The Land that Time Forgot, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Part III.

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2:02For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org recording by Ralph Snellson. The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burles Chapter 6. As we stroll slowly back toward the boat, planning and discussing this, we were suddenly startled by a loud and unmistakable detonation. A shell from the U-33, explained von Schornbart's, what can be after signifier, where it holds him? They're in trouble, I answered, for all. And it's up to us to get back to them. Drop that carcass, I directed the man, carrying the meat, and follow me. I set off at a rapid run in the direction of the harbor. We ran for the better part of a mile, without hearing anything more from the direction of the harbor, and then I reduced the speed to a walk. For the exercise was telling on us, who had been cooped up for so long, in the confined interior of the U-33.

3:03Puffing and panting, we plotted on, until within about a mile of the harbor, we came upon a site that brought us all up standing. We had been passing through a little heavier timber than was usual to this part of the country, when we suddenly emerged into an open space, in the center of which was such a band as might have caused the most courageous to pause. It consisted of upward of 500 individuals, representing several species closely aligned to man. There were anthropoid apes and gorillas. These, I had no difficulty in recognizing, but there were other forms, which I had never before seen. And I was hard put to it to say whether they were ape or man. Some of them resembled the corpse we had found upon the narrow beach against Caprona's seawall, while others were of a still lower type, more nearly resembling the apes, and yet others were uncannily manlike, standing there erect, being less hairy, and possessing better-shaped heads. There was one among the loft evidently the leader of them,

4:05who bore a close resemblance to the so-called Neanderthal man of La Chappelle Osons. There was the same short, stocky trunk, upon which rested an enormous head, habitually bent forward into the same curvature as the back. The arms shorter than the legs, and the lower leg considerably shorter than that of modern man. The knees bent forward and never straightened. This creature, and one or two others, who appeared to be of a lower order than he, yet higher than that of the apes, carried heavy clubs. The others were armed only with giant muscles and fighting fangs, nature's weapons. All were males, and all were entirely naked, nor was there upon even the highest among them a sign of ornamentation. At sight of us, they turned with barred fangs and low grouse to confront us. I did not wish to fire among them unless it became absolutely necessary, and so I started to lead my party around them. But the instant that the Neanderthal man guessed my intention,

5:08he evidently attributed it to cowardice upon our part, and with a wild cry he leaped toward us, waving his cudgel above his head. The others followed him, and in a minute we should have been overwhelmed. I gave the order to fire, and at the first volley six of them went down, including the Neanderthal man. The others hesitated a moment, and then broke for the trees, some running nimly among the branches, while others lost themselves to us between the bowls. Both von Schoenvortz and I noticed that at least two of the higher man-like types took to the trees quite as nimly as the apes, while others that more nearly approached man in carriage and appearance sought safety upon the ground with the gorillas. An examination disclosed that five of our erstwhile opponents were dead, and the sixth, the Neanderthal man, was but slightly wounded, a bullet having glanced from his thick skull, stunning him. We decided to take him with us to camp,

6:08and by means of belts we managed to secure his hands behind his back, and place a leash around his neck before he regained consciousness. We then retraced our steps for our meat, being convinced by our own experience that those aboard the U-33 had been able to frighten off this party with a single shell, but when we came to where we had left the deer it had disappeared. On the return journey, whitely and I preceded the rest of the party by about a hundred yards in the hope of getting another shot at something edible, for we were all greatly disgusted and disappointed by the loss of our venison. Whitely and I advanced very cautiously, and not having the whole party with us we fared better than on the journey out, bagging too large antelope, not a half mile from the harbor. So with our game and our prisoner we made a cheerful return to the boat, where we found that all were safe. On the shore, a little north of where we laid, there were the corpses of twenty of the wild creatures who had attacked

7:10Bradley and his party in our absence, and the rest of whom we had met and scattered a few minutes later. We felt that we had taught these wild eight-man a lesson, and that because of it we would be safer in the future, at least safer from them. But we decided not to abate our carefulness one wit, feeling that this new world was filled with terrors still unknown to us, nor were we wrong. The following morning we commenced work upon our camp, Bradley, Olson, Buns, Ruinboards, Miss LaRue and I, having sat up half the night discussing the matter, and drawing plans. We set the man at work, felling trees, selecting for the purpose Jara, a hard, weather-resisting timber which grew in profusion nearby. Half the man labored, while the other half stood guard, alternating each hour with an hour off at noon. Olson directed this work. Bradley, Buns, Ruinboards, and I, with Miss LaRue's help,

8:11staked out the various buildings and the outer wall. When the day was done, we had quite an array of logs, nicely notched and ready for our building operations on the moral. And we were all tired, for after the buildings had been staked out, we all fell in and helped with the logging, all but Buns, Ruinboards. He, being oppression and a gentleman, couldn't stoop to such menial labor in the presence of his men, and I didn't see fit to ask it of him, as the work was purely voluntary upon our part. He spent the afternoon shaping a swagger stick from the branch of a Jara, and talking with Miss LaRue, who had sufficiently unbent toward him to notice his existence. We saw nothing of the wild man of the previous day, and only once were we menished by any of the strange denizens of Caprona. When some frightful nightmare of the sky swooped down upon us, all need to be driven off by a fuselage of bullets. The thing appeared to be some variety of tarot actil,

