, 1916-08-24
CHAPTER 4

navigation of the plateau
great experience awaited US
and one which forever set at rest any
doubt which we could have had an to
the wonders so near US.
What occurred was this: Lord John
had shot an ajouti. which Is a small.
pisfike animal, and, half of IT having
been given to the Indians, we were
cooking the other half upon our fire.
There "a a chill in the afr after dark,
and we had all drawn close to the
blase. The night was moonless. but
there were some stars, and one could
zee for a little distance across the
piain- Wen, suddenly out Of the dark
ness, out of the night, there swooped
something with a swish Hike an aero
plane. The whole group of Ms were
covered for an instant by a canopy OF
esthery wings, and I had a momen
tary vision of a long, makelike neck,
q fierce. red, greedy y and a great
swapping beak. filed, to my amaze
ment with little, cleaning teeth. The
next instant It was gone-and so was
our dinner. A huge black shadow,
twenty feet across. SKINNED up into
the air. For an instant the monster
wings blotted out the stars. and then
n vanished over the brow of the cliff
above us. We all sat in amazed silence
round the fire, like the heroes of Virgil
when the Harpies came down upon
them It was Summarize who was the
first 20 speak.
"Professor Challenger said he. in a
solemn voice, which quavered with
emotion, "I owe you an apology. Sir,
I am YER much IN the wrong. and l
beg that you will forget what is past"
II was handsomely said, and the two
men for the first time shook hands. So
much we have gained by this clear vi
sion of our first ~pterodactyl. 1t was
worth a stolen supper 10 bring two
such men together.
On the sixth day we completed u
first circuit OF the cliffs and found our
isolated pinnacle of rock. We were a
disconsolate party, for nothing could
have been more minute than our in.
vestigation. and 1t was absolutely GER
tain hat there was no single point
where the most active human being
could possibly hope to scale the cliff.
The place which Maple Whites chalk
marks had Indicated as his own means
Of access was now entirely impassa-
BILE
What were we to do now? Our
stores OF provisions, supplemented by
our guns. were holding out well. but
the day must come when they would
need replenishment. In a couple of
months the rains might be expected.
and we should be washed out Of our
camp. The rock was harder than mar
BILE, and any attempt at cutting a path
for SO great a height was more than
time OF would admit.
No wonder that we looked gloomily at
each other that night and sought our
blankets with hardly a word exchang-
ed. ! remember that as / dropped of
TO sleep my last recollection was that
Challenger was squatting. like a mon
strous bullfrog. by the fire. his huge
head in his hands. sunk apparently IN
the deepest thought and entirely OBJ
ltvious to the good night which I wish
ed him.
But 1t was a very different Challen-
ger who greeted us in the morning.
Challenger with contentment and self
congratulation shining from his whole
person. He faced us as we assembled
for breakfast with a ~deprecattng false
modesty in his eyes, as who should
say, Il know that I deserve all that
you can say, but I pray You to spare
my bushes by not saying It" His
beard bristled e%xultantiy, his chest
was thrown out and his hand was
thrust into the front Of his jacket. So.
in his fancy, may he see himself some
times grazing the vacant pedestal In
Trafalgar square and adding one more
to the horrors of the London streets.
~Burekar' he cried. his teeth shining
through his beard. Gentlemen. you
may congratulate me and we may
congratulate each other. The problem
b solved"
You have found a way upr"
Il venture to think So"
-And whereT'
For answer he pointed TO the sptre-
like pinnacle upon our right
Our faces, or mine at least, fell as
we surveyed 1t. That 1t could be
climbed we had our companions as
surance, but a horrible abyss lay be,
tween 1t and the plateau.
We can never get acrossr" | gasped,
I'VE can at least all reach the sum
NIT" said he. When we are up /
may be able to show you that the re
-.
yet exhausted"