chapter ix"who could have foreseen it?" a dreadful thing has happened to us.who could have foreseen it? i cannot foresee any end to our troubles. it may be that we are condemned to spendour whole lives in this strange, inaccessible place. i am still so confused that i can hardlythink clearly of the facts of the present or of the chances of the future.to my astounded senses the one seems most terrible and the other as black as night. no men have ever found themselves in aworse position; nor is there any use in
disclosing to you our exact geographicalsituation and asking our friends for a relief party. even if they could send one, our fate willin all human probability be decided long before it could arrive in south america.we are, in truth, as far from any human aid as if we were in the moon. if we are to win through, it is only ourown qualities which can save us. i have as companions three remarkable men,men of great brain-power and of unshaken courage. there lies our one and only hope.it is only when i look upon the untroubled
faces of my comrades that i see someglimmer through the darkness. outwardly i trust that i appear asunconcerned as they. inwardly i am filled with apprehension. let me give you, with as much detail as ican, the sequence of events which have led us to this catastrophe. when i finished my last letter i statedthat we were within seven miles from an enormous line of ruddy cliffs, whichencircled, beyond all doubt, the plateau of which professor challenger spoke. their height, as we approached them, seemedto me in some places to be greater than he
had stated--running up in parts to at leasta thousand feet--and they were curiously striated, in a manner which is, i believe,characteristic of basaltic upheavals. something of the sort is to be seen insalisbury crags at edinburgh. the summit showed every sign of a luxuriantvegetation, with bushes near the edge, and farther back many high trees.there was no indication of any life that we could see. that night we pitched our camp immediatelyunder the cliff--a most wild and desolate spot. the crags above us were not merelyperpendicular, but curved outwards at the
top, so that ascent was out of thequestion. close to us was the high thin pinnacle ofrock which i believe i mentioned earlier in this narrative. it is like a broad red church spire, thetop of it being level with the plateau, but a great chasm gaping between.on the summit of it there grew one high tree. both pinnacle and cliff were comparativelylow--some five or six hundred feet, i should think. "it was on that," said professorchallenger, pointing to this tree, "that
the pterodactyl was perched.i climbed half-way up the rock before i shot him. i am inclined to think that a goodmountaineer like myself could ascend the rock to the top, though he would, ofcourse, be no nearer to the plateau when he had done so." as challenger spoke of his pterodactyl iglanced at professor summerlee, and for the first time i seemed to see some signs of adawning credulity and repentance. there was no sneer upon his thin lips, but,on the contrary, a gray, drawn look of excitement and amazement.challenger saw it, too, and reveled in the
first taste of victory. "of course," said he, with his clumsy andponderous sarcasm, "professor summerlee will understand that when i speak of apterodactyl i mean a stork--only it is the kind of stork which has no feathers, a leathery skin, membranous wings, and teethin its jaws." he grinned and blinked and bowed until hiscolleague turned and walked away. in the morning, after a frugal breakfast ofcoffee and manioc--we had to be economical of our stores--we held a council of war asto the best method of ascending to the plateau above us.
challenger presided with a solemnity as ifhe were the lord chief justice on the bench. picture him seated upon a rock, his absurdboyish straw hat tilted on the back of his head, his supercilious eyes dominating usfrom under his drooping lids, his great black beard wagging as he slowly defined our present situation and our futuremovements. beneath him you might have seen the threeof us--myself, sunburnt, young, and vigorous after our open-air tramp;summerlee, solemn but still critical, behind his eternal pipe; lord john, as keen
as a razor-edge, with his supple, alertfigure leaning upon his rifle, and his eager eyes fixed eagerly upon the speaker. behind us were grouped the two swarthyhalf-breeds and the little knot of indians, while in front and above us towered thosehuge, ruddy ribs of rocks which kept us from our goal. "i need not say," said our leader, "that onthe occasion of my last visit i exhausted every means of climbing the cliff, andwhere i failed i do not think that anyone else is likely to succeed, for i amsomething of a mountaineer. i had none of the appliances of a rock-climber with me, but i have taken the
precaution to bring them now. with their aid i am positive i could climbthat detached pinnacle to the summit; but so long as the main cliff overhangs, it isvain to attempt ascending that. i was hurried upon my last visit by theapproach of the rainy season and by the exhaustion of my supplies. these considerations limited my time, and ican only claim that i have surveyed about six miles of the cliff to the east of us,finding no possible way up. what, then, shall we now do?" "there seems to be only one reasonablecourse," said professor summerlee.
