Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-02
Continued from page 2

our solution is to discover what that check
may be, and how it operates. | venture to
trust that we may have some future oppor-
tunity for the closer study of the carnivo-
rous dinosaurs
"And | venture to trust we may not |
observed
The professor only raised his great eye
brows, as the schoolmaster meets the
irrelevant observation of the naughty boy.
"Perhaps Professor Summerlee may have
an observation to make, he said, and the
two savants assembled together into some
rarehed scientific atmosphere where the pos
sibilities of a modification of the birth rate
were weighed against the decline of the food
supply as a check in the struggle for exist
ence.
That morning we mapped out small por-
ton of the plateau avoiding the swamp of
the pterodactyls and keeping to the east Of
our brook instead of to the west In that
direction the country was still thickly
wooded with so much underground that our
progress was very slow.
7 HAVE dwelt up to now upon the terrors
of Maple White Land; but there was
another side to the subject, for all that morn
ing we wandered among lovely flowers
mostly, as l observed, white or yellow in
color, these being, as our professors ex-
planned, the primitive flower shades. In
many places the ground was absolutely COW
cred with them, and as we walked ankle deep
on that wonderful yielding carpet, the scent
was almost Intoxicating in its sweetness and
intensity. The homely English bee buzzed
everywhere around US. Many of the trees
under which we passed had their branches
bowed down with fruit, some of which were
familiar sorts, while other varieties were
new. By observing which of them were
pecked by the birds, we avoided all danger
of poison, and added delicious variety to
our food reserve.
In the jungle which we traversed were nu-
merous hard trodden paths made by the
wild beasts, and in the more marshy places
we saw profusion of strange footmarks, in
Guiding many of these iguanodons Once in
a grove we observed several of these great
creatures grazing, and Lord Roxton, with
his glass, was able to report that they also
were spotted with asphalt, though in diff
ferent place than the one we had examined
in the morning. What this phenomenon
meant we could not imagine. We saw many
small animals, such as porcupines, scaly
anteater, and wild pig, piebald in color and
with long curved tuskS.
Once, through break in the trees, we saw
a clear shoulder of green hill some distance
away, and across this large, dun-colored
animal was travelling at considerable pace.
1t passed so swiftly that we were unable to
say what it was; but, if it were deer, as
was claimed by Lord Roxton, it must have
been as large as those monstrous Irish elk
which are still dug up from time to time in
the boys of my native land.
Ever since the mysterious visit which had
been paid to our camp, we always returned
to it with some misgivings. However, on
this occasion we found everything in order.
THAT evening we had grand discussion
upon our present situation and future
plans, which must describe at some length,
as it led to a new departure by which we
were enabled to gain more complete knowl-
edge of Maple White Land than might have
come in many weeks of exploring. 1t was
Summerlee who opened the debate. All day
he had been querulous in manner, and now
some remark of Lord Roxton's as to what
we should do on the morrow brought all his
bitterness to head.
@What we ought to be doing today, to-
morrow, and all the time" said he, "is find
ing some way out of the trap into which we
have fallen. You are all turning your brains
toward getting into this country. say that
we should be scheming how to get out of it.
Il am surprised, Sir, doomed Challenger,
stroking his majestic beard "that any man