I should wish to place upon record here our gratitude to all ourfriends upon the Amazon for the very great kindness andhospitality which was shown to us upon our return journey. Very particularly would I thank Senhor Penalosa and other officialsof the Brazilian Government for the special arrangements by whichwe were helped upon our way, and Senhor Pereira of Para, to whoseforethought we owe the complete outfit for a decent appearance inthe civilized world which we found ready for us at that town. It seemed a poor return for all the courtesy which we encounteredthat we should deceive our hosts and benefactors, but under thecircumstances we had really no alternative, and I hereby tellthem that they will only waste their time and their money if theyattempt to follow upon our traces. Even the names have beenaltered in our accounts, and I am very sure that no one, from themost careful study of them, could come within a thousand miles ofour unknown land.

The excitement which had been caused through those parts of SouthAmerica which we had to traverse was imagined by us to be purelylocal, and I can assure our friends in England that we had nonotion of the uproar which the mere rumor of our experiences hadcaused through Europe. It was not until the Ivernia was withinfive hundred miles of Southampton that the wireless messages frompaper after paper and agency after agency, offering huge pricesfor a short return message as to our actual results, showed ushow strained was the attention not only of the scientific worldbut of the general public. It was agreed among us, however, thatno definite statement should be given to the Press until we hadmet the members of the Zoological Institute, since as delegates itwas our clear duty to give our first report to the body from whichwe had received our commission of investigation. Thus, althoughwe found Southampton full of Pressmen, we absolutely refused togive any information, which had the natural effect of focussingpublic attention upon the meeting which was advertised for theevening of November 7th. For this gathering, the Zoological Hallwhich had been the scene of the inception of our task was foundto be far too small, and it was only in the Queen's Hall in RegentStreet that accommodation could be found. It is now commonknowledge the promoters might have ventured upon the Albert Halland still found their space too scanty.

It was for the second evening after our arrival that the greatmeeting had been fixed. For the first, we had each, no doubt,our own pressing personal affairs to absorb us. Of mine I cannotyet speak. It may be that as it stands further from me I maythink of it, and even speak of it, with less emotion. I haveshown the reader in the beginning of this narrative where lay thesprings of my action. It is but right, perhaps, that I shouldcarry on the tale and show also the results. And yet the day maycome when I would not have it otherwise. At least I have beendriven forth to take part in a wondrous adventure, and I cannotbut be thankful to the force that drove me.

And now I turn to the last supreme eventful moment of our adventure. As I was racking my brain as to how I should best describe it, myeyes fell upon the issue of my own Journal for the morning of the8th of November with the full and excellent account of my friendand fellow-reporter Macdona. What can I do better than transcribehis narrative--head-lines and all? I admit that the paper wasexuberant in the matter, out of compliment to its own enterprisein sending a correspondent, but the other great dailies were hardlyless full in their account. Thus, then, friend Mac in his report:

THE NEW WORLDGREAT MEETING AT THE QUEEN'S HALLSCENES OF UPROAREXTRAORDINARY INCIDENTWHAT WAS IT?NOCTURNAL RIOT IN REGENT STREET(Special)

"The much-discussed meeting of the Zoological Institute, convenedto hear the report of the Committee of Investigation sent outlast year to South America to test the assertions made byProfessor Challenger as to the continued existence of prehistoriclife upon that Continent, was held last night in the greaterQueen's Hall, and it is safe to say that it is likely to be a redletter date in the history of Science, for the proceedings wereof so remarkable and sensational a character that no one presentis ever likely to forget them." (Oh, brother scribe Macdona, whata monstrous opening sentence!) "The tickets were theoreticallyconfined to members and their friends, but the latter is anelastic term, and long before eight o'clock, the hour fixed forthe commencement of the proceedings, all parts of the Great Hallwere tightly packed. The general public, however, which mostunreasonably entertained a grievance at having been excluded,stormed the doors at a quarter to eight, after a prolonged meleein which several people were injured, including Inspector Scobleof H. Division, whose leg was unfortunately broken. After thisunwarrantable invasion, which not only filled every passage, buteven intruded upon the space set apart for the Press, it isestimated that nearly five thousand people awaited the arrival ofthe travelers. When they eventually appeared, they took theirplaces in the front of a platform which already contained all theleading scientific men, not only of this country, but of Franceand of Germany. Sweden was also represented, in the person ofProfessor Sergius, the famous Zoologist of the University of Upsala.The entrance of the four heroes of the occasion was the signalfor a remarkable demonstration of welcome, the whole audiencerising and cheering for some minutes. An acute observer might,however, have detected some signs of dissent amid the applause,and gathered that the proceedings were likely to become morelively than harmonious. It may safely be prophesied, however,that no one could have foreseen the extraordinary turn which theywere actually to take.

