alling
thing beneath the carapace, but thought better of it at the first
added pressure. His contortions were so vehement that the man
discreetly drew himself up to a higher branch, a slow grin widening
his heavy mouth, as he marked his power to inflict injury on even such
an adversary as the King Dinosaur. The experiment had been successful
beyond his utmost anticipations. Like Nature herself, he was
continually experimenting, but by no means always with satisfactory
results.

Suddenly the monster made off, with head held as low as possible, for
the edge of the lagoon. Ploughing his way in with a huge splashing, he
disappeared beneath the water. A minute later he returned to the
surface and swam rapidly towards the jungle on the opposite shore,
probably intending to find some projecting stump of a dead limb on
which he could scratch the torment from under his ruff. At the edge of
the jungle he was joined by another monster, like himself, but
smaller--probably one of his mates--and together they disappeared,
with heavy crashings, in the rank tangle of the swamp-growths.

The man-creature descended from his refuge, carrying in one hand a
heavy fragment of branch, which he held awkwardly, as if not
over-familiar with the idea of an artificial weapon. He seemed to be
groping his way towards some use of it, either as a club or as a
stabbing instrument. During the fight, while he was experimenting with
the thorn branch, he had evidently had this weapon lodged in some safe
crotch. And now he kept handling it with a curious interest.

Standing erect, he might easily have been mistaken for a slightly
built and shapelier variety of the gorilla but for the true man-hands
and the steady, contemplative, foreseeing look in the eyes. He came
and examined the mangled bulk of the Dinoceras, scrutinized the horns
and tusks minutely, and strove with all his force to wrench one of the
latter from its socket, as if hoping to make some use of it. Then,
fastidiously selecting a shred of the victim's torn flesh, he sniffed
and nibbled at it, and then threw it aside. He could eat and enjoy
flesh-food at a pinch. But just now fruit was abundant; and fruit,
with eggs and honey, formed the diet he preferred. As he stood
pondering the lifeless mass before him, a shrill call came to his
ears, and, turning sharply, he saw his mate, with her baby in the
crook of her hairy arm, standing at the foot of a tree, and signaling
him to come to her. As s