"if you have explored the east, we shouldtravel along the base of the cliff to the west, and seek for a practicable point forour ascent." "that's it," said lord john. "the odds are that this plateau is of nogreat size, and we shall travel round it until we either find an easy way up it, orcome back to the point from which we started." "i have already explained to our youngfriend here," said challenger (he has a way of alluding to me as if i were a schoolchild ten years old), "that it is quite impossible that there should be an easy way
up anywhere, for the simple reason that ifthere were the summit would not be isolated, and those conditions would notobtain which have effected so singular an interference with the general laws ofsurvival. yet i admit that there may very well beplaces where an expert human climber may reach the summit, and yet a cumbrous andheavy animal be unable to descend. it is certain that there is a point wherean ascent is possible." "how do you know that, sir?" askedsummerlee, sharply. "because my predecessor, the american maplewhite, actually made such an ascent. how otherwise could he have seen themonster which he sketched in his notebook?"
"there you reason somewhat ahead of theproved facts," said the stubborn summerlee. "i admit your plateau, because i have seenit; but i have not as yet satisfied myself that it contains any form of lifewhatever." "what you admit, sir, or what you do notadmit, is really of inconceivably small importance. i am glad to perceive that the plateauitself has actually obtruded itself upon your intelligence." he glanced up at it, and then, to ouramazement, he sprang from his rock, and, seizing summerlee by the neck, he tiltedhis face into the air.
"now sir!" he shouted, hoarse withexcitement. "do i help you to realize that the plateaucontains some animal life?" i have said that a thick fringe of greenoverhung the edge of the cliff. out of this there had emerged a black,glistening object. as it came slowly forth and overhung thechasm, we saw that it was a very large snake with a peculiar flat, spade-likehead. it wavered and quivered above us for aminute, the morning sun gleaming upon its sleek, sinuous coils.then it slowly drew inwards and disappeared.
summerlee had been so interested that hehad stood unresisting while challenger tilted his head into the air.now he shook his colleague off and came back to his dignity. "i should be glad, professor challenger,"said he, "if you could see your way to make any remarks which may occur to you withoutseizing me by the chin. even the appearance of a very ordinary rockpython does not appear to justify such a liberty.""but there is life upon the plateau all the same," his colleague replied in triumph. "and now, having demonstrated thisimportant conclusion so that it is clear to
anyone, however prejudiced or obtuse, i amof opinion that we cannot do better than break up our camp and travel to westwarduntil we find some means of ascent." the ground at the foot of the cliff wasrocky and broken so that the going was slow and difficult. suddenly we came, however, upon somethingwhich cheered our hearts. it was the site of an old encampment, withseveral empty chicago meat tins, a bottle labeled "brandy," a broken tin-opener, anda quantity of other travelers' debris. a crumpled, disintegrated newspaperrevealed itself as the chicago democrat, though the date had been obliterated."not mine," said challenger.
"it must be maple white's." lord john had been gazing curiously at agreat tree-fern which overshadowed the encampment."i say, look at this," said he. "i believe it is meant for a sign-post." a slip of hard wood had been nailed to thetree in such a way as to point to the westward."most certainly a sign-post," said challenger. "what else?finding himself upon a dangerous errand, our pioneer has left this sign so that anyparty which follows him may know the way he
has taken. perhaps we shall come upon some otherindications as we proceed." we did indeed, but they were of a terribleand most unexpected nature. immediately beneath the cliff there grew aconsiderable patch of high bamboo, like that which we had traversed in our journey. many of these stems were twenty feet high,with sharp, strong tops, so that even as they stood they made formidable spears. we were passing along the edge of thiscover when my eye was caught by the gleam of something white within it.thrusting in my head between the stems, i
found myself gazing at a fleshless skull. the whole skeleton was there, but the skullhad detached itself and lay some feet nearer to the open. with a few blows from the machetes of ourindians we cleared the spot and were able to study the details of this old tragedy. only a few shreds of clothes could still bedistinguished, but there were the remains of boots upon the bony feet, and it wasvery clear that the dead man was a european. a gold watch by hudson, of new york, and achain which held a stylographic pen, lay