"Of the appearance of the four wanderers little need be said,since their photographs have for some time been appearing in allthe papers. They bear few traces of the hardships which they aresaid to have undergone. Professor Challenger's beard may be moreshaggy, Professor Summerlee's features more ascetic, Lord JohnRoxton's figure more gaunt, and all three may be burned to adarker tint than when they left our shores, but each appeared tobe in most excellent health. As to our own representative, thewell-known athlete and international Rugby football player, E. D.Malone, he looks trained to a hair, and as he surveyed the crowda smile of good-humored contentment pervaded his honest buthomely face." (All right, Mac, wait till I get you alone!)

"When quiet had been restored and the audience resumed theirseats after the ovation which they had given to the travelers,the chairman, the Duke of Durham, addressed the meeting. `Hewould not,' he said, `stand for more than a moment between thatvast assembly and the treat which lay before them. It was notfor him to anticipate what Professor Summerlee, who was thespokesman of the committee, had to say to them, but it was commonrumor that their expedition had been crowned by extraordinarysuccess.' (Applause.) `Apparently the age of romance was notdead, and there was common ground upon which the wildestimaginings of the novelist could meet the actual scientificinvestigations of the searcher for truth. He would only add,before he sat down, that he rejoiced--and all of them wouldrejoice--that these gentlemen had returned safe and sound fromtheir difficult and dangerous task, for it cannot be denied thatany disaster to such an expedition would have inflicted awell-nigh irreparable loss to the cause of Zoological science.' (Great applause, in which Professor Challenger was observed to join.)

"Professor Summerlee's rising was the signal for anotherextraordinary outbreak of enthusiasm, which broke out again atintervals throughout his address. That address will not be givenin extenso in these columns, for the reason that a full accountof the whole adventures of the expedition is being published asa supplement from the pen of our own special correspondent. Some general indications will therefore suffice. Having describedthe genesis of their journey, and paid a handsome tribute to hisfriend Professor Challenger, coupled with an apology for theincredulity with which his assertions, now fully vindicated, hadbeen received, he gave the actual course of their journey,carefully withholding such information as would aid the public inany attempt to locate this remarkable plateau. Having described,in general terms, their course from the main river up to the timethat they actually reached the base of the cliffs, he enthralledhis hearers by his account of the difficulties encountered by theexpedition in their repeated attempts to mount them, and finallydescribed how they succeeded in their desperate endeavors,which cost the lives of their two devoted half-breed servants." (This amazing reading of the affair was the result of Summerlee'sendeavors to avoid raising any questionable matter at the meeting.)

"Having conducted his audience in fancy to the summit, andmarooned them there by reason of the fall of their bridge, theProfessor proceeded to describe both the horrors and theattractions of that remarkable land. Of personal adventures hesaid little, but laid stress upon the rich harvest reaped byScience in the observations of the wonderful beast, bird, insect,and plant life of the plateau. Peculiarly rich in the coleopteraand in the lepidoptera, forty-six new species of the one andninety-four of the other had been secured in the course of afew weeks. It was, however, in the larger animals, and especiallyin the larger animals supposed to have been long extinct, that theinterest of the public was naturally centered. Of these he wasable to give a goodly list, but had little doubt that it would belargely extended when the place had been more thoroughly investigated. He and his companions had seen at least a dozen creatures, most ofthem at a distance, which corresponded with nothing at presentknown to Science. These would in time be duly classifiedand examined. He instanced a snake, the cast skin of which,deep purple in color, was fifty-one feet in length, andmentioned a white creature, supposed to be mammalian, which gaveforth well-marked phosphorescence in the darkness; also a largeblack moth, the bite of which was supposed by the Indians to behighly poisonous. Setting aside these entirely new forms oflife, the plateau was very rich in known prehistoric forms,dating back in some cases to early Jurassic times. Among thesehe mentioned the gigantic and grotesque stegosaurus, seen once byMr. Malone at a drinking-place by the lake, and drawn in thesketch-book of that adventurous American who had first penetratedthis unknown world. He described also the iguanodon and thepterodactyl--two of the first of the wonders which theyhad encountered. He then thrilled the assembly by some accountof the terrible carnivorous dinosaurs, which had on more than oneoccasion pursued members of the party, and which were the mostformidable of all the creatures which they had encountered. Thence he passed to the huge and ferocious bird, the phororachus,and to the great elk which still roams upon this upland. It wasnot, however, until he sketched the mysteries of the central lakethat the full interest and enthusiasm of the audience were aroused. One had to pinch oneself to be sure that one was awake as oneheard this sane and practical Professor in cold measuredtones describing the monstrous three-eyed fish-lizards and thehuge water-snakes which inhabit this enchanted sheet of water. Next he touched upon the Indians, and upon the extraordinarycolony of anthropoid apes, which might be looked upon as anadvance upon the pithecanthropus of Java, and as coming thereforenearer than any known form to that hypothetical creation, themissing link. Finally he described, amongst some merriment, theingenious but highly dangerous aeronautic invention of ProfessorChallenger, and wound up a most memorable address by an accountof the methods by which the committee did at last find their wayback to civilization.