9:12and what, with its enormous size and ferocious aspect, was most awe-inspiring. There was another incident, too, which, to me at least, was far more unpleasant than the sudden onslaught of the prehistoric reptile. Two of the men, both Germans, were stripping a failed tree of its branches. Buns, Ruinboards, had completed his swagger stick, and he and I were passing close to where the two worked. One of them, through to his rear, a small branch that he had just chopped off, and, as Miss Fortune would have it, it struck Buns, Ruinboards, across the face. It couldn't have hurt him, for it didn't leave a mark, but he flew into a terrific rage, shutting Hachtun in a loud voice. The satyr immediately straightened up, faced his officer, clicked his heels together, and saluted. Ping, roared the baron, and struck the fellow across the face, breaking his nose. I grabbed Buns, Ruinboards' arm, and jerked him away before he could strike again.

10:12If such had been his intention, and then he raised his little stick to strike me, but before it descended to muzzle, my pistol was against his belly, and he must have seen in my eyes that nothing would suit me better than an excuse to pull the trigger. Like all his kind, and all other bullies, Buns, Ruinboards, was a coward at heart, and so he dropped his hand to his side and started to turn away. But I pulled him back, and there, before his men, I told him that such a thing must never again occur, that no man was to be struck or otherwise punished, other than in due process of the laws that we had made, and the court that we had established. All the time, the satyr stood rigidly at attention, nor could I tell from his expression whether he most resented the blow his officer had struck him, or my interference in the gospel of the Kaiser breed. Nor did he move until I said to him, Plus, you may return to your quarters and dress your wound, then he saluted and marched stiffly off toward the U-33.

11:15Just before dusk we moved out into the bay a hundred yards from shore and dropped anchor, where I felt that we should be safer there than elsewhere. I also detailed men to stand watch during the night, and appointed Oldson, officer of the watch for the entire night, telling him to bring his blankets on deck and get what rest he could. At dinner we tasted our first roast capprona athelope, and we had a mass of greens that the cook had found growing along the stream. All during the meal von Schuwenbords was silent and surly. After dinner we all went on deck and watched the unfamiliar scenes of a cappronian night. That is all but von Schuwenbords. There was less to see than to hear, from the great inland lake behind us came the hissing and the screaming of countless orients. Above us we heard the flap of giant wings, while from the shore rose the multitudinous voices of a tropical jungle, of a warm damp atmosphere such as must have enveloped the entire earth during the

12:19paleozoic and meszoic eras. But here were intermingled the voices of later eras, the scream of the panther, the roar of the lion, the bang of wolves and a thunderous growling which we could attribute to nothing earthly, but which one day we were to connect with the most fearsome of ancient creatures. One by one the others went to their rooms until the girl and I were left alone together before I had permitted the watch to go below for a few minutes, knowing that I would be on deck. Miss LaRue was very quiet, though she replied graciously enough to whatever I had to say that required reply. I asked her if she did not feel well. Yes, she said, but I am depressed by the awfulness of it all. I feel of so little consequence, so small and helpless in the face of all these myriad manifestations of life stripped to the bone of its savagery and brutality. I realized as never before how cheap and valueless a thing is

13:24life, life seemed a joke, a cruel, grim joke. You are a laughable incident or a terrifying one as you happen to be less powerful or more powerful than some other form of life which crosses your path, but as a rule you are of no moment whatsoever to anything but yourself. You are a comic little figure hopping from the cradle to the grave. Yes, that is our trouble. We take ourselves too seriously, but Caprona should be a sure cure for that. She paused and laughed. You have evolved a beautiful philosophy, I said. It fills such a longing in the human breast. It is full, it is satisfying, it is an obling. What wondrous strides toward perfection the human race might have made if the first man had evolved it and it had persisted until now as the creed of humanity. I don't like irony, she said. It indicates a small soul. What other sort of soul then would you expect from a comic little figure hopping from the cradle

14:27to the grave, I inquired? And what difference does it make anyway what you like and what you don't like? You are here for but an instant, and you mustn't take yourself too seriously. She looked up at me with a smile. I imagined that I am frightened and blue, she said, and I know that I am very, very homesick and lonely. There was almost a sob in her voice, as she concluded. It was the first time that she had spoken thus to me. In voluntarily, I laid my hand upon hers where it rested on the rail. I know how difficult your position is, I said, but don't feel that you are alone. There is one here who would do anything in the world for you, I ended lately. She did not withdraw her hand, and she looked up into my face with tears on her cheeks, and I read in her eyes that thanks her lips could not voice. Then she looked away across the weird moonlit landscape and side. Evidently, her newfound philosophy had tumbled about her

15:31ears, for she was seemingly taking herself seriously. I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her how I loved her, and had taken her hand from the rail, and started to draw her toward me when Ultson came blundering up on deck with his bedding. The following morning we started building operations in earnest, and things progressed finally. The Neanderthal man was something of a care, for we had to keep him in oeons all the time, and he was mighty savage when approached. But after a time he became more docile, and then we tried to discover if he had a language. Lists spent a great deal of time talking to him and trying to draw him out. But for a long while, she was unsuccessful. It took us three weeks to build all the houses which we constructed close by a cold spring, some two miles from the harbor. We changed our plans of trifle when it came to building the Palisade, where we found a rotted cliff nearby where we could get all the flat building stone we needed, and so we constructed a stone wall entirely around the buildings.

