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About Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1916)
TUV. TUTT.Y CAPTTAT, ,tqt RNAL, SALEM, OREGON SATURDAY, JULY 1, 1916. BY A.C0IJA11 DGYLE Copyright, 1912, , CHAPTER XVII. A Thrilling Rescue. ff THINK you liuve bail the escape !H of your life, young fel'.nh, my , 'a Intl. It was eatehin' those In dians that put you clean out of fii'-lr heads, elne they would have been lnek to the eaiup for you, as sure as late, anil gathered you In. Of course, in you Bald, they have been watchln' lis from the beglnnlu' out of that tree, ;io I they Ituew perfectly well that we W.-re one short. However, they could think only of this new haul. So It was i :t not a bunch of apes that drop In on you In the morning. Well, V" had a horrid, business afterward. J(y liod, what n nightmare the whole 'tiling Is! Ynu renieniher the great bustle of sharp canes down below, .where we found the skeleton of the !.Aiierlcan? Well, that Is Just under :ii town, and that's the Jumpln' off pine of their prisoners. I expect i here's heaps of skeletons there, If we looked for 'em. They hnve a sort of tlear 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 t'i".v are merely dashed to pieces or whether they get skewered on the cines. They tool; us out to see It, it'i'l the whole tribe lined up on the elge. Four of the Indians jumped. ol the canes went through 'em like l.niltin' needles through a riat of but ter. No wonder we found that poor Yankee's skeleton with the canes Hi wln' between bis ribs. It wns hor i idle but It wns riooeedly hitorestin' too. We were all fascinated to see th'in take the dive, even when we thought It would be our turn next on th.- springboard. "Well. It wasn't. They kept six of the Indians up for today that's how I mi let-stand It but. I fancy we were to !' the star performers In the show. ii illcngor might get off, but Suuiiuer I" and I were lti the bill. Their lau K'l'ige Is more than half signs, and It vis not hard to follow them. So I thought It was time we made a break f..c II. ' So I In-like away early this nioruln', K my guard a kick in the tummy tii it laid hiui out and sprinted for the cunp. There I got you and the guns, jo I here we are." (tut the professors!" I cried In con til'-inatlou. Well, we must just go back and f-i 'h 'em. 1 couldn't bring 'em with tu. Challenger was up the tree, and Jsiuiimi'i'loe was not lit for the effort. 'I ii only chance was to get the guns n il try a rescue. Of course they may H'opper them at once In revenge. 1 l ui't think they would touch Chal lenger, but. 1 wouldn't answer for Sum m -i lee. But they would have had him In any case. Of that I am certain. So I haven't made matters auy worse by li'i'liu'. But we are honor bound to go bfi'k and have them out or see it thiough wltli (hem. So you had better luike up your soul, young fellah, my Jn'l, for It will he one way or the other li'-iore evenln'." iiiT we started, and when we reached ii edge of the cliff I looked over and Hivv our gond old black umbo silting Hniokinu: on a rock below us. I would Jii .e given a sreat ileal to have hailed li'oi and tolil him how we were placed, ImiI It was loo dangerous lest we nli' Mild be heard. The woods seemed to !" lull of the ape men. Aguln and !imIii we heard their curious clicking h liter. At such time's we plunged in the nearest clump of bushes and ' still until Hie sound had passed nway. Our advance therefore was very mow, and two hours at least must lir e passed before I saw by Lord .1 iim's cautious movements that we must be cloe to our destination, lie in iiimied to me to lie still, and he !.! led forward himself. Iu a minute be wns hack again, his face quivering wo h eagerness. Vonie!" nil lil lie. 'Tome quick! I li Mie lo die Lord we are not too late anoiidy!" I found myself shaking with nervous oa iicitient as I scrambled forward nil lay down beside him, looking out In.iMuh Hi hushes at a clearing which Md ( lied before us. A wide, open space lay la-fore us, pooie hundreds of yards across, all xi '-I'M turf and low bracken growing to Hi ery edge of the cliff. Hound this ci 'iiin't there was a semicircle of trees Vi-ll eiirluiiK lulls built of foliage piled one above Ihe oilier among the branch, en A rookery, with every uest a little boose, would best convey the Idea, 'toe openings of these huts and the In niches of the trees were thronged wiih a dense mob of ape people, whom fi"in Iheir sle I took to be the females .