"It had been hoped that the proceedings would end there, and thata vote of thanks and congratulation, moved by Professor Sergius,of Upsala University, would be duly seconded and carried; but itwas soon evident that the course of events was not destined toflow so smoothly. Symptoms of opposition had been evident fromtime to time during the evening, and now Dr. James Illingworth, ofEdinburgh, rose in the center of the hall. Dr. Illingworth askedwhether an amendment should not be taken before a resolution.

"THE CHAIRMAN: `Yes, sir, if there must be an amendment.'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: `Your Grace, there must be an amendment.'

"THE CHAIRMAN: `Then let us take it at once.'

"PROFESSOR SUMMERLEE (springing to his feet): `Might I explain,your Grace, that this man is my personal enemy ever since ourcontroversy in the Quarterly Journal of Science as to the truenature of Bathybius?'

"THE CHAIRMAN: `I fear I cannot go into personal matters. Proceed.'

"Dr. Illingworth was imperfectly heard in part of his remarks onaccount of the strenuous opposition of the friends of the explorers. Some attempts were also made to pull him down. Being a man ofenormous physique, however, and possessed of a very powerfulvoice, he dominated the tumult and succeeded in finishinghis speech. It was clear, from the moment of his rising, thathe had a number of friends and sympathizers in the hall, thoughthey formed a minority in the audience. The attitude of thegreater part of the public might be described as one ofattentive neutrality.

"Dr. Illingworth began his remarks by expressing his highappreciation of the scientific work both of Professor Challengerand of Professor Summerlee. He much regretted that any personalbias should have been read into his remarks, which were entirelydictated by his desire for scientific truth. His position, infact, was substantially the same as that taken up by ProfessorSummerlee at the last meeting. At that last meeting ProfessorChallenger had made certain assertions which had been queried byhis colleague. Now this colleague came forward himself with thesame assertions and expected them to remain unquestioned. Was thisreasonable? (`Yes,' `No,' and prolonged interruption, duringwhich Professor Challenger was heard from the Press box to askleave from the chairman to put Dr. Illingworth into the street.) A year ago one man said certain things. Now four men said otherand more startling ones. Was this to constitute a final proofwhere the matters in question were of the most revolutionary andincredible character? There had been recent examples of travelersarriving from the unknown with certain tales which had been tooreadily accepted. Was the London Zoological Institute to placeitself in this position? He admitted that the members of thecommittee were men of character. But human nature was very complex. Even Professors might be misled by the desire for notoriety. Like moths, we all love best to flutter in the light. Heavy-game shots liked to be in a position to cap the tales oftheir rivals, and journalists were not averse from sensationalcoups, even when imagination had to aid fact in the process. Each member of the committee had his own motive for making themost of his results. (`Shame! shame!') He had no desire to beoffensive. (`You are!' and interruption.) The corroboration ofthese wondrous tales was really of the most slender description. What did it amount to? Some photographs. {Was it possible that inthis age of ingenious manipulation photographs could be acceptedas evidence?} What more? We have a story of a flight and a descentby ropes which precluded the production of larger specimens. It wasingenious, but not convincing. It was understood that Lord JohnRoxton claimed to have the skull of a phororachus. He couldonly say that he would like to see that skull.

