Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1922-12-15
CHAPTER III

this creature. He says II was aoou
o'clock in the morning. He ha'
been awake through the entlr
night. his eyes usually closed. Ii
does not know how he happened T.
omen them. 1t was precisely /
minutes to 3. by the watch whicl
he wore on his wrist.
He opened his eyes precisely a
the moment when the creature en-
tered the tent--a thing it did with
ont disturbing the flap and withou
making any sound whatever.
"chauvannes says that he saw
distinctly. It paused for a momen
after II had entered, remaining fol
some seconds quite motionless. H'
saws that in proportion to the Other
parts Of the creatures body, tbs
head was enormous II was cubica
in contour. The outline was per
fectly clear, but what we would cal
features were hardly disunguishable
The thing seemed to lack features
THAT was one of the distinguishing
horrors of tia head big in proper
ton to It's body. cubical in outline
and lacking features The chest
and abdomen were also big, esti-
mating the creature by Its own pro
portions. The limbs were long, mar
row and jointed. The whole crea-
ture was OF a repulsive. reddish
color. and without any of the usual
covering Of animals with which the
human race is familiar. The body
seemed 10 be OF some hard. red sub
ssance. Chauvannes said-frozen
and polished flesh, after the skin
had been removed. was the idea he
got.
1.-THE creature remained only a
moment visible to him; then It dis
appeared. It seemed to chauvannes
that IT disappeared merely by turn
fng-about. He was unable to see II
again, although the doorway where
It entered was clear in the moonlight
and there was only the grass floor
of the tent"
Monsieur Jonquelle stopped here
in his narrative, like one who would
wish nearer 10 grasp the whole
conception Of the story before he
went on. But 10 did not seek a
comment. The man beyond him
waited for him TO 60 on, and he
presently continued:
Il shall not follow the detail Of all
the experiences noted down by Chau-
vannes. and which. finally. brought
him 10 the conclusions at which he
at length arrived. He was able, after
this night to observe the creature
and a number of its companions, al
though the man Lecture who was al
ways with him. seems never to have
observed It,
He was also able TO discover. al
though he does not give an the de-
tails Of that discovery In the jour-
nal that these creatures lived under
ground, and that one of their under
ground cities was very close to the
camp. He had, in fact, by some
sinister hazard put down his camp
almost AZ the doorway OF the under
ground habitat of these extraordi-
nary beines-if one could call a
creature OF this character being
in our sense.
Nov, these are among the dis
tinguishing Incidents of Chauvannos'
journal that led Your Exceliency.
and the Paris authorities. to believe
that Chauvannes was mad. The
elimination OF events seemed TO es-
tablish It.
you know how the journal goes
on. giving the minute details that
Chauyannes observed during the
week that he was alone with Lecture.
while the American beachcomber
Dix and the Finn made their Jour
ney to the Nyanza. And you know
how Chauvannes finally came to the
conclusion that the seven great
emeralds, which he carried sewed
up in the lining of his waistcoat.
were the things that set these crea-
lures on him.
The emeralds are In the Louvre
They are seven OF the most extraor-
binary Jewels in the world. They ore
larger and purer than any other
known emerald They are cut in a
manner of which we have no knowl-
edge and the backs OF them are
covered with a hieroglyphic writing
that antedates any language that we
know. and which. so far. has baffied
every effort to translate.
AT any rate. although the
Frenchman Lecture was with Chau-
vannes ali the time-on the very
day before the return of Dix and the
Finn the emeralds Disappeared
"Chauvannes wrote it down in de-
tail n the journal.
He was certain. accurate. with
out any trace Of doubt: the emer-
alds-no longer in his possession
were IN the underground habitat OF
these creaturesi And the opening
10 this habitat was close beside the
very place OF the camp.
1T was hardly any wonder that
the men with him considered him
mad. especially when one reads the
closing pages of the Journal. He
takes In writing. an elaborate and
tender farewell Of the three men.
He thanks them in detail for their
courage, their unfailing kindness TO
him and their devotion to the ex-
petition No man could have writ
ten a higher testimonial Of the
fidelity OF his companions. He points
out that his death is impending and
certain. He begs that the journal
may be carried to France, and he
urges the French government to
send out an expedition TO recover
the emeradls, which he says. are
concealed in the first underground