"You damned men have _all_ the fun," the girl said bitterly, turning on
her heel. Craig watched her walk directly to Captain Higgins and make
the same request and he observed the astonishment of that naval officer.
But in spite of his astonishment, the captain was quite able to say
"No."
The last he saw of her, she was leaning over the rail watching the small
boat put out for shore. He waved at her. She thumbed her nose in reply.
Looking back as they neared the shore, Craig saw she was still standing
at the rail. He also heard the boom of the ship's catapult and saw a
plane launched into the air. Captain Higgins was sending out a plane to
scout the surrounding area. Craig knew what the captain was worried
about--the place from which those cursed silent airplanes came.
High in the sky, he could see one of the silent floaters keeping its
vigil over the Idaho.
"We'll cross the swamp and reach the hills," Craig directed.
* * * * *
Shots roared in the distance as they forced the boat through the pools
of stagnant water. Apparently the shots came from the other exploring
parties shooting flying lizards or other creatures. Once a flying lizard
swooped over their boat but it changed its mind and went on to attack
something else. And, as they forced the boat through a clump of reeds
and into a clear channel, something monstrous snorted near them. Loud
crashes sounded in the swamp tangle.
"It looks as big as an elephant," Craig shouted. "Get your guns ready."
He could see the movement of the reeds as the beast crashed toward them.
Small trees were shaking, marking its passage, then it thrust its head
out of the tangle not fifty feet from them.
"It's a dinosaur!" Michaelson shouted. The scientist was wildly
excited. "It's a live dinosaur."
"It's going to be a dead one if it comes any closer," Craig said grimly.
"No, don't shoot," the scientist said. "It's one of the herbivorous
dinosaurs, a vegetation eater. It won't harm us."
The sailors in the boat were nervously fingering their tommy-guns and
staring at the mountain of flesh that was half-hidden by the jungle
growth. It, in turn, stared at them. It was bigger than any elephant
that ever walked the earth, and Craig, as he estimated the size of the
beast, was wondering whether the tommy-guns would stop it if it chose to
attack.
"If we have to shoot, aim at the head," he whispered.
In comparison to the rest of the body, the head was small. It would
present a difficult target but a hit in the head might stop the beast
whereas a hit in the huge body would pass unnoticed. The dinosaur stared
at them. Seconds ticked into minutes. It moved its head in a circle,
sniffing the air. Michaelson wanted to get out of the boat and swim to
shore so he could examine it closely.
"You stay in this boat," Craig said vigorously. "You will probably get a
chance to examine all the dinosaurs you want."
Muttering to himself, the scientist subsided.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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