A dreadful thing has happened to us. Who could have foreseen it? I cannot foresee any end to our troubles. It may be that we arecondemned to spend our whole lives in this strange, inaccessible place. I am still so confused that I can hardly think clearly of the factsof the present or of the chances of the future. To my astoundedsenses the one seems most terrible and the other as black as night.

No men have ever found themselves in a worse position; nor isthere any use in disclosing to you our exact geographicalsituation and asking our friends for a relief party. Even ifthey could send one, our fate will in all human probability bedecided long before it could arrive in South America.

We are, in truth, as far from any human aid as if we were inthe moon. If we are to win through, it is only our own qualitieswhich can save us. I have as companions three remarkable men, menof great brain-power and of unshaken courage. There lies our oneand only hope. It is only when I look upon the untroubled facesof my comrades that I see some glimmer through the darkness. Outwardly I trust that I appear as unconcerned as they. Inwardly Iam filled with apprehension.

Let me give you, with as much detail as I can, the sequence ofevents which have led us to this catastrophe.

When I finished my last letter I stated that we were within sevenmiles from an enormous line of ruddy cliffs, which encircled,beyond all doubt, the plateau of which Professor Challenger spoke. Their height, as we approached them, seemed to me in some placesto be greater than he had stated--running up in parts to at leasta thousand feet--and they were curiously striated, in a mannerwhich is, I believe, characteristic of basaltic upheavals. Something of the sort is to be seen in Salisbury Crags at Edinburgh. The summit showed every sign of a luxuriant vegetation, with bushesnear the edge, and farther back many high trees. There was noindication of any life that we could see.

That night we pitched our camp immediately under the cliff--amost wild and desolate spot. The crags above us were not merelyperpendicular, but curved outwards at the top, so that ascent wasout of the question. Close to us was the high thin pinnacle ofrock which I believe I mentioned earlier in this narrative. It islike a broad red church spire, the top of it being level with theplateau, but a great chasm gaping between. On the summit of itthere grew one high tree. Both pinnacle and cliff werecomparatively low--some five or six hundred feet, I should think.

"It was on that," said Professor Challenger, pointing to thistree, "that the pterodactyl was perched. I climbed half-way upthe rock before I shot him. I am inclined to think that a goodmountaineer like myself could ascend the rock to the top, thoughhe would, of course, be no nearer to the plateau when he had done so."

As Challenger spoke of his pterodactyl I glanced at ProfessorSummerlee, and for the first time I seemed to see some signs of adawning credulity and repentance. There was no sneer upon histhin lips, but, on the contrary, a gray, drawn look of excitementand amazement. Challenger saw it, too, and reveled in the firsttaste of victory.

"Of course," said he, with his clumsy and ponderous sarcasm,"Professor Summerlee will understand that when I speak of apterodactyl I mean a stork--only it is the kind of stork whichhas no feathers, a leathery skin, membranous wings, and teeth inits jaws." He grinned and blinked and bowed until his colleagueturned and walked away.

In the morning, after a frugal breakfast of coffee and manioc--wehad to be economical of our stores--we held a council of war asto the best method of ascending to the plateau above us.

Challenger presided with a solemnity as if he were the Lord ChiefJustice on the Bench. Picture him seated upon a rock, his absurdboyish straw hat tilted on the back of his head, his superciliouseyes dominating us from under his drooping lids, his great blackbeard wagging as he slowly defined our present situation and ourfuture movements.

Beneath him you might have seen the three of us--myself,sunburnt, young, and vigorous after our open-air tramp;Summerlee, solemn but still critical, behind his eternal pipe;Lord John, as keen as a razor-edge, with his supple, alert figureleaning upon his rifle, and his eager eyes fixed eagerly uponthe speaker. Behind us were grouped the two swarthy half-breedsand the little knot of Indians, while in front and above us toweredthose huge, ruddy ribs of rocks which kept us from our goal.

"I need not say," said our leader, "that on the occasion of mylast visit I exhausted every means of climbing the cliff, andwhere I failed I do not think that anyone else is likely tosucceed, for I am something of a mountaineer. I had none of theappliances of a rock-climber with me, but I have taken theprecaution to bring them now. With their aid I am positive Icould climb that detached pinnacle to the summit; but so long asthe main cliff overhangs, it is vain to attempt ascending that. I was hurried upon my last visit by the approach of the rainyseason and by the exhaustion of my supplies. These considerationslimited my time, and I can only claim that I have surveyed aboutsix miles of the cliff to the east of us, finding no possibleway up. What, then, shall we now do?"

"There seems to be only one reasonable course," said Professor Summerlee. "If you have explored the east, we should travel along the base of thecliff to the west, and seek for a practicable point for our ascent."

