The Lost World
within sight, while I knew that the creature behind me could tear down
an ordinary tree as though it were a reed. My only possible chance lay
in flight. I could not move swiftly over the rough, broken ground, but
as I looked round me in despair I saw a well-marked, hard-beaten path
which ran across in front of me. We had seen several of the sort, the
runs of various wild beasts, during our expeditions. Along this I
could perhaps hold my own, for I was a fast runner, and in excellent
condition. Flinging away my useless gun, I set myself to do such a
half-mile as I have never done before or since. My limbs ached, my
chest heaved, I felt that my throat would burst for want of air, and
yet with that horror behind me I ran and I ran and ran. At last I
paused, hardly able to move. For a moment I thought that I had thrown
him off. The path lay still behind me. And then suddenly, with a
crashing and a rending, a thudding of giant feet and a panting of
monster lungs the beast was upon me once more. He was at my very
heels. I was lost.
Madman that I was to linger so long before I fled! Up to then he had
hunted by scent, and his movement was slow. But he had actually seen
me as I started to run. From then onwards he had hunted by sight, for
the path showed him where I had gone. Now, as he came round the curve,
he was springing in great bounds. The moonlight shone upon his huge
projecting eyes, the row of enormous teeth in his open mouth, and the
gleaming fringe of claws upon his short, powerful forearms. With a
scream of terror I turned and rushed wildly down the path. Behind me
the thick, gasping breathing of the creature sounded louder and louder.
His heavy footfall was beside me. Every instant I expected to feel his
grip upon my back. And then suddenly there came a crash--I was falling
through space, and everything beyond was darkness and rest.
As I emerged from my unconsciousness--which could not, I think, have
lasted more than a few minutes--I was aware of a most dreadful and
penetrating smell. Putting out my hand in the darkness I came upon
something which felt like a huge lump of meat, while my other hand
closed upon a large bone. Up above me there was a circle of starlit
sky, which showed me that I was lying at the bottom of a deep pit.
Slowly I staggered to my feet and felt myself all over. I was stiff
and sore from head to foot, but there was no limb which would not move,
no joint which would not bend. As the circumstances of my fall came
back into my confused brain, I looked up in terror, expecting to see
that dreadful head silhouetted against the paling sky. There was no
sign of the monster, however, nor could I hear any sound from above. I
began to walk slowly round, therefore, feeling in every direction to
find out what this strange place could be into which I had been so
opportunely precipitated.
It was, as I have said, a pit, with sharply-sloping walls and a level
bottom about twenty feet across. This bottom was littered with great
gobbets of flesh, most of which was in the last state of putridity.
The atmosphere was poisonous and horrible. After tripping and
stumbling over these lumps of decay, I came suddenly against something
hard, and I found that an upright post was firmly fixed in the center
of the hollow. It was so high that I could not reach the top of it
with my hand, and it appeared to be covered with grease.
Suddenly I remembered that I had a tin box of wax-vestas in my pocket.
Striking one of them, I was able at last to form some opinion of this
place into which I had fallen. There could be no question as to its
nature. It was a trap--made by the hand of man. The post in the
center, some nine feet long, was sharpened at the upper end, and was
black with the stale blood of the creatures who had been impaled upon
it. The remains scattered about were fragments of the victims, which
had been cut away in order to clear the stake for the next who might
blunder in. I remembered that Challenger had declared that man could
not exist upon the plateau, since with his feeble weapons he could not
hold his own against the monsters who roamed over it. But now it was
clear enough how it could be done. In their narrow-mouthed caves the
natives, whoever they might be, had refuges into which the huge
saurians could not penetrate, while with their developed brains they
were capable of setting such traps, covered with branches, across the
paths which marked the run of the animals as would destroy them in
spite of all their strength and activity. Man was always the master.
The sloping wall of the pit was not difficult for an active man to
climb, but I hesitated long before I trusted myself within reach of the
dreadful creature which had so nearly destroyed me. How did I know
that he was not lurking in the nearest clump of bushes, waiting for my
reappearance? I took heart, however, as I recalled a conversation
between Challenger and Summerlee upon the habits of the great saurians.
Both were agreed that the monsters were practically brainless, that
there was no room for reason in their tiny cranial cavities, and that
if they have disappeared from the rest of the world it was assuredly on
account of their own stupidity, which made it impossible for them to
adapt themselves to changing conditions.
To lie in wait for me now would mean that the creature had appreciated
what had happened to me, and this in turn would argue some power
connecting cause and effect. Surely it was more likely that a
brainless creature, acting solely by vague predatory instinct, would
give up the chase when I disappeared, and, after a pause of
astonishment, would wander away in search of some other prey? I
clambered to the edge of the pit and looked over. The stars were
fading, the sky was whitening, and the cold wind of morning blew
pleasantly upon my face. I could see or hear nothing of my enemy.
