"Yes," continued Dorf, "I saw a mighty strange creature. It flew directly over the ship and I had an excellent view of it. At first I thought that it was a bird, but when it approached more closely I saw that it was a winged reptile. It had a long, narrow head and it flew so close that I could see its great jaws, armed with an infinite number of long, sharp teeth. Its head was elongated above the eyes and came to a sharp point. It was perfectly immense and must have had a wing spread of at least twenty feet. While I was watching it, it dropped suddenly to earth only a short distance beyond the ship, and when it arose again it was carrying in its talons some animal that must have been fully as large as a good sized sheep, with which it flew away without apparent effort. That the creature is carnivorous is evident as is also the fact that it has sufficient strength to carry away a man." Robert Jones covered his large mouth with a pink palm and with hunched and shaking shoulders turned and tip-toed from the room. Once in the galley with the door closed, he gave himself over to unrestrained mirth. "What is the matter with you?" asked Victor. "Lawd-a-massy!" exclaimed Robert. "Ah allus thought some o' dem gem'n in dat dere Adventurous Club in Bummingham could lie some, but, shucks, dey ain't in it with this Lieutenant Dorf. Did you all heah him tell about dat flyin' snake what carries off sheep?" But back in the mess room the white men took Dorf's statement more seriously. "That would be a pterodactyl," said Zuppner. "Yes," replied Dorf. "I classified it as a Pteranodon." "Don't you think we ought to send out a search party?" asked Gridley. "I am afraid Greystoke would not like it," replied Zuppner. "It could go out under the guise of a hunting party," suggested Dorf. "If he has not returned within an hour," said Zuppner, "we shall have to do something of the sort." Hines and Von Horst now entered the mess room, and when they learned of Tarzan's absence from the ship and had heard from Dorf a description of some of the animals that he might have encountered, they were equally as apprehensive as the others of his safety. "We might cruise around a bit, sir," suggested Von Horst to Zuppner. "But suppose he returns to this spot during our absence?" asked Gridley. "Could you return the ship to this anchorage again?" inquired Zuppner. "I doubt it," replied the Lieutenant. "Our instruments are almost worthless under the conditions existing in Pellucidar." "Then we had better remain where we are," said Gridley, "until he returns." "But if we send a searching party after him on foot, what assurance have we that it will be able to find its way back to the ship?" demanded Zuppner. "That will not be so difficult," said Gridley. "We can always blaze our trail as we go and thus easily retrace our steps." "Yes, that is so," agreed Zuppner.