"That's it," said Lord John. "The odds are that this plateau is ofno great size, and we shall travel round it until we either find aneasy way up it, or come back to the point from which we started."

"I have already explained to our young friend here," saidChallenger (he has a way of alluding to me as if I were a schoolchild ten years old), "that it is quite impossible that thereshould be an easy way up anywhere, for the simple reason that ifthere were the summit would not be isolated, and those conditionswould not obtain which have effected so singular an interferencewith the general laws of survival. Yet I admit that there mayvery well be places where an expert human climber may reach thesummit, and yet a cumbrous and heavy animal be unable to descend. It is certain that there is a point where an ascent is possible."

"How do you know that, sir?" asked Summerlee, sharply.

"Because my predecessor, the American Maple White, actually madesuch an ascent. How otherwise could he have seen the monsterwhich he sketched in his notebook?"

"There you reason somewhat ahead of the proved facts," said thestubborn Summerlee. "I admit your plateau, because I have seenit; but I have not as yet satisfied myself that it contains anyform of life whatever."

"What you admit, sir, or what you do not admit, is really ofinconceivably small importance. I am glad to perceive that theplateau itself has actually obtruded itself upon your intelligence." He glanced up at it, and then, to our amazement, he sprang from hisrock, and, seizing Summerlee by the neck, he tilted his face intothe air. "Now sir!" he shouted, hoarse with excitement. "Do Ihelp you to realize that the plateau contains some animal life?"

I have said that a thick fringe of green overhung the edge of the cliff. Out of this there had emerged a black, glistening object. As it cameslowly forth and overhung the chasm, we saw that it was a very largesnake with a peculiar flat, spade-like head. It wavered and quiveredabove us for a minute, the morning sun gleaming upon its sleek,sinuous coils. Then it slowly drew inwards and disappeared.

Summerlee had been so interested that he had stood unresistingwhile Challenger tilted his head into the air. Now he shook hiscolleague off and came back to his dignity.

"I should be glad, Professor Challenger," said he, "if you couldsee your way to make any remarks which may occur to you withoutseizing me by the chin. Even the appearance of a very ordinaryrock python does not appear to justify such a liberty."

"But there is life upon the plateau all the same," his colleaguereplied in triumph. "And now, having demonstrated this importantconclusion so that it is clear to anyone, however prejudiced orobtuse, I am of opinion that we cannot do better than break upour camp and travel to westward until we find some means of ascent."

The ground at the foot of the cliff was rocky and broken so thatthe going was slow and difficult. Suddenly we came, however,upon something which cheered our hearts. It was the site of anold encampment, with several empty Chicago meat tins, a bottlelabeled "Brandy," a broken tin-opener, and a quantity of othertravelers' debris. A crumpled, disintegrated newspaper revealed itself as the Chicago Democrat, though the date had been obliterated.

"Not mine," said Challenger. "It must be Maple White's."

Lord John had been gazing curiously at a great tree-fern whichovershadowed the encampment. "I say, look at this," said he. "I believe it is meant for a sign-post."

A slip of hard wood had been nailed to the tree in such a way asto point to the westward.

"Most certainly a sign-post," said Challenger. "What else? Finding himself upon a dangerous errand, our pioneer has leftthis sign so that any party which follows him may know the way hehas taken. Perhaps we shall come upon some other indications aswe proceed."

We did indeed, but they were of a terrible and most unexpected nature. Immediately beneath the cliff there grew a considerable patch of highbamboo, like that which we had traversed in our journey. Many ofthese stems were twenty feet high, with sharp, strong tops, so thateven as they stood they made formidable spears. We were passingalong the edge of this cover when my eye was caught by the gleam ofsomething white within it. Thrusting in my head between the stems,I found myself gazing at a fleshless skull. The whole skeleton wasthere, but the skull had detached itself and lay some feet nearer tothe open.

With a few blows from the machetes of our Indians we cleared thespot and were able to study the details of this old tragedy. Only a few shreds of clothes could still be distinguished, butthere were the remains of boots upon the bony feet, and it wasvery clear that the dead man was a European. A gold watch byHudson, of New York, and a chain which held a stylographic pen,lay among the bones. There was also a silver cigarette-case,with "J. C., from A. E. S.," upon the lid. The state of themetal seemed to show that the catastrophe had occurred no greattime before.

"Who can he be?" asked Lord John. "Poor devil! every bone in hisbody seems to be broken."

"And the bamboo grows through his smashed ribs," said Summerlee. "It is a fast-growing plant, but it is surely inconceivable thatthis body could have been here while the canes grew to be twentyfeet in length."

