who first broke the silence. .
“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 demon-
stration of its powers that after seeing it you will, I am sure,
have no hesitation in trusting yourself to it.”
“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 Iohn, I trust that you will not
countenance such madness?”
“Dooced ingenious, I call it,” said our peer. “I'd like to see
how it works.”
“So you shall,” said Challenger. “For some days I have ex-
_
_.-___._-..*-:.T_.,- __;_.a._ , _ . _ a; 5-Q


OUR EYES HAVE SEEN GREAT WONDERS 171
erted 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 fol-
lowed. I was, I will admit, somewhat baflled by the difficulty
of discovering an envelope to contain the gas, but the contem-
plation of the immense entrails of these reptiles supplied me
with a solution to the problem. Behold the result!”
He put one hand in the front of his ragged jacket and
pointed proudly with the other.
By this time the gas-bag had swollen to a goodly rotundity
and was jerking strongly upon its lashings.
“Midsummer madness!” snorted Summerlee.
Lord Iohn was delighted with the whole idea. “Clever old
dear, ain’t he?” he whispered to me, and then louder to
Challenger. “What about a car?”
“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.”
_“All of us, surely?”
“No, it is part of my plan that each in tur n shall descend as
in a parachute, and the balloon be drawn back by means
which I shall have nodifficulty 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 at-
tached 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.


174 THE LOST WORLD
comes out at the corresponding point on the other side, we
should not have more than a hundred feet to descend."
“A hundred feet!” grumbled Summerlee.
“Well, our rope is still more than a hundred feet long,” I
cried. “Surely we could get down.”
“How about the Indians in the cave?” Summerlee objected.
“There are no Indians in any of the caves above our heads,”
said I. “They are all used as bams and store-houses. VVhy
should we not go up now at once and spy out the land?”
There is a dry bituminous wood upon the plateau—a species
of araucaria, according to our botanist—which is always used
by the Indians for torture. Each of us picked up a faggot of
this, and we made our way up weed-covered 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 na-
tive 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 ob-
stacle. 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 cul-de-sac.
“Never mind, my friends,” said the indomitable Challenger.
“You have still my firm promise of a balloon.”
Summerlee groaned. .
“Can we be in the wrong cave?” I suggested.
“No use, young fellah,” said Lord Iohn, with his finger on
the chart. “Seventeen from the right and second from the left.
This is the cave sure enoug .”
I looked at the mark to which his finger pointed, and I
gave a sudden cry of joy.
“I believe I have it! Follow me! Follow me!”
I hurried back along the way we had come, my torch in my
4


OUR EYES HAVE SEEN GREAT WONDERS 175
hand. “Here,” said I, pointing to some matches upon the
ground, “is where we lit up.”
“Exactly/’
"Well, it is marked as a forked cave, and in the darkness
we passed the fork before the torches were lit. On the right
side as we go out we should find the longer arm.”
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 pas-
sage and to bar our way. We hastened towards it. No sound,
no heat, no movement came from it, but still the great lumi-
nous curtain glowed before us, silvering all the cave and tur-
n-
ing the sand to powdered jewels, until as we drew closer it
discovered a circular edge.
“The moon, by George!” cried Lord Iohn. “We are
through, boys! We are through!”
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 won- .
der 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 camp
to make our preparations for the next evening.
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 glamor and
romance, a land where we had dared much, suffered much, .