among the bones.there was also a silver cigarette-case, with "j. c., from a. e. s.," upon the lid. the state of the metal seemed to show thatthe catastrophe had occurred no great time before."who can he be?" asked lord john. "poor devil! every bone in his body seemsto be broken." "and the bamboo grows through his smashedribs," said summerlee. "it is a fast-growing plant, but it issurely inconceivable that this body could have been here while the canes grew to betwenty feet in length." "as to the man's identity," said professorchallenger, "i have no doubt whatever upon
that point. as i made my way up the river before ireached you at the fazenda i instituted very particular inquiries about maplewhite. at para they knew nothing. fortunately, i had a definite clew, forthere was a particular picture in his sketch-book which showed him taking lunchwith a certain ecclesiastic at rosario. this priest i was able to find, and thoughhe proved a very argumentative fellow, who took it absurdly amiss that i should pointout to him the corrosive effect which modern science must have upon his beliefs,
he none the less gave me some positiveinformation. maple white passed rosario four years ago,or two years before i saw his dead body. he was not alone at the time, but there wasa friend, an american named james colver, who remained in the boat and did not meetthis ecclesiastic. i think, therefore, that there can be nodoubt that we are now looking upon the remains of this james colver.""nor," said lord john, "is there much doubt as to how he met his death. he has fallen or been chucked from the top,and so been impaled. how else could he come by his broken bones,and how could he have been stuck through by
these canes with their points so high aboveour heads?" a hush came over us as we stood round theseshattered remains and realized the truth of lord john roxton's words.the beetling head of the cliff projected over the cane-brake. undoubtedly he had fallen from above.but had he fallen? had it been an accident? or--already ominous and terriblepossibilities began to form round that unknown land. we moved off in silence, and continued tocoast round the line of cliffs, which were
as even and unbroken as some of thosemonstrous antarctic ice-fields which i have seen depicted as stretching from horizon to horizon and towering high above the mast-heads of the exploring vessel. in five miles we saw no rift or break.and then suddenly we perceived something which filled us with new hope. in a hollow of the rock, protected fromrain, there was drawn a rough arrow in chalk, pointing still to the westwards."maple white again," said professor "he had some presentiment that worthyfootsteps would follow close behind him." "he had chalk, then?""a box of colored chalks was among the
effects i found in his knapsack. i remember that the white one was worn to astump." "that is certainly good evidence," saidsummerlee. "we can only accept his guidance and followon to the westward." we had proceeded some five more miles whenagain we saw a white arrow upon the rocks. it was at a point where the face of thecliff was for the first time split into a narrow cleft. inside the cleft was a second guidancemark, which pointed right up it with the tip somewhat elevated, as if the spotindicated were above the level of the
ground. it was a solemn place, for the walls wereso gigantic and the slit of blue sky so narrow and so obscured by a double fringeof verdure, that only a dim and shadowy light penetrated to the bottom. we had had no food for many hours, and werevery weary with the stony and irregular journey, but our nerves were too strung toallow us to halt. we ordered the camp to be pitched, however,and, leaving the indians to arrange it, we four, with the two half-breeds, proceededup the narrow gorge. it was not more than forty feet across atthe mouth, but it rapidly closed until it
ended in an acute angle, too straight andsmooth for an ascent. certainly it was not this which our pioneerhad attempted to indicate. we made our way back--the whole gorge wasnot more than a quarter of a mile deep--and then suddenly the quick eyes of lord johnfell upon what we were seeking. high up above our heads, amid the darkshadows, there was one circle of deeper gloom.surely it could only be the opening of a cave. the base of the cliff was heaped with loosestones at the spot, and it was not difficult to clamber up.when we reached it, all doubt was removed.
not only was it an opening into the rock,but on the side of it there was marked once again the sign of the arrow. here was the point, and this the means bywhich maple white and his ill-fated comrade had made their ascent. we were too excited to return to the camp,but must make our first exploration at once. lord john had an electric torch in hisknapsack, and this had to serve us as light. he advanced, throwing his little clearcirclet of yellow radiance before him,
while in single file we followed at hisheels. the cave had evidently been water-worn, thesides being smooth and the floor covered with rounded stones.it was of such a size that a single man could just fit through by stooping. for fifty yards it ran almost straight intothe rock, and then it ascended at an angle of forty-five. presently this incline became even steeper,and we found ourselves climbing upon hands and knees among loose rubble which slidfrom beneath us. suddenly an exclamation broke from lordroxton.