"As to the man's identity," said Professor Challenger, "I have nodoubt whatever upon that point. As I made my way up the riverbefore I reached you at the fazenda I instituted very particularinquiries about Maple White. At Para they knew nothing. Fortunately, I had a definite clew, for there was a particularpicture in his sketch-book which showed him taking lunch with acertain ecclesiastic at Rosario. This priest I was able to find,and though he proved a very argumentative fellow, who took itabsurdly amiss that I should point out to him the corrosiveeffect which modern science must have upon his beliefs, he nonethe less gave me some positive information. Maple White passedRosario four years ago, or two years before I saw his dead body. He was not alone at the time, but there was a friend, an Americannamed James Colver, who remained in the boat and did not meetthis ecclesiastic. I think, therefore, that there can be no doubtthat we are now looking upon the remains of this James Colver."

"Nor," said Lord John, "is there much doubt as to how he methis death. He has fallen or been chucked from the top, and sobeen impaled. How else could he come by his broken bones, andhow could he have been stuck through by these canes with theirpoints so high above our heads?"

A hush came over us as we stood round these shattered remains andrealized the truth of Lord John Roxton's words. The beetlinghead of the cliff projected over the cane-brake. Undoubtedly hehad fallen from above. But had he fallen? Had it been an accident? Or--already ominous and terrible possibilities began to form roundthat unknown land.

We moved off in silence, and continued to coast round the lineof cliffs, which were as even and unbroken as some of thosemonstrous Antarctic ice-fields which I have seen depicted asstretching from horizon to horizon and towering high above themast-heads of the exploring vessel.

In five miles we saw no rift or break. And then suddenly weperceived something which filled us with new hope. In a hollowof the rock, protected from rain, there was drawn a rough arrowin chalk, pointing still to the westwards.

"Maple White again," said Professor Challenger. "He had somepresentiment that worthy footsteps would follow close behind him."

"He had chalk, then?"

"A box of colored chalks was among the effects I found inhis knapsack. I remember that the white one was worn to a stump."

"That is certainly good evidence," said Summerlee. "We can onlyaccept his guidance and follow on to the westward."

We had proceeded some five more miles when again we saw a whitearrow upon the rocks. It was at a point where the face of thecliff was for the first time split into a narrow cleft. Inside thecleft was a second guidance mark, which pointed right up it withthe tip somewhat elevated, as if the spot indicated were abovethe level of the ground.

It was a solemn place, for the walls were so gigantic and theslit of blue sky so narrow and so obscured by a double fringeof verdure, that only a dim and shadowy light penetrated tothe bottom. We had had no food for many hours, and were veryweary with the stony and irregular journey, but our nerves weretoo strung to allow us to halt. We ordered the camp to be pitched,however, and, leaving the Indians to arrange it, we four, withthe two half-breeds, proceeded up the narrow gorge.

It was not more than forty feet across at the mouth, but itrapidly closed until it ended in an acute angle, too straightand smooth for an ascent. Certainly it was not this which ourpioneer had attempted to indicate. We made our way back--thewhole gorge was not more than a quarter of a mile deep--andthen suddenly the quick eyes of Lord John fell upon what wewere seeking. High up above our heads, amid the dark shadows,there was one circle of deeper gloom. Surely it could only bethe opening of a cave.

The base of the cliff was heaped with loose stones at the spot,and it was not difficult to clamber up. When we reached it, alldoubt was removed. Not only was it an opening into the rock, buton the side of it there was marked once again the sign of the arrow. Here was the point, and this the means by which Maple White and hisill-fated comrade had made their ascent.

We were too excited to return to the camp, but must make ourfirst exploration at once. Lord John had an electric torch inhis knapsack, and this had to serve us as light. He advanced,throwing his little clear circlet of yellow radiance before him,while in single file we followed at his heels.

The cave had evidently been water-worn, the sides being smoothand the floor covered with rounded stones. It was of such a sizethat a single man could just fit through by stooping. For fiftyyards it ran almost straight into the rock, and then it ascendedat an angle of forty-five. Presently this incline became evensteeper, and we found ourselves climbing upon hands and kneesamong loose rubble which slid from beneath us. Suddenly anexclamation broke from Lord Roxton.

"It's blocked!" said he.

Clustering behind him we saw in the yellow field of light a wallof broken basalt which extended to the ceiling.

"The roof has fallen in!"

In vain we dragged out some of the pieces. The only effect wasthat the larger ones became detached and threatened to roll downthe gradient and crush us. It was evident that the obstacle wasfar beyond any efforts which we could make to remove it. The roadby which Maple White had ascended was no longer available.