CHAPTER XVI
“A PROCESSION! Al PROCESSION!”
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 retur n journey.
Very particularly would I thank Senhor Penalosa and other
oflicials of the Brazilian Govemment for the special arrange-
ments 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 retur n 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 unknown land.
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 Southamp-
ton that the wireless messages from paper after paper and
agency after agency, offering huge prices for a short retur
n
, message as to our actual results, showed us how strained was
the attention not only of the scientific world but of the gen-
eral 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, al-
though we found Southampton full of Pressmen, we abso-
lutely refused to give any information, which had the natural
177


178 THE LOST WORLD -f -‘T
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 accom-
modation could be found. It is now common knowledge the
promoters might have ventured upon the Albert Hall and still
found their space too scanty. '
It was for the second evening after ourarrival 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 resulm. 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 wondr'ous
adventure, and I cannot but be thankful to the force that
drove me.
And now I tur n 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 Iournal
for the morning of the 8th of Nove..ber with the full and
excellent account of my friend and fellow-reporter Macdona.
What can I do better than transcribe his narrative-—head-line:
and all? I admit that the paper was exuberant in the matter,
out of compliment to its own enterprise in sending a corre-
spondent, but the other great dailies were hardly less full in
their account. Thus, then, friend Mac in his report:
THE NEW WORLD
GREAT MEETING AT THE QUEEN'S HALL
SCENES OF UPROAR
EXTRAORDINARY INCIDENT .
WHAT WAS IT?
NOCTURNAL RIOT IN REGENT STREET
(Special)
“The much-discussed meeting of the Zoological Institute,
convened to hear the report of the Committee of Investiga-
tion sent out last year to South America to test the assertions
made by Professor Challenger as to the continued existence
_


A PROCESSIONI A PROCESSIONI 181
“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, in-
sect, and plant life of the plateau. Peculiarly rich in the cole-
optera and in the lepidoptera, forty-six new species of the one
and ninety-four 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 fifty-one feet in length, and mentioned a white creature,
supposed to be mammalian, which gave forth well-marked
phosphorescence in the darkness; also a large black moth, the
bite of which was supposed. by the Indians to be highly poi-
sonous. Setting aside these entirely new forms of life, the pla-
teau was very rich in known prehistoric forms, dating back
in some cases to early Iurassic times. Among these he men-
tioned the gigantic and grotesque stegosaurus, seen once by
Mr. Malone at a drinking-place by the lake, and drawn in the
sketch-book of that adventurous American who had first pen-
etrated this unknown world. He described also the iguanodon
and the pterodactyl—two 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 hard
this sane and practical Professor in cold measured tones de-
scribing the monstrous three-eyed fish-lizards and the huge
water-snakes which inhabit this enchanted sheet of water.


182 THE LOST WORLD I
Next he touched upon the Indians, and upon the extraordi-
nary colony of anthropoid apes, which might be looked upon
as an advance upon the pithecanthropus of Iava, and as com-_
ing therefore nearer than any known form to that hypothet-
ical creation, the missing link. Finally he described, amongst
some merriment, the ingenious but highly dangerous aeronau-
tic 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 civilization.
“It had been hoped that the proceedings would end there,
and that a vote of thanks and congratulation, moved by Pro-
fessor 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 opposi-
tion had been evident from time to time during the evening,
and now Dr. Iames Illingworth, of Edinburgh, rose in the
center of the hall. Dr. Illingworth asked whether an amend-
ment should not be taken before a resolution. ,
“THE CHAIRMAN: ‘Yes, sir, if there must be an amend-
ment.’ .
“D11. Ir.r.rncwon'r1r: ‘Your Grace, there must be an amend-
ment.’
“Tm: CHAIRMAN: ‘Then let us take it at once.’
“PRO!-‘Esson SUMMEIILEE (springing to his feet): ‘Might I \
explain, your Grace, that this man is my personal enemy ever
since our controversy in the Quarterly Iournal of Science as to
the true nature of Bathybius?’ . -
“Tm: Cnammanz ‘I fear I cannot go into personal matters.
Proceed.’
“Dr. Illingworth was imperfectly heard in part of his re-
marks 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 pos-
sessed 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 public
might be described as one of attentive neutrality.
“Dr. Illingworth began his remarks by expressing his high
appreciation of the scientific work both of Professor Chal-
lenger and of Professor Summerlee. He much regretted that
any personal bias should have been read into his remarks,