"LORD JOHN ROXTON: `Is this fellow calling me a liar?' (Uproar.)

"THE CHAIRMAN: `Order! order! Dr. Illingworth, I must direct youto bring your remarks to a conclusion and to move your amendment.'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: `Your Grace, I have more to say, but I bow toyour ruling. I move, then, that, while Professor Summerlee bethanked for his interesting address, the whole matter shall beregarded as `non-proven,' and shall be referred back to a larger,and possibly more reliable Committee of Investigation.'

"It is difficult to describe the confusion caused by this amendment. A large section of the audience expressed their indignation at sucha slur upon the travelers by noisy shouts of dissent and cries of,`Don't put it!' `Withdraw!' `Turn him out!' On the other hand,the malcontents--and it cannot be denied that they were fairlynumerous--cheered for the amendment, with cries of `Order!' `Chair!' and `Fair play!' A scuffle broke out in the back benches,and blows were freely exchanged among the medical students whocrowded that part of the hall. It was only the moderatinginfluence of the presence of large numbers of ladies whichprevented an absolute riot. Suddenly, however, there was apause, a hush, and then complete silence. Professor Challengerwas on his feet. His appearance and manner are peculiarlyarresting, and as he raised his hand for order the wholeaudience settled down expectantly to give him a hearing.

"`It will be within the recollection of many present,' saidProfessor Challenger, `that similar foolish and unmannerly scenesmarked the last meeting at which I have been able to address them. On that occasion Professor Summerlee was the chief offender, andthough he is now chastened and contrite, the matter could not beentirely forgotten. I have heard to-night similar, but even moreoffensive, sentiments from the person who has just sat down, andthough it is a conscious effort of self-effacement to come downto that person's mental level, I will endeavor to do so, in orderto allay any reasonable doubt which could possibly exist in theminds of anyone.' (Laughter and interruption.) `I need not remindthis audience that, though Professor Summerlee, as the head of theCommittee of Investigation, has been put up to speak to-night,still it is I who am the real prime mover in this business, andthat it is mainly to me that any successful result must be ascribed. I have safely conducted these three gentlemen to the spot mentioned,and I have, as you have heard, convinced them of the accuracy ofmy previous account. We had hoped that we should find upon ourreturn that no one was so dense as to dispute our joint conclusions. Warned, however, by my previous experience, I have not come withoutsuch proofs as may convince a reasonable man. As explained byProfessor Summerlee, our cameras have been tampered with by the ape-men when they ransacked our camp, and most of our negatives ruined.' (Jeers, laughter, and `Tell us another!' from the back.) `I havementioned the ape-men, and I cannot forbear from saying that someof the sounds which now meet my ears bring back most vividly tomy recollection my experiences with those interesting creatures.'(Laughter.) `In spite of the destruction of so many invaluablenegatives, there still remains in our collection a certain numberof corroborative photographs showing the conditions of life uponthe plateau. Did they accuse them of having forged these photographs?' (A voice, `Yes,' and considerable interruption which ended inseveral men being put out of the hall.) `The negatives were opento the inspection of experts. But what other evidence had they? Under the conditions of their escape it was naturally impossibleto bring a large amount of baggage, but they had rescued ProfessorSummerlee's collections of butterflies and beetles, containingmany new species. Was this not evidence?' (Several voices, `No.') `Who said no?'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH (rising): `Our point is that such a collectionmight have been made in other places than a prehistoric plateau.'(Applause.)

"PROFESSOR CHALLENGER: `No doubt, sir, we have to bow to yourscientific authority, although I must admit that the nameis unfamiliar. Passing, then, both the photographs and theentomological collection, I come to the varied and accurateinformation which we bring with us upon points which have neverbefore been elucidated. For example, upon the domestic habits ofthe pterodactyl--`(A voice: `Bosh,' and uproar)--`I say, thatupon the domestic habits of the pterodactyl we can throw a floodof light. I can exhibit to you from my portfolio a picture ofthat creature taken from life which would convince you----'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: `No picture could convince us of anything.'"PROFESSOR CHALLENGER: `You would require to see the thing itself?'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH: `Undoubtedly.'

"PROFESSOR CHALLENGER: `And you would accept that?'

