CHAPTER VIII.
SPORTSMEN'S REVERIES.
Feeling grateful to the huge tortoise for the good service he hadrendered, they shot a number of the great snakes that weregliding about on the ground, and placed them where he would findthem on awaiting. They then picked their way carefully towardsstretches on which the grass was shortest. When they had goneabout two miles, and had already reached higher ground, they cameto a ridge of rock running at right angles to their course. Thisthey climbed, and on looking over the edge of the crest beheld asight that made their hearts stand still. A monster, somewhatresembling an alligator, except that the back was arched, waswaddling about perhaps seventy- five yards from them. It wassixty feet long, and to the top of its scales was at leasttwenty-five feet high. It was constantly moving, and thetravellers noticed with some dismay that its motion was far morerapid than they would have supposed it could be.
"It is also a dinosaur," said the professor, watching it sharply,"and very closely resembles the Stegosaurus ungulatus restored inthe museums. The question is, What shall we do with the livingspecimen, now that we have it?"
"Our chairman," said Ayrault, "must find a way to kill it, sothat we may examine it closely."
"The trouble is," said Bearwarden, "our bullets will explodebefore they penetrate the scales. In the absence of any way ofmaking a passage for an explosive ball by means of a solid one,we must strike a vital spot. His scales being no harder than thetrunk of a tree, we can wound him terribly by touching himanywhere; but there is no object in doing this unless we can killhim, especially as there is no deep stream, such as would havedelayed the mastodon in reaching us, to protect us here. We mustspread out so as to divert his attention from one to another."
After some consultation it was decided that Cortlandt, who hadonly a shot-gun, should remain where they were, while Bearwardenand Ayrault moved some distance to the right and left. At asignal from Cortlandt, who was to attract the monster'sattention, the wings were to advance simultaneously. Thesearrangements they carried out to the letter. When Bearwarden andAyrault had gone about twenty-five yards on either side, thedoctor imitated the peculiar grunting sound of an alligator, atwhich the colossal monster turned and faced him, while Bearwardenand Ayrault moved to the attack. The plan of this was good, for,with his attention fixed on three objects, the dinosaur seemedconfused, and though Bearwarden and Ayrault had good angles fromwhich to shoot, there was no possibility of their hitting eachother. They therefore advanced steadily with their rifles halfup. Though their own danger increased with each step, in theevent of their missing, the chance of their shooting wilddecreased, the idea being to reach the brain through the eye.Cortlandt's part had also its risks, for, being entirelydefenceless with his shot-gun against the large creature, whoseattention it was his duty to attract, he staked all on themarksmanship of his friends. Not considering this, however, hestood his ground, having the thumb-piece on his Winchestermagazine shoved up and ready to make a noisy diversion ifnecessary in behalf of either wing. Having aroused the monster'scuriosity, Cortlandt sprang up, waving his arms and his gun. Thedinosaur lowered his head as if to charge, thereby bringing it toa level with the rifles, either of which could have given it thefatal shot. But as their fingers pressed the triggers thereptile soared up thirty feet in the air. Ayrault pulled for hisfirst sight, shooting through the lower jaw, and shivering thatmember, while Bearwarden changed his aim and sighted straight forthe heart. In an instant the monster was down again, justmissing Ayrault's head as he stepped back, and Bearwarden's riflepoured a stream of explosive balls against its side, rending andblowing away the heavy scales. Having drawn the dinosaur'sattention to himself, he retreated, while Ayrault renewed theattack. Cortlandt, seeing that the original plan had miscarried,poured showers of small shot against the huge beast's face.Finally, one of Ayrault's balls exploded in the brain, and allwas over.
"We have killed it at last," said Bearwarden "but the firstattack, though artistic, had not the brilliant results weexpected. These creatures' mode of fighting is doubtlesssomewhat similar to that of the kangaroo, which it is said putsits forepaws gently, almost lovingly, on a man's shoulders, andthen disembowels him by the rapid movement of a hind leg. But weshall get used to their method, and can do better next time."
They then reloaded their weapons and, while Cortlandt examinedtheir victim from a naturalist's point of view, Bearwarden andAyrault secured the heart, which they thought would be the mostedible part, the operation being rendered possible by the amountof armour the explosive balls had stripped off.
"To-morrow," said Bearwarden, "we must make it a point to getsome well-fed birds; for I can roast, broil, or fricassee them toa turn. Life is too short to live on this meat in such asportsman's paradise. In any case there can be no end ofmastodons, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, moa birds, and all suchshooting."
As the sun was already near the horizon, they chose a dry, sandyplace, to secure as much immunity as possible from nocturnalvisits, and, after procuring a supply of water from a pool,proceeded to arrange their camp for the night. They first laidout the protection- wires, setting them while the sun stillshone. Next they built a fire and prepared their evening meal.While they ate it, twilight became night, and the fire-flies,twinkling in legions in the neighbouring valley, seemed like thelamps of a great city.
"Their lights," said Bearwarden, pointing to them, "are not asfine as the jelly-fish Will-o'-the wisps were last night, butthey are not so dangerous. No gymnotus or electric eel that Ihave ever seen compared with them, and I am convinced that anyone of us they might have touched would have been in kingdomcome."
The balmy air soothed the travellers' brows as they reclinedagainst mounds of sand, while the flowers in the valley sent uptheir dying notes. One by one the moons arose, till four--amongthem the Lilliputian, discovered by Prof. Barnard in 1893--werein the sky, flooding the landscape with their silvery light, andsomething in the surroundings touched a sympathetic cord in themen.
