It was a sad leave-taking as in silence I shook hands with each of the three
remaining men. Even poor Nobs appeared dejected as we quit the compound and set
out upon the well-marked spoor of the abductor. Not once did I turn my eyes
backward toward Fort Dinosaur. I have not looked upon it since—nor in all
likelihood shall I ever look upon it again. The trail led northwest until it
reached the western end of the sandstone cliffs to the north of the fort; there
it ran into a well-defined path which wound northward into a country we had not
as yet explored. It was a beautiful, gently rolling country, broken by
occasional outcroppings of sandstone and by patches of dense forest relieved by
open, park-like stretches and broad meadows whereon grazed countless
herbivorous animals—red deer, aurochs, and infinite variety of antelope and at
least three distinct species of horse, the latter ranging in size from a
creature about as large as Nobs to a magnificent animal fourteen to sixteen
hands high. These creatures fed together in perfect amity; nor did they show
any great indications of terror when Nobs and I approached. They moved out of
our way and kept their eyes upon us until we had passed; then they resumed
their feeding.
The path led straight across the clearing into another forest, lying upon the
verge of which I saw a bit of white. It appeared to stand out in marked
contrast and incongruity to all its surroundings, and when I stopped to examine
it, I found that it was a small strip of muslin—part of the hem of a garment.
At once I was all excitement, for I knew that it was a sign left by Lys that
she had been carried this way; it was a tiny bit torn from the hem of the
undergarment that she wore in lieu of the night-robes she had lost with the
sinking of the liner. Crushing the bit of fabric to my lips, I pressed on even
more rapidly than before, because I now knew that I was upon the right trail
and that up to this point at least, Lys still had lived.
I made over twenty miles that day, for I was now hardened to fatigue and
accustomed to long hikes, having spent considerable time hunting and exploring
in the immediate vicinity of camp. A dozen times that day was my life
threatened by fearsome creatures of the earth or sky, though I could not but
note that the farther north I traveled, the fewer were the great dinosaurs,
though they still persisted in lesser numbers. On the other hand the quantity
of ruminants and the variety and frequency of carnivorous animals increased.
Each square mile of Caspak harbored its terrors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account