Too much cast down to speak, we stumbled down the dark tunnel andmade our way back to the camp.

One incident occurred, however, before we left the gorge, whichis of importance in view of what came afterwards.

We had gathered in a little group at the bottom of the chasm,some forty feet beneath the mouth of the cave, when a huge rockrolled suddenly downwards--and shot past us with tremendous force. It was the narrowest escape for one or all of us. We could notourselves see whence the rock had come, but our half-breedservants, who were still at the opening of the cave, said thatit had flown past them, and must therefore have fallen fromthe summit. Looking upwards, we could see no sign of movementabove us amidst the green jungle which topped the cliff. There could be little doubt, however, that the stone was aimedat us, so the incident surely pointed to humanity--and malevolenthumanity--upon the plateau.

We withdrew hurriedly from the chasm, our minds full of this newdevelopment and its bearing upon our plans. The situation wasdifficult enough before, but if the obstructions of Nature wereincreased by the deliberate opposition of man, then our case wasindeed a hopeless one. And yet, as we looked up at thatbeautiful fringe of verdure only a few hundreds of feet aboveour heads, there was not one of us who could conceive the ideaof returning to London until we had explored it to its depths.

On discussing the situation, we determined that our best coursewas to continue to coast round the plateau in the hope of findingsome other means of reaching the top. The line of cliffs, whichhad decreased considerably in height, had already begun to trendfrom west to north, and if we could take this as representing thearc of a circle, the whole circumference could not be very great. At the worst, then, we should be back in a few days at ourstarting-point.

We made a march that day which totaled some two-and-twenty miles,without any change in our prospects. I may mention that ouraneroid shows us that in the continual incline which we haveascended since we abandoned our canoes we have risen to no lessthan three thousand feet above sea-level. Hence there is aconsiderable change both in the temperature and in the vegetation. We have shaken off some of that horrible insect life which isthe bane of tropical travel. A few palms still survive, and manytree-ferns, but the Amazonian trees have been all left behind. It was pleasant to see the convolvulus, the passion-flower, andthe begonia, all reminding me of home, here among theseinhospitable rocks. There was a red begonia just the same coloras one that is kept in a pot in the window of a certain villain Streatham--but I am drifting into private reminiscence.

That night--I am still speaking of the first day of ourcircumnavigation of the plateau--a great experience awaited us,and one which for ever set at rest any doubt which we could havehad as to the wonders so near us.

You will realize as you read it, my dear Mr. McArdle, andpossibly for the first time that the paper has not sent me on awild-goose chase, and that there is inconceivably fine copywaiting for the world whenever we have the Professor's leave tomake use of it. I shall not dare to publish these articlesunless I can bring back my proofs to England, or I shall behailed as the journalistic Munchausen of all time. I have nodoubt that you feel the same way yourself, and that you would notcare to stake the whole credit of the Gazette upon this adventureuntil we can meet the chorus of criticism and scepticism whichsuch articles must of necessity elicit. So this wonderfulincident, which would make such a headline for the old paper,must still wait its turn in the editorial drawer.

And yet it was all over in a flash, and there was no sequel to it,save in our own convictions.

What occurred was this. Lord John had shot an ajouti--which is asmall, pig-like animal--and, half of it having been given to theIndians, we were cooking the other half upon our fire. There isa chill in the air after dark, and we had all drawn close tothe blaze. The night was moonless, but there were some stars,and one could see for a little distance across the plain. Well, suddenly out of the darkness, out of the night, there swoopedsomething with a swish like an aeroplane. The whole group of uswere covered for an instant by a canopy of leathery wings, and Ihad a momentary vision of a long, snake-like neck, a fierce, red,greedy eye, and a great snapping beak, filled, to my amazement,with little, gleaming teeth. The next instant it was gone--andso was our dinner. A huge black shadow, twenty feet across,skimmed up into the air; for an instant the monster wings blottedout the stars, and then it vanished over the brow of the cliffabove us. We all sat in amazed silence round the fire, like theheroes of Virgil when the Harpies came down upon them. It wasSummerlee who was the first to speak.

"Professor Challenger," said he, in a solemn voice, whichquavered with emotion, "I owe you an apology. Sir, I am verymuch in the wrong, and I beg that you will forget what is past."

It was handsomely said, and the two men for the first time shook hands. So much we have gained by this clear vision of our first pterodactyl. It was worth a stolen supper to bring two such men together.

