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I
was
plodding
up
the
slope
,
turning
these
thoughts
over
in
my
mind
,
and
had
reached
a
point
which
may
have
been
half-way
to
home
,
when
my
mind
was
brought
back
to
my
own
position
by
a
strange
noise
behind
me
.
It
was
something
between
a
snore
and
a
growl
,
low
,
deep
,
and
exceedingly
menacing
.
Some
strange
creature
was
evidently
near
me
,
but
nothing
could
be
seen
,
so
I
hastened
more
rapidly
upon
my
way
.
I
had
traversed
half
a
mile
or
so
when
suddenly
the
sound
was
repeated
,
still
behind
me
,
but
louder
and
more
menacing
than
before
.
My
heart
stood
still
within
me
as
it
flashed
across
me
that
the
beast
,
whatever
it
was
,
must
surely
be
after
ME
.
My
skin
grew
cold
and
my
hair
rose
at
the
thought
.
That
these
monsters
should
tear
each
other
to
pieces
was
a
part
of
the
strange
struggle
for
existence
,
but
that
they
should
turn
upon
modern
man
,
that
they
should
deliberately
track
and
hunt
down
the
predominant
human
,
was
a
staggering
and
fearsome
thought
.
I
remembered
again
the
blood-beslobbered
face
which
we
had
seen
in
the
glare
of
Lord
John
's
torch
,
like
some
horrible
vision
from
the
deepest
circle
of
Dante
's
hell
.
With
my
knees
shaking
beneath
me
,
I
stood
and
glared
with
starting
eyes
down
the
moonlit
path
which
lay
behind
me
.
All
was
quiet
as
in
a
dream
landscape
.
Silver
clearings
and
the
black
patches
of
the
bushes
--
nothing
else
could
I
see
.
Then
from
out
of
the
silence
,
imminent
and
threatening
,
there
came
once
more
that
low
,
throaty
croaking
,
far
louder
and
closer
than
before
.
There
could
no
longer
be
a
doubt
.
Something
was
on
my
trail
,
and
was
closing
in
upon
me
every
minute
.
I
stood
like
a
man
paralyzed
,
still
staring
at
the
ground
which
I
had
traversed
.
Then
suddenly
I
saw
it
.
There
was
movement
among
the
bushes
at
the
far
end
of
the
clearing
which
I
had
just
traversed
.
A
great
dark
shadow
disengaged
itself
and
hopped
out
into
the
clear
moonlight
.
I
say
"
hopped
"
advisedly
,
for
the
beast
moved
like
a
kangaroo
,
springing
along
in
an
erect
position
upon
its
powerful
hind
legs
,
while
its
front
ones
were
held
bent
in
front
of
it
.
It
was
of
enormous
size
and
power
,
like
an
erect
elephant
,
but
its
movements
,
in
spite
of
its
bulk
,
were
exceedingly
alert
.
For
a
moment
,
as
I
saw
its
shape
,
I
hoped
that
it
was
an
iguanodon
,
which
I
knew
to
be
harmless
,
but
,
ignorant
as
I
was
,
I
soon
saw
that
this
was
a
very
different
creature
.
Instead
of
the
gentle
,
deer-shaped
head
of
the
great
three-toed
leaf-eater
,
this
beast
had
a
broad
,
squat
,
toad-like
face
like
that
which
had
alarmed
us
in
our
camp
.
His
ferocious
cry
and
the
horrible
energy
of
his
pursuit
both
assured
me
that
this
was
surely
one
of
the
great
flesh-eating
dinosaurs
,
the
most
terrible
beasts
which
have
ever
walked
this
earth
.
As
the
huge
brute
loped
along
it
dropped
forward
upon
its
fore-paws
and
brought
its
nose
to
the
ground
every
twenty
yards
or
so
.
It
was
smelling
out
my
trail
.
Sometimes
,
for
an
instant
,
it
was
at
fault
.
Then
it
would
catch
it
up
again
and
come
bounding
swiftly
along
the
path
I
had
taken
.
Even
now
when
I
think
of
that
nightmare
the
sweat
breaks
out
upon
my
brow
.
What
could
I
do
?
My
useless
fowling-piece
was
in
my
hand
.
What
help
could
I
get
from
that
?
I
looked
desperately
round
for
some
rock
or
tree
,
but
I
was
in
a
bushy
jungle
with
nothing
higher
than
a
sapling
within
sight
,
while
I
knew
that
the
creature
behind
me
could
tear
down
an
ordinary
tree
as
though
it
were
a
reed
.
My
only
possible
chance
lay
in
flight
.
I
could
not
move
swiftly
over
the
rough
,
broken
ground
,
but
as
I
looked
round
me
in
despair
I
saw
a
well-marked
,
hard-beaten
path
which
ran
across
in
front
of
me
.
We
had
seen
several
of
the
sort
,
the
runs
of
various
wild
beasts
,
during
our
expeditions
.
Along
this
I
could
perhaps
hold
my
own
,
for
I
was
a
fast
runner
,
and
in
excellent
condition
.
Flinging
away
my
useless
gun
,
I
set
myself
to
do
such
a
half-mile
as
I
have
never
done
before
or
since
.
