the morass-like expanse, "this promises to be a corker, Dick. Eh, what?
Guess we'll have to go into camp for a bit, and explore. I don't at
all like the notion of attempting to force our way across that swamp, if
there is a method of working round it--as of course there is if we are
prepared to travel far enough. This reminds me of Florida, where I once
spent a month shooting 'gators--and other things. I guess there'll be
all the 'gators we want in there, to say nothing of snakes, mosquitos,
scorpions, centipedes, and other `varmint.' No; I guess we'll go round,
if we can; and if we can't, we must make dugouts, and effect the
crossing in them. We'll never be able to do it any other way."
It was indeed a formidable-looking barrier, this vast expanse of swamp,
that stretched itself, mile after mile, right athwart the party's
course, and its aspect was as dreary and depressing as one could well
imagine. All along its margin the soil was soft, boggy and treacherous,
to such an extent, indeed, that while making a preliminary investigation
of the ground before definitely deciding upon a location for the camp,
Dick suddenly sank in to above his knees, and only succeeded in
extricating himself with the utmost difficulty, assisted though he was
by Earle and some half a dozen Indians, who formed themselves into a
human chain and dragged him out by main force.
The entire expanse of swamp appeared to be level, with the exception of
a few very trifling elevations here and there, and seemed to consist of
boggy soil covered with a rank growth of coarse grass, reeds, and
stunted bush, sparsely dotted here and there with a few gnarled and
unwholesome-looking trees, the whole intersected by a labyrinth of
canals filled with stagnant water, which wound hither and thither in a
most purposeless and bewildering fashion. That insect life abounded
there was manifest at the most cursory glance, for great clouds of
midges or flies could be seen hovering in the air in every direction,
while Earle's surmise as to the presence of alligators was abundantly
confirmed by the frequent roaring of the creatures. The forest seemed
to grow close up to the margin of the swamp everywhere, a mere narrow
strip of open ground some twenty to thirty yards wide, dividing the two.
A fairly satisfactory site for the camp having at length been found,
Earle and Dick, armed with rifle and automatic, and each accompanied by
an Indian carrying a machete, set off in opposite directions to explore
the margin of the swamp, in the hope of discovering a spot from which a
promising start to cross might be made; while King Cole, quite unable to
decide which of his masters he would accompany, finally laid down with
his head between his paws and whined pitifully, refusing to be comforted
by anybody.
Warned by his recent mishap, Dick was careful to give the treacherous
margin of the swamp a wide berth. The route he was pursuing led about
due south; and for nearly an hour he pursued his way at a good brisk
pace, uneventfully and without finding anything like that of which he
was in search. Eventually, however, he arrived at a point where the
edge of the forest abruptly receded toward the east, leaving a wide
expanse of bare soil, beyond which, at a distance of a short quarter of
a mile, the swamp again appeared, stretching away limitlessly toward the
south and east. Apparently, the only thing to do was to follow the
northerly margin of solid ground, which seemed to trend away in a
westerly direction, the direction namely in which Earle wished to
travel, and this Dick accordingly did. He followed this course for
about half an hour, finding the tongue of firm ground which he was
traversing vary in width, from time to time, from several yards to, in
places, merely enough for a man conveniently to walk upon, while it
twisted hither and thither in the most erratic fashion, although on the
whole it continued to push its way steadily westward toward the heart of
the swamp. Then, glancing at the declining sun, he decided that he must
retrace his steps if he desired to get back to camp before dark.
Thus far, the afternoon's journey had been wholly uneventful, excepting
for the persistent attacks of the myriads of mosquitoes and flies which
swarmed in great clouds about the two adventurers to such an extent that
there were times when they were compelled to halt and beat the pests off
their bodies. But now they had something else than flies and mosquitoes
to think about, for they had scarcely progressed a quarter of a mile on
their return when, as they approached a spot where the firm soil
narrowed to a mere causeway, scarcely two feet in width, Dick, who was
leading, suddenly became aware of a strange and formidable-looking
creature squatting at the far extremity of the causeway, apparently
awaiting their approach.
As his eyes fell upon it Cavendish came to a halt so suddenly that the
Indian in his rear cannoned into him, nearly knocking him into the black
water alongside.
"Steady, Moquit!" exclaimed Dick, addressing his follower in the Indian
tongue, in which he was rapidly acquiring a considerable degree of
proficiency. "Look ahead, Moquit. What is that thing? Have you ever
seen anything like it before?"
"Never, master," answered Moquit, staring with bulging eyes at the
apparition, which in its turn was staring back at them. "I like it not.