16:36It was in the form of a square, with bastions and towers at each corner, which would permit an infillating fire along any side of the fort, and was about 135 feet square on the outside, with walls three feet thick at the bottom, and about a foot and a half wide at the top, and 15 feet high. It took a long time to build that wall, and we all turned in and helped, except von Schuhenbordes, who, by the way, had not spoken to me except in the line of official business since our encounter, a condition of arm neutrality which suited me to a tea. We have just finished it, the last touches being put on today. Iquit about a week ago, and commenced working on this chronicle for our strange adventures, which will account for any minor errors in chronology which may have crept in. There was so much material that I may have made some mistakes, but I think they are but minor infuel. I see in reading over the last few pages

17:38that I neglected to state that list finally discovered that the Neanderthal man possessed a language. She had learned to speak it, and so have I, to some extent. It was he, his name, he says, is Am, or Am, who told us that this country is called Cassback. When we asked him how far it extended, he weighed both arms about his head in an all-including gesture which took in, apparently, the entire universe. He is more tractable now, and we are going to release him, for he is the shortest that he will not permit his fellows to harm us. He calls us gallus, and says that in a short time he will be a gallu. It is not quite clear to us what he means. He says that there are many gallus north of us, and that as soon as he becomes one, he will go and live with them. Am went out to hunt with us yesterday, and was much impressed by the ease with which our rifles brought down adults and deer. We have been living upon the fat of the land, Am,

18:40having shown us the edible fruits, tubers, and herbs, and twice a week we go out after fresh meat. A certain proportion of this we dry, and store away, for we do not know what may come. Our drying process is really smoking. We have also dried a large quantity of two varieties of cereal, which grow wild a few miles south of us. One of these is a giant Indian maze, a lofty perennial, often 50 and 60 feet in height, with ears the size of a man's body, and kernels as large as your fist. We have had to construct a second storehouse for the great quantity of this that we have gathered. September 3, 1916. Three months ago today, the torpedo from the U-33 started me from the peaceful deck of the American liner upon the strange boy, which has ended here in Cassback. We have settled down to an acceptance of our fate, for all are convinced that none of us will ever see the outer

19:42world again. Am's repeated assertions that there are human beings like ourselves in Cassback have roused the man to a keen desire for exploration. I sent out one party last week under Bradley, Am who is now free to go and come, as he wishes, accompanied them. They marched about 25 miles due west, encountering many terrible beasts and reptiles, and not a few man-like creatures, whom Am sent away. Here is Bradley's report of the expedition. March 15, the first day, camping on the bank of a large stream which runs southward. Game was plentiful, and we saw several varieties which we had not before encountered in Cassback. Just before making camp, we were charged by an enormous woolly rhinoceros, which blessed her dropped with a perfect shot. We had rhinoceros steaks for supper. Am called the thing Atis. It was almost a continuous battle from the time we left the fort

20:46until we arrived at camp. The mind of man can scarce conceive the plethora of carnivorous life in this lost world, and their prey, of course, is even more abundant. The second day, we marched about ten miles to the foot of the cliffs, pass through dense forests close to the base of the cliffs. Saw man-like creatures and a low order of ape in one band, and some of the men swore that there was a white man among them. They were inclined to attack us at first, but a volley from our rifles caused them to change their minds. We scaled the cliffs as far as we could, but near the top they are absolutely perpendicular without any sufficient cleft or protuberance to give hand or foothold. All were disappointed, for we hungered for a view of the ocean and the outside world. We even had a hope that we might see and attract the attention of a passing ship. Our exploration has determined one thing, which will probably be of little value to us and

21:50never heard of beyond Caprona's walls. This crater was once entirely filled with water. Indisputable evidence of this is on the face of the cliffs. Our return journey occupied two days and was as filled with adventure as usual. We are all becoming accustomed to adventure. It is beginning to paw on us. We suffered no casualties and there was no illness. I had to smile as I read Bradley's report. In those four days he had doubtless pass through more adventures than an African big-game hunter experiences in a lifetime. And yet he covered it all in a few lines. Yes, we are becoming accustomed to adventure. Not a day passes that one or more of us does not face death at least once. Om taught us a few things that have proved profitable and saved us much ammunition, which is useless to expend except for food or in the last recourse of self-preservation.