"DR. ILLINGWORTH (laughing): `Beyond a doubt.'

"It was at this point that the sensation of the evening arose--asensation so dramatic that it can never have been paralleled inthe history of scientific gatherings. Professor Challengerraised his hand in the air as a signal, and at once ourcolleague, Mr. E. D. Malone, was observed to rise and to make hisway to the back of the platform. An instant later he re-appearedin company of a gigantic negro, the two of them bearing betweenthem a large square packing-case. It was evidently of greatweight, and was slowly carried forward and placed in front ofthe Professor's chair. All sound had hushed in the audienceand everyone was absorbed in the spectacle before them. Professor Challenger drew off the top of the case, which formeda sliding lid. Peering down into the box he snapped his fingersseveral times and was heard from the Press seat to say, `Come,then, pretty, pretty!' in a coaxing voice. An instant later,with a scratching, rattling sound, a most horrible and loathsomecreature appeared from below and perched itself upon the side ofthe case. Even the unexpected fall of the Duke of Durham intothe orchestra, which occurred at this moment, could not distractthe petrified attention of the vast audience. The face of thecreature was like the wildest gargoyle that the imagination of amad medieval builder could have conceived. It was malicious,horrible, with two small red eyes as bright as points ofburning coal. Its long, savage mouth, which was held half-open,was full of a double row of shark-like teeth. Its shoulders werehumped, and round them were draped what appeared to be a fadedgray shawl. It was the devil of our childhood in person. There wasa turmoil in the audience--someone screamed, two ladies in thefront row fell senseless from their chairs, and there was ageneral movement upon the platform to follow their chairman intothe orchestra. For a moment there was danger of a general panic. Professor Challenger threw up his hands to still the commotion,but the movement alarmed the creature beside him. Its strangeshawl suddenly unfurled, spread, and fluttered as a pair ofleathery wings. Its owner grabbed at its legs, but too late tohold it. It had sprung from the perch and was circling slowlyround the Queen's Hall with a dry, leathery flapping of itsten-foot wings, while a putrid and insidious odor pervadedthe room. The cries of the people in the galleries, who werealarmed at the near approach of those glowing eyes and thatmurderous beak, excited the creature to a frenzy. Faster andfaster it flew, beating against walls and chandeliers in a blindfrenzy of alarm. `The window! For heaven's sake shut that window!'roared the Professor from the platform, dancing and wringing hishands in an agony of apprehension. Alas, his warning was too late! In a moment the creature, beating and bumping along the wall like ahuge moth within a gas-shade, came upon the opening, squeezed itshideous bulk through it, and was gone. Professor Challenger fellback into his chair with his face buried in his hands, while theaudience gave one long, deep sigh of relief as they realized thatthe incident was over.

"Then--oh! how shall one describe what took place then--when thefull exuberance of the majority and the full reaction of theminority united to make one great wave of enthusiasm, whichrolled from the back of the hall, gathering volume as it came,swept over the orchestra, submerged the platform, and carried thefour heroes away upon its crest?" (Good for you, Mac!) "If theaudience had done less than justice, surely it made ample amends. Every one was on his feet. Every one was moving, shouting,gesticulating. A dense crowd of cheering men were round the fourtravelers. `Up with them! up with them!' cried a hundred voices. In a moment four figures shot up above the crowd. In vain theystrove to break loose. They were held in their lofty placesof honor. It would have been hard to let them down if it hadbeen wished, so dense was the crowd around them. `Regent Street! Regent Street!' sounded the voices. There was a swirl in thepacked multitude, and a slow current, bearing the four upon theirshoulders, made for the door. Out in the street the scene wasextraordinary. An assemblage of not less than a hundred thousandpeople was waiting. The close-packed throng extended from theother side of the Langham Hotel to Oxford Circus. A roar ofacclamation greeted the four adventurers as they appeared, highabove the heads of the people, under the vivid electric lampsoutside the hall. `A procession! A procession!' was the cry. In a dense phalanx, blocking the streets from side to side, thecrowd set forth, taking the route of Regent Street, Pall Mall,St. James's Street, and Piccadilly. The whole central trafficof London was held up, and many collisions were reported betweenthe demonstrators upon the one side and the police and taxi-cabmenupon the other. Finally, it was not until after midnight thatthe four travelers were released at the entrance to Lord JohnRoxton's chambers in the Albany, and that the exuberant crowd,having sung `They are Jolly Good Fellows' in chorus, concludedtheir program with `God Save the King.' So ended one of the mostremarkable evenings that London has seen for a considerable time."

