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About Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 1916)
THE DAILY CAPITAL JOT RNAL. SALEM. OREflON. SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 1916. f. f . . W 1 3 Li it 1 f fc 1 Kill il ' f j -. . i DY A.COIJAIJ DOYLE Copyright, 1912, P. S. The more I think the mure des-p-.-ratc tloos our position seem. I see no posslb'e hope of our return. I tnere were a high tree near the edge if Hie plateau wo might drop a return In idge across, but there Is none within II fly yards. Our milled strength could not carry a trunlt which would serve o"r purpose. The rope, of course, Is I'm- too short that we could descend .y it. No, our Kiltlon Is hopeless li .ocloss! CHAPTER XII. Penetrating Maple Whitt Lend. Nl now we had to decide upon our lmtnedlate.niovenients. We shifted our position from among the tick luden bushes until we f iuie to a small clearing thickly sur loiindod by trees upon all sides. There were some flat slabs of rock In the cen ter, with an excellent well close by. and there we sat In cleanly comfort vi iiilo we made our first plans for the invasion of this new country. Birds were calling among the f ullage, espe cially one with a peculiar whooping cry which was new to lis, but beyond Ihjse sounds there were no signs of II f o. Our first care was to make some sort of list of own own stores, so that we might know what wo had to rely upon. ,What with the things we had nur 'uelvea brought tip and those which' ZhiiiIio had sent across on the rope we .were fairly veil supplied. Most lui florin ut of all, In view of the dangers 'which might surround ns, we had our four titles mid LINK) rounds; also a Kliolgun, but not more than ISO medi um pellet cartridges. In the mailer of provisions we hud enough to last for ii'vcra! weeks, with a sulhVlency of tobacco ami a few sclent UK: Imple ments, Including a large telescope and a good tleldgliiss. All these things we collected together In the clearing, ami us n first precaution we cut down with our hatchet and knives a number of thorny bushes, which we piled round in n circle some fifteen yards In (Hum elcr. This was to be our headquarters fir Ihe time our place of refuge ;i;;nlnst sudden danger and the guard house for our stores. Kurt Challenger rn culled II. The peaceful penetration of Maple White I .n ml, which we called the new country, was the pressing subject be fore us. We had the evidence of our men eyes that the place was Inhabited Tic some unknown creatures, anil then? iv;is Ihal of Maple White's sketchbook t show that more dreadful and dan i; Tom monsters might still appear, 'that there might also prove to be human occupiinls and that they were of a malevolent character was sng nested by the skeleton Impaled upon the bamboos, which could not have got (here had it not been dropped from move. Our situation, Htranded with ml possibility of escape hi such a 1 mil, was clearly full of danger, and .mi- reasons Indorsed every measure of caul ion which Lord John's experi ence could suggest. Yet; It was surely Impossible that we should halt on the e;lge of this world of mystery when nor Very noiiIs were tingling wllh lin patience o push forward and to pluck toe heart from It. We therefore blocked the entrance i our zarcba by tilling It up wllh sev. ci il thorny bushes and left our camp villi (he stores entirely surrounded by this protecting hedge. We then slowly nod cautiously set forth Into the un known, following the course of the lit He Hlreani which Mowed from our epelng. as It should always serve us M a guide on our return. Hardly had we started when we (line across signs that there were In-il-cd wonders awaiting us. Afler a i"v hundred yards of thick forest con lining many trees w hich were quite unknown to me, but which Summer I , w ho was the botanist of Ihe par te, recognized as forms of conlfera nod of cycadaceous plants which have long passed away In Ihe world below, ve entered region where Ihe slreiini v iilcned out and formed a considerable In,;. Suddenly I,ord John, who was v-alklug first, halted wllh uplifted baud. ' Look at this!" H.1I1I he. "Ity tlenliie, fnis must le the trail of tho father of u'l birds!" An enormous three toed track wm imprinted In the soft mud before us. '1 lie creature, whatever It was, hud iMssed the swanqi and had passed on Into Ihe forest. We all stopped to ex limine that monstrous spoor. If It ,i"cre Indeed a bird and what Hiilmal oiild leave such a mark? -Its foot was no much larger than an ostrich's (hat its height upon the same scale must be I'liorinoiiH. Lord John looked eager Iv toluol It I tit and rdlppcil two car tiidgi's Into his elephant gun. ' I'll slake my good name asa shikar jiv," said he, "thai tho track is a Ir 'sh one. The creature has not puss c.l ten minutes. Look bow the water i stilt oozing lulu that deeper print! !c Jove! Ss here Is the mark of a Jii He one!" isiire enough, smaller tracks of the hi on- general form wore running par allel to Ihe largoyut . by A. Conan Joyle. "Hut what do you