But if prehistoric life existed upon the plateau it was notsuperabundant, for we had no further glimpse of it during thenext three days. During this time we traversed a barren andforbidding country, which alternated between stony desert anddesolate marshes full of many wild-fowl, upon the north andeast of the cliffs. From that direction the place is reallyinaccessible, and, were it not for a hardish ledge which runs atthe very base of the precipice, we should have had to turn back. Many times we were up to our waists in the slime and blubber ofan old, semi-tropical swamp. To make matters worse, the placeseemed to be a favorite breeding-place of the Jaracaca snake, themost venomous and aggressive in South America. Again and againthese horrible creatures came writhing and springing towards usacross the surface of this putrid bog, and it was only by keepingour shot-guns for ever ready that we could feel safe from them. One funnel-shaped depression in the morass, of a livid green incolor from some lichen which festered in it, will always remainas a nightmare memory in my mind. It seems to have been aspecial nest of these vermins, and the slopes were alive withthem, all writhing in our direction, for it is a peculiarityof the Jaracaca that he will always attack man at first sight. There were too many for us to shoot, so we fairly took to ourheels and ran until we were exhausted. I shall always rememberas we looked back how far behind we could see the heads and necksof our horrible pursuers rising and falling amid the reeds. Jaracaca Swamp we named it in the map which we are constructing.

The cliffs upon the farther side had lost their ruddy tint, beingchocolate-brown in color; the vegetation was more scattered alongthe top of them, and they had sunk to three or four hundred feetin height, but in no place did we find any point where they couldbe ascended. If anything, they were more impossible than at thefirst point where we had met them. Their absolute steepness isindicated in the photograph which I took over the stony desert.

"Surely," said I, as we discussed the situation, "the rain mustfind its way down somehow. There are bound to be water-channelsin the rocks."

"Our young friend has glimpses of lucidity," said ProfessorChallenger, patting me upon the shoulder.

"The rain must go somewhere," I repeated.

"He keeps a firm grip upon actuality. The only drawback is thatwe have conclusively proved by ocular demonstration that thereare no water channels down the rocks."

"Where, then, does it go?" I persisted.

"I think it may be fairly assumed that if it does not comeoutwards it must run inwards."

"Then there is a lake in the center."

"So I should suppose."

"It is more than likely that the lake may be an old crater,"said Summerlee. "The whole formation is, of course, highly volcanic. But, however that may be, I should expect to find the surface of theplateau slope inwards with a considerable sheet of water in the center,which may drain off, by some subterranean channel, into the marshesof the Jaracaca Swamp."

"Or evaporation might preserve an equilibrium," remarkedChallenger, and the two learned men wandered off into one oftheir usual scientific arguments, which were as comprehensible asChinese to the layman.

On the sixth day we completed our first circuit of the cliffs,and found ourselves back at the first camp, beside the isolatedpinnacle of rock. We were a disconsolate party, for nothingcould have been more minute than our investigation, and it wasabsolutely certain that there was no single point where the mostactive human being could possibly hope to scale the cliff. The place which Maple White's chalk-marks had indicated as hisown means of access was now entirely impassable.

What were we to do now? Our stores of provisions, supplemented byour guns, were holding out well, but the day must come when theywould need replenishment. In a couple of months the rains mightbe expected, and we should be washed out of our camp. The rockwas harder than marble, and any attempt at cutting a path for sogreat a height was more than our time or resources would admit. No wonder that we looked gloomily at each other that night, andsought our blankets with hardly a word exchanged. I rememberthat as I dropped off to sleep my last recollection was thatChallenger was squatting, like a monstrous bull-frog, by the fire,his huge head in his hands, sunk apparently in the deepest thought,and entirely oblivious to the good-night which I wished him.

But it was a very different Challenger who greeted us in themorning--a Challenger with contentment and self-congratulationshining from his whole person. He faced us as we assembled forbreakfast with a deprecating false modesty in his eyes, as whoshould say, "I know that I deserve all that you can say, but Ipray you to spare my blushes by not saying it." His beardbristled exultantly, his chest was thrown out, and his hand wasthrust into the front of his jacket. So, in his fancy, may hesee himself sometimes, gracing the vacant pedestal in TrafalgarSquare, and adding one more to the horrors of the London streets.

"Eureka!" he cried, his teeth shining through his beard. "Gentlemen, you may congratulate me and we may congratulateeach other. The problem is solved."

"You have found a way up?"

"I venture to think so."

"And where?"

For answer he pointed to the spire-like pinnacle upon our right.

Our faces--or mine, at least--fell as we surveyed it. That itcould be climbed we had our companion's assurance. But a horribleabyss lay between it and the plateau.

"We can never get across," I gasped.

"We can at least all reach the summit," said he. "When we are upI may be able to show you that the resources of an inventive mindare not yet exhausted."