A PROCESSION! A PROCESSION! 183
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 7last
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. Heavy-game 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 interrup-
tion.) 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 ingen-
ious manipulation photographs could be accepted as evidence?
VVhat 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 Iohn. Roxton
184 THE LOST woau) -
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!’ ‘Tum him
out!’ On the other hand, the malcontents-——and it cannot be
denied that they were fairly numerous—cheered for the
amendment, with cries of ‘Order!’ ‘Chair!’ and ‘Fair play!’ A
scuflle 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 ab-
solute 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 order the whole audience settled down
expectantly to give him a hearing.
“ ‘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 to-
night similar, but even more offensive, sentiments from the
person who has just sat down, and though it is_ a conscious
effort of self-effacement 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 audi-
ence that, though Professor Summerlee, as the head of the
Committee of Investigation, has been put up to speak to-night,
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 as-
cribed. 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 retur n 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 had been tampered with by the 1
ape-men when they ransacked our camp, and most of our
_
;.=-.~.'.._-.,_.,. ._ . __ 11-'4-g.J


A PROCESSIONI A PROCESSIONI 185
negatives ruined.’ (Ieers, laughter, and ‘Tell us another!’ from
the back.) ‘I have mentioned the ape-men, and I cannot for-
bear 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 re-
mains 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 natu-
rally 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 this not evi-
dence?’ (Several voices, ‘No.’) ‘Who said no?’
“DR. ILLINGWORTI-I (rising): ‘Our point is that such a col-
lection might'have been made in other places than a prehis-
toric plateau.’ (Applause.)
“Pnorrasson 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 accu-
rate 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 ptero-
dactyl 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 ’
“DR. ILLINGWORTI-I: ‘No picture could convince us of any-
thing.’ .
“Paor-"assorc. CHALLENGER: ‘You would require to see the
thing itself?’
“DR. Iurucwonrrrz ‘Undoubtedly.’
“Pnoi-‘nssoa CHALLENGER: ‘And you would accept that?’
“Dn. lu.mcwon'ru (laughing): ‘Beyond a doubt.’
_
“It was at this point that the sensation of the evening arose—-
a 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 collmgue,
Mr. E. D. Malone, was observed to rise and to make his way


A PROCESSION! A PROCESSIONI 187
was gone. Professor Challenger fell back into his chair with
his face buried in his hands, while the audience gave one
long, deep sigh of relief as they realized that the incident
was over.
“Then—oh! how shall one describe what took place then-—
when 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 cheer-
ing men were round the four travelers. ‘Up with them! up with
them!’ cried a hundfed 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 multi-
tude, and a slow current, bearing the four upon their shoul-
ders, made for thedoor. Out in the street the scene was
extraordinary. An assemblage of not less than a hundred thou-
sand people was waiting. The close-packed 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.'Iames’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 taxi-cabmen upon the other. Finally, it
was not until after. midnight that the four travelers were
released at the entrance to Lord Iohn Roxton’s chambers in
the Albany, and that the exuberant crowd, having sung ‘They
are Iolly Good Fellows’ in chorus, concluded their program
with ‘God Save the King.’ So ended one of the most remark-
able evenings that London has seen for a considerable time.”
So far my friend Macdona; and it may be taken as a fairly
accurate, if florid, account of the proceedings. As to the main