make of this?" cried Professor Suminerlee triumphant- We Observed Them t Our Leiaure. ly, pointing to what looked like the huge print or a live lingered human hand appearing uniong Ihe three toed marks. "Wealdeu!" cried Challenger In an ecstasy. "I've seen (hem In the Weal den clay. It Is n creature walking erect upon three toed feet and occa- ' slonally putting one of Us the hugered forepaws upon the ground. Not a bird, my dear lioxtou not a bird." "A beast?" "No; u reptile -a dinosaur. Nothing else could have left, such a track. They puzzled a worthy Sussex doctor hoiiio ninety years ago. Hut who In the World could have hoped-Hoped -to have seen a sight like that?" ills words illed away luio a whisper, and we all stood In motionless aunie nteul, Following Ihe trucks, we had left tlie morass and passed through a screen of brushwood and trees. Be .wind was an open glade, and In this were live of the most extraordinary creatures that I have ever seen. Crouching down uniong the bushes, we observed them at our leisure. There were, iis 1 say, live of them, two being aditlls and three young ones. In sl.e they were enormous, F.ven the babies were as big ns elephants, while the two large ones were far be yond all ereutures I have ever seen.. They bad slate colored skin, which was sealed like u lizard's and shim mered where the sun shone upon It. All live were silling up, balancing themselves upon their broad, powerful tails nud their huge three toed hind feet, while with their small live lin gered front feet they pulled down the branches upon which they browsed. I do not know that I can bring their ap pearance home to you better thiiu by saying thai they looked like monstrous kangaroos, twenty feet. In length, and with skins like black crocodiles. We saw Ihe shlnuuorluK slaty gleam of their skins between the tree trunks and their beads undulating high above the brushwood. Then they vanished from our sight. 1 looked at my coinrades. Lord John was standing at gaze with Ills linger 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 man telpiece In his snuggery at the Albany! And yet his reason held III in In, for all our exploration of the wonders of this unknown land depended ,upou our presence being concealed from Us In habitants. The two professors were in silent ecstasy. In their excitement they had unconsciously sel.cd each other by the baud and stood like two little children In the presence of a marvel, Challenger's cheek bunched up Inlo a seraphic audio anil Suninier lee's sardonic face softening for the moment Into wonder and reverence. "Nunc dimlllls!" he cried at lest. "What will they say In F.ngland of Ibis?" "My dear Summeilee, I will tell you with great conllileuce exactly what they will say In Kngland," said Chal lenger. "They will say that you are an Infernal liar and a scientific charla tan, exactly as you and others said of inc." "In the face of photographs?" "Faked, Suminerlee! Clumsily fak ed!" "In the face of specimens?" "Ah, there we may have them! Ma lone and Ills lllihy I'lcet street crew may lie all yelping our praises yet. August the ".Sih -the day we saw Ihe live Iguauodons In a glade of Maple While I.aud. 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," stild Lord John, "Things look a bit different from the latitude of London, young fSii?.:i fellah my lad. There's many a man who never tells his adventures, for he can't hope to be believed. Who's to blame them? For tills will seem a bit of a dream to ourselves In a month or two. What did you say they were?" "Iguanodons," said Suminerlee. "Yon will find their footmarks all over the Hastings sands In Kent and in Sussex. The south of Kngland was alive with them when there was plenty of good lush green stuff to keep them going. Conditions huve changed, and the beasts died. Here It seems that the conditions 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 John. "Lord, how some of that Soma lilund-I'gnnda crowd would turn a beautiful pea green If they saw It! I don't know what you chaps think, but It strikes me thut we are on mighty thin Ice ull this time." It was destined that on this very morning our Hist In the new country -we were to ti ml out what strange hazards lay around us. It was a loath some adventure and one of which I hate to think. If, as Lord John said, the glade of the Iguanodons will re main with us us a dream, then surely the swamp of the pterodactyls will for ever be our nightmare. Let me" set down exactly what occurred. We passed very slowly through the woods, partly becuuso Lord lioxtou acted ns scout before he would let us advance und partly because at every second step one or other of our profes sors would fall, wllh a cry of wonder, before some (lower or Insect which pre sented him with u new type. We may have traveled two or three miles in all, keeping to the right of t lie line of tlie stream, when we came upon a consld crnblu opeulug In tlie trees. A belt of brushwood led up to a tangle of rocks. The whole plateau was strewn with bow lders. We were walking slowly