Затерянный мир / The Lost World. Артур Конан Дойл

shot him. I am inclined to think that a good mountaineer like myself could ascend the rock to the top, though he would, of course, be no nearer to the plateau.”

      As Challenger spoke of his pterodactyl I glanced at Professor Summerlee, and for the first time there was no sneer on his lips, but, on the contrary, a look of excitement and amazement. Challenger saw it too.

      “Of course,” said he, with his clumsy and ponderous sarcasm, “Professor Summerlee will understand that when I speak of a pterodactyl I mean a stork… only it is the stork which has no feathers, a leathery skin, membranous wings, and teeth in its jaws.” He grinned and blinked and bowed until his colleague turned and walked away.

      In the morning, after a breakfast of coffee and manioc – we had to be economical of our stores – we started discussing how to ascend to the plateau above us.

      “I need not say,” said our leader, “that on the occasion of my last visit I exhausted every means of climbing the cliff. I had none of the appliances of a rock-climber with me, but I have taken the precaution to bring them now. With their help I could climb that rock, but so long as the main cliff overhangs, it is vain to try ascending that. But it is certain that there is a point where an ascent is possible.”

      “How do you know that, sir?” asked Summerlee, sharply.

      “Because my predecessor, the American Maple White, actually found it. How could he have seen the monster which he sketched in his notebook?”

      “I admit your plateau, because I have seen it; but I have not as yet satisfied myself that it contains any form of life,” said the stubborn Summerlee.

      And then, to our amazement, Challenger seized Summerlee by the neck, he tilted his face into the air. “Now sir!” he shouted, hoarse with excitement. “Do I help you to realize that the plateau contains some animal life?”

      I have said that a thick fringe of green overhung the edge of the cliff. Out of this there had emerged a black, glistening object. As it came slowly forth and overhung the chasm, we saw that it was a very large snake with a peculiar flat, spade-like head. It wavered and quivered above us for a minute, then it slowly drew inwards and disappeared.

      Summerlee had been so interested that he had stood unresisting while Challenger tilted his head into the air. Now he shook his colleague off and came back to his dignity.

      “I should be glad, Professor Challenger,” said he, “if you could see your way to make any remarks without seizing me by the chin.”

      “But there is life upon the plateau all the same,” his colleague replied in triumph. “And now I think that we cannot do better than break up our camp and travel to the west until we find some means of ascent.”

      The ground at the foot of the cliff was rocky and broken so that the going was slow and difficult. Suddenly we came, however, on something which cheered our hearts. It was an old camp, with several empty Chicago meat tins and a bottle labeled “Brandy”.

      “Not mine,” said Challenger. “It must be Maple White’s.”

      Lord John had been gazing curiously at a great tree-fern which overshadowed the encampment. “Look at this,” said he. “I believe it is a sign-post.”

      A slip of hard wood had been nailed to the tree pointing to the west.

      “Certainly a sign-post,” said Challenger. “What else? He has left this sign so that any party which follows him may know the way he has taken. Perhaps we shall find some other signs.”

      Beneath the cliff there grew lots of high bamboo. Many of these stems were twenty feet high, with sharp, strong tops. Suddenly my eye was caught by the gleam of something white. I came closer and found myself gazing at a fleshless skull. The whole skeleton was there, but the skull lay some feet nearer to the open.

      We cleared the spot and were able to study the details of this old tragedy. Only a few shreds of clothes could still be distinguished, but it was very clear that the dead man was a European. A gold watch by Hudson, of New York, and a chain which held a stylographic pen, lay among the bones. There was also a silver cigarette-case. The state of the metal seemed to show that the catastrophe had occurred no great time before.

      “Who can he be?” asked Lord John. “Poor man! Every bone in his body seems to be broken.”

      “And the bamboo grows through his ribs,” said Summerlee. “It is a fast-growing plant, but it is surely inconceivable that this body could have been here while the canes grew to be twenty feet in length.”

      “As to the man’s identity,” said Professor Challenger, “I have no doubt who he is. Maple White was not alone all the time. He had a companion, an American named James Colver. I think, therefore, that there can be no doubt that we are now looking at the remains of this James Colver.”

      “And we know how he met his death,” said Lord John. “He has fallen from the top, and so been impaled.”

      We stood silently round these shattered remains and realized the truth of Lord John Roxton’s words. Undoubtedly he had fallen from above. But had he fallen? Had it been an accident? Or…

      We moved off in silence, and continued to coast round the line of cliffs. In five miles we saw no rift or break. And then suddenly we saw something which filled us with new hope. In a hollow of the rock, there was drawn an arrow in chalk, pointing still to the west.

      “Maple White again,” said Professor Challenger.

      We had proceeded some five more miles when again we saw a white arrow on the rocks, pointing higher up. We came to a solemn place, the walls were so gigantic and the slit of blue sky so narrow, so that only a shadowy light penetrated to the bottom. We had had no food for many hours, and were very tired with the journey, but our nerves were too strung to allow us to relax. Suddenly the quick eyes of Lord John fell on what we were seeking. High up above our heads, there was a hole. Surely it could only be the opening of a cave. Here was the point, where Maple White and his ill-fated companion had made their ascent. We were too excited to return to the camp and made our first exploration at once.

      Lord John took out an electric torch and entered the cave and we followed at his heels. First the cave ran straight into the rock. Finally we found ourselves climbing upon our hands and knees. Suddenly an exclamation broke from Lord Roxton.

      “It’s blocked!” said he. “The roof has fallen in!”

      It was evident that the obstacle was far beyond any efforts which we could make to remove it. The road by which Maple White had ascended was no longer available.

      Too much depressed to speak, we made our way back to the camp. And then something terrible happened. We had gathered in a little group, when a huge rock rolled suddenly downwards. We could not see where the rock had come, but our half-breed servants said that it must therefore have fallen from the summit. Looking upwards, we could see no sign of movement above us. There could be little doubt, however, that the stone was aimed at us, so the incident surely pointed to humanity… upon the plateau.

      Our minds were full of this new development. The situation was difficult enough before, but if the obstacles of Nature were increased by the opposition of man, then our case was a hopeless one. And yet, as we looked up at that beautiful world only a few hundreds of feet above our heads, nobody thought of returning to London until we had explored it.

      On discussing the situation, we determined that our best course was to continue to coast round the plateau in the hope of finding some other means of reaching the top. At the worst, then, we should be back in a few days at our starting-point.

      We noticed a considerable change both in the temperature and in the vegetation and got rid of some of those horrible insects.

      That night a great experience awaited us, and one which for ever set at rest any doubt. What occurred was this. Lord John had shot an ajouti – which is a small, pig-like animal – and we were cooking it on our fire. The night was moonless, but there were some stars, and one could see for a little distance across the plain. Well, suddenly out of the darkness, out of the night, there appeared something with a sound like an aeroplane. The whole group of us were covered for