~ A PROCESSION! A PROCESSION! 189
1
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 Iohn Roxton and—well, perhaps things might be worse.
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 flat-footed upon
earth. Yet some good reasons given might still lift me to the
clouds once more. I rushed down the garden path, ham-
mered at the door, heard the voice of Gladys within, pushed .
past the staring maid, and strode into the sitting-room. She
was seated in a low settee under the shaded standard lamp
by the piano. In three steps I was across the room and had
both her hands in mine.
“Gladys!” I cried, “Gladys!”
She looked up with amazement in her face. She was altered
in somesubtle way. The expression of her eyes, the hard
upward stare, the set of the lips, was new to me. She drew
back her hands.
“What do you mean?” she said.
“Gladys!” I cried. “What is the matter? You are my Gladys,
are you not—litt1e Gladys Hungerton?”
“No,” said she, “I am Gladys Potts. Let me introduce you
to my husband.” _
How absurd life is! I found myself mechanically bowing
and shaking hands with a little ginger-haired man who was
coiled up in the deep arm-chair which had once been sacred
to my own use. We bobbed and grinned in front of each
other.
“Father lets us stay here. We are getting our house ready,”
said Gladys.
“Oh, yes,” said I.
“You didn't get my letter at Para, then?”
“No, I got no letter.”
“Oh, what a pity! It would have made all clear.”
“It is quite clear,” said I.


190 THE LOST WORLD
“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 not crabby, are you ”
“No, no, not at all. I think I'll go.”
“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 idiot, while I
made for the door. .
I was through it, when a sudden fantastic impulse came
upon me, and I went back to my successful rival, who looked
nervously at the electric push.
“Will you answer a question?” I asked.
“Well, within reason,” said he.
“How did "you do it? Have you searched for hidden treas-
ure, or discovered a pole, or done time on a pirate, or flown
the Channel, or what? Where is the glamor of romance? How
did you get it ”
He stared at me with a hopeless expression upon his vacu-
ous, good-natured, scrubby little face.
“Don't you think all this is a little too personal?” he said.
“Well, just one question,” I cried. “What are you? What
is your profession?”
“I am a solicitor’s clerk,” said he. “Second man at Iohn-
son and Merivale's, 41 Chancery Lane.”
“Good-night!” said I, and vanished, like all disconsolate and
broken-hearted heroes, into the darkness, with grief and rage
and laughter all simmering within me like a boiling pot.
One more little scene, and I have done. Last night we all
supped at Lord Iohn Roxton’s rooms, and sitting together
afterwards we smoked in good comradeship and talked our
adventures over. It was strange under these altered sur-
roundings to see the old, well-known 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 Sum-
merlee. And Summerlee, too, there he was with his short briar
between his thin moustache and his gray goat’s-beard, his
worn face protruded in eager debate as he queried all Chal-
lenger’s propositions. Finally, there was our host, with his
rugged, eagle face, and his cold, blue, glacier eyes with al-
ways a shimmer of devilment and of humor down in the


A PROCESSIONI A PROCESSIONI 191
depths of them. Such is the last picture of them that I have
carried away.
It was after supper, in his own sanctum—the room of the
pink radiance and the innumerable trophies—that Lord Iohn
Roxton had something to say to us. From a cupboard he had
brolught an old cigar-box, and this he laid before him on the
tab e.
“’I'here'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 re-
member that day we found the pterodactyl rookery in the
swamp—-what? 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 blue clay.”
The Professors nodded.
“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 Kimberley—what? 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 what I got.” '
He opened his cigar-box, and tilting it over he poured about
twenty or thirty rough stones; varying from the size of beans
to that of chestnuts, on the table.
“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 have it roughly cut and
valued.”
He took a pill-box from his pocket, and spilled out of it a
beautiful glittering diamond, one of the finest stones that I
have ever seen. .
“Tl_iere's the result,” said he. “He prices the lot at a min-
imum of two hundred thousand pounds. Of course it is fair
shares between us. I won't hear of anythin’ else. Well, Chal-
lenger, what will you do with your fifty thousand?”
“If you really persist in your generous view,” said the Pro-
fessor, “I should found a private museum, which has long
been one of my dreams.”
"‘And you, Summerlee?”


192 THE LOST WORLD
“I would retire from teaching, and so find time for my
final classification of the chalk fossils.”
,“I'll use my own,” said Lord Iohn Roxton, “in fitting a
well-formed 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.
Tm: Errn.





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