to ward these rocks, among bushes which reached over our waists, when we be lame aware of a strange, low gabbling and whistling' sound, which filled Ihe air with a constant clamor and up pea red to come from .some spot Iniine dlalely before us. Lord John held up his hand as a signal for us to stop, and he made his way swiftly, stooping and rnunlng, to tlie line of rocks. We saw him pesp over them and give a gesture of amazement. Then he stood slating as if forgetting us. so utterly entranced was he by what he saw. I'lnally he waved us to come on, holding up his hand ns a signal for caution. His whole bearing made me feel that something very wonderful, but dangerous, lay be fore us. Creeping to his side, we looked over the rocks. The place Into which we gazed was a pit aim may in the early days have been one of the smaller vol canic blowholes of the plateau. It was howl shaped, and at the bollom, some hundreds of yards from where we lay, were pools of green scummed, stagnant water, fringed with bullrushes. It was a weird place In llsclf, but its oc cupaiils made It. seem like a scene from the "Seven Circles of lmnte." The place was a rookery of pleroduc lyls. There were hundreds of them congregated within view. All the bot tom urea around Ihe wuler edge was Hike with their young ones und with hideous mothers brooding upon their leathery, yellowish eggs. 1'rom this crawling, flapping mass of unclean rep 1 1 Hit ii life came Ihe shocking clamor which tilled the air and the niephltle, horrible, musty odor which turned us sick. But above, perched each upon Its own stone, tall, gray and withered, more like dead and dried specimens than actual living creatures, sat the horriblo males, absolutely motionless save for Ihe rolling of their red eyes or an occasional snap of the raltrap beaks as a dragon tly went past them. Their huge membra nous wings were .dosed by folding their forearms, so that they sat like gigantic old women, wrapped lit hideous web colored shawls, and with their ferocious heads protruding above them. Large and small, not less than a thousand of these filthy creatines lay In the hollow before us. CHAPTER XIII. A Prehistorio Tragedy. rHAI.l.r.XIIKU, bent upon prov lug some point which Summer y lee bad contested, thrust Ills head over tlie rock and nearly brought destruction upon us all. In an Instant the nearest mule gave a shrill, whistling cry and flapped Us twenty foot span yf leathery wings as II soar ed up Into the a'r. "Make for the wood und keep togeth er," cried Lord John, clubbing his title "The brutes mean mischief." The moment we attempted to retreat the circle closed In upon us until I lie Th Circlt Cloud In Upon U. tips of the wings of those nearest to us nearly touched our faces. We beat at them with the stocks of our guns, but there was nothing solid or vulnerable to strike. Then suddenly out of the whizzing, slate colored circle a long neck shot out and a fierce beak made a thrust at us. Another and another followed. Summeilee gave a cry and put his hand to his face, from wdiicb the blood was streaming. I felt a prod at the back of my neck and turned dlz zy Willi the shock. Challenger fell, and as I stooped to pick 111 in up I was again struck from behind and dropped on the top of him. At the same Instant 1 heard the crash of Lord John's ele pliant gun and, looking up, saw one of tlie creatures w ith a broken wing strug gling upon the ground, spitting and gurgling at ns wllh a wide opened beak and bloodshot, goggled eyes, like some devil In a mediaeval picture. Its com rades had flown higher at the sudden sound and were circling above us. "Now," cried Lord John, "now for our lives'" We alaggered through the brush wood and even us we reached the trees Ihe harpies were on us again. Sum merlee was knocked down, but we tool; 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 homeward, sadly mauled and discomfited, we saw them for a long lime flying at a great height against tho 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 wt reached the thick er woods they gave up the chase, and we saw lliem no more. "A most Interesting and convincing experience," said Challenger as we halted beside the brook and he bathed n swollen knee. "We are exception illy well Informed, Suminerlee, as to the habits of the enraged pterodactyl." Suminerlee was wiping the blood from a cut In bis forehead, while I was tying up a nasty slab In the muscle of the neck. Lord John had the shoulder of his coat torn away, but the crea ture's teeth bad only grazed the flesh. "It Is worth noting," Challenger con tinued, "that our young friend has re ceived an undoubted stab, while Lord John's coat could only have been torn by a Idle, In mv own case, I ,was beaten about the ffcud by their wings, so we have had a remarkable exhibi tion of their various methods of of fense." "It has been touch and go for our Ives," said Lord John gravely, "and I could not think or a more rotten' sort of death than to be outed by such filthy vermin. I wtts sorry to fire my ritle, but, by