Challenger upon his previous
journey. They appeared to be terrified at the prospect of repeating
it, but the chief has patriarchal powers in these countries, and if the
bargain is good in his eyes the clansman has little choice in the
matter.

So to-morrow we disappear into the unknown. This account I am
transmitting down the river by canoe, and it may be our last word to
those who are interested in our fate. I have, according to our
arrangement, addressed it to you, my dear Mr. McArdle, and I leave it
to your discretion to delete, alter, or do what you like with it. From
the assurance of Professor Challenger's manner--and in spite of the
continued scepticism of Professor Summerlee--I have no doubt that our
leader will make good his statement, and that we are really on the eve
of some most remarkable experiences.

CHAPTER VIII

"The Outlying Pickets of the New World"

Our friends at home may well rejoice with us, for we are at our goal,
and up to a point, at least, we have shown that the statement of
Professor Challenger can be verified. We have not, it is true,
ascended the plateau, but it lies before us, and even Professor
Summerlee is in a more chastened mood. Not that he will for an instant
admit that his rival could be right, but he is less persistent in his
incessant objections, and has sunk for the most part into an observant
silence. I must hark back, however, and continue my narrative from
where I dropped it. We are sending home one of our local Indians who
is injured, and I am committing this letter to his charge, with
considerable doubts in my mind as to whether it will ever come to hand.

When I wrote last we were about to leave the Indian village where we
had been deposited by the Esmeralda. I have to begin my report by bad
news, for the first serious personal trouble (I pass over the incessant
bickerings between the Professors) occurred this evening, and might
have had a tragic ending. I have spoken of our English-speaking
half-breed, Gomez--a fine worker and a willing fellow, but afflicted, I
fancy, with the vice of curiosity, which is common enough among such
men. On the last evening he seems to have hid himself near the hut in
which we were discussing our plans, and, being observed by our huge
negro Zambo, who is as faithful as a dog and has the hatred which all
his race bear to the half-breeds, he was dragged out and carried into
our presen