The Delta independent., 1916-06-30
could,.sach and for good 1900 miles

cOulQ Ssacn anu IOT SOOu <,UUU miles
beyond.
was still drinking in this wonderful
panorama when the heavy hand of the
professor fell upon my shoulder.
This way. my young friend" said
he. "Vestigia nulla retrorsum. Never
look rearward. but always to our glo-
rious goal.'
The level of the plateau when | turn
ed was exactly that on which we stood.
and the green bank of bushes, with oc.
casional trees. was so near that it was
difficult to realize how inaccessible it
remained. At rough guess the gulf
was forty feet across: but, so far as I
could see, 1t might as well have been
forty miles. l placed one arm round
the trunk of the tree and leaned over
the abyss. Far down We're the small
dark figures of our servants looking up
at us. The wall was absolutely pre-
cipitous. as was that which faced me.
This is indeed curious said the
creaking voice of Professor Summerlee
| turned and found that he was ex-
amining with great interest the tree to
which l clung. That smooth bark and
those small. ribbed leaves seemed ia.
miliar TO my eyes. Why" | cried.
Its n beechr'
Exactly said Summerlee-"a fel-
low countryman in far land
Not only fellow countryman. my
good sir" said Challenger. but also,
if l may be allowed to enlarge your
simile. an ally of the first value This
beech tree will be our savior
by George" cried Lord John. "a
bridger'
Exactly. my friends. a bridge. Ii
is not for nothing that | expended an
hour last night in focusing my mind
upon the situation. I have some recol-
lection of once remarking to 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 pow
er and intellect go together there is al
ways way out. A drawbridge had to
be found which could be dropped
across the abyss. Behold it,
1t was certainly a brilliant idea The
tree was a good sixty feet in height,
and II it fell only the right way 1t
would easily cross the chasm. Chal.
lenger had slung the camp AK over his
shoulder when he nscended. Now he
handed It to me.
"Our young friend has the thews and
sinews." said he. "a think he will be
the most useful at this task. must
beg. however that you win kindly re
frain from thinking for yourself and
that you will do exactly what you are
told
Under his direction cut such Gashes
In the sides of the tree as would insure
had already a strong. natural tilt I'm
the direction OF the plateau. so that
the matter was not difficult Finally
set to work i'm earnest upon the trunk
taking turn and turn with Lord John.
In little over an hour there was n
loud crack. The tree swayed forward
and then crashed over burying its
branches among the bushes on the far
ther side The severed trunk rolled to
the very edge OF our platform. and for
one terrible second we all thought II
was over 1t balanced itself. however.
few inches from the edge. and there
was our bridge TO the unknown.
All OF us without n word shook hands
with Professor Challenger. who raised
his straw hat and bowed deeply to
each in turn.
II claim the honor" said he. ito be
the first to cross to the unknown land.
a fitting subject no doubt for some fu-
ture historical painting"