tionless gazing at this marvelous
spectacle. A strong wind blew towards us and we were well concealed,
so there was no chance of discovery. From time to time the little ones
played round their parents in unwieldy gambols, the great beasts
bounding into the air and falling with dull thuds upon the earth. The
strength of the parents seemed to be limitless, for one of them, having
some difficulty in reaching a bunch of foliage which grew upon a
considerable-sized tree, put his fore-legs round the trunk and tore it
down as if it had been a sapling. The action seemed, as I thought, to
show not only the great development of its muscles, but also the small
one of its brain, for the whole weight came crashing down upon the top
of it, and it uttered a series of shrill yelps to show that, big as it
was, there was a limit to what it could endure. The incident made it
think, apparently, that the neighborhood was dangerous, for it slowly
lurched off through the wood, followed by its mate and its three
enormous infants. We saw the shimmering slaty gleam of their skins
between the tree-trunks, and their heads undulating high above the
brush-wood. Then they vanished from our sight.

I looked at my comrades. Lord John was standing at gaze with his
finger on the trigger of his elephant-gun, his eager hunter's soul
shining from his fierce eyes. What would he not give for one such head
to place between the two crossed oars above the mantelpiece in his
snuggery at the Albany! And yet his reason held him in, for all our
exploration of the wonders of this unknown land depended upon our
presence being concealed from its inhabitants. The two professors were
in silent ecstasy. In their excitement they had unconsciously seized
each other by the hand, and stood like two little children in the
presence of a marvel, Challenger's cheeks bunched up into a seraphic
smile, and Summerlee's sardonic face softening for the moment into
wonder and reverence.

"Nunc dimittis!" he cried at last. "What will they say in England of
this?"

"My dear Summerlee, I will tell you with great confidence exactly what
they will say in England," said Challenger. "They will say that you
are an infernal liar and a scientific charlatan, exactly as you and
others said of me."

"In the face of photographs?"

"Faked, Summerlee! Clumsily faked!"

"In the face of specimens?"

"Ah, there we may have them! Malone and his filthy Fleet Street crew
may be all