Slowly I climbed out and sat for a while upon the ground, ready to
spring back into my refuge if any danger should appear. Then,
reassured by the absolute stillness and by the growing light, I took my
courage in both hands and stole back along the path which I had come.
Some distance down it I picked up my gun, and shortly afterwards struck
the brook which was my guide. So, with many a frightened backward
glance, I made for home.
And suddenly there came something to remind me of my absent companions.
In the clear, still morning air there sounded far away the sharp, hard
note of a single rifle-shot. I paused and listened, but there was
nothing more. For a moment I was shocked at the thought that some
sudden danger might have befallen them. But then a simpler and more
natural explanation came to my mind. It was now broad daylight. No
doubt my absence had been noticed. They had imagined, that I was lost
in the woods, and had fired this shot to guide me home. It is true
that we had made a strict resolution against firing, but if it seemed
to them that I might be in danger they would not hesitate. It was for
me now to hurry on as fast as possible, and so to reassure them.
I was weary and spent, so my progress was not so fast as I wished; but
at last I came into regions which I knew. There was the swamp of the
pterodactyls upon my left; there in front of me was the glade of the
iguanodons. Now I was in the last belt of trees which separated me
from Fort Challenger. I raised my voice in a cheery shout to allay
their fears. No answering greeting came back to me. My heart sank at
that ominous stillness. I quickened my pace into a run. The zareba
rose before me, even as I had left it, but the gate was open. I rushed
in. In the cold, morning light it was a fearful sight which met my
eyes. Our effects were scattered in wild confusion over the ground; my
comrades had disappeared, and close to the smouldering ashes of our
fire the grass was stained crimson with a hideous pool of blood.
I was so stunned by this sudden shock that for a time I must have
nearly lost my reason. I have a vague recollection, as one remembers a
bad dream, of rushing about through the woods all round the empty camp,
calling wildly for my companions. No answer came back from the silent
shadows. The horrible thought that I might never see them again, that
I might find myself abandoned all alone in that dreadful place, with no
possible way of descending into the world below, that I might live and
die in that nightmare country, drove me to desperation. I could have
torn my hair and beaten my head in my despair. Only now did I realize
how I had learned to lean upon my companions, upon the serene
self-confidence of Challenger, and upon the masterful, humorous
coolness of Lord John Roxton. Without them I was like a child in the
dark, helpless and powerless. I did not know which way to turn or what
I should do first.
After a period, during which I sat in bewilderment, I set myself to try
and discover what sudden misfortune could have befallen my companions.
The whole disordered appearance of the camp showed that there had been
some sort of attack, and the rifle-shot no doubt marked the time when
it had occurred. That there should have been only one shot showed that
it had been all over in an instant. The rifles still lay upon the
ground, and one of them--Lord John's--had the empty cartridge in the
breech. The blankets of Challenger and of Summerlee beside the fire
suggested that they had been asleep at the time. The cases of
ammunition and of food were scattered about in a wild litter, together
with our unfortunate cameras and plate-carriers, but none of them were
missing. On the other hand, all the exposed provisions--and I
remembered that there were a considerable quantity of them--were gone.
They were animals, then, and not natives, who had made the inroad, for
surely the latter would have left nothing behind.
But if animals, or some single terrible animal, then what had become of
my comrades? A ferocious beast would surely have destroyed them and
left their remains. It is true that there was that one hideous pool of
blood, which told of violence. Such a monster as had pursued me during
the night could have carried away a victim as easily as a cat would a
mouse. In that case the others would have followed in pursuit. But
then they would assuredly have taken their rifles with them. The more
I tried to think it out with my confused and weary brain the less could
I find any plausible explanation. I searched round in the forest, but
could see no tracks which could help me to a conclusion. Once I lost
myself, and it was only by good luck, and after an hour of wandering,
that I found the camp once more.
Suddenly a thought came to me and brought some little comfort to my
heart. I was not absolutely alone in the world. Down at the bottom of
the cliff, and within call of me, was waiting the faithful Zambo. I
went to the edge of the plateau and looked over. Sure enough, he was
squatting among his blankets beside his fire in his little camp. But,
to my amazement, a second man was seated in front of him. For an
instant my heart leaped for joy, as I thought that one of my comrades
had made his way safely down. But a second glance dispelled the hope.
The rising sun shone red upon the man's skin. He was an Indian. I
shouted loudly and waved my handkerchief. Presently Zambo looked up,
waved his hand, and turned to ascend the pinnacle. In a short time he
was standing close to me and listening with deep distress to the story
which I told him.
"Devil got them for sure, Massa Malone," said he. "You got into the
devil's country, sah, and he take you all to himself. You take advice,
Massa Malone, and come down quick, else he get you as well."
"How can I come down, Zambo?"