After breakfast we unpacked the bundle in which our leader hadbrought his climbing accessories. From it he took a coil of thestrongest and lightest rope, a hundred and fifty feet in length,with climbing irons, clamps, and other devices. Lord John wasan experienced mountaineer, and Summerlee had done some roughclimbing at various times, so that I was really the novice atrock-work of the party; but my strength and activity may havemade up for my want of experience.

It was not in reality a very stiff task, though there weremoments which made my hair bristle upon my head. The first halfwas perfectly easy, but from there upwards it became continuallysteeper until, for the last fifty feet, we were literallyclinging with our fingers and toes to tiny ledges and crevices inthe rock. I could not have accomplished it, nor could Summerlee,if Challenger had not gained the summit (it was extraordinary tosee such activity in so unwieldy a creature) and there fixed therope round the trunk of the considerable tree which grew there. With this as our support, we were soon able to scramble up thejagged wall until we found ourselves upon the small grassyplatform, some twenty-five feet each way, which formed the summit.

The first impression which I received when I had recovered mybreath was of the extraordinary view over the country which wehad traversed. The whole Brazilian plain seemed to lie beneathus, extending away and away until it ended in dim blue mists uponthe farthest sky-line. In the foreground was the long slope,strewn with rocks and dotted with tree-ferns; farther off in themiddle distance, looking over the saddle-back hill, I could justsee the yellow and green mass of bamboos through which we hadpassed; and then, gradually, the vegetation increased until itformed the huge forest which extended as far as the eyes couldreach, and for a good two thousand miles beyond.

I was still drinking in this wonderful panorama when the heavyhand of the Professor fell upon my shoulder.

"This way, my young friend," said he; "vestigia nulla retrorsum. Never look rearwards, but always to our glorious goal."

The level of the plateau, when I turned, was exactly that onwhich we stood, and the green bank of bushes, with occasionaltrees, was so near that it was difficult to realize howinaccessible it remained. At a rough guess the gulf was fortyfeet across, but, so far as I could see, it might as well havebeen forty miles. I placed one arm round the trunk of the treeand leaned over the abyss. Far down were the small dark figuresof our servants, looking up at us. The wall was absolutelyprecipitous, as was that which faced me.

"This is indeed curious," said the creaking voice of Professor Summerlee.

I turned, and found that he was examining with great interest thetree to which I clung. That smooth bark and those small, ribbedleaves seemed familiar to my eyes. "Why," I cried, "it's a beech!"

"Exactly," said Summerlee. "A fellow-countryman in a far land."

"Not only a fellow-countryman, my good sir," said Challenger,"but also, if I may be allowed to enlarge your simile, an ally ofthe first value. This beech tree will be our saviour."

"By George!" cried Lord John, "a bridge!"

"Exactly, my friends, a bridge! It is not for nothing thatI expended an hour last night in focusing my mind uponthe situation. I have some recollection of once remarkingto our young friend here that G. E. C. is at his best whenhis back is to the wall. Last night you will admit that allour backs were to the wall. But where will-power and intellectgo together, there is always a way out. A drawbridge had to befound which could be dropped across the abyss. Behold it!"

It was certainly a brilliant idea. The tree was a good sixtyfeet in height, and if it only fell the right way it would easilycross the chasm. Challenger had slung the camp axe over hisshoulder when he ascended. Now he handed it to me.

"Our young friend has the thews and sinews," said he. "I thinkhe will be the most useful at this task. I must beg, however,that you will kindly refrain from thinking for yourself, and thatyou will do exactly what you are told."

Under his direction I cut such gashes in the sides of the treesas would ensure that it should fall as we desired. It hadalready a strong, natural tilt in the direction of the plateau,so that the matter was not difficult. Finally I set to work inearnest upon the trunk, taking turn and turn with Lord John. In a little over an hour there was a loud crack, the tree swayedforward, and then crashed over, burying its branches among thebushes on the farther side. The severed trunk rolled to the veryedge of our platform, and for one terrible second we all thoughtit was over. It balanced itself, however, a few inches from theedge, and there was our bridge to the unknown.

All of us, without a word, shook hands with Professor Challenger,who raised his straw hat and bowed deeply to each in turn.

"I claim the honor," said he, "to be the first to cross to theunknown land--a fitting subject, no doubt, for some futurehistorical painting."

He had approached the bridge when Lord John laid his hand uponhis coat.

"My dear chap," said he, "I really cannot allow it."

"Cannot allow it, sir!" The head went back and the beard forward.

"When it is a matter of science, don't you know, I follow yourlead because you are by way of bein' a man of science. But it'sup to you to follow me when you come into my department."

"Your department, sir?"

"We all have our professions, and soldierin' is mine. We are,accordin' to my ideas, invadin' a new country, which may or maynot be chock-full of enemies of sorts. To barge blindly into itfor want of a little common sense and patience isn't my notionof management."

