Produced by Judith BossOut of Times AbyssByEdgar Rice BurroughsJTABLE 5 5 1Chapter IThis is the tale of Bradley after he left Fort Dinosaur upon the westcoast of the great lake that is in the center of the islandUpon the fourth day of September 1916 he set out with fourcompanions Sinclair Brady James and Tippet to search along thebase of the barrier cliffs for a point at which they might be scaledThrough the heavy Caspakian air beneath the swollen sun the five menmarched northwest from Fort Dinosaur now waistdeep in lush junglegrasses starred with myriad gorgeous blooms now across openmeadowland and parklike expanses and again plunging into dense forestsof eucalyptus and acacia and giant arboreous ferns with featheredfronds waving gently a hundred feet above their headsAbout them upon the ground among the trees and in the air over themmoved and swung and soared the countless forms of Caspaks teeminglife  Always were they menaced by some frightful thing and seldom weretheir rifles cool yet even in the brief time they had dwelt uponCaprona they had become callous to danger so that they swung alonglaughing and chatting like soldiers on a summer hikeThis reminds me of South Clark Street remarked Brady who had onceserved on the traffic squad in Chicago and as no one asked him why hevolunteered that it was because its no place for an IrishmanSouth Clark Street and heaven have something in common thensuggested Sinclair  James and Tippet laughed and then a hideous growlbroke from a dense thicket ahead and diverted their attention to othermattersOne of them behemoths of Oly Writ muttered Tippet as they came to ahalt and with guns ready awaited the almost inevitable chargeHungry lot o beggars these said Bradley always trying to eateverything they seeFor a moment no further sound came from the thicket  He may befeeding now suggested Bradley  Well try to go around him  Cantwaste ammunition  Wont last forever  Follow me  And he set off atright angles to their former course hoping to avert a charge  Theyhad taken a dozen steps perhaps when the thicket moved to the advanceof the thing within it the leafy branches parted and the hideous headof a gigantic bear emergedPick your trees whispered Bradley  Cant waste ammunitionThe men looked about them  The bear took a couple of steps forwardstill growling menacingly  He was exposed to the shoulders nowTippet took one look at the monster and bolted for the nearest treeand then the bear charged  He charged straight for Tippet  The othermen scattered for the various trees they had selectedall exceptBradley  He stood watching Tippet and the bear  The man had a goodstart and the tree was not far away but the speed of the enormouscreature behind him was something to marvel at yet Tippet was in afair way to make his sanctuary when his foot caught in a tangle ofroots and down he went his rifle flying from his hand and fallingseveral yards away  Instantly Bradleys piece was at his shoulderthere was a sharp report answered by a roar of mingled rage and painfrom the carnivore  Tippet attempted to scramble to his feetLie still shouted Bradley  Cant waste ammunitionThe bear halted in its tracks wheeled toward Bradley and then backagain toward Tippet  Again the formers rifle spit angrily and thebear turned again in his direction  Bradley shouted loudly  Come onyou behemoth of Holy Writ he cried  Come on you duffer  Cantwaste ammunition  And as he saw the bear apparently upon the verge ofdeciding to charge him he encouraged the idea by backing rapidly awayknowing that an angry beast will more often charge one who moves thanone who lies stillAnd the bear did charge  Like a bolt of lightning he flashed down uponthe Englishman  Now run  Bradley called to Tippet and himselfturned in flight toward a nearby tree  The other men now safelyensconced upon various branches watched the race with breathlessinterest  Would Bradley make it  It seemed scarce possible  And ifhe didnt  James gasped at the thought  Six feet at the shoulderstood the frightful mountain of bloodmad flesh and bone and sinew thatwas bearing down with the speed of an express train upon the seeminglyslowmoving manIt all happened in a few seconds but they were seconds that seemedlike hours to the men who watched  They saw Tippet leap to his feet atBradleys shouted warning  They saw him run stooping to recover hisrifle as he passed the spot where it had fallen  They saw him glanceback toward Bradley and then they saw him stop short of the tree thatmight have given him safety and turn back in the direction of the bearFiring as he ran Tippet raced after the great cave bearthe monstrousthing that should have been extinct ages beforeran for it and firedeven as the beast was almost upon Bradley  The men in the treesscarcely breathed  It seemed to them such a futile thing for Tippet todo and Tippet of all men  They had never looked upon Tippet as acowardthere seemed to be no cowards among that strangely assortedcompany that Fate had gathered together from the four corners of theearthbut Tippet was considered a cautious man  Overcautious somethought him  How futile he and his little popgun appeared as hedashed after that living engine of destruction  But oh how gloriousIt was some such thought as this that ran through Bradys mind thougharticulated it might have been expressed otherwise albeit moreforcefullyJust then it occurred to Brady to fire and he too opened upon thebear but at the same instant the animal stumbled and fell forwardthough still growling most fearsomely  Tippet never stopped running orfiring until he stood within a foot of the brute which lay almosttouching Bradley and was already struggling to regain its feetPlacing the muzzle of his gun against the bears ear Tippet pulled thetrigger