"Oh that I were young again," said Cortlandt, "and had lifebefore me! I should like to remain here and grow up with thisplanet, in which we already perceive the next New World. Thebeauties of earth are barren compared with the scenes we havehere."
"You remember," replied Bearwarden, "how Cicero defends old agein his De Senectute, and shows that while it has almosteverything that youth has, it has also a sense of calm and manythings besides."
"Yes," answered Cortlandt, "but, while plausible, it does notconvince. The pleasures of age are largely negative, the oldbeing happy when free from pain."
"Since the highest joy of life," said Ayrault, "is coming to knowour Creator, I should say the old, being further advanced, wouldbe the happier of the two. I should never regard this materiallife as greatly to be prized for itself. You remember the oldsong: "'O Youth! When we come to consider The pain, the toil, and the strife, The happiest man of all is The one who has finished his life.'
"I suspect," continued Ayrault, "that the man who reaches eventhe lowest plane in paradise will find far more beautiful visionsthan any we have here."
As they had but little rest the night before, they were alltired. The warm breeze swayed the long dry grass, causing it togive out a soft rustle; all birds except the flitting bats wereasleep among the tall ferns or on the great trees that spreadtheir branches towards heaven. There was nothing to recall apicture of the huge monsters they had seen that day, or of thestill more to be dreaded terror these had borne witness to. Thusnight closes the activities of the day, and in its serenegrandeur the soul has time to think. While they thought,however, drowsiness overcame them, and in a little while all wereasleep.
The double line of protection-wires encircled them like a silentguard, while the methodical ticking of the alarm-clock that wasto wake them at the approach of danger, and register the hour ofinterruption, formed a curious contrast to the irregu
lar cries ofthe night-hawks in the distance. Time and again some hugeiguanodon or a hipsohopus would pass, shaking the ground with itstread; but so implicit was the travellers' trust in the vigilanceof their mechanical and tireless watch, that they slept on ascalmly and unconcernedly as though they had been in their beds athome, while the tick was as constant and regular as a sentry'smarch. The wires of course did not protect them from creatureshaving wings, and they ran some risk of a visitation from theblood-sucking bats. The far-away volcanoes occasionally sent upsheets of flame, which in the distance were like summerlightning; the torrents of lava and crashes that had sounded sothunderous when near, were now like the murmur of the ocean's ebbtide, lulling the terrestrials to deeper sleep. The pale moonswere at intervals momentarily obscured by the rushing clouds inthe upper air, only to reappear soon afterwards as serene asbefore. All Nature seemed at rest.
Shortly before dawn there was an unusually heavy step. A momentlater the ever-vigilant batteries poured forth their current, andthe clang of the alarm-bell made the still night ring. In aninstant the three men were awake, each resting on one knee, withtheir backs towards the centre and their polished barrels raised.It was not long before they perceived the intruder by themoonlight. A huge monster of the Triceratops prorsus species hadentered the camp. It was shaped something like an elephant, buthad ten or twelve times the bulk, being over forty feet inlength, not including the long, thick tail. The head carried twohuge horns on the forehead and one on the nose.
"A plague on my shot-gun!" said Cortlandt. "Had I known how muchof this kind of game we should see, I too should have brought arifle."
The monster was entangled in the wires, and in another secondwould have stepped on the batteries that were still causing thebell to ring.
"Aim for the heart," said Bearwarden to Ayrault. "When you showme his ribs, I will follow you in the hole."
Ayrault instantly fired for a point just back of the leftforeleg. The explosion had the same effect as on the mastodon,removing a half-barrel of hide, etc; and the next secondBearwarden sent a bullet less than an inch from where Ayrault'shad stopped. Before the colossus could turn, each had causedseveral explosions in close proximity to the first. The creaturewas of course terribly wounded, and several ribs were cracked,but no ball had gone through. With a roar it made straight forthe woods, and with surprising agility, running fully as fast asan elephant. Bearwarden and Ayrault kept up a rapid fire at theleft hind leg, and soon completely disabled it. The dinosaur,however, supported itself with its huge tail, and continued tomake good time. Knowing they could not give it a fatal wound atthe intervening distance, in the uncertain light, they stoppedfiring and set out in pursuit. Cortlandt paused to stop the bellthat still rang, and then put his best foot foremost in regaininghis friends. For half a mile they hurried along, until, seeingby the quantity of blood on the ground that they were in nodanger of losing the game, they determined to save theirstrength. The trail entered the woods by a narrow ravine, passedthrough what proved to be but a belt of timber, and then turnednorth to the right. Presently in the semi-darkness they saw themonster's head against the sky. He was browsing among the trees,tearing off the young branches, and the hunters succeeded ingetting within seventy-five yards before being discovered. Justas he began to run, the two rifles again fired, this time at theright hind leg, which they succeeded in hamstringing. After thatthe Triceratops prorsus was at their mercy, and they quickly putan end to its suffering.
"The sun is about to rise," said Bearwarden; "in a few minutes weshall have enough light."
They cut out a dozen thick slices of tenderloin steak, and soonwere broiling and eating a substantial breakfast.
"There are not as many spectators to watch us eat here," saidCortlandt, "as in the woods. I suggest that, after returning tocamp for our blankets and things, we steer for the Callisto, viathis Triceratops, to see what creatures have been attracted bythe body."
On finishing their meal they returned to the place at which theyhad passed the night. Having straightened the protection-wires,which had become twisted, and arranged their impedimenta, theyset out, and were soon once more beside their latest victim.
A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future Page 12
