Newspaper Page Text
TEN
“The Lost World”
~*l fear,'* said ha, taking out his
watch, “that I am a few minutes too
late. When 1 gave you this envelope
I must confess that I had never Intend
ed that you should open It, for It ha/I
l>«en my fixed Intention to he with you
before the hour. The unfortunate de
lay can be apportioned l»etween a blun
dering pilot and an Intrusive sand"
bank. 1 fear that It has given my col
league, Profeeaor Summerlee, occasion
to blaspheme. You need no chart of di
rections now, since you will have the
Inestimable advantage of my own
guidance. From the first I had deter
mined that I would myself preside over
your investigation. The most elaborate
charts would, ns you will readily ad
mlt, be a poor substitute for my own
intelligence and advice. As to the
amall ruse which I played upon you In
the matter of the envelope. It Is cleat
-V . \
It Was Really the Firat Direct Corrob
oratien, Slight aa It Waa.
that had 1 told you all my IntonMona
I ahonld b*v« been forced to resist un
welcome pressure to travel out with
you.’’
It war Aug. 2 when we Knapped our
last f#nk with the outer world by bid
dloft farewell to the Esmeralda, u
atram launch which Lord John Box
ton chartered to take ua up the river.
Blnce then four days have passed, dur
•tut which we have engaged twy large
canoea from the Imllntia, made of ao
light a material (Nklna over a bamboo
frataewnrkl tliHt we Hhould be able to
carry them around any obstacle.
These we loaded with all our effects
and have engaged two additional In
dtans to help ua lit the navigation. 1
understand that they are the very two
—Ataca and lpetu by name who no
cnmpanled Professor Challenger upon
his previous Journey. They appeared
to lie terrified at the prospect of re
pealing it. but the chief has patrl
arcluil powers In these countries, and
If the bargain Is good In Ills eyes the
clansman hna little choice In the mat
ter.
Ro tomorrow we disappear Into the
unknown. This account I am trans
mitting down the river by canoe, and
it may be our last word to those who
are Interested in our fate. I have, ac
cording to our arrangement, addressed
It to you, my McArdle, ami 1
leave It to your discretion to delete,
alter or do what you like with It.
From the assurance of Professor t'Aal
. lenger's manner and in spite of the
continued skepticism of Professor
Rummerlee I have no doubt that our
leader will make good his statement
and that we nre really on the eve of
some moat remarkable experience*.
When I wrote last we were alsmt to
leave the Indian village where we bad
been deposited by the Esmeralda. I
have to begin my report by bad news,
for the first serious personal trouble (1
pass over the InccKNHUt bickerings lie
tween tli« professors) occurred this
evening and might have had a tragic
ending. I have spoken of our English
s|ieaklng half breed Comer a tine
worker and a willing fellow, but afflict
ed. 1 fancy, with the vice of curiosity,
which Is commou enough among such
men. On the last evening he seems to
have hid himself near the hut In which
we were discussing our plans, ami, tie
lng obaerved by our huge negro Zambo,
who Is as faithful as a dog aud has
th* hatred which nil hts race bear to
the half breeds, be waa dragged out
and carried Into our presence. Gomes
whipped out his knife, however, and
but for the huge strength of hts captor
which enabled him to disarm hltn with
one hand, he would certainly have
atgbbcd him. The matter lihb ended b
reprimands, the opponents have l*ee
compelled to shake hands, and there I
every hope that all will lie well.
For two days we made our way u|
a good slxed river, some hundreds of
yards broad and dark In color, but
transparent, so that one could usually
see the bottom. The affluents of the
Amason are, half of them, of this na
tore, while the other half arc whitish
and opaque, the difference depending
upon the class of country through which
they have flowed. The dark Indicate
vegetable decay, while the others point
to clayey soil. Twice we came across
rapids and in cadi case made a port
age of half a mile or so to avoid them
The woods on either side were prime
jjl, which are more easily penetrated
By A. CONAN DOYLE
than woods of the second growtn, ant.