"it's blocked!" said he. clustering behind him we saw in the yellowfield of light a wall of broken basalt which extended to the ceiling."the roof has fallen in!" in vain we dragged out some of the pieces. the only effect was that the larger onesbecame detached and threatened to roll down the gradient and crush us. it was evident that the obstacle was farbeyond any efforts which we could make to remove it.the road by which maple white had ascended was no longer available.
too much cast down to speak, we stumbleddown the dark tunnel and made our way back to the camp. one incident occurred, however, before weleft the gorge, which is of importance in view of what came afterwards. we had gathered in a little group at thebottom of the chasm, some forty feet beneath the mouth of the cave, when a hugerock rolled suddenly downwards--and shot past us with tremendous force. it was the narrowest escape for one or allof us. we could not ourselves see whence the rockhad come, but our half-breed servants, who
were still at the opening of the cave, saidthat it had flown past them, and must therefore have fallen from the summit. looking upwards, we could see no sign ofmovement above us amidst the green jungle which topped the cliff. there could be little doubt, however, thatthe stone was aimed at us, so the incident surely pointed to humanity--and malevolenthumanity--upon the plateau. we withdrew hurriedly from the chasm, ourminds full of this new development and its bearing upon our plans. the situation was difficult enough before,but if the obstructions of nature were
increased by the deliberate opposition ofman, then our case was indeed a hopeless one. and yet, as we looked up at that beautifulfringe of verdure only a few hundreds of feet above our heads, there was not one ofus who could conceive the idea of returning to london until we had explored it to itsdepths. on discussing the situation, we determinedthat our best course was to continue to coast round the plateau in the hope offinding some other means of reaching the top. the line of cliffs, which had decreasedconsiderably in height, had already begun
to trend from west to north, and if wecould take this as representing the arc of a circle, the whole circumference could notbe very great. at the worst, then, we should be back in afew days at our starting-point. we made a march that day which totaled sometwo-and-twenty miles, without any change in our prospects. i may mention that our aneroid shows usthat in the continual incline which we have ascended since we abandoned our canoes wehave risen to no less than three thousand feet above sea-level. hence there is a considerable change bothin the temperature and in the vegetation.
we have shaken off some of that horribleinsect life which is the bane of tropical travel. a few palms still survive, and many tree-ferns, but the amazonian trees have been all left behind. it was pleasant to see the convolvulus, thepassion-flower, and the begonia, all reminding me of home, here among theseinhospitable rocks. there was a red begonia just the same coloras one that is kept in a pot in the window of a certain villa in streatham--but i amdrifting into private reminiscence. that night--i am still speaking of thefirst day of our circumnavigation of the
plateau--a great experience awaited us, andone which for ever set at rest any doubt which we could have had as to the wondersso near us. you will realize as you read it, my dearmr. mcardle, and possibly for the first time that the paper has not sent me on awild-goose chase, and that there is inconceivably fine copy waiting for the world whenever we have the professor'sleave to make use of it. i shall not dare to publish these articlesunless i can bring back my proofs to england, or i shall be hailed as thejournalistic munchausen of all time. i have no doubt that you feel the same wayyourself, and that you would not care to
stake the whole credit of the gazette uponthis adventure until we can meet the chorus of criticism and scepticism which sucharticles must of necessity elicit. so this wonderful incident, which wouldmake such a headline for the old paper, must still wait its turn in the editorialdrawer. and yet it was all over in a flash, andthere was no sequel to it, save in our own convictions.what occurred was this. lord john had shot an ajouti--which is asmall, pig-like animal--and, half of it having been given to the indians, we werecooking the other half upon our fire. there is a chill in the air after dark,and we had all drawn close to the blaze.
the night was moonless, but there were somestars, and one could see for a little distance across the plain. well, suddenly out of the darkness, out ofthe night, there swooped something with a swish like an aeroplane. the whole group of us were covered for aninstant by a canopy of leathery wings, and i had a momentary vision of a long, snake-like neck, a fierce, red, greedy eye, and a great snapping beak, filled, to myamazement, with little, gleaming teeth. the next instant it was gone--and so wasour dinner. a huge black shadow, twenty feet across,skimmed up into the air; for an instant the
monster wings blotted out the stars, andthen it vanished over the brow of the cliff above us. we all sat in amazed silence round thefire, like the heroes of virgil when the harpies came down upon them.it was summerlee who was the first to speak. "professor challenger," said he, in asolemn voice, which quavered with emotion, "i owe you an apology.sir, i am very much in the wrong, and i beg that you will forget what is past." it was handsomely said, and the two men forthe first time shook hands.