-m l inf.vits of the tribe. They formed to- background of the picture and were all looking out with eager inter iv' at the same scene which fascinated, on t liewililered us. In the open and near the edge of the chit there had assembled n crowd of li'ooe hundred of these shaggy, red li.tiivd creatures, many of them of tin jo -use sle, and all of them horrible to 1 i c upon. There was a certain d'.s-rloline-jimotig them, for none of them rt"oinpteil to breik the line which had by A. Conan Joyla. been" formed. fiT front there stood a" small group of Indians little, clean limbed, red fellows, whose skins glow ed 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 ex pressive of his horror and dejection. There was no mistaking the angular form of Professor Suiunierlee. In front of and around this dejected group of prisoners were several ape Two of His Guards Caught Him by tht Wrists and Pulled Him Brutally to the Front. aien. who watched them closely and made all escape Impossible. Then, light out from all the others and close to the edge of the cliff, were two fig ures, so strange, and under mhei cir cumstances so ludicrous, than they absorbed my attention. The one was our conirude, Professor Challenger. Tile remains of his coat still hung in si rips from his shoulders, but his shirt had been all torn out, and his great beard merged Itself iu the black tangle which covered his mighty chest. He had lost his lint, anil his hair, which had grown long in our wander ings, was Hying In wild disorder. A sin gle day seemed to have changed him from the .highest product of modern civilization to Hie most desperate sav age iu South America. Beside him stood his master, the king of the ape men. In all things he was, as Lord lohn 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 shoul ders, the same forward hang of the arms, the same bristling beard merg ing itself In the hairy chest. Ouly above the eyebrows, where the sloping forehead and low, curved skull of the ape man were in sliarp contrast to the broad brow and magnificent cranium of the Ktiropean, eouid one see auy marked difference. At every other point the king was an absurd parody of tin; professor. All this, which takes me so long to describe, impressed Itself upon me iu it few seconds. -Then we had very dif ferent things to think of, for an active drama was in progress. Two of the ape men hud seized one of the Indians out of the group and dragged him for ward to the edge of the cliff. The king raised his hand as a signal. They caught the man by bis leg and arm and swung hlni three times backward and forward with tremendous violence. Then wl!h a frightful heave they shot Ihe poor wretch over the precipice. With such force did they throw him that he curved high in the air before beginning to drop. As he vanished from sight the whole assembly, except the guards, rushed forward to the edge of the precipice, and there was a long pause of absolute silence, broken by a mad yell of delight. They sprang about, tossing' their long, hairy arms in the air and howling with exultation. Then they fell back from Ihe edge, formed themselves again Into line and waited for the next victim. This time It was Suiunierlee. Two of his guards caught him by the wrists and pulled him brutally to the front. Ills ttiln figure and long limbs strug gled and fluttered like a chicken being dragged from a coop. Challenger had turned to the king and waved his hands frantically before him. He was beg ging, pleading, Imploring for his Com rade's life. The upe man pushed him roughly aside aud shook his head. It was (he last conscious movement he was to make upon earth. Lord John's rllle cracked, and the king sank down, a tangled red .sprawling thing, upon the ground. 'Shoot into the thick of them! Shoot, sonny, shoot!" cried my companion. There are strange red depths In the soul of the most commonplace man. 1 am tender hearted by nature and have found my eyes moist many a time over the scream of a wounded hare. Yet the blood lust was on me now. I found myself on iny feet emptying one magazine, then the other, clicking own the breech to reload, snapping ic t agiln, while clns-rlng and yel!!i; with pure ferocity aud Joy of slaughter as I did so. With our four good guns the two of us made a horrible havoc. Roth the guards who held Summerlee were down, and he was staggering about like a drunken man iu his amazement, unable to realize that he was a free man. The dense mob of ape men ran about in bewilderment, uiarve'lng whence this storm of death was com ing or what it might mean. They waved, gesticulated, screamed and trip ped up over those who had fallen. Then, with a sudden impulse, they all rushed in a howling crowd to the trees for shelter, leaving the ground behind I hem spotted with their stricken com rades. All the prisoners were left for the moment standing alone iu the middle of the clearing. Challenger's quick brain had grasped the situation. He seized the bewil dered Summerlee by the arm, and they both ran toward us. Two of their guards bounded after them and fell to two bullets from Lord John. We ran forward into the open to meet our friends aud pressed a loaded rllle into the hands of each. But Summerlee was at the end of his strength. He could hardly totter. Already the ape men were recovering from their panic. They were coming through the brush wood and threatening to cut us off. Challenger and I ran Summerlee along, one at each of lls elbows, while Lord John covered our retreat, firing again and again as savage heads snarled at us out of the bushes. For a mile or more the chattering brutes were at our very heels. Then the pursuit slack ened, for they learned our power and would no longer face that unerring rllle. When we had at last reached the camp we looked back and found our selves alone. 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 djrectlnn of our old camp, but none of them came our way, and the tired fugitives, red and white, had a long, deep sleep. We had imagined that our pursuers, the ape men, knew nothing of our brushwood hiding place, but we were soon to And out our mistake. There was no sound In the woods -not a leaf moved upon the trees and all was peace around us hut we should have been warued by our first experience how cunningly and how patient these creatures can watch and wait until Iheir 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. I missed one of the Indians who had hud tied with us and asked where he was. "He has gone to fetch some waler," tald Lord Itoxton. "Wo fitted hlui up with an empty beef tin, aud he Is off." "To tile old camp?" I asked. "No, to the brook. It's among the trees there. It can't he more than a couple of hundred yards. But the beg far 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 break fast. CHAPTER XVIII. "Those Were the Real Conquests.1' ST may seem to you rash that even for so short a distance I .should quit the shelter of our friendly thn-ket, butyou will remember that we were many miles from ape town, that so far as we knew the creatures had not discovered our retreat and that In any case with a rifle In my hands I had no fear of them. I had not yet learned their cunning or their strength. 1 could hear the murmur of our brook louiewbere ahead of me, but there was it tangle of trees aud brushwood be tween me and It. I was making my way through this at a point which was Just out of sight of my companions, when, under one of the trees, I noticed something red huddled among the hushes. As I approached it I was shocked to see that it was the dead body of the missing Indian. He lay upon his side, his limbs drawn up aud his bead screwed round at a most un natural angle, so that he seemed to be looking straight over ills own shoulder. I gave a cry to warn my friends that something was amiss, and, running - Trjtf "nt;( JPJ.y?- i I Felt an Intolerable Pressure Forcing My Head Back. 1 --. . forward, I stooped over the body. Surely my guardian angel was very near me then, for some Instinct of fear, or it may have been some faint rustle of leaves, made me glance up ward. Out of the thick green foliage which hung low over my head two long, muscular arms covered with red dish hair were slowly descending. An other instaut aud the great, stealthy hands would have, been round my throat I sprang backward; but, quick as I was, those hands were quicker still. Through my sudden spring they missed a fatal grip, but one of them caught the back of my neck aud the other one my face. I threw my hands up to protect my throat, aud the next moment the huge paw bad slid down my fa e and closed over them. I wns lifted from the ground, and I felt an Intolerable pressure forcing my head back and back until the strain upon the cervical spine was more than I could bear. My senses swam, but I still tore at the hand aud forced it out from my chin. Looking up I saw a frightful face with cold, Inexorable light blue eyes looking down Into mine. There was something hypnotic in those terrible eyes. I could struggle uo longer. As the creature felt me grow limp In his grasp two white canines gleamed for a moment at each side of Ihe vile mouth, and the grip tightened still more upon my chin, forcing it al ways upward and back. A thin, oval Unfed mist formed before my eyes and little silvery bells tinkled In my ears. Dully and faroff I heard the crack of a rifle and was feebly aware of the shock as I was dropped to the earth, where I lay without sense or motion. I awoke to lind myself on my back upon the grass In our lair within the thicket. Some one had brought the water from the brook, and Lord John was sprinkling my head with it, while Challenger and Summerlee were prop ping me up, with concern In their faces. Tor a moment I had a glimpse of the human spirits behind their scien tific masks. It was really shock rath er than any Injury which had pros trated me, aud In half an hour. In spite of aching head and stiff neck, I was silting up and ready for anything, "But you've had the escape of your life, young feduh my lad," said Lord Itoxton. "When I heard your cry and ran forward aud saw your head twist ed half off and your stohwassers kick in' in the air I thought we Were one short. I missed the beast In my flurry, but he dropped you all right and was off like a streak. By George! I wish 1 had fifty men with rifles. I'd clear out the whole infernal gang of them mid leave this country a bit cleaner thun we found It." ' It was clear now that the ape man had In some way marked us down and that we were watched on every side We had not so much to fear from them during the day, but they would be very likely to rush us by night, so the soon er wo got away from their neighbor hood the better. On three sides, of us was absolute forest, and there we might find ourselves In an ambush. But on the fourth side that which sloped down in Ihe direction of the lake there was only low scrub, with scattered trees and occasional open glades; It was. In fact, the route which I had myself taken in niy soli tary Journey, and It led us straight for the Indian caves. This, then, must for every reason lie our road. It was in the early afternoon that we started upon our Journey. One Indian, a chief, walked at our head as guide, but refused indignantly to carry any burden. Behind him came the two surviving Indians with our scanty pos sessions upon their backs. We four while men walked in the rear with ri fles loaded aivl ready. As we started there broke from the thick Rilent woods behind us a sudden great ululation of the ape men, which may hnve been a cheer of triumph at our departure or a Jeer of contempt at our flight. Look ing 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 pur suit, however, and soon we had got Into more open country and beyond I heir power. In the late afternoon we reached the margin of the lake, and as we emerg ed from the bush aud saw the sheet of waler stretching before us our na tive 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 grassy surface was a great flotlllla oT canoes coming straight for the shore upon which we stood. They were some miles out when we first saw tlicin, but they shot forward with great swiftness and were soon so near thai the rowers could distinguish our per sons. Instantly a thunderous shout of delight burst from them, and we saw Ihem rise from their seals, waving Iheir paddles and spears madly in the air. Then, bending to Iheir work once more, they Hew across the Intervenln:: waler, lieadied their boats upon the sloping .sand and rushed up to us, pros trntlng themselves with loud cries of greeting before Ihe young chief. Final ly one of them, an elderly man. with a ne' klace and bracelet of great lustrous glass heads uud the skin of some bean tifftl mottled limber colored animal slung over his shoulders, ran forward and embraced most tenderly the youih whom we hud saved. He then looked at us ami nsked some questions, after which be slopped up with imvli dig nity aud embraced . us also each in turn. Then at his order the wuoie trlle lay down upon the ground be fore us In homage. Personally I felt shy and uncomfortable at this obsequi ous adoration, aud I read the same feeling In the faces of Itoxton and Summerlee, but Challenger expanded like a flower In the sun. "They may l.o undeveloped types," said he", stroking his beard and looking round at them, "but their deportment In the presence of their superiors might be a lessou to some of our more ad vanced Europeans. Strange how cor rect are the Instincts of the natural man!" It was clear; that the natives had come out upon the warpath, for every man carried his spear a long bamboo tipped with bone his bow aud arrows and some sort of club or stono battle ax slung at his aide. Their dnrk, 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 gath ered that the youth must be. A coun cil wag now held by the whole tribe squatting in a circle, while we sat near on a slab of basalt and watched their proceedings. Two or three warriors spoke, and finally our young friend made a spirited harangue with such eloquent features and gestures thnt we could understand It all as clearly as If we had known his laugunge. "What is the use of returning?" he said. "Sooner or later the thing must be doue. Tour comrades have been murdered. What if I have returned safe? These others have been done to death. There is no Rafcty for any of us. We are assembled now and ready." Then he pointed to us. "These strange men are our friends. They nre great fighters, and they hate the ape men even as we do. They command" here he pointed up to heaven "the thunder and the lightning. When shall we have studi a chance again? Let us go forward and either die now or live for the future In safety. How else shall we go back unashamed to our women ?" The little red warriors hung upon Ihe words of the speaker, and when he had finished they burst into a ronr of applause, waving their rude weapons iu the air. The old chief stepped for ward to us and asked us some ques tions, pointing at the same time to the woods. Lord John made a sign to him that lie should wait for an answer aud then he turned to us. "Well, it's up to you to say what you will do," said he. "For my part I have a score to settle with these monkey folk, and if it ends by wiping Ihem off the face of the earth I don't see that t lie earth need fret nbout it. I'm goln' with our Utile red pals, and f mean lo see them through the scrap. 