we had no great difficulty In carrying
our canoes through them. How shah
I ever forget the solemn mystery of itV
The height of the trees and the thick
ness of the boles exceeded anything
which I In ray town bred life could
have imagined, shooting upward In
‘■magnificent columns until, at an enor
mous distance above our heads, we
could dimly discern the spot where
they threw out their side branches into
Gothic upward curves which coalesced
to form one great matted roof of ver
dure, through which only an occasional
golden ray of sunshine shot downward
to trace a thin dazzling line of light
amid Ihe majestic obscurity. , As we
walked noiselessly amid the thick, soft
carpet of decaying vegetation the hush
fell upon our souls which comes upon
us In the twilight, of the abbey, and
even Professor Challenger's full chest
ed notes sank Into a whisper. Alono
I should have been Ignorant of the
names of these of giant growth, but our
men of science pointed out the cedars,
the great silk cotton flees and the red
wood trees, with all that profusion of
various plants which has made this
continent the chief supplier to the hu
man race of those gifts of nature
which depeml upon the vegetable
world, while it Is the most backward
In those products which come from
animal life.
CHAPTER VIII.
Evidences of Human Life.
AND yet there were indications
that even human life Itself
l was not fnr from us In those
mysterious recesses. On the
third day out we were aware of a sin
gtilar deep throbbing In the air.
rhythmic and solemn, coming and go
ing 111 fully throughout the morning.
The two boats were paddling within a
few yards of each other when first we
heard It, and our Indians remained mo
tionless, as If they had been turned to
bronze, listening Intently with expres
sions of terror upon tlielr faces.
"Whnt Is It?" I asked.
"I>ruins,’‘ said Lord John carelessly,
"war drums. I have heard them be
fore."
"Yes, sir, war drums," said Gomez,
the half breed. "Wild Indians, bravos,
not mnnsos. They watch us every mile
of the way. Kill us If they can.”
"How can they watch us?" I asked,
gazing lnt<> the dark, motionless void.
The half breed shrugged his broad
shoulders.
“The Indians know. They Unve their
»wn way. They watch us. They tnlk
the drum talk to each other. Kill us If
they can."
All day the drums rumbled and whis
pered. while thdr menace reflected It
self In the faces of our colored com
panions. Even the hardy, swaggering
half breed seemed cowed. I learned,
however, Mint day, once for all, that
lioth Rummerlee and Challenger pos
sessed that highest type or bravery,
the bravery of the scientific mind.
Theirs was the spirit which upheld
Darwin among the gauchos of the Ar
gentlue or Wallace umotig the hpud
hunters
merciful nature that the human brain
cannot think of two things slmultane
ously, so that if It be steeped In curl
oslty na to science It has no room for
merely personal considerations. All
day amid that Incessant and mysterl
oils menneo our two professors watched
every bird upon the wing and every
shrub upon the bank, with many a
sharp wordy contention, when the snarl
of Rummerlee cnuie quick upon the
deep growl of Challenger, but with no
more sense of danger and no more ref
cretice to drum beating Iltlbms than If
they were Heated together In the amok
lug room of the Itoyal society's club In
St. James' Ntreet.
That night we moored our canoes
with heavy stones for anchors in the
center of the stream and made every
preparation for a possible attack
Nothing came, however, and with the
dawn we pushed upon our way, the
drum lientlng dying out liehtnd us
About 8 o'clock In the afternoon we
came to a very steep rapid, more than
a mile long the very one in which Pro
fessor Challenger had suffered disaster
upon his first Journey. I confess that
the sight of It consoled me. for It was
i really the first direct corroboration,
I
slight ns It was, of the truth of his sto
ry. The Indians carried first our on
noes atul thou our stores through the
brushwood, which la very thick at this
point, while we four whites, our rlrtes
on our shoulders, walked between them
aud any danger coming from the
woods. Before evening we had suc
cessfully passed the rapids and made
our way some ten tulles above them,
where we anchored for the night. At
this point I reckoned that we bail come
not less than u hundred miles up the
tributary from the main stream.