so much we have gained by this clear visionof our first pterodactyl. it was worth a stolen supper to bring twosuch men together. but if prehistoric life existed upon theplateau it was not superabundant, for we had no further glimpse of it during thenext three days. during this time we traversed a barren andforbidding country, which alternated between stony desert and desolate marshesfull of many wild-fowl, upon the north and east of the cliffs. from that direction the place is reallyinaccessible, and, were it not for a hardish ledge which runs at the very baseof the precipice, we should have had to
turn back. many times we were up to our waists in theslime and blubber of an old, semi-tropical swamp. to make matters worse, the place seemed tobe a favorite breeding-place of the jaracaca snake, the most venomous andaggressive in south america. again and again these horrible creaturescame writhing and springing towards us across the surface of this putrid bog, andit was only by keeping our shot-guns for ever ready that we could feel safe fromthem. one funnel-shaped depression in the morass,of a livid green in color from some lichen
which festered in it, will always remain asa nightmare memory in my mind. it seems to have been a special nest ofthese vermins, and the slopes were alive with them, all writhing in our direction,for it is a peculiarity of the jaracaca that he will always attack man at firstsight. there were too many for us to shoot, so wefairly took to our heels and ran until we were exhausted. i shall always remember as we looked backhow far behind we could see the heads and necks of our horrible pursuers rising andfalling amid the reeds. jaracaca swamp we named it in the map whichwe are constructing.
the cliffs upon the farther side had losttheir ruddy tint, being chocolate-brown in color; the vegetation was more scatteredalong the top of them, and they had sunk to three or four hundred feet in height, but in no place did we find any point wherethey could be ascended. if anything, they were more impossible thanat the first point where we had met them. their absolute steepness is indicated inthe photograph which i took over the stony desert. "surely," said i, as we discussed thesituation, "the rain must find its way down somehow.there are bound to be water-channels in the
rocks." "our young friend has glimpses oflucidity," said professor challenger, patting me upon the shoulder."the rain must go somewhere," i repeated. "he keeps a firm grip upon actuality. the only drawback is that we haveconclusively proved by ocular demonstration that there are no water channels down therocks." "where, then, does it go?" i persisted."i think it may be fairly assumed that if it does not come outwards it must runinwards."
"then there is a lake in the center." "so i should suppose.""it is more than likely that the lake may be an old crater," said summerlee."the whole formation is, of course, highly volcanic. but, however that may be, i should expectto find the surface of the plateau slope inwards with a considerable sheet of waterin the center, which may drain off, by some subterranean channel, into the marshes ofthe jaracaca swamp." "or evaporation might preserve anequilibrium," remarked challenger, and the two learned men wandered off into one oftheir usual scientific arguments, which
were as comprehensible as chinese to thelayman. on the sixth day we completed our firstcircuit of the cliffs, and found ourselves back at the first camp, beside the isolatedpinnacle of rock. we were a disconsolate party, for nothingcould have been more minute than our investigation, and it was absolutelycertain that there was no single point where the most active human being couldpossibly hope to scale the cliff. the place which maple white's chalk-markshad indicated as his own means of access was now entirely impassable. what were we to do now?our stores of provisions, supplemented by
our guns, were holding out well, but theday must come when they would need replenishment. in a couple of months the rains might beexpected, and we should be washed out of our camp. the rock was harder than marble, and anyattempt at cutting a path for so great a height was more than our time or resourceswould admit. no wonder that we looked gloomily at eachother that night, and sought our blankets with hardly a word exchanged. i remember that as i dropped off to sleepmy last recollection was that challenger
was squatting, like a monstrous bull-frog,by the fire, his huge head in his hands, sunk apparently in the deepest thought, and entirely oblivious to the good-night whichi wished him. but it was a very different challenger whogreeted us in the morning--a challenger with contentment and self-congratulationshining from his whole person. he faced us as we assembled for breakfastwith a deprecating false modesty in his eyes, as who should say, "i know that ideserve all that you can say, but i pray you to spare my blushes by not saying it." his beard bristled exultantly, his chestwas thrown out, and his hand was thrust
into the front of his jacket. so, in his fancy, may he see himselfsometimes, gracing the vacant pedestal in trafalgar square, and adding one more tothe horrors of the london streets. "eureka!" he cried, his teeth shiningthrough his beard. "gentlemen, you may congratulate me and wemay congratulate each other. the problem is solved." "you have found a way up?""i venture to think so." "and where?"for answer he pointed to the spire-like pinnacle upon our right.
our faces--or mine, at least--fell as wesurveyed it. that it could be climbed we had ourcompanion's assurance. but a horrible abyss lay between it and theplateau. "we can never get across," i gasped."we can at least all reach the summit," said he. "when we are up i may be able to show youthat the resources of an inventive mind are not yet exhausted." after breakfast we unpacked the bundle inwhich our leader had brought his climbing accessories.
