nations, and my attempt would no longer be all my own. After a
little hesitation, then, I screwed up my courage and continued upon my
way, my useless gun under my arm.

The darkness of the forest had been alarming, but even worse was the
white, still flood of moonlight in the open glade of the iguanodons.
Hid among the bushes, I looked out at it. None of the great brutes
were in sight. Perhaps the tragedy which had befallen one of them had
driven them from their feeding-ground. In the misty, silvery night I
could see no sign of any living thing. Taking courage, therefore, I
slipped rapidly across it, and among the jungle on the farther side I
picked up once again the brook which was my guide. It was a cheery
companion, gurgling and chuckling as it ran, like the dear old
trout-stream in the West Country where I have fished at night in my
boyhood. So long as I followed it down I must come to the lake, and so
long as I followed it back I must come to the camp. Often I had to
lose sight of it on account of the tangled brush-wood, but I was always
within earshot of its tinkle and splash.

As one descended the slope the woods became thinner, and bushes, with
occasional high trees, took the place of the forest. I could make good
progress, therefore, and I could see without being seen. I passed
close to the pterodactyl swamp, and as I did so, with a dry, crisp,
leathery rattle of wings, one of these great creatures--it was twenty
feet at least from tip to tip--rose up from somewhere near me and
soared into the air. As it passed across the face of the moon the
light shone clearly through the membranous wings, and it looked like a
flying skeleton against the white, tropical radiance. I crouched low
among the bushes, for I knew from past experience that with a single
cry the creature could bring a hundred of its loathsome mates about my
ears. It was not until it had settled again that I dared to steal
onwards upon my journey.

The night had been exceedingly still, but as I advanced I became
conscious of a low, rumbling sound, a continuous murmur, somewhere in
front of me. This grew louder as I proceeded, until at last it was
clearly quite close to me. When I stood still the sound was constant,
so that it seemed to come from some stationary cause. It was like a
boiling kettle or the bubbling of some great pot. Soon I came upon the
source of it, for in the center of a small clearing I found a lake--or
a pool, rat