he gave us an impression of squat and sturdy
strength.

I have called him a dragon, but he was not at all like the dragons of
our imagination. With his great bullet head and prick ears, his beetling
brows and deep sunken eyes, his ferocious mouth and protruding tusks,
his short thick neck and massive shoulders, his large, gawky, and
misshapen trunk, coated with dingy brown fur, shading into dirty yellow
on the stomach, his stout, bandy legs armed with curving talons, and his
huge leathern wings hanging in loose folds about him, he looked more
like an imp of Satan than a dragon.

Hitherto he had not appeared to notice his pursuers; but now that he was
freer to observe, the grating of the car upon the rocks caught his
attention. He turned quickly, and stared at the apparition of the
vessel, which must have been a strange object to him; but he did not
seem to take alarm. It was the gaze of a jaguar or a tiger who sees
something curious in the jungle--vigilant and deadly if you like, but
neither scared nor fierce.

We lost no time in sallying forth, all three of us, armed with magazine
rifle, cutlass, and revolver. Mr. Carmichael in the middle, I on the
lower, and Gazen on the upper side, or that nearest to Miss Carmichael.
The rocks around were slippery with ordure, and the sickening stench of
rotting skeletons made our very gorge rise. Suddenly a loud squeaking in
the direction of the cave arrested us, and before we had recovered from
our surprise, nearly a dozen young dragons, each about the size of a
man, tumbled hastily down the slope, and rushed upon the lifeless form
of Miss Carmichael.

"Great Scott, there's the whole family," muttered Gazen between his
teeth, at the same time bringing his rifle to the shoulder, and firing
in quick succession.

The foremost of the crew, which had already flung itself upon the prey,
was seen to spring head over heels into the air, and fall back dead;
another lay writhing in agony upon the ground, and uttering strangely
human shrieks; whilst the others, terrified by the noise, turned and
fled back helter-skelter to the cave.

The old one, roused to anger by the injury done to his offspring,
snarled ferociously at his enemies and, drawing himself to his full
height, made a furious dash for Gazen.

Our rifles cracked again and again; the monster started as he felt the
shots, and halted, glaring from one to another of us like a man
irresolute. Purple streams were gushing from hi