“Fire!” shouted Charley, and he instantly flung up his rifle and let
fly at the huge, snake-like head, which was withdrawn instantly.
The bellowing was heard on the other side of the rocks for a moment and
then all was still.
“What in thunder did you do that for?” Dick burst out. “Don’t you know
the orders? On no account were we to kill the creature. By thunder,
if you have killed it I am disgraced forever. I wouldn’t have had it
happen so for a thousand dollars. How could you be such a fool?”
Poor Charley stood abashed.
It was a terrible thing to him to be so called down by Dick, but he had
allowed his excitement to make him play the fool and he knew it.
“Dick, excuse me, please,” was all he said, and then he turned and
walked away.
Dick was too angry for the moment to follow him or call him back. He
had more to say about it and he spat it right out before Doctor Dan.
“Softly, softly, sir,” replied the half-breed. “Don’t be too hard on
Mr. Charley. He was excited and acted before he had time to think;
besides, I don’t think he hit the head or the neck either. Come, we’ll
see.”
Doctor Dan started to go around the rocks. Dick began to feel a little
ashamed of his violence.
“Come, Charley,” he shouted. “Come on, old man. Maybe you didn’t hit
the Plesiosaurus after all.”
But Charley continued to walk in the direction of the camp and never
even looked back at Dick.
He was a very sensitive fellow and easily offended. Dick knew this and
felt a good deal troubled.
He wanted to follow Charley up and make it all right with him, but
then, on the other hand, he did not like to leave Doctor Dan to face
the danger of meeting the Plesiosaurus alone.
“Come on! Come on!” he shouted again. “Don’t be grumpy, Charley. I’m
going to see what mischief has been done.”
But as Charley paid no attention to his shout he gave it up for the
moment and hurried around the rocks into another cove, where Dr. Dan
stood looking off on the lake.
“I don’t see anything of the monster, Mr. Darrell,” he said. “It must
have pulled down into the water again.”
“Don’t bother to call me Mr. Darrell. Call me Dick. Here’s where it
must have been. The water is very deep right up against the shore,
isn’t it? Of course this is the place.”
Here the space between the rocks and the water was not more than three
feet in width.
It would have been an easy matter for the monster to have thrown his
head and neck over the rocks, which were not more than a dozen feet
high above the water, but there was no trace of the Plesiosaurus to be
seen now.
“Do you suppose he hit him, Doc?” asked Dick, anxiously.
“No, I don’t,” was the reply. “We should see blood here somewhere if he
had, and there is none.”
“Anyhow, the shot must have sent the monster down under the water
again. It’s too bad, too bad.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said Dr. Dan. “It seems to me that it’s about all
right. You couldn’t have done anything anyway. You’ve seen the thing
with your own eyes now, Dick. You can’t accuse me of lying any more.”
“I never did,” replied Dick. “It was hard to believe that one of
these strange creatures had survived, for they belong to the animal
creation of one of the most distant prehistoric periods, but seeing is
believing, so no more need be said about it. Question now is what’s to
be done?”
“Your orders are to take the monster alive if possible?”
“Yes, and to telegraph Professor Poynter at once if I caught a sight of
it.”
“That’s impossible. We can’t pull up stakes and go back to Node
Ranch without accomplishing more than we have already. It would be
ridiculous.”
“It seems so to me. I didn’t give it any thought at the time I received
my instructions, but I see it now.”
“Probably Professor Poynter gave it no thought, either. What you want
to do is to hold on here a week or so and try and find out what the
habits of this creature are. When we know more about it we can come to
some conclusion as to what we ought to do, which is more than we can
now.”
“You are right,” said Dick, “and that’s what we will do; but I must get
back to the camp. It isn’t going to pay us to quarrel. I shall have to
apologize to Charley for the calling down I gave him.”
“And I’ll keep on around the lake,” replied Doctor Dan. “You and
Charley can follow me up after you settle your quarrel.”
They separated then and Dick hurried back to the camp, feeling very
sorry for his explosion and full of anxiety to make matters right with
his friend.
But when he reached the camp Charley was nowhere visible. Dick looked
into the tent, and, not finding him there, set up a shout, a private
cry of their own, which ought to have been answered by a different
shout. It was just a little signal between the boys agreed upon before
they started for the Bad Lands.
Much to Dick’s relief, the answer came promptly from around the point
of rocks beyond the camp.
“Hello, Charley, are you there?” shouted Dick.
“Yes. Come around here, Dick.”
Dick started on the run; as soon as he turned the point of rocks he
saw, to his surprise, that Charley had pulled off his clothes and was
swimming around in the lake.
Evidently he had got over his “mad,” for he called out:
“Hey, Dick, this is bully. The water is just splendid. Come on and have
a swim.”
“Come out of there! Come out at once!” cried Dick. “Good heavens,
suppose the Plesiosaurus catches you! Charley, you must be crazy to do
such a thing.”
“Oh, it’s all right,” replied Charley, turning on his back and kicking
up the water. “I was just dying for a bath and I made up my mind I’d
have one anyhow. When I get mad I always want to get in the water and
cool down. That’s me. Come on and try it, Dick.”
Dick was strongly tempted. He stood looking at Charley for a moment and
then, throwing aside his coat, began to take off his boots.
“I’m sorry I spoke so rough to you, Charley,” he called out. “I won’t
do it again.”
“Oh, that’s all right. I ought not to have fired, of course, but you
see I was excited and--oh, thunder! What’s this?”
The water all around Charley suddenly began boiling like a pot.
“Quick! Quick! Strike in for the shore!” yelled Dick.
At the same instant the Plesiosaurus rose to the surface of the lake
right behind Charley.
First the huge snake-like head was lifted up high in the air, the
sinuous neck, which seemed to be at least ten feet long, turning and
twisting horribly.
Then the enormous body came into view, long, rounding and black and
extending back twenty feet or more from the base of the neck.
“Oh, Dick! Help!” yelled Charley, swimming with all his might for the
shore.
At the same instant the strange creature craned its neck forward and
made a quick dart for the boy.
Dick flung up his rifle and fired straight at the monster’s head.
[Illustration: “OH, DICK! HELP!” YELLED CHARLEY, SWIMMING WITH ALL HIS
MIGHT FOR THE SHORE. AT THE SAME INSTANT THE STRANGE CREATURE CRANED
ITS NECK FORWARD AND MADE A QUICK DART FOR THE BOY. DICK FLUNG UP HIS
RIFLE AND FIRED STRAIGHT AT THE MONSTER’S HEAD. Inset: DICK CAPTURED BY
THE MONSTER.]