dozen paces from the beast, watching for
an opportunity to plant an arrow in its heart. It came after a while,
the beast subsiding at last into quiescence, as though exhausted; and
upon the instant Dick and Phil drew their bows to their fullest possible
extent, the arrows flew straight to their mark, and, with a tremendous
convulsive shudder and a last moaning bellow, the enormous brute
stretched itself out on the grass dead.

Then they proceeded to examine the creature at their leisure, but at a
respectful distance, for the odour which it exhaled was so overpowering
that they found it impossible to approach the carcass nearer than within
three or four yards. The head was somewhat like that of an alligator,
but immensely larger, and its enormous jaws, slightly open, disclosed
two rows of huge teeth similar to those of an alligator. This monstrous
head was joined to the body by a neck as long, proportionately, as that
of a horse; the body was lizard-like in shape, but humpbacked; it had
four very thick, lizard-like legs and feet, each terminating in four
long toes armed with formidable claws. Its tail was nearly as long as
its body, thick, deep, and blunt; and a sort of serrated fin ran the
whole length of its body from the nape of its neck to the extremity of
its tail. Its total length, from snout to tail, as it lay stretched out
on the grass, was just a trifle over twenty-two paces!

When they had at length satisfied their curiosity by exhaustively
examining the enormous carcass--which, they agreed, must be that of the
identical beast portrayed in the carved pictures on the cliff face, or
of one precisely similar--they procured torches, and, having lighted
them, proceeded to examine thoroughly the interior of the cavern. In
the outer chamber, or that which contained the pool--the surface of
which was now perfectly placid and mirrorlike--there was nothing to see
beyond what has already been described. After a brief glance round,
therefore, they passed over to its far side by means of the rock ledge
along the margin of the pool, and entered the tunnel-like passage in
which Phil had taken temporary refuge on the previous day. This proved
to be about one hundred feet long, and gave access to another chamber of
such immense dimensions that, standing just within it, and holding their
three torches high above their heads, they were unable to see the
opposite wall or the roof. But it was a wonderful cavern, and worth