from it he took a coil of the strongest andlightest rope, a hundred and fifty feet in length, with climbing irons, clamps, andother devices. lord john was an experienced mountaineer,and summerlee had done some rough climbing at various times, so that i was really thenovice at rock-work of the party; but my strength and activity may have made up formy want of experience. it was not in reality a very stiff task,though there were moments which made my hair bristle upon my head. the first half was perfectly easy, but fromthere upwards it became continually steeper until, for the last fifty feet, we wereliterally clinging with our fingers and
toes to tiny ledges and crevices in therock. i could not have accomplished it, nor couldsummerlee, if challenger had not gained the summit (it was extraordinary to see suchactivity in so unwieldy a creature) and there fixed the rope round the trunk of theconsiderable tree which grew there. with this as our support, we were soon ableto scramble up the jagged wall until we found ourselves upon the small grassyplatform, some twenty-five feet each way, which formed the summit. the first impression which i received wheni had recovered my breath was of the extraordinary view over the country whichwe had traversed.
the whole brazilian plain seemed to liebeneath us, extending away and away until it ended in dim blue mists upon thefarthest sky-line. in the foreground was the long slope,strewn with rocks and dotted with tree- ferns; farther off in the middle distance,looking over the saddle-back hill, i could just see the yellow and green mass of bamboos through which we had passed; andthen, gradually, the vegetation increased until it formed the huge forest whichextended as far as the eyes could reach, and for a good two thousand miles beyond. i was still drinking in this wonderfulpanorama when the heavy hand of the
professor fell upon my shoulder."this way, my young friend," said he; "vestigia nulla retrorsum. never look rearwards, but always to ourglorious goal." the level of the plateau, when i turned,was exactly that on which we stood, and the green bank of bushes, with occasionaltrees, was so near that it was difficult to realize how inaccessible it remained. at a rough guess the gulf was forty feetacross, but, so far as i could see, it might as well have been forty miles.i placed one arm round the trunk of the tree and leaned over the abyss.
far down were the small dark figures of ourservants, looking up at us. the wall was absolutely precipitous, as wasthat which faced me. "this is indeed curious," said the creakingvoice of professor summerlee. i turned, and found that he was examiningwith great interest the tree to which i clung. that smooth bark and those small, ribbedleaves seemed familiar to my eyes. "why," i cried, "it's a beech!""exactly," said summerlee. "a fellow-countryman in a far land." "not only a fellow-countryman, my goodsir," said challenger, "but also, if i may
be allowed to enlarge your simile, an allyof the first value. this beech tree will be our saviour." "by george!" cried lord john, "a bridge!""exactly, my friends, a bridge! it is not for nothing that i expended anhour last night in focusing my mind upon the situation. i have some recollection of once remarkingto our young friend here that g. e. c. is at his best when his back is to the wall.last night you will admit that all our backs were to the wall. but where will-power and intellect gotogether, there is always a way out.
a drawbridge had to be found which could bedropped across the abyss. behold it!" it was certainly a brilliant idea.the tree was a good sixty feet in height, and if it only fell the right way it wouldeasily cross the chasm. challenger had slung the camp axe over hisshoulder when he ascended. now he handed it to me."our young friend has the thews and sinews," said he. "i think he will be the most useful at thistask. i must beg, however, that you will kindlyrefrain from thinking for yourself, and
that you will do exactly what you aretold." under his direction i cut such gashes inthe sides of the trees as would ensure that it should fall as we desired. it had already a strong, natural tilt inthe direction of the plateau, so that the matter was not difficult.finally i set to work in earnest upon the trunk, taking turn and turn with lord john. in a little over an hour there was a loudcrack, the tree swayed forward, and then crashed over, burying its branches amongthe bushes on the farther side. the severed trunk rolled to the very edgeof our platform, and for one terrible
second we all thought it was over. it balanced itself, however, a few inchesfrom the edge, and there was our bridge to the unknown. all of us, without a word, shook hands withprofessor challenger, who raised his straw hat and bowed deeply to each in turn. "i claim the honor," said he, "to be thefirst to cross to the unknown land--a fitting subject, no doubt, for some futurehistorical painting." he had approached the bridge when lord johnlaid his hand upon his coat. "my dear chap," said he, "i really cannotallow it."