'if hat do you say, young fellah?" "Of course I will come." "And you, Challenger?" "I will assuredly co-operate." "And you, Summerlee?" "We seem to be drifting very far from (he object of this expedition, Lord John. I assure you that I little thought when I left my professional chair Iu London that it was for the purpose of heading a raid of savages upon a colony of anthropoid apes." "To such base uses do we come," said Lord John, smillug. "But we are up against It, so what's the decision?" "It seems a most questionable step," said Sunimerloe, argumentative to the last, "but if you are all going I hardly see how I can remain behind." Then It Is settled," said Lord John, and, turning to the chief, he nodded and slapped his rifle. CHAPTER XIX. Off to Meet Strange Foe. T earliest dawn our camp was astir, and an hour later we had BL 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 dispatch from a field of battle: Our numbers had been rc-enforccd tluring the night by a fresh batch of natives from the caves, and we may have been 400 or 500 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. Hoxtou and Suiumerlee took their position upon the right flank, while Challenger and I were on the left. It was a host of the stone age that we were accompanying to battle we wllh the last word of the gunsmith's art from St. James' 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 sud denly a body tt ape men rushed out with clubs aud stones and made for tile 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 eats. It wns horri ble to see the tierce brutes, with foam ing mouths and glaring eyes, rushing and grasping but forever missing their elusive enemies, while arrow aft er arrow buried itself In their hides. One great fellow ran past me roaring with pain, with a dozen darts sticking from his chest and ribs. In mercy I put a bullet through bis skull, and he fell sprawling among the aloes. But this was the only shot fired, for the attack had been on the center of the line, and the Indians there had needed no help of ours hi repulsing It. Of all Ihe ape men who had rushed out into the open I do not think that one got back to cover. But the mutter was more deadly when we came among the trees. For an hourir more after we entered the wood there was a desperate slruggle. In which fur a time we hardly held our own. Springing out from among the scrub, the ape men with huge clubs briiko in upon the Indians and often felled three or four of them before they could be speared. Their frightful blows shattered everything upon which they fell. One of them knocked Sum merlee's rifle to matchwood, and the next would have crushed his skull bad an Indian not stabbed the beast to the heart. Other ape men in the trees above us hurled down stores and logs of wood, occasionally dropping bodily on to our ranks and fighting furiously until they were felled. Once our ab lies broke under the pressure, and had It not been for tho execution done by our rifles they would certainly have taken to their heels. But they were gallantly rallied by their old chief and came on with such a rush that the ape men began in turn to give way. Sum merleo was weaponless, but I was emptying my magazine as quick as I could fire, aud on the farther flank we heard the continuous cricking of our compnulons' rlflivs. Then in a moment came the panic and the collnpse. Screaming and howl ing, tho great creatures rushed away in all directions through the brush wood, while, our allies yelled In their savage delight, following swiftly after their flying enemies. All the feuds of countless generations, all the hatreds and cruelties of their narrow history, all the memories of ill usage aud per secution, were to be purged that day. m pi. Their Frightful Blows Shattered Every thing Upon Which They Fell. At last man was to be supremo and the man-beast to find forever his allot ted place. Fly as they would, the fugitives were too slow to escape from the active savages, and from every side in the tangled woods we heard the exultant yells, the twanging of bows and the crash and thud as ape men were brought down from their hiding places in the trees. I was following the others when I found that Lord John and Challenger had come across to Join us. "It's over," said Lord John. "I think we can leave the tidying up to them. Perhaps the less we see of It the bet ter we shall sleep." Challenger's eyes were shining with the lust of slaughter. 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 aud there a little group of shattered Indians marked where one of the an thropoids hnd 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. Tha ape men had been driven back to their city, they had made a last stand there, once again they had been broken, aud now we were in time to see the dual fearful scene of all. Some eighty or a hundred males, the lust survivors, had been driven across that same little clearing which led to the edge of the cliff, the scene of our own exploit two days before. As we arrived the In dians, a semicircle of spearmen, bad closed In on them, and In a minute it was over. Thirty or forty died where they stood. The others, screaming aud clawing, were thrust over the precipice and went hurtling down, as their prls oners had of old, on to the sharp bam boos 600 feet below. It was as Chal lenger had said, aud the reign of man was assured forever in Maple White Land. The males were exterminated, Ape Town was destroyed, the females aud young were driven away to live in bondage, and the long rivalry of un told ceututies had reached Us bloody end. For us the victory brought much ad vantage. Once again we were able to visit our camp and get at our stores. Once more also we were, able to com municate with Zambo, who bad beer, 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 starting from his head. "The debbll get you sure If you slay up there!" "It Is the voice of sanity," said Sum merlee, with conviction. "We have hnd adventures enough, and they are neither suitable to our character or our position. I bold you to your word, Challenger. From now onward yon devote your energies to getting us out of this horrible country and back once more to civilization." We had returned across the plateau with our allies two days after t lie bat tle and made our camp at the foot of their cliffs. They would have us share their caves with them, but Lord John would by no means consent to It, con sidering that to do so would put us in their power If they were treacherously disposed. We kept our Independence, therefore, and bad our weapons ready for any emergency while preserving the most friendly relations. We also continually visited tliclr caves, which were most remarkable places, though whether made by man or by intiire we have never be?n able to determine. They wore all on the one stratum, hol lowed out of some soft rock which Iny between the volcanic basalt forming the ruddy cliffs above them and the hard granite which formed their base. CHAPTER XX. Attacked by Frightful Monsters. ST was on the third day after oar forming our camp near the In dian caves that a tragedy occur red. Challenger and Summerlee had gone off together that day to tha lake, where some of the natives un der their direction were engaged in harpooning specimens of the great lizards. Lord John and I bad remain ed in our camp, while a number of th Indians were scattered about upon tha grassy elope in front of tbe caves en gaged in different ways. Suddenly there was a shrill cry of alarm, with the word "Stoa!" resounding from a hundred tongues. From every slda men, women and children were rush ing wildly for shelter, swarming up the staircases and into tbe caves Iu a mad stampede. Looking up, we could see them wav ing 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 sea what the danger could be. Suddenly from the near belt of trees there broka forth a group of twelve or fifteen In dians, running for their lives, and at their very heels two of those frightful monsters which had disturbed our camp and pursued me upon my soli tary Journey. In shape they were liko horrlblo toads and moved in a succes sion of springs, but in size they were of an incredible bulk, larger than the largest elephant. We had never be fore seen.thcm save at night, and in deed 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 sklna were of a curious, fishlike irides cence, and the , sunlight struck them with an ever varying rainbow bloom as they moved. We had little time to watch them, however, for in an Instant they had overtaken the fugitives and were mak ing 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 wretch ed Indians screamed with terror, but; were helpless, run as they would, be fore the relentless purpose and horri ble activity of these monstrous crea tures. One aftef another they went down, and there were not half a dozen surviving by the time my companion and I could come to their help. But our aid was of little avail nnd only in volved us in the same peril. At tha range of a couple of hundred yards wa emptied our magazines, firing bullet after bullet into tho beasts, but with no more effect than if we were pelting thorn with pellets of paper. Their slow reptilian natures cared nothing for wounds, and the springs of their lives, with uo special brain center, hut scat tered throughout their spinal cords, could not be tapped by any modern weapons. The most that we could do was to check their progress by dis tracting 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 tho na tives, dipped in the Julco of strophan thns and steeped afterward in decayed cairlon, could succeed. Such arrows were of little avail to the hunter who attacked the beast, because their action In that torpid circulation was slow, and before its powers failed It could cer tainly overtake and slay Its assailant But now, as tbe two monsters hounded us to tho very foot of the stairs, a drift of darts came whistling from every chink in the cliff above them. In a minute they were feathered with them, aud yet, with no sign of pain, they clawed and slabbered with Impotent rage at the steps which would lead them to their victims, mounting clum sily up for a few yards and then slid ing down again to the ground. But at last the poison worked. One of them gave a deep rumbling groan and dropped his huge squat bead on to tha earth. The other bounded around In an eccentr'c circle, with shrill, wall ing cries, and then, lying down, writh ed In agony for some minutes before It also stiffened nnd lay still. .With yells of triumph the Indians came flocking down from their caves and danced a frenzied dance of victory around tha dead bodies, lu mad joy that two mora of the most dangerous of all their ene mies had been slain. Thnt 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 horrlblo Independent life. It was only upon the third day that the ganglia ran down and the dreadful tilings were atlM. (Continued next Saturday) BIN SIN Best Chinese Dishes Noodlea Chop Buey ... Bice and Fork ...10c ...25c ...10c 410 TEREY STREET ft - A Journal New Today will convert waste into wealth. .