22:51Now, when we are attacked by large flying reptiles, we run beneath spreading trees. When land carnivorous threatness, we climb into trees, and we have learned not to fire at any of the dinosaurs, unless we can keep out of their reach for at least two minutes after hitting them in the brain or spine, or five minutes after puncturing their hearts. It takes them so long to die. To hit them elsewhere is worse than useless, for they do not seem to notice it, and we had discovered that such shots do not kill or even disable them. September 7, 1916. Much has happened since I last wrote. Bradley is away again on another exploration expedition to the cliffs. He expects to be gone several weeks, and to follow along their base in search of a point where they may be scaled. He took sin-clair, Brady, James, and Tippett with him. Ohm has disappeared. He has been gone about three days, but the most startling thing I have on record

23:54is that von Schuwenvorts and Oltsen, while out hunting the other day, discovered oil about 15 miles north of us beyond the sandstone cliffs. Oltsen says there is a geyser of oil there, and von Schuwenvorts is making preparations to refine it. If he succeeds, we shall have the means for leaving Cassback and returning to our own world. I can scarce believe the truth of it, we are all elated to the seventh heaven of bliss. Pray, God, we shall not be disappointed. I have tried on several occasions to broach the subject of my love to Liz, but she will not listen. End of Chapter 6 Chapter 7 of the Land That Time Forgot This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org, recording by Ralph Salson.

25:01The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burles. Chapter 7 October 8, 1916 This is the last entry I shall make upon my manuscript. When this is done, I shall be through. Though I may pray that it reaches the haunts of civilized man, my better judgment tells me that it will never be perused by other eyes than mine, and that even though it should, it would be too late to avail me. I am alone upon the summit of the great cliff overlooking the broad Pacific, a chill south wind bites at my marrow. While far below me I can see the tropic foliage of caspac on the one hand and huge icebergs from the near Antarctic upon the other. Presently I shall stuff my folded manuscript into the thermospodal I have carried with me for the purpose since I left the fort, Fort Dinosaur, we named it, and hurl it far outward over the cliff top into the Pacific. What current washes the shore of Caprona I know not, whether my

26:06bottle will be born I cannot even guess, but I have done all that mortal man may do to notify the world of my whereabouts and the dangers that threaten those of us who remain alive in caspac if there be any other than myself. About the eighth of September I accompanied Oltsin and Bon Schwunvorks to the oil geyser. List came with us, and we took a number of things which Bon Schwunvorks wanted for the purpose of erecting a crude refinery. We went up the coast some ten or twelve miles in the U-33, tying up to shore near the mouth of a small stream, which emptied great volumes of crude oil into the sea. I find it difficult to call this great late by any other name. Then we disembarked and went inland about five miles, where we came upon a small lake entirely filled with oil, from the center of which a geyser of oil spouted. On the edge of the lake we helped Bon Schwunvorks build his primitive refinery. We worked with him for two days until he got things

27:08fairly well started, and then we returned to Fort Dinosaur, as I feared that Bradley might return and be worried by our absence. The U-33 merely landed those of us that were to return to the Fort, and then retraced its course toward the oil well. Oltsin, whitely, wiltsin, misleroo, and myself disembarked, while Bon Schwunvorks and his German crew returned to refine the oil. The next day, Pleisser and two other Germans came down Oberlin for ammunition. Pleisser said they had been attacked by wild men, and had exhausted a great deal of ammunition. He also asked permission to get some dried meat and maize, saying that they were so busy with the work of refining that they had no time to hunt. I let him have everything he asked for, and never once did a suspicion of their intentions enter my mind. They returned to the oil well the same day, while we continued with the multitudinous duties of camp life. For three days nothing of moment occurred. Bradley did not

28:12return, nor did we have any word from Bon Schwunvorks. In the evening lists, and I went up into one of the bastion towers, and listened to the grim and terrible nightlife of the frightful ages of the past. Once a saber-tooth screamed almost beneath us, and the girl shrank close against me. As I fell her body against mine, all the pent-love of these three long months shattered the bonds of timidity and conviction, and I swept her up into my arms and covered her face and lips with kisses. She did not struggle to free herself, but instead her dear arms crept up about my neck and drew my own face even closer to hers. You loved me less, I cried. I fell her head nod and affirmative against my breast. Tell me less, I begged. Tell me in words how much you love me. Low and sweet and tender came the answer. I love you beyond all conception. My heart filled with rapture then, and it fills now as it has each of the countless times I have

29:16recalled those dear words, as it shall fill always until death has claimed me. I may never see her again. She may not know how I love her. She may question she may doubt, but always true and steady and warm with the fires of love. My heart beats for the girl who said that night, I love you beyond all conception. For a long time we sat there upon the little bench constructed for the century that we had not as yet thought it necessary to post in more than one of the four towers. We learned to know one another better in those two brief hours than we had in all the months that had intervened since we had been thrown together. She told me that she had loved me from the first, and that she never had loved Bonn Schuhenvarts, their engagement having been arranged by her aunt for social reasons. That was the happiest evening of my life, nor ever do I expect to experience its like. But at last, as is the way of happiness, it terminated.