My
limbs
ached
,
my
chest
heaved
,
I
felt
that
my
throat
would
burst
for
want
of
air
,
and
yet
with
that
horror
behind
me
I
ran
and
I
ran
and
ran
.
At
last
I
paused
,
hardly
able
to
move
.
For
a
moment
I
thought
that
I
had
thrown
him
off
.
The
path
lay
still
behind
me
.
And
then
suddenly
,
with
a
crashing
and
a
rending
,
a
thudding
of
giant
feet
and
a
panting
of
monster
lungs
the
beast
was
upon
me
once
more
.
He
was
at
my
very
heels
.
I
was
lost
.
Madman
that
I
was
to
linger
so
long
before
I
fled
!
Up
to
then
he
had
hunted
by
scent
,
and
his
movement
was
slow
.
But
he
had
actually
seen
me
as
I
started
to
run
.
From
then
onwards
he
had
hunted
by
sight
,
for
the
path
showed
him
where
I
had
gone
.
Now
,
as
he
came
round
the
curve
,
he
was
springing
in
great
bounds
.
The
moonlight
shone
upon
his
huge
projecting
eyes
,
the
row
of
enormous
teeth
in
his
open
mouth
,
and
the
gleaming
fringe
of
claws
upon
his
short
,
powerful
forearms
.
With
a
scream
of
terror
I
turned
and
rushed
wildly
down
the
path
.
Behind
me
the
thick
,
gasping
breathing
of
the
creature
sounded
louder
and
louder
.
His
heavy
footfall
was
beside
me
.
Every
instant
I
expected
to
feel
his
grip
upon
my
back
.
And
then
suddenly
there
came
a
crash
--
I
was
falling
through
space
,
and
everything
beyond
was
darkness
and
rest
.
As
I
emerged
from
my
unconsciousness
--
which
could
not
,
I
think
,
have
lasted
more
than
a
few
minutes
--
I
was
aware
of
a
most
dreadful
and
penetrating
smell
.
Putting
out
my
hand
in
the
darkness
I
came
upon
something
which
felt
like
a
huge
lump
of
meat
,
while
my
other
hand
closed
upon
a
large
bone
.
Up
above
me
there
was
a
circle
of
starlit
sky
,
which
showed
me
that
I
was
lying
at
the
bottom
of
a
deep
pit
.
Slowly
I
staggered
to
my
feet
and
felt
myself
all
over
.
I
was
stiff
and
sore
from
head
to
foot
,
but
there
was
no
limb
which
would
not
move
,
no
joint
which
would
not
bend
.
As
the
circumstances
of
my
fall
came
back
into
my
confused
brain
,
I
looked
up
in
terror
,
expecting
to
see
that
dreadful
head
silhouetted
against
the
paling
sky
.
There
was
no
sign
of
the
monster
,
however
,
nor
could
I
hear
any
sound
from
above
.
I
began
to
walk
slowly
round
,
therefore
,
feeling
in
every
direction
to
find
out
what
this
strange
place
could
be
into
which
I
had
been
so
opportunely
precipitated
.
It
was
,
as
I
have
said
,
a
pit
,
with
sharply-sloping
walls
and
a
level
bottom
about
twenty
feet
across
.
This
bottom
was
littered
with
great
gobbets
of
flesh
,
most
of
which
was
in
the
last
state
of
putridity
.
The
atmosphere
was
poisonous
and
horrible
.
After
tripping
and
stumbling
over
these
lumps
of
decay
,
I
came
suddenly
against
something
hard
,
and
I
found
that
an
upright
post
was
firmly
fixed
in
the
center
of
the
hollow
.
It
was
so
high
that
I
could
not
reach
the
top
of
it
with
my
hand
,
and
it
appeared
to
be
covered
with
grease
.
Suddenly
I
remembered
that
I
had
a
tin
box
of
wax-vestas
in
my
pocket
.
Striking
one
of
them
,
I
was
able
at
last
to
form
some
opinion
of
this
place
into
which
I
had
fallen
.
There
could
be
no
question
as
to
its
nature
.
It
was
a
trap
--
made
by
the
hand
of
man
.
The
post
in
the
center
,
some
nine
feet
long
,
was
sharpened
at
the
upper
end
,
and
was
black
with
the
stale
blood
of
the
creatures
who
had
been
impaled
upon
it
.
The
remains
scattered
about
were
fragments
of
the
victims
,
which
had
been
cut
away
in
order
to
clear
the
stake
for
the
next
who
might
blunder
in
.
I
remembered
that
Challenger
had
declared
that
man
could
not
exist
upon
the
plateau
,
since
with
his
feeble
weapons
he
could
not
hold
his
own
against
the
monsters
who
roamed
over
it
.
But
now
it
was
clear
enough
how
it
could
be
done
.
In
their
narrow-mouthed
caves
the
natives
,
whoever
they
might
be
,
had
refuges
into
which
the
huge
saurians
could
not
penetrate
,
while
with
their
developed
brains
they
were
capable
of
setting
such
traps
,
covered
with
branches
,
across
the
paths
which
marked
the
run
of
the
animals
as
would
destroy
them
in
spite
of
all
their
strength
and
activity
.
Man
was
always
the
master
.