Jove, there was no great choice!" "We should not be here If yon hadn't." said I, Willi conviction. "It may do no harm," said he. "Among these woods there must, be uiuuy loud cracks from splitting or fulling trees which would be Just like tho sound of a gun. But now, if you are of my opinion, we have had thrills enough for one day and hud best get buck to Ihe surgical box at the cam) for some carbolic. Who knows what venom these beasts may have In their hideous Jaws?" That night (our third In Maple White Land) we had an experience which left a fearful Impression upon our minds and made us thankful that Lord John had worked so hard In making our retreat Impregnable. We were all sleeping round our dying lire when we were aroused, or, rather, I should say, shot out of our slumbers, by a succession of the most frightful cries and screams to which I have ever listened. I know no sound to which I could compare this amuzlng tumult, which seemed to come from some spot within a few bundled yards of our camp. It was as ear splitting as nuy whistle of a railway engine, but where as Ihe whistle Is a clear, mechanical, sharp edged sound this was far deep er In volume and vibrant with the ut termost strain of agony nud horror. We clapped our hands to our ears to shut out that nerve shaking appeal. X cold sweat broke out over my body, and my heart turned sick at tlie misery of it. All the woes of tortured life, ail Its .stupendous Indictment of high heaven. Its liuniinerabla sorrows, seem ed o be centered und condensed Into that one dreadful, agonized cry. Ami then under litis high pitched, ringing sound there wus another, more Inter mittent, a low, deep chested laugh, a growling, throaty gurgle of merriment which forme. I it grotesque accompani ment to lite shriek with which It was blended, for three or four minutes on end tlie t'euisotne duet continued, while all the -foliage rustled with the rising of .starilcil birds. Then It shut olV as suddenly as It began. Tor a long time we sat In liorrltled silence. Then IaiiiI John threw a bundle of twigs upon the lire, and their red glare lit up the In) t-iil faces of my companions ami nickered over the great houghs alKive our heads. "What was It?" I whispered. "We sh:t!l know In the morning," said Ijird John. "It was close to us not farther tlcin the glade." ''e huve been privileged to over hear a prehistoric tragedy, the sort of drama w hich oceiu red among the reeds upon the border of some Jurassic lagoon, when the greater dragon pin ned the lesser mining tlie slime." said Challenger, with more solemnity than I I no 1 ever heard In his voice. "It was surely well for man that he caine late In tlie 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 tonight? L'ven with a modern ride It would be all odds ou the moll si or." 'I think I should back hiy little friend," said Lord John, caressing his express. "But the beast would cer tainly have a good sporting chance." Suminerlee raised his baud. "Hush!" he cried. "Surely I hear something." From tlie utter silence there emerged a deep, regular pat, pat. It was the trend of some animal the rhythm of soft but heavy pads placed cautiously upon the ground. It stole slowly around the camp and then halted near our gateway. There was a low, sibi lant rise and fall the breathing of the creature. Only our feeble hedge sep arated us from this horror of the night. Each of us had seized his rifle. and Lord John had pulled out a small bush to make an embrasure In the hedge. "By Oeorge!'' he whispered. "I think I can see it!" I stooped and peered over his shoul der 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 regu lar und full volumed as the exhaust of an engine, spoke of a monstrous organ ism. Once as it moved I thought I saw the glint of two terrible greenish eyes. There was an uueasy rustling, as it It were crawling slowly forward. "I believe It Is going to spring!" said 1, cocking my rifle. fion't lire, don't fire!" whispered Lord John. "The crnsh'of a gun in this silent night would be heard for miles. Keep It us a last card." "If It gets over the hedge we're done," said Suminerlee, and his voice crackled Into a nervous laugh as he spoke. No, It must not get over," cried Lord John, "but hold your fire to the last. Perhaps I can make something of the fellow. I'll chance It, anyhow." It was as brave nn act as ever I snw a man do. He stooped to the fire, pick ed up a blazing brunch and slipped In au Instunt through n sallyport which he had ninde in our gateway. The thing moved forward with a dreadful snarl. Lord John never hesitated: but, running toward it with a qukk, light step, he (lashed 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 aud of a loose mouth all beslabbered wllh fresh blood. The next, there fas a crash In the underwood aud our dreadful visitor was gone. "I thought he vouidn't face the Are," snld Lord Oulin, laughing, ns he came back and threw Ills branch among the f:w;ots. "You should not have taken such a risk!" we nil cried. x "There was nothing else to be done. If he had