It was In the early forenoon of the
next day that we made the great de
parture, Since dawn Professor Chal
lenger bad been acutely uneasy, con
tluually scanning each bank of the riv
er. Suddenly be gave an exclamation
of satisfaction and pointed to a single
tree which projected at a peculiar angle
over the aide of the stream.
"What do you make of that?" he
asked.
"It Is aurely nn Assal paint,” said
Rummerlee.
"Exactly. It was an Assal paltu
which 1 took for my landmark. The
secret opening Is half a mile onward
upon the other side of the river There
Is no break In th.> trees. Thnt Is the
wonder and the mystery of It. There
when* you see light gn»en rushes tu
stead of dark gn*en undergrowth, there
between the great cottonwoods, that Is
m.v private gate Into the unknown
Push through and you will under
stand."
It was Indeed a wonderful place.
Having reached the spot marked by n
llpe of light green rushes, we poled
out two canoes through them for some
hundreds of yards and eventually
emerged into a placid and shallow
stream, running clear and transparent
over a sandy bottom. It may have
been twenty yards across and was
banked In on each side by most luxu
riant vegetation. No one who had not
observed that for n short distance
reeds had taken the place of shrubs
could possibly have guessed the exist
ence of such a stream or dreamed of
the fairyland beyond.
For a fairyland It was, the most
wonderful that the Imagination of man
could conceive. The thick vegetation
met overhead, Interlaclna into a nat
ural pergola, and through this tunnel
of verdure in a golden twilight flowed
the green, pellucid river, beautiful in
Itself, but marvelous from the strange
tints thrown by the vivid light, from
above, filtered and tempered In its fall,
flcar ns crystal, motionless as a sheet
of glass, green as the edge of an ice
berg, It stretched in front of us under
its leafy archway, every stroke of our
paddles sending a thousand ripples
across Its shining surface. It was a
fitting avenue to a land of wonders.
All signs of the Indians had passed
away, but animal life was more fre
quent, and the tameness of the crea
tures showed that they knew nothing
of the hunter. Fuzzy little black vel
vet monkeys with snow white teeth
and gleaming, mocking eyes chattered
at us as we passed. ,With a dull,
heavy splash an occasional cayman
plunged In from the bank. Once a
dark, clumsy tapir stared at us from
a gap in the bushes and then lumber
ed away through the forest. Once, too,
the yellow, sinuous form of a great
puma whisked amid the brushwood,
nnd Its green, baleful eyes glared ha
tred at us over Its inwn.v shoulder
Bird life was abundant, especially the
wading birds, stork, heron and Ibis
gathering In little groups, blue, scar
let and white, upon every log which
Jutted from the lmnk, while beneath
us the crystal water was alive with
fish of every shape and color.
For three days we made our way
up this tunnel of hazy green sunshine.
On the longer stretches one coulil hard
ly 101 l as one looked ahead where the
distant gi/en water ended and the
distant green archway began. The
deep peace of this strange waterway
was unbroken by any sign of man.
"No Indian here. Too much afraid
Curupnrl." said Gomez.
“Curupurl Is the spirit of the woods,”
Lord John explained. "It's a name
for any kind of devil. The poor beg
gars thinks that there is something
fearsome in this direction, and there
fore they avoid It."
On the third day it. became evident
that our Journey in the canoes could
not last much longer, for the stream
was rapidly growing more shallow.
Twice In as many hours we stuck upon
the bottom. Finally we pulled the
boats up among the brushwood and
spent the night on the bank of the
river. In the morning Lord John nnd
I made our way for a couple of miles
through the forest, keeping parallel
with the stream, but as It grew ever
shallower we returned and reported,
whnt Professor Challenger had already
suspected, that we had reached the
highest point to which the canoes could
lie brought. We drew them up, there
fore, nnd concealed them among the
bushes, blazing a tree with our axes
so that we should find them again.
Then we distributed the various bur
dens among us guns, ammunition,
food, a tent, blankets and the rest—
nnd, shouldering our packages, we set
forth upon the more laborious stage of
our Journey.
Advancing in single flic along the bank
of the stream, we soon found that it
narrowed down to a mere brook, and
Anally that It lost itself in n great
green morass of spongellke mosses.