30:20We descended to the compound, and I walked with less to the door of her quarters. There again she kissed me and made me good night, and then she went in and closed the door. I went to my own room, and there I sat by the light of one of the crude candles we had made from the tallow of the beast we had killed, and lived over the events of the evening. At last, I turned in and fell asleep, dreaming happy dreams and planning for the future. For even in savage cast back, I was bound to make my girl safe and happy. It was daylight when I awoke, Wilson, who was acting as cook, was up and a stir at his duties in the cookhouse. The other slept, but I arose and followed by knobs, went down to the stream for a plunge. As was our custom, I went armed with both rifle and revolver, but I stripped and had my swim without further disturbance than the approach of a large hyena, a number of which occupied caves in the sandstone cliffs north of the camp. These brutes are

31:25enormous and exceedingly ferocious. I imagine they correspond with the cave high enough prehistoric times. This fellow charged knobs, whose cappronian experiences had taught him that discretion is the better part of valor, with the result that he dived head-formost into the stream beside me after giving vent to a series of ferocious growls, which had no more effect upon hyenas belest than might a sweet smile upon an enraged tusker. Afterward I shot the beast, and knobs had a feast while I dressed, for he had become quite a raw meat eater during our numerous hunting expeditions upon which we always gave him a portion of the kill. Whitely and Olson were up and dressed when we returned, and we all sat down to a good breakfast. I could not but wonder at Lissa's absence from the table, for she had always been one of the earliest risers in camp, so about nine o'clock, becoming apprehensive, unless she might be in

32:26disposed, I went to the door of her room and knocked. I received no response, though I finally pounded with all my strength. Then I turned the knob and entered only to find that she was not there. Her bed had been occupied, and her clothing lay where she had placed it the previous night upon retiring, but less was gone. To say that I was distracted with terror would be to put it mildly, though I knew she could not be in camp, I searched every square inch of the compound, and all the buildings, yet without a veil. It was Whitely who discovered the first clue, a huge human-like footprint in the soft earth beside the spring, and indications of a struggle in the mud. Then I found a tiny hankerchief close to the outer wall. Lissa had been stolen. It was all too plain. Some hideous member of the eight-man tribe had entered the fort and carried her off. While I stood stunned and horrified at the frightful evidence before me,

33:28there came from the direction of the Great Lake an increasing sound that rose to the volume of a shriek. We all looked up as the noise approached, apparently just above us, and a moment later, there followed a terrific explosion which hurled us to the ground. When we clamored to our feet, we saw a large section of the west wall torn and shattered. It was Oldson who first recovered from his days sufficiently to guess the explanation of the phenomenon. A shell, he cried, and, darling, no shells in Caspar, besides what's on the U-33, the dusty bushes of shell in the fort. Come on! And he grasped his rifle and started on a run toward the lake. It was over two miles, but we did not pause until the harbor was in view. And still we could not see the lake because of the sandstone cliffs which intervened. We ran as fast as we could, round the lower end of the harbor, scrambled up the cliffs, and at last stood upon their summit in full view of the lake. Far away down the coast,

34:30toward the river through which we had come to reach the lake, we saw upon the surface the outline of the U-33, black smoke vomiting from her funnel. Bon Shunverts had succeeded in refining the oil. The cur had broken his every pledge, and was leaving us there to our fates. He had even shelled the fort as a parting compliment, nor could anything have been more truly pressioned than this leave-taking of the barren Friedrich Bon Shunverts. Oldson, whitely, wilts, and thy stood for a moment, looking at one another. It seemed incredible that man could be so perfidious that we had really seen with our own eyes the thing that we had seen, but when we returned to the fort, the shattered wall gave us ample evidence that there was no mistake. Then we began to speculate as to whether it had been an eight-man or a pression that had abducted less. From what we knew upon Shunverts we would not have been surprised at anything from him. But the footprints by the springs seemed indisputable evidence

35:35that one of Capron's undeveloped men had borne off the girl I loved. As soon as I had assured myself that such was the case, I made my preparations to follow and rescue her. Oldson, whitely, and wiltson each wished to accompany me, but I told them that they were needed here, since with Bradley's party still absent, and the Germans gone, it was necessary that we conserve our force as far as might be possible. End of chapter 7 Chapter 8 of the Land That Time Forgot This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org, recording by Ralph Snellson. The Land That Time Forgot By Edgar Rice Burles. Chapter 8 It was a sad leave-taking, as in silence I shook hands with each of the three remaining

36:41men. Even poor knobs appeared dejected as we quit the compound and set out upon the well-marked spore of the abductor. Not once did I turn my eyes backward toward Fort Dinosaur. I have not looked upon it since, nor in all likelihood shall I ever look upon it again. The trail led northwest until it reached the western end of the sandstone cliffs to the north of the fork. There it ran into a well-defined path which wound northward into a country we had not as yet explored. It was a beautiful gently rolling country, broken by occasional outcroppings of sandstone, and by patches of dense forest relieved by open park-like stretches and broad metals were on grazed countless herbivorous animals. Red deer, R.O.X., an infinite variety of antelope, and at least three distinct species of horse, the latter ranging in size from a creature about as large as knobs to a magnificent animal 14 to 16 hands high. These creatures fed together