"cannot allow it, sir!" the head went back and the beard forward."when it is a matter of science, don't you know, i follow your lead because you are byway of bein' a man of science. but it's up to you to follow me when youcome into my department." "your department, sir?""we all have our professions, and soldierin' is mine. we are, accordin' to my ideas, invadin' anew country, which may or may not be chock- full of enemies of sorts. to barge blindly into it for want of alittle common sense and patience isn't my
notion of management."the remonstrance was too reasonable to be disregarded. challenger tossed his head and shrugged hisheavy shoulders. "well, sir, what do you propose?" "for all i know there may be a tribe ofcannibals waitin' for lunch-time among those very bushes," said lord john, lookingacross the bridge. "it's better to learn wisdom before you getinto a cookin'-pot; so we will content ourselves with hopin' that there is notrouble waitin' for us, and at the same time we will act as if there were.
malone and i will go down again, therefore,and we will fetch up the four rifles, together with gomez and the other. one man can then go across and the restwill cover him with guns, until he sees that it is safe for the whole crowd to comealong." challenger sat down upon the cut stump andgroaned his impatience; but summerlee and i were of one mind that lord john was ourleader when such practical details were in question. the climb was a more simple thing now thatthe rope dangled down the face of the worst part of the ascent.within an hour we had brought up the rifles
and a shot-gun. the half-breeds had ascended also, andunder lord john's orders they had carried up a bale of provisions in case our firstexploration should be a long one. we had each bandoliers of cartridges. "now, challenger, if you really insist uponbeing the first man in," said lord john, when every preparation was complete. "i am much indebted to you for yourgracious permission," said the angry professor; for never was a man sointolerant of every form of authority. "since you are good enough to allow it, ishall most certainly take it upon myself to
act as pioneer upon this occasion." seating himself with a leg overhanging theabyss on each side, and his hatchet slung upon his back, challenger hopped his wayacross the trunk and was soon at the other side. he clambered up and waved his arms in theair. "at last!" he cried; "at last!" i gazed anxiously at him, with a vagueexpectation that some terrible fate would dart at him from the curtain of greenbehind him. but all was quiet, save that a strange,many-colored bird flew up from under his
feet and vanished among the trees.summerlee was the second. his wiry energy is wonderful in so frail aframe. he insisted upon having two rifles slungupon his back, so that both professors were armed when he had made his transit. i came next, and tried hard not to lookdown into the horrible gulf over which i was passing. summerlee held out the butt-end of hisrifle, and an instant later i was able to grasp his hand.as to lord john, he walked across--actually walked without support!
he must have nerves of iron.and there we were, the four of us, upon the dreamland, the lost world, of maple white.to all of us it seemed the moment of our supreme triumph. who could have guessed that it was theprelude to our supreme disaster? let me say in a few words how the crushingblow fell upon us. we had turned away from the edge, and hadpenetrated about fifty yards of close brushwood, when there came a frightfulrending crash from behind us. with one impulse we rushed back the waythat we had come. the bridge was gone!
far down at the base of the cliff i saw, asi looked over, a tangled mass of branches and splintered trunk.it was our beech tree. had the edge of the platform crumbled andlet it through? for a moment this explanation was in allour minds. the next, from the farther side of therocky pinnacle before us a swarthy face, the face of gomez the half-breed, wasslowly protruded. yes, it was gomez, but no longer the gomezof the demure smile and the mask-like expression. here was a face with flashing eyes anddistorted features, a face convulsed with
hatred and with the mad joy of gratifiedrevenge. "lord roxton!" he shouted. "lord john roxton!""well," said our companion, "here i am." a shriek of laughter came across the abyss."yes, there you are, you english dog, and there you will remain! i have waited and waited, and now has comemy chance. you found it hard to get up; you will findit harder to get down. you cursed fools, you are trapped, everyone of you!" we were too astounded to speak.we could only stand there staring in
amazement. a great broken bough upon the grass showedwhence he had gained his leverage to tilt over our bridge.the face had vanished, but presently it was up again, more frantic than before. "we nearly killed you with a stone at thecave," he cried; "but this is better. it is slower and more terrible. your bones will whiten up there, and nonewill know where you lie or come to cover them.as you lie dying, think of lopez, whom you shot five years ago on the putomayo river.
i am his brother, and, come what will iwill die happy now, for his memory has been avenged."a furious hand was shaken at us, and then all was quiet. had the half-breed simply wrought hisvengeance and then escaped, all might have been well with him. it was that foolish, irresistible latinimpulse to be dramatic which brought his own downfall. roxton, the man who had earned himself thename of the flail of the lord through three countries, was not one who could be safelytaunted.