Into which we sank up to our knees.
The place was horribly haunted by
clouds of mosquitoes and every form
of flying |>ost, so we were glad to find
solid ground again and to make a cir
cuit among the trees, which enabled
us to outflank this pestilent morass,
which droned like an organ in the dis
tance. so loud was it with Insect life.
On the ninth day after leaving the
canoes, lmvtng done, ns I reckon, about
130 miles, we began to emerge from
the trees, which had grown smaller un
til they were mere shrubs, Tbeir place
was taken by an Immense wilderness
of bamboo, which grew so thickly that
wo could only penetrate it by cutting
a pathway with the machetes and bill
hooks of the Indians. It took us a long
day, traveling from 7 in the morning
till S at night, with only two breaks
of one hour each, to get throuigi this
obstacle. Anything more monotonous
and wearying could not la' Imagined,
for. even at the most open places, 1
could not see more than ten or twelve
yards, while usually my vision was
limited to the back of Lord John's cot
ton jacket in front of me and to the
yellow wall within a root of me on
either side. From above came one
thin knife edge of sunshine, and fifteen
feet over our heads one saw the tops
of the ree<is swaying against the deep
blue sky, Ido not know what kind of
creatures Inhabit such n thicket; but
several times we heard the plunging of
large, heavy animals quite close to us.
From their sounds Lord John Judged
them to be some form of wild cattle.
Just ns night fell we cleared the belt
of hamt>oos and at once formed our
camp, exhausted by the Interminable
day
Knrly next morning we were again
afoot and found that the character of
the country yad changed once again.
Behind us was the wall of bands*!, as
definite as If It marked the course of
THE AUGUSTA HERALD, AUGUSTA, GA.
a river. In front was an open plain,
sloping slightly upward and dotted
with clumps of tree ferns, the whole
curving before us until It ended In a
long, whale backed ridge. This we
reached about midday, only to find a
shallow valley beyond, rising once
again Into a gentle incline which led
to a low. rounded sky line.
And now. my readers. If ever 1 have
any, 1 have brought you up the broad
river, and through the screen of
rushes, and down the green tunnel,
nnd up the long slope of palm trees,
and through the bamboo brake, and
across the plain of tree ferns. At last
our destination lay in full sight of us.
When we had crossed the second
ridge we saw before us an irregular,
palm studded plain and then the line
of high red cliffs which I have seen
in the picture. There it lies, even as
1 write, and there can be no question
that It Is the same. At the nearest
point It Is about seven miles from our
present camp, and it curves away,
stretching as far as I can see. Chal
lenger struts about like a prize pea
cock, and Summerlee is silent, but
still skeptical. Another day should
bring some of our doubts to an end.
Meanwhile, as Jose, whose arm was
pierced by a broken bamboo, insists
upon returning, I send this letter back
In his charge and only hope that It
may eventuully come to hand. I will
write again as the occasion serves. I
have Inclosed with this a rough chart
of our journey, which may have the
effect of making the account rather
easier to understand.
CHAPTER IX.
“Who Could Have Foreseen It?”
A DREADFUL thing has happen
ed to us. Who could have fore
seen it? I cannot foresee any
end to our
be that we are condemned to spend
our whole lives In this strange, Inac
cessible place. I am still so confused
that I can hardly think clearly of the
facts of the present or of the chances
of the future. To my astounded senses
the one seems most terrible and the
other as black as night.
When I finished my last letter I stat
ed that we were within seven miles
front an enormous line of ruddy cliffs
which encircled, beyond all doubt, the
plateau of which Professor Challenger
spoke. Their height, as we approach
ed them, seemed to me In some places
to be greater than he'bad stated, run
ning up in parts to at least a thousand
feet, and they were curiously striated
in n manner which Is, I believe, char
acteristic of basaltic upheavals. Some
thing of the sort is to be seen in Salis
bury crags, at Edinburgh. The sum
mit showed every sign of a luxuriant
vegetation, with bushes near the edge
and farther back many high trees.
There was no indication of any life
that we could see.