37:47in perfect amity. Nor did they show any great indications of terror when knobs and eye approach. They moved out of our way and kept their eyes upon us until we had passed, and then they resumed their feeding. The path led straight across the clearing into another forest, lying upon the verge of which I saw a bit of white. It appeared to stand out in marked contrast and incongruity to all its surroundings, and when I stopped to examine it I found that it was a small strip of muslin, part of the hem of a garment. At once I was all excitement, for I knew that it was assigned left by list that she had been carried this way. It was a tiny bit torn from the hem of the undergarment that she wore in lieu of the night-road she had lost with the sinking of the liner. Crushing the bit of fabric to my lips, I pressed on even more rapidly than before, because I now knew that I was upon the right trail, and but up to this point, at least, still had lived. I made over twenty miles that day, where I was now hardened to fatigue,

38:53and accustomed to long hikes, having spent considerable time hunting and exploring in the immediate vicinity of camp. A dozen times that day was my life threatened by fearsome creatures of the earth or sky, though I could not but note that the farther north I traveled, the fewer were the great dinosaurs, though they still persisted in lesser numbers. On the other hand, the quantity of ruminants and the variety and frequency of carnivorous animals increased, each square mile of cast back harboured its terrors. At intervals along the way I found bits of muslin, and often they reassured me when otherwise I should have been doubtful of the trail to take where two crossed, or where there were forts, as occurred at several points. And so, as night was drawing on, I came to the southern end of a line of cliffs loftier than any I had seen before, and as I approached them, there was, wafted to my nostrils, the pungent aroma of wood smoke.

39:54What could it mean? There could, to my mind, be but a single solution. Man abided close by, a higher order of man than we had had yet seen, other than arm than the Andertal man. I wondered again, as I had so many times that day, if it had not been arm who stole this. Cautiously, I approached the flank of the cliffs, where they terminated in an abrupt escartment, as though some all-powerful hand had broken off a great section of rock and set it upon the surface of the earth. It was now quite dark, and as I crept around the edge of the cliff, I saw, at a little distance, a great fire, around which were many figures, apparently human figures, cautioning knobs to silence, and he had learned many lessons in the value of obedience, since we had entered task-pack. I slunk forward, taking advantage of whatever cover I could find, until from behind a bush I could distinctly see the creatures assembled by the fire.

40:55They were human, and yet not human. I should say that they were a little higher in the scale of evolution than arm, possibly occupying a place of evolution between that, within the Andertal man, and what is known as the Gremaldi race. Their features were distinctly negroid, though their skins were white. A considerable portion of both torso and limbs were covered with short hair, and their physical proportions were in many aspects eight-like, though not so much so, as were arms. They carried themselves in a more erect position, although their arms were considerably longer than those of the Neanderthal man. As I watched them, I saw that they possessed a language, that they had knowledge of fire, and that they carried, besides the wooden club of arm, a thing which resembled a crude stone hatchet. Evidently they were very low in the scale of humanity, but they were a step upward from those I had previously seen in task-pack. But what interested me most was this slender figure of a dainty girl, clad only in a thin bit of

42:00muslin which scarce covered her knees, a bit of muslin torn and ragged about the lore him. It was less, and she was alive, and so far as I could see unharmed. A huge brute with thick lips and prognosis jaws stood at her shoulder. He was talking loudly and gesticulating wildly. I was close enough to hear his words, which were similar to the language of arm, though much fuller, for there were many words I could not understand. However, I caught the gist of what he was saying, which in effect was that he had found and captured this galo, that she was his, and that he defied anyone to question his right possession. It appeared to me, as I afterward learned was the fact, that I was witnessing the most primitive of marriage ceremonies. The assembled members of the tribe looked on, and listened in a sort of doll in perfunctory apathy. For the speaker was by far the mightiest of the clan. There seemed no one to dispute his claims when he said, or rather shouted,

43:04instantorian tones. I am tall. This is my she. Who wishes her more than tall? I do, I said, in the language of arm, and I stepped out into the firelight before them. This gave a little cry of joy and started toward me, but saw it rushed her arm and dragged her back. Who are you, shrieks off? I kill, I kill, I kill. The she is mine, I replied, and I have come to claim her. I kill if you do not let her come to me, and I raised my pistol to a level with his heart. Of course, the creature had no conception of the purpose of the strange little implement, which I was poking toward him, with a sound that was half human and half the growl of a wild beast. He sprang toward me. I aimed at his heart and fired, and as he sprawled headlonged to the ground, the others of his tribe, overcome by fright at the report of the pistol, scattered toward the cliffs,

44:05while lists without stretched arms ran toward me. As I crust her to me, there rose from the black night behind us, and then to our right, and to our left, a series of frightful screams and shrieks, bellowings, roars and growls. It was the night life of this jungle-world, coming into its own, the huge carnivorous, nocturnal beast, which make the nights of cast-back hideous. A shattering sob ran through the list's figure, oh God, she cried, give me the strength to endure for his sake. I saw that she was upon the verge of a breakdown, after all that she must have passed through, of fear and horror that day, and I tried to quiet, and reassure her as best I might. But even to me the future looked most unpromising, for what chance of life had we against the frightful hunters of the night, who even now were prowling closer to us. Now I turned to see what had become of the tribe, and in the fitful glare of

45:05the fire, I perceived that the face of the cliff was pitted, with large holes into which the man things were clamoring. Come, I said to this, we must follow them. We cannot last a half hour out here. We must find a cave. Already we could see the blazing green eyes of the hungry carnivorous, I seized a brand from the fire, and hurled it out into the night, and there came back an answering chorus of savage and rageful protest, at the eyes vanished for a short time. Selecting a burning branch for each of us, we advanced toward the cliffs, where we were met by angry threats. They will kill us, at least. We may as well keep on in search of another refuge. They will not kill us, so surely as will those others out there, I replied. I'm going to seek shelter in one of these caves, nor will the man things prevent. And I kept on in the direction of the cliff's base. A huge creature stood upon a ledge and brandished his own hatchet.