the half-breed was descending on thefarther side of the pinnacle; but before he could reach the ground lord john had runalong the edge of the plateau and gained a point from which he could see his man. there was a single crack of his rifle, and,though we saw nothing, we heard the scream and then the distant thud of the fallingbody. roxton came back to us with a face ofgranite. "i have been a blind simpleton," said he,bitterly, "it's my folly that has brought you all into this trouble. i should have remembered that these peoplehave long memories for blood-feuds, and
have been more upon my guard.""what about the other one? it took two of them to lever that tree overthe edge." "i could have shot him, but i let him go.he may have had no part in it. perhaps it would have been better if i hadkilled him, for he must, as you say, have lent a hand." now that we had the clue to his action,each of us could cast back and remember some sinister act upon the part of thehalf-breed--his constant desire to know our plans, his arrest outside our tent when he was over-hearing them, the furtive looks ofhatred which from time to time one or other
of us had surprised. we were still discussing it, endeavoring toadjust our minds to these new conditions, when a singular scene in the plain belowarrested our attention. a man in white clothes, who could only bethe surviving half-breed, was running as one does run when death is the pacemaker. behind him, only a few yards in his rear,bounded the huge ebony figure of zambo, our devoted negro. even as we looked, he sprang upon the backof the fugitive and flung his arms round his neck.they rolled on the ground together.
an instant afterwards zambo rose, looked atthe prostrate man, and then, waving his hand joyously to us, came running in ourdirection. the white figure lay motionless in themiddle of the great plain. our two traitors had been destroyed, butthe mischief that they had done lived after them. by no possible means could we get back tothe pinnacle. we had been natives of the world; now wewere natives of the plateau. the two things were separate and apart. there was the plain which led to thecanoes.
yonder, beyond the violet, hazy horizon,was the stream which led back to civilization. but the link between was missing.no human ingenuity could suggest a means of bridging the chasm which yawned betweenourselves and our past lives. one instant had altered the wholeconditions of our existence. it was at such a moment that i learned thestuff of which my three comrades were composed. they were grave, it is true, andthoughtful, but of an invincible serenity. for the moment we could only sit among thebushes in patience and wait the coming of
zambo. presently his honest black face topped therocks and his herculean figure emerged upon the top of the pinnacle."what i do now?" he cried. "you tell me and i do it." it was a question which it was easier toask than to answer. one thing only was clear.he was our one trusty link with the outside world. on no account must he leave us."no no!" he cried. "i not leave you.whatever come, you always find me here.
but no able to keep indians. already they say too much curupuri live onthis place, and they go home. now you leave them me no able to keepthem." it was a fact that our indians had shown inmany ways of late that they were weary of their journey and anxious to return. we realized that zambo spoke the truth, andthat it would be impossible for him to keep "make them wait till to-morrow, zambo," ishouted; "then i can send letter back by them.""very good, sarr! i promise they wait till to-morrow," saidthe negro.
"but what i do for you now?"there was plenty for him to do, and admirably the faithful fellow did it. first of all, under our directions, heundid the rope from the tree-stump and threw one end of it across to us. it was not thicker than a clothes-line, butit was of great strength, and though we could not make a bridge of it, we mightwell find it invaluable if we had any climbing to do. he then fastened his end of the rope to thepackage of supplies which had been carried up, and we were able to drag it across.this gave us the means of life for at least
a week, even if we found nothing else. finally he descended and carried up twoother packets of mixed goods--a box of ammunition and a number of other things,all of which we got across by throwing our rope to him and hauling it back. it was evening when he at last climbeddown, with a final assurance that he would keep the indians till next morning. and so it is that i have spent nearly thewhole of this our first night upon the plateau writing up our experiences by thelight of a single candle-lantern. we supped and camped at the very edge ofthe cliff, quenching our thirst with two
bottles of apollinaris which were in one ofthe cases. it is vital to us to find water, but ithink even lord john himself had had adventures enough for one day, and none ofus felt inclined to make the first push into the unknown. we forbore to light a fire or to make anyunnecessary sound. to-morrow (or to-day, rather, for it isalready dawn as i write) we shall make our first venture into this strange land. when i shall be able to write again--or ifi ever shall write again--i know not. meanwhile, i can see that the indians arestill in their place, and i am sure that
the faithful zambo will be here presentlyto get my letter. i only trust that it will come to hand. p.s.--the more i think the more desperatedoes our position seem. i see no possible hope of our return. if there were a high tree near the edge ofthe plateau we might drop a return bridge across, but there is none within fiftyyards. our united strength could not carry a trunkwhich would serve our purpose. the rope, of course, is far too short thatwe could descend by it. no, our position is hopeless--hopeless!