That night we pitched our camp im
mediately under the cliff—a most wild
and desolate spot. The crags above
us were not merely perpendicular, but
curved outward at the top, so that as
cent was out of the question.
In the morning, after a frugal break
fast of coffee nnd manioc—we had to
he economical of our stores—we held a
council of war ns to the best method
of ascending to the plateau above us.
Challenger presided with a solemnity
ns if lie were the lord chief justice on
the bench. Picture him seated upon n
rock, his absurd boyish straw hat tilt
ed on the back of his head, his super
cilious eyes dominating us from under
his drooping lids, his great black heard
wagging as he slowly defined our pres
ent situation and our future move
ments.
(To be continued tomorrow)
BRITISH MAT STARS
EARN CAPTAINCIES.
Five Britons, great in tennis, have
been promoted to army captaincies
since the war started in Europe. Pour
were civilians before the war. One ten
nis crack has been killed. This was
Anthony Wilding, the great Austral-
In offering you
Block’s
Candies
■we do ao, fully convinced
that it fully meets every
requirement in purity,
goodness, quality and as
sortment.
Packages containing
Block's Candies are the
most artistic ever designed
for this purpose —an add
ed charm that women
fcdly appreciate.
80c, SI.OO and $1.25
per pound
Sumntsrvills Drug Co*
King's Pharmacy,
Augusta, Ga.
Freckles and His Friends ::: By Blosser
-~_J WOtf EATON- ATWS,/
BUTCH? <S»T BACK.
’ r ’ * here or ue’llsee : !)
US AM' WE WON'T SIT *' [i ’ 1 I 'I '' ‘ f '
l, that ball ,_cv.on 1! . ./ ,'-x
'' ** I '
J. ..lx. I IJW*. . . 7 V : I MUSTA THROWED ! ||
(SEE! AIN'T I THAT awful HUSH!.')- ■ { •• • ijijiji;]
' ♦ 11 PURTY HANDY 1 ?? ?
If WITH TH' BALL,
ian, who fell while working at the
front in the armored car division. .7.
C. Parke, the magnetic Irishman; A.
H. Lowe, A. R. F. Kingscote and little
T. M. Mavrogordato all hold the title
of captain. Of the five Wilding had
the longest Davis cup record.
BOUT IN CHATTANOOGA IS
SET FOR DECORATION DAY
Qhattanooga, Term. —The biggest box
ing card ever attempted in the South
will be staged by The Randolph Rose
Athletic Club here, May 30 (Decoration
Day), it was announced this afternoon
by Matchmaker and Manager Joe Levy.
Battling Levinsky, of New York, will
meet Porky Flynn, of Boston, in the
finale and Jake Abel, of Chattanooga,
will fight Leo Kelly, of St. Louis, on the
same bill.
Other bouts on the all-star card will
he Young Feldman, of Macon, vs. Johnny
Underwood, of Atlanta, and Terry Nel
son, of Cincinnati, vs. Battling Budd, of
Atlanta.
LAST CALL
For SATURDAY
REMNANTS OF
Ferris & Arrington
Stock
658 Broad. 658 Broad.
- /
Will be offered tomorrow, Saturday, for what they will bring.
All that remains (and there are many splendid articles of wearing
apparel) will be sold from the rear of the store.
There is still on hand a few Spring Suits, Odd Trousers, Fancy
Vests, Full Dress Vests, Full Dress Shirts, Umbrellas, Straw Hats, Felt
Hats, Caps, Collars, Rain Coats, Pajamas, Belts, Handkerchiefs and Un
derwear.
In the front of the store you will find on display an entire new stock
Of Men’s Summer Clothing, Hats and
Furnishing Goods.
FRANK E. FERRIS CO.
Successors to Ferris & Arrington. 658 Broad Street.
fejSyf»-« .-"».... •' '2i!ilyi^BjjM^^^^«jyjwß{SSiK Mfi&^fc
PCARTERS
WITTLE
I Hiver
| PiLLS
FRIDAY, MAY 19.
Banish the “Blues”
and relieve Constipation
by Livening tbe Liver witb
Carters Little Liver PiDa.
Genuine bears Signature