46:07Come, and I will kill you and take the she, he boasted. You saw how sawfared when he would have kept my she, I replied in his own tongue. That's will you fare, and on your fellows, if you do not permit us to come in peace among you out of the dangers of the night. Go north, he screamed. Go north among the gallows, and we will not harm you. Someday will we be gallows. But now we are not. You do not be down among us. Go away, or we will kill you. The she may remain if she is afraid, and we will keep her, but the he must depart. The he won't depart, I replied, and approach still nearer. Rough and narrow ledges formed by nature gave access to the upper caves. A man might scale them if unhampered and unhindered, but to clamber upward in the face of a belligerent tribe of half-men, and with a girl to assist, was beyond my

47:08capability. I do not fear, oh, scream the creature. You were close to star, but I am far above you. You cannot harm me, as you harmed saw. Go away. I placed a foot upon the lowest ledge and clamoured upward, reaching down and pulling less to my side. Already I felt safer. Soon we would be out of danger of the beasts again closing in upon us. The man above us raised his stone hatchet above his head, and leaped lightly down to meet us. His position above me gave him a great advantage, or at least so he probably thought, for he came with every show of confidence. I hated to do it, but there seemed no other way, and so I shot him down as I had shot down saw. You see, I cried to his fellows, that I can kill you wherever you may be. A long way off I can kill you as well as I can kill you nearby. Let us come among you in peace. I will not harm you if you do not harm us. We will take a cave high up. Speak. Come, burn, said one. If you will not harm us, you may come.

48:18Take size hall which lies above you. The creature showed us the mouth of a black cave, but he kept at a distance while he did it, and less followed me as I crawled into explore. I had matches with me, and in the light of one I found a small cavern with a flat roof and floor which followed the cleavage of the straighter. Pieces of the roof had fallen at some long distant date, as was evidenced by the depth of the filth and rubble in which they were embedded. Even a superficial examination revealed the fact that nothing had ever been attempted that might have improved the livability of the cavern. Nor should I judge had it ever been cleaned out. With considerable difficulty I loosened some of the larger pieces of broken rock which littered the floor and placed them as a barrier before the doorway. It was too dark to do more than this. I then gave less a piece of dried meat, and sitting inside the entrance we dined as must have some of our ancient forebears at the dawning of the age of man, while far below the open diapason

49:26of the savage night rose weird and horrifying to our ears. In the light of the great fire still burning we could see huge, skulking forms, and in the blackered background countless flaming eyes. List shattered, and I put my arm around her and drew her to me, and thus we sat throughout the hot night. She told me of her abduction and of the fright she had undergone, and together we thanked God that she had come through unharmed, because the great brute had dared not pause along the danger infested way. She said that they had but just reached the cliffs when I arrived, for on several occasions her captor had been forced to take to the trees with her to escape the clutches of some hungry cave lion or saber-toothed tiger, and that twice they had been obliged to remain for considerable periods before the beasts had retired. Nobs by dint of much scrambling and one or two narrow escapes from death had managed to follow us up the cliff and was now curled between

50:28me and the doorway, having devoured a piece of the dried meat which he seemed to relish immensely. He was the first to fall asleep, but I imagine we must have followed suit soon, for we were both tired. I had laid aside my ammunition belt and rifle, though both were close beside me, but my pistol I kept in my lap beneath my hand. However, we were not disturbed during the night, and when I awoke the sun was shining on the treetops in the distance. This is head had drooped to my breast, and my arm was still about her. Shortly afterward lest awoke, and for a moment she could not seem to comprehend her situation. She looked at me and then turned and glanced at my arm about her, and then she seemed quite suddenly to realize the scantiness of her apparel and drew away, covering her face with her palms and blushing furiously. I drew her back toward me and kissed her, and then she threw her arms about my neck and wept softly in mute surrender to the inevitable. It was an hour later, before the tribe began to stir about,

51:33we watched them from our apartment, as lists called it, neither men nor women wore any sort of clothing or ornaments, and they all seemed to be about of an age, nor were there any babies or children among them. This was, to us, the strangest and most inexplicable of facts, but it recalled us that though we had seen many of the lesser developed wild people of gas-back, we had never yet seen a child, or an old man, or woman. After a while it became less suspicious of us, and then quite friendly in their brutish way. They picked at the fabric of our clothing, which seemed to interest them, and examined my rifle and pistol and the ammunition in the belt around my waist. I showed them the thermos bottle, and when I poured a little water from it, they were delighted, thinking that it was a spring which I carried about with me, a never-failing source of water supply. One thing we both noticed among their other characteristics, they never laughed nor smiled, and then we remembered that arm had never done so either.