The remonstrance was too reasonable to be disregarded. Challenger tossed his head and shrugged his heavy shoulders.

"Well, sir, what do you propose?"

"For all I know there may be a tribe of cannibals waitin' forlunch-time among those very bushes," said Lord John, lookingacross the bridge. "It's better to learn wisdom before you getinto a cookin'-pot; so we will content ourselves with hopin' thatthere is no trouble waitin' for us, and at the same time we willact as if there were. Malone and I will go down again, therefore,and we will fetch up the four rifles, together with Gomez andthe other. One man can then go across and the rest will coverhim with guns, until he sees that it is safe for the whole crowdto come along."

Challenger sat down upon the cut stump and groaned hisimpatience; but Summerlee and I were of one mind that Lord Johnwas our leader when such practical details were in question. The climb was a more simple thing now that the rope dangled downthe face of the worst part of the ascent. Within an hour we hadbrought up the rifles and a shot-gun. The half-breeds had ascendedalso, and under Lord John's orders they had carried up a bale ofprovisions in case our first exploration should be a long one. We had each bandoliers of cartridges.

"Now, Challenger, if you really insist upon being the first manin," said Lord John, when every preparation was complete.

"I am much indebted to you for your gracious permission," saidthe angry Professor; for never was a man so intolerant of everyform of authority. "Since you are good enough to allow it, Ishall most certainly take it upon myself to act as pioneer uponthis occasion."

Seating himself with a leg overhanging the abyss on each side,and his hatchet slung upon his back, Challenger hopped his wayacross the trunk and was soon at the other side. He clamberedup and waved his arms in the air.

"At last!" he cried; "at last!"

I gazed anxiously at him, with a vague expectation that someterrible fate would dart at him from the curtain of greenbehind him. But all was quiet, save that a strange, many-colored bird flew up from under his feet and vanished amongthe trees.

Summerlee was the second. His wiry energy is wonderful in so fraila frame. He insisted upon having two rifles slung upon his back,so that both Professors were armed when he had made his transit. I came next, and tried hard not to look down into the horriblegulf over which I was passing. Summerlee held out the butt-endof his rifle, and an instant later I was able to grasp his hand. As to Lord John, he walked across--actually walked without support! He must have nerves of iron.

And there we were, the four of us, upon the dreamland, the lostworld, of Maple White. To all of us it seemed the moment of oursupreme triumph. Who could have guessed that it was the preludeto our supreme disaster? Let me say in a few words how thecrushing blow fell upon us.

We had turned away from the edge, and had penetrated about fiftyyards of close brushwood, when there came a frightful rendingcrash from behind us. With one impulse we rushed back the waythat we had come. The bridge was gone!

Far down at the base of the cliff I saw, as I looked over, atangled mass of branches and splintered trunk. It was ourbeech tree. Had the edge of the platform crumbled and letit through? For a moment this explanation was in all our minds. The next, from the farther side of the rocky pinnacle before usa swarthy face, the face of Gomez the half-breed, wasslowly protruded. Yes, it was Gomez, but no longer the Gomezof the demure smile and the mask-like expression. Here was aface with flashing eyes and distorted features, a face convulsedwith hatred and with the mad joy of gratified revenge.

"Lord Roxton!" he shouted. "Lord John Roxton!"

"Well," said our companion, "here I am."

A shriek of laughter came across the abyss.

"Yes, there you are, you English dog, and there you will remain! I have waited and waited, and now has come my chance. You foundit hard to get up; you will find it harder to get down. You cursedfools, you are trapped, every one of you!"

We were too astounded to speak. We could only stand there staringin amazement. A great broken bough upon the grass showed whencehe had gained his leverage to tilt over our bridge. The face hadvanished, but presently it was up again, more frantic than before.

"We nearly killed you with a stone at the cave," he cried; "butthis is better. It is slower and more terrible. Your bones willwhiten up there, and none will know where you lie or come tocover them. As you lie dying, think of Lopez, whom you shot fiveyears ago on the Putomayo River. I am his brother, and, comewhat will I will die happy now, for his memory has been avenged."A furious hand was shaken at us, and then all was quiet.

Had the half-breed simply wrought his vengeance and then escaped,all might have been well with him. It was that foolish,irresistible Latin impulse to be dramatic which brought hisown downfall. Roxton, the man who had earned himself the name ofthe Flail of the Lord through three countries, was not one whocould be safely taunted. The half-breed was descending on thefarther side of the pinnacle; but before he could reach the groundLord John had run along the edge of the plateau and gained a pointfrom which he could see his man. There was a single crack of hisrifle, and, though we saw nothing, we heard the scream and thenthe distant thud of the falling body. Roxton came back to us witha face of granite.