got iiinong us we should have shot each other in trying to down him. On the other hand, If we had fired through the hedge and wounded him he would soon have been on tle top of us, to say nothing of giving ourselves He Dashed the Flaming Wood Into the ' Brute's Face. away. On the whole, I think that xve are jolly well out of It What was he, then?" Our learned men looked at each other with some hesitation. "Personally I am unable to classify the creature with any certainty," said Suminerlee, lighting his pipe from the tire. "In refusing to commit yourself you are but showing a proper scientific re serve," said Challenger, with massive condescension. "I am not myself pre pared to go further than to say In gen eral terms that we have almost cer tainly been ill contact tonight with some form of carnivorous dinosaur. I have already expressed my anticipa tion that something of the sort might exist upon this plateau." In the morning it was not long be fore we discoered the source of the hideous uproar which had aroused us In tlie night. The iguiinodou glade was the scene of a horrible butchery. From (lie pools of blood and the enormous lumps of llesh scattered In every di rection over the greensward we Im agined at first I hut a number of ani mals had been killed, but on examining the remains more closely we discov ered that all ihls carnage came from one of these unwieldy monsters, which had been literally torn to pieces by some creature not larger, perhaps, but fur more ferocious, than Itself. Our two professors sat in absorbed argument, examining piece after piece, which showed the marks of savage teeth and of enormous claws. "Our Judgment must still be In abeyance," said Professor Challenger, with a huge slab of whitish colored fleslt across his knee. "The Indica tions would be consistent with the presence of a saber toothed tiger, such as are still found among the breccia of our caverns, but tlie creature aetti :i 1 1 v seen was undoubtedly of a larger and more reptilian character. Person ally I should pronounce for allosaurus." "Or liiegiilosaurus," said Sumuie!ce. "Kxnctly. Any one of the larger carnivorous dinosaurs would meet the rim JK case. Among them are to be found ull 'the most terrible types of animal life that have ever cursed the earth or blessed a museum." He laughed sono rously at his own conceit, for, though he hud little sense of humor, tho crud est pleasantry Jrom his own lips mov ed lilm always to roars of apprecia tion. "The less noise the better," ssld Lord Itoxton curtly. "We don't know who or what may be near us. If this fellah comes back for his breakfast and catches us here we won't have so much to laugh nt." 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 coun try was still thickly wooded, with so much undergrowth that our progress was very slow. CHAPTER XIV. For Once I Was the Hero. 1 HAVE dwelt up to now uon tlie terrors of Maple White Land, but there was unother side to the sub ject, for ull that morning we wan dered among lovely flowers, mostly, as I observed, white or yellow In color, these being", ns our professors explain ed, the primitive flower shades. In. many pluces the ground was absolute ly covered with tliem, and ns we walk ed ankle deep on thut wonderful yield ing carpet lite scent was almost intox icating In its sweetness and Intensity. The homely English bee buzzed every where 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 observ ing which of them were pecked by tho birds we avoided all danger of poison and added a delicious variety to our food reserve. In the jungle which we traversed were numerous hard trodden paths made by the wild beasts, and In the more marshy places we saw a pro fusion of strange footmarks, including many of the iguanodon. Once In a grove we observed several of these great creatures grazing, and Lord John with his glass was able to report that they also were spotted with asphalt, though In a different place from the one which we had examined in the morn ing. What this phenomenon meant we could not imagine. We saw many small animals, such as porcupines, a scaly nu tenter and a wild pig, piebald in color and with long, curved tusks. Once, through a brenk In the trees, we saw a clear shoulder of green hill some distance away, nud ncrpss this n large dun col ored animal wus traveling at a consid erable puce. It passed so swiftly that we were unable to say what it was, but if It were a deer, as was claimed by Lord John, it must have been as large ns those monstrous Irish elk which are still dug up from time to time in the bogs of my native land. Ever since the mysterious visit which had been paid to our camp we always returned to it with some mis givings. However, on this occasion we found everything lu order. It was about tlds time that I had an Inspiration. My eyes chanced to light upon tho enormous gnarled trunk of the glngko tree which cast lis huge brandies 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 watchtowcr which com niHiuled the whole country? Now, ever since I ran wild as a lad in Ire land I have been a bold and skilled tree climber. My comrades might be my masters ou the rocks, but I knew that I would be supreme among those branches. Could I only get my legs on to the lowest of the giant offshoots then it would be strange Indeed If I could not make my way to tho top, My comrades were delighted at my idea. "Our young friend." said Challenger, bunching up the red apples of his cheeks, "is capable of acrobatic exer tions which would be Impossible to a nmn of more solid though possibly of a more commanding appearance. I applaud his resolution." "By Oeorge, young fellah, you've put your hand on It!" said Lord John, clap ping me on the back. "How we never came to think of It before I can't Im agine. 