52:38I asked them if they knew them, but they said they did not. One of them said, back there we may have known him, and he jerked his head to the south. You came from back there, I asked. He looked at me, and surprised. We all come from there, he said. After a while we go there, and this time he jerked his head toward the north. Be galoos, he concluded. Many times now had we heard this reference to becoming galoos. Arm had spoken of it many times. Listen, I decided that it was a sort of original religious conviction as much a part of them as their instinct for self-preservation, a primal acceptance of a hereafter and a holier state. It was a brilliant theory, but it was all wrong. I know it now, and how far we were from guessing the wonderful, the miraculous, the gigantic truth, which even yet, I may only guess at, the thing that sets Caspac apart from all the rest of the world far more

53:40definitely than her isolated geographical position or her impregnable barrier of giant cliffs. If I could live to return to civilization, I should have meat for the clergy and the layman to chew upon for years, and for the evolutionist too. After breakfast the men set out to hunt, while the women went to a large pool of warm water covered with a green scum, and filled with billions of tadpoles. They waited in to where the water was about a foot deep, and lay down in the mud. They remained there for one to two hours, and then returned to the cliff. While we were with them we saw this same thing repeated every morning, but though we asked them why they did it, we could get no reply, which was intelligible to us. All about safeed in way of explanation was the single word, atta. They tried to get lists to go in with them, and could not understand why she refused. After the first day I went hunting with the men, leaving my pistol and knobs with

54:43lists, but she never had to use them, for no reptile or beast ever approached the pool while the women were there, nor so far as we know, at other times. There was no spore, a wild beast in the sock mud along the banks, and the water certainly didn't look fit to drink. This tribe lived largely upon the smaller animals which they bowled over with their stone hatchets after making a wide circle about their query and driving it so that it had to pass close to one of their number. The little horses and the smaller antelope they secured in sufficient numbers to support life, and they also ate numerous varieties of fruits and vegetables. They never brought in more than sufficient food for their immediate needs, but why bother? The food problem of caspac is not one to cause worry to her inhabitants. The fourth day list told me that she thought she felt equal to attempting the returned journey on the moral, and so I set out for the hunt in high spirits, for I was anxious to return to the fort, and learn of Bradley and his party had returned,

55:47and what had been the result of his expedition. I also wanted to relieve their minds as to list and myself, as I knew that they must have already given us up for dead. It was a cloudy day, though warm, as it always is in caspac, it seemed odd to realize that just a few miles away winter lay upon the storm-tossed ocean, and that snow might be falling all about Caprona, but no snow could ever penetrate the damp, hot atmosphere of the great crater. We had to go quite a bit farther than usual before we could surround a little bunch of antelope, and as I was helping drive them, I saw a fine red deer a couple of hundred yards behind me. He must have been asleep in the long grass, for I saw him rise and look about him in a bewildered way, and then I raised my gun and let him have it. He dropped, and I ran forward to finish him with the long thin knife, which one of the men had given me, but just as I reached him, he staggered to his feet and ran on for another two hundred

56:48yards when I dropped him again. Once more was this repeated before I was able to reach him and cut his throat. Then I looked around for my companions as I wanted them to come and carry the meat home, but I could see nothing of them. I called a few times and waited, but there was no response, and no one came. At last I became disgusted, and cutting off all the meat that I could conveniently carry, I set off in the direction of the cliffs. I must have gone about a mile before the truth dawned upon me. I was lost, hopelessly lost. The entire sky was still completely blotted out by dense clouds, nor was there any landmark visible by which I might have taken my bearings. I went on in the direction I thought was south, but which I now imagine must have been about due north, without detecting a single familiar object. In a dense wood I suddenly stumbled upon a thing which at first filled me with hope, and later with the most utter despair and dejection.

57:51It was a little mound of new-turned-earth sprinkled with flowers long since withered, and at one end was a flat slab of sandstone stuck in the ground. It was a grave, and it meant for me that I had last stumbled into a country inhabited by human beings. I would find them. They would direct me to the cliffs. Perhaps they would accompany me and take us back with them to their abodes, to the abodes of men and women like ourselves. My hopes and my imagination ran riot in the few yards I had to cover to reach that lonely grave, and stoop that I might read the rude character scratched upon the simple headstone. This is what I read. Here lies John Tippet, Englishman, killed by Tyrannosaurus, 10 September, 181916, R.I.P. Tippet, it seemed incredible. Tippet lying here in this gloomy wood. Tippet dead. He had been a good man, but the personal loss was not what affected me. It was the fact that this

58:55silent grave gave evidence that Bradley had come this far upon his expedition, and that he too probably was lost, for it was not our intention that he should be long gone. If I had stumbled upon the grave of one of the party, was it not within reason to believe that the bones of the others lay scattered somewhere near end of chapter 8. Stock composite decking from top brands like Trex, Timbertech, and Decorators. Plus, get a free DeWalt 20 Volt Max 5-Ampire Battery when you buy a Select DeWalt tool. The decks stacked in your favor with Brands Pro's Trust. Our best lineup is here and lows. Valor through 422, while supplies last, selection varies by location.