"I have been a blind simpleton," said he, bitterly, "It's myfolly that has brought you all into this trouble. I should haveremembered that these people have long memories for blood-feuds,and have been more upon my guard."

"What about the other one? It took two of them to lever that treeover the edge."

"I could have shot him, but I let him go. He may have had nopart in it. Perhaps it would have been better if I had killedhim, for he must, as you say, have lent a hand."

Now that we had the clue to his action, each of us could castback and remember some sinister act upon the part of thehalf-breed--his constant desire to know our plans, his arrestoutside our tent when he was over-hearing them, the furtivelooks of hatred which from time to time one or other of ushad surprised. We were still discussing it, endeavoring to adjustour minds to these new conditions, when a singular scene in theplain below arrested our attention.

A man in white clothes, who could only be the surviving half-breed, was running as one does run when Death is the pacemaker. Behind him, only a few yards in his rear, bounded the hugeebony figure of Zambo, our devoted negro. Even as we looked,he sprang upon the back of the fugitive and flung his armsround his neck. They rolled on the ground together. An instantafterwards Zambo rose, looked at the prostrate man, and then,waving his hand joyously to us, came running in our direction. The white figure lay motionless in the middle of the great plain.

Our two traitors had been destroyed, but the mischief that theyhad done lived after them. By no possible means could we get backto the pinnacle. We had been natives of the world; now we werenatives of the plateau. The two things were separate and apart. There was the plain which led to the canoes. Yonder, beyond theviolet, hazy horizon, was the stream which led back to civilization. But the link between was missing. No human ingenuity could suggesta means of bridging the chasm which yawned between ourselves andour past lives. One instant had altered the whole conditions ofour existence.

It was at such a moment that I learned the stuff of which mythree comrades were composed. They were grave, it is true, andthoughtful, but of an invincible serenity. For the moment wecould only sit among the bushes in patience and wait the comingof Zambo. Presently his honest black face topped the rocks andhis Herculean figure emerged upon the top of the pinnacle.

"What I do now?" he cried. "You tell me and I do it."

It was a question which it was easier to ask than to answer. One thing only was clear. He was our one trusty link with theoutside world. On no account must he leave us.

"No no!" he cried. "I not leave you. Whatever come, you alwaysfind me here. But no able to keep Indians. Already they say toomuch Curupuri live on this place, and they go home. Now youleave them me no able to keep them."

It was a fact that our Indians had shown in many ways of latethat they were weary of their journey and anxious to return. We realized that Zambo spoke the truth, and that it would beimpossible for him to keep them.

"Make them wait till to-morrow, Zambo," I shouted; "then I cansend letter back by them."

"Very good, sarr! I promise they wait till to-morrow, said the negro. "But what I do for you now?"

There was plenty for him to do, and admirably the faithful fellowdid it. First of all, under our directions, he undid the ropefrom the tree-stump and threw one end of it across to us. It wasnot thicker than a clothes-line, but it was of great strength,and though we could not make a bridge of it, we might well findit invaluable if we had any climbing to do. He then fastened hisend of the rope to the package of supplies which had been carriedup, and we were able to drag it across. This gave us the meansof life for at least a week, even if we found nothing else. Finally he descended and carried up two other packets of mixedgoods--a box of ammunition and a number of other things, all ofwhich we got across by throwing our rope to him and hauling it back. It was evening when he at last climbed down, with a final assurancethat he would keep the Indians till next morning.

And so it is that I have spent nearly the whole of this our firstnight upon the plateau writing up our experiences by the light ofa single candle-lantern.

We supped and camped at the very edge of the cliff, quenchingour thirst with two bottles of Apollinaris which were in one ofthe cases. It is vital to us to find water, but I think even LordJohn himself had had adventures enough for one day, and none of usfelt inclined to make the first push into the unknown. We forboreto light a fire or to make any unnecessary sound.

To-morrow (or to-day, rather, for it is already dawn as I write)we shall make our first venture into this strange land. When Ishall be able to write again--or if I ever shall write again--Iknow not. Meanwhile, I can see that the Indians are still intheir place, and I am sure that the faithful Zambo will be herepresently to get my letter. I only trust that it will come to hand.

P.S.--The more I think the more desperate does our position seem. I see no possible hope of our return. If there were a high treenear the edge of the plateau we might drop a return bridgeacross, but there is none within fifty yards. Our unitedstrength could not carry a trunk which would serve our purpose. The rope, of course, is far too short that we could descend by it. No, our position is hopeless--hopeless!