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." lie stood on the boxes while I faced tlie trunk and was gently raising me when Challenger sprang forward and gave me such a thrust with his huge hand thut lie fairly shot me into the tree. With both arms clasping the branch, I scrambled hard with my feet until I hud worked, first my body and then my knees, on to It. There were three excellent offshoots, like huge rungs of n bidder, above my head and a tangle of convenient branches be yond, so that I clambered onward with such speed that. I soon lost sight of the ground and hud nothing but foli age beneath me. Now and then I en countered a check, and once I had to shin up a creeer for eight or ten feet, but I made excellent progress, and the booming of Challenger's voice seemed to be n great distance beneath me. The tree wus, however, enor mous, and, looking upward. I could see no thinning of the leaves above my head. There was some thick, bushlike clump which seemed to be u parasite upon a branch up which I was s wann ing. I leaned my head round It In or der to see what was beyond, aud I nearly fell out of the tree lu my sur prise and horror at what I saw. A face was gazing Into mine at the distance of only a foot or two. The creature that owned It had been crouching behind the parasite and had looked round It at the same Instant I Nearly Fell Out of the Tree In My Surprise. that I did. It wns a human face or at least It was far more huuiau than any monkey's that I havo 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 aud heavy brows, were bestial and fero cious, 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 nn instant I read hatred and menace in the evil eyes. Then, as quick ns a flush, cnnia an expression of overpowering fear. There was a crash of broken boughs as It dived wildly down Into the tan gle of green. I caught a glimpse of a hairy body like that of a reddish pig, and then It was gono amid a swirl of lenves and branches. "What's the matter?" shouted Nor ton from below. "Anything wrong with you?" "Did you see It?" I cried, with ray arms around the branch and all my nerves tingling. "We heard a row. as If your foot had slipped. What was It?" I was so slujcked at the sudden and strange appearance of this ape m that I hesitated whether I should not climb down again and tell my expe rience to my companions. But I was already so far up the great tree tLat It seemed a humiliation to return with out having carried out my mission. I did not menu to quit. After a long pause, therefore, to re cover my breath nud my courage I con tinued my ascent until 1 hud topped all the trees of the forest. The sun wns just above the western sky line, aud tlie evening was a par ticularly bright and clear one, so that the whole extent of the plateau was visible beneath me. It wns, as seen from tills height, of an oval contour, with a breadth of about thirty milesi and a width of twenty. Us general shape was that of a shallow funnel, all the sides sloping down to a consid erable lake In the center. This lako may have been ten miles in circumfer ence and lay very green and beautiful In the evening light, with a thick fringe of reeds at Its edges and with Its sur face broken by several yellow sand banks, which gleamed golden In the mellow sunshine. A number of long, dark objects, which were too large for alligators and too long for canoes, lay upon the edges of these patches of sand. With my glass I could clearly see that they were alive. From the side of the plateau on which we were slopeB of woodland, with occasional glades, stretched down for five or six miles to lite central lake. I could see at my very feet the glada of the Iguauodons, and farther off wa a round opening lu tlie trees willed marked the swamp of the plerodac- '1V 1 I Could See at My Very Feet the Glad of the Iguanodons. tyls. On the side facing me, however, the plateau presented a very different aspect. There the basalt cliffs of tho outside were reproduced upon the In side, forming an escarpment about 2i) feet high, with a woody slope be neath It. (Continued next Satunluvl Thsu tiny CAPSULES! are superior to Balsam of Cpsibs, Cubfbs or injections, and REUf'S In (MIOY) 24 HOUna' tra same distJiH with out incoperien:s, tlj a'l "mutt. tS's ';.. .s'.- . fCJA 32- "A v Wife -V I I