So far my friend Macdona; and it may be taken as a fairlyaccurate, if florid, account of the proceedings. As to the mainincident, it was a bewildering surprise to the audience, but not,I need hardly say, to us. The reader will remember how I metLord John Roxton upon the very occasion when, in his protectivecrinoline, he had gone to bring the "Devil's chick" as he calledit, for Professor Challenger. I have hinted also at the troublewhich the Professor's baggage gave us when we left the plateau,and had I described our voyage I might have said a good deal ofthe worry we had to coax with putrid fish the appetite of ourfilthy companion. If I have not said much about it before, itwas, of course, that the Professor's earnest desire was that nopossible rumor of the unanswerable argument which we carriedshould be allowed to leak out until the moment came when hisenemies were to be confuted.

One word as to the fate of the London pterodactyl. Nothing canbe said to be certain upon this point. There is the evidence oftwo frightened women that it perched upon the roof of the Queen'sHall and remained there like a diabolical statue for some hours. The next day it came out in the evening papers that PrivateMiles, of the Coldstream Guards, on duty outside MarlboroughHouse, had deserted his post without leave, and was thereforecourtmartialed. Private Miles' account, that he dropped hisrifle and took to his heels down the Mall because on looking uphe had suddenly seen the devil between him and the moon, was notaccepted by the Court, and yet it may have a direct bearing uponthe point at issue. The only other evidence which I can adduceis from the log of the SS. Friesland, a Dutch-American liner,which asserts that at nine next morning, Start Point being at thetime ten miles upon their starboard quarter, they were passed bysomething between a flying goat and a monstrous bat, which washeading at a prodigious pace south and west. If its hominginstinct led it upon the right line, there can be no doubt thatsomewhere out in the wastes of the Atlantic the last Europeanpterodactyl found its end.

And Gladys--oh, my Gladys!--Gladys of the mystic lake, now to bere-named the Central, for never shall she have immortalitythrough me. Did I not always see some hard fiber in her nature? Did I not, even at the time when I was proud to obey her behest,feel that it was surely a poor love which could drive a lover tohis death or the danger of it? Did I not, in my truest thoughts,always recurring and always dismissed, see past the beauty of theface, and, peering into the soul, discern the twin shadows ofselfishness and of fickleness glooming at the back of it? Did shelove the heroic and the spectacular for its own noble sake, orwas it for the glory which might, without effort or sacrifice, bereflected upon herself? Or are these thoughts the vain wisdomwhich comes after the event? It was the shock of my life. For amoment it had turned me to a cynic. But already, as I write, aweek has passed, and we have had our momentous interview withLord John Roxton and--well, perhaps things might be worse.

Let me tell it in a few words. No letter or telegram had come tome at Southampton, and I reached the little villa at Streathamabout ten o'clock that night in a fever of alarm. Was she deador alive? Where were all my nightly dreams of the open arms, thesmiling face, the words of praise for her man who had risked hislife to humor her whim? Already I was down from the high peaksand standing flat-footed upon earth. Yet some good reasons givenmight still lift me to the clouds once more. I rushed down thegarden path, hammered at the door, heard the voice of Gladyswithin, pushed past the staring maid, and strode into thesitting-room. She was seated in a low settee under the shadedstandard lamp by the piano. In three steps I was across the roomand had both her hands in mine.

"Gladys!" I cried, "Gladys!"

She looked up with amazement in her face. She was altered in somesubtle way. The expression of her eyes, the hard upward stare,the set of the lips, was new to me. She drew back her hands.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"Gladys!" I cried. "What is the matter? You are my Gladys, areyou not--little Gladys Hungerton?"

"No," said she, "I am Gladys Potts. Let me introduce you tomy husband."

How absurd life is! I found myself mechanically bowing andshaking hands with a little ginger-haired man who was coiled upin the deep arm-chair which had once been sacred to my own use. We bobbed and grinned in front of each other.

"Father lets us stay here. We are getting our house ready,"said Gladys.

"Oh, yes," said I.

"You didn't get my letter at Para, then?"

"No, I got no letter."

"Oh, what a pity! It would have made all clear."

"It is quite clear," said I.

"I've told William all about you," said she. "We have no secrets. I am so sorry about it. But it couldn't have been so very deep,could it, if you could go off to the other end of the world andleave me here alone. You're not crabby, are you?"

"No, no, not at all. I think I'll go."

"Have some refreshment," said the little man, and he added, in aconfidential way, "It's always like this, ain't it? And must beunless you had polygamy, only the other way round; you understand." He laughed like an idiot, while I made for the door.

I was through it, when a sudden fantastic impulse came upon me,and I went back to my successful rival, who looked nervously atthe electric push.

"Will you answer a question?" I asked.

"Well, within reason," said he.

"How did you do it? Have you searched for hidden treasure, ordiscovered a pole, or done time on a pirate, or flown theChannel, or what? Where is the glamour of romance? How did youget it?"

He stared at me with a hopeless expression upon his vacuous,good-natured, scrubby little face.

"Don't you think all this is a little too personal?" he said.

"Well, just one question," I cried. "What are you? What isyour profession?"

"I am a solicitor's clerk," said he. "Second man at Johnson andMerivale's, 41 Chancery Lane."

"Good-night!" said I, and vanished, like all disconsolate andbroken-hearted heroes, into the darkness, with grief and rageand laughter all simmering within me like a boiling pot.

One more little scene, and I have done. Last night we all suppedat Lord John Roxton's rooms, and sitting together afterwards wesmoked in good comradeship and talked our adventures over. It wasstrange under these altered surroundings to see the old, well-knownfaces and figures. There was Challenger, with his smile ofcondescension, his drooping eyelids, his intolerant eyes, hisaggressive beard, his huge chest, swelling and puffing as he laiddown the law to Summerlee. And Summerlee, too, there he was withhis short briar between his thin moustache and his gray goat's-beard, his worn face protruded in eager debate as he queried allChallenger's propositions. Finally, there was our host, with hisrugged, eagle face, and his cold, blue, glacier eyes with alwaysa shimmer of devilment and of humor down in the depths of them. Such is the last picture of them that I have carried away.

It was after supper, in his own sanctum--the room of the pinkradiance and the innumerable trophies--that Lord John Roxton hadsomething to say to us. From a cupboard he had brought an oldcigar-box, and this he laid before him on the table.

"There's one thing," said he, "that maybe I should have spokenabout before this, but I wanted to know a little more clearlywhere I was. No use to raise hopes and let them down again. But it's facts, not hopes, with us now. You may remember that daywe found the pterodactyl rookery in the swamp--what? Well, somethin'in the lie of the land took my notice. Perhaps it has escaped you,so I will tell you. It was a volcanic vent full of blue clay." The Professors nodded.

"Well, now, in the whole world I've only had to do with one placethat was a volcanic vent of blue clay. That was the great DeBeers Diamond Mine of Kimberley--what? So you see I got diamondsinto my head. I rigged up a contraption to hold off thosestinking beasts, and I spent a happy day there with a spud. This is what I got."

He opened his cigar-box, and tilting it over he poured abouttwenty or thirty rough stones, varying from the size of beans tothat of chestnuts, on the table.

"Perhaps you think I should have told you then. Well, so Ishould, only I know there are a lot of traps for the unwary, andthat stones may be of any size and yet of little value wherecolor and consistency are clean off. Therefore, I brought themback, and on the first day at home I took one round to Spink's,and asked him to have it roughly cut and valued."

He took a pill-box from his pocket, and spilled out of it abeautiful glittering diamond, one of the finest stones that Ihave ever seen.

"There's the result," said he. "He prices the lot at a minimumof two hundred thousand pounds. Of course it is fair sharesbetween us. I won't hear of anythin' else. Well, Challenger,what will you do with your fifty thousand?"

"If you really persist in your generous view," said theProfessor, "I should found a private museum, which has long beenone of my dreams."

"And you, Summerlee?"

"I would retire from teaching, and so find time for my finalclassification of the chalk fossils."

"I'll use my own," said Lord John Roxton, "in fitting awell-formed expedition and having another look at the dearold plateau. As to you, young fellah, you, of course, willspend yours in gettin' married."

"Not just yet," said I, with a rueful smile. "I think, if youwill have me, that I would rather go with you."

Lord Roxton said nothing, but a brown hand was stretched out tome across the table.