Toqui preserve us!"--(Toqui was the name of Moquit's most revered
god)--"it looks like a slayer of men. Had not master better destroy it
with his fire tube, lest it cross over and devour us?"
"I do not think we need greatly fear that," answered Dick, holding his
rifle in readiness nevertheless. "The causeway is too narrow for the
brute to cross. What, in the name of Fortune, can the beast be?" he
concluded in his own tongue.
He might well wonder; for never in his life before had he seen such a
creature, either alive, dead, or even in a picture. And yet--stay! As
he looked at the thing more intently, there seemed to gradually float
into his memory a hazy sort of recollection that he _had_ seen a picture
or representation of the creature which squatted there stolidly some
thirty yards before him.
According to Cavendish's own subsequent description, which was confirmed
in every particular by Moquit, the general impression conveyed was that
of a gigantic frog, as big as an ox, but with several important
modifications, one of which was that its capacious mouth was furnished
with a most formidable set of sharp, curved, dagger-like teeth, of which
the observers gained an excellent view, since the creature opened its
mouth several times. It was a quadruped; that is to say, it was
provided with four legs, but while its front legs were so short as to be
little more than rudimentary, its hind legs were as long and apparently
as powerful, proportionately, as those of a kangaroo. And, like a
kangaroo, it was provided with a long tail, as thick at the root as its
own body, tapering away to a blunt point. Indeed, as Dick remarked, he
could scarcely describe the creature better than by likening it to what
he conceived might be the appearance of a cross between a frog and a
kangaroo. It had a pair of big, staring eyes, its toes were armed with
long, murderous-looking claws, and its brownish-yellow skin was mottled
all over with wart-like protuberances.
For fully five minutes, Dick supposes, he stood intently studying the
peculiarities of the extraordinary creature, animated much more by
curiosity than by any sense of fear, for he had somehow fully persuaded
himself that the beast would not hazard the passage of that narrow
causeway, while in any case a shot or two from the U.M.C. Remington,
which the young Englishman carried, would of a surety put an end to the
creature's career. Then, as Dick still stood watching and perhaps
waiting for developments of some sort, the great brute suddenly rose
upon its hind legs and, uttering a curious squealing sound, launched
itself into the air with a terrific spring which Cavendish saw with
consternation would bring the beast right upon him. Quick and
unexpected as was the action, however, it did not take Dick wholly by
surprise; on the contrary, as though by instinct, he threw up the muzzle
of his rifle, pressed the trigger, and heard the bullet thud as it
struck the leaping body. A loud, horrible scream escaped the brute as
the bullet smote it. It writhed in mid-air, and that writhe caused it
to fall into the water instead of landing upon Dick's body, as it must
otherwise have done. It fell with a terrific splash which drenched Dick
and Moquit, and still writhing with pain, instantly turned, with the
evident intention of climbing out and attacking the two men. But by
this time Dick had begun to realise the dangerous character of the
creature, and, rapidly levelling his rifle again, shot it through the
head as it laid its two front paws upon the bank preparatory to climbing
out. With a moaning gasp, the great body relaxed and slowly settled
back into the water, where it presently turned over on its back and
floated, dead. Less than a minute later, while Dick and Moquit still
stood staring in amazement at the weird creature, there came a sudden,
violent swirling in the black water, and the heads of some six or seven
enormous alligators appeared round the body. The great jaws of the
reptiles opened, and the carcass was violently dragged hither and
thither as the huge saurians tugged fiercely at it. Dick did not wait
to see the issue of the struggle, but skipped nimbly across the
causeway, with Moquit close upon his heels, and made the best of his way
back to camp, where he found Earle already anxiously awaiting him.
"Well," demanded the American, as Cavendish came within hail, "have you
met with any luck? I was beginning to feel a bit uneasy about you, for
we seem to have struck a rather dangerous streak of country here."
"What!" exclaimed Dick. "Have you, too, been meeting with adventures,
then?"
"Of a sort, yes; though nothing worth speaking about," answered Earle.
"Simply met the biggest python I've ever seen; and as the beggar seemed
in a quarrelsome humour and spoiling for a fight, I shot him. And you?
I sort of gather from your last remark that you have met with an
adventure of some sort. Is that so?"
"You bet!" answered Dick, who was almost unconsciously adopting many of
Earle's expressive idioms. And he proceeded to relate in detail the
occurrences of the afternoon.
"Gee!" exclaimed Earle, when his companion had finished. "That sounds
interesting. I wonder what the brute can have been." (He was referring
to the strange beast which Dick had shot). "Do you think you could draw
a picture of him?"
"Oh yes, after a fashion," answered Dick, who was really rather clever
with his pencil and brush in an amateurish fashion. "He was something
like this." And, whipping out his pocket-book, he rapidly produced a
very spirited pencil sketch of the unknown creature.
"Gee!" repeated Earle, studying the sketch. "Say, Dick, this is
intensely interesting. The thing looks absolutely new to me. And yet--
I don't quite know. Seems to me that I've somewhere seen something a
bit like it before--"
"That's what I thought," said Dick; "though I'm quite prepared to swear
that I never before saw the actual thing itself. I should have
remembered it if I had."
"Y-e-s, I guess you would," returned Earle, still thoughtfully
considering the sketch. At length he returned the book to Dick,
remarking:
"Then you think there is just a possibility that we may be able to cross
the swamp by way of that tongue of firm ground that you explored this
afternoon? In that case, I guess we'll try it. We may succeed; and if
we do, it will save us a long journey round; for I was unable to find
the northern end of the swamp this afternoon, although, before turning
back I climbed the highest tree in the neighbourhood and carefully
searched the whole of the visible country through my Goertz prismatics.
We will try that tongue of land of yours to-morrow, Dick. And as for
the flies and things, I guess we can beat them by enveloping our heads
in gauze veils and wearing gloves. I brought some green gauze along
expressly to meet such a contingency. Learned the wrinkle in Africa,
where the flies and mosquitoes used to drive me pretty nearly crazy."
An hour after sunrise on the following morning found the expedition en
route, and in due time it reached the tongue of firm ground which Dick
had discovered during the preceding afternoon. Here the two leaders
enveloped their heads, helmets and all, in capacious veils of green
gauze which Earle had produced during the preceding evening.
Earle was in exceptionally high spirits that morning. The story of
Dick's encounter with the strange beast had intensely interested him,
for he was by way of being a naturalist, as well as a good many other
things, and he was naturally eager to get a sight of another creature of
the same species. Then a view at close quarters of the swamp added
further to his excitement, for even then, in the dazzling glare of the
morning sun, there was a certain suggestion of weirdness and uncanniness
about the place that appealed very strongly to his imagination. To
young, prosaic Dick Cavendish, a sailor pure and simple, whose only
knowledge of science was that connected with navigation, the swamp was
just--well, a swamp, and nothing more; but, to Earle's higher scientific
intelligence it was an absorbingly interesting mystery. For they had
scarcely penetrated it to the depth of a mile before the American began
to be aware that the character of his surroundings was undergoing a
subtle change, the herbage underfoot, the rushes that edged the lagoons
and water channels, the plants that here and there in wide patches hid
the surface of the water, the ferns that decked the banks of the
water-courses, were all new and strange to him; and this, in conjunction
with Dick's adventure here, less than twenty-four hours ago, generated
within him a thrilling conviction that he was on the brink of great and
important discoveries.
Presently Dick turned to him and said, pointing: "You see where the
ground narrows away to a mere ridge, ahead there? It was just on this
side of it that the queer beast was squatting when I first caught sight
of him."
"That so?" responded Earle, coming to a sudden standstill. "Halt there,
men; don't advance another step until I tell you," he ordered, wheeling
round and holding up his hand.
"Now then, Dick," he continued, "you and I will go forward, carefully
examining the soil for footprints. Perhaps, if we are in luck, we may
succeed in finding an impression, though I am afraid the ground is
rather too dry--stay, what is this?"
Stretching out his hand to stay Dick's incautious advance, Earle went
down on one knee and carefully examined a faint impression on the
ground. It consisted of a slight depression in the thin dust overlaying
the hard earth, practically circular in shape and about the size of the
palm of a man's hand, and beyond it, at a distance of about three feet
six inches, there were three somewhat deeper impressions, about a foot
apart, such as might be made by the sharp claws of an animal.
"I guess this looks very much as though it might be one of the
footprints of your friend," remarked Earle, after he had intently
studied the impression for a full minute or more; "but it is very
imperfect and indistinct; not nearly clear enough to be satisfactory.
Let's go on a bit; perhaps we may find others. If not, we'll come back
and examine this again. Go carefully, old chap, and if you see any
other marks, don't tread on them, for goodness' sake."
Crouching low and advancing a single step at a time, as they carefully
scanned the ground before them, the two friends had covered a distance
of some five yards when they came upon two more impressions, a little
more distinctly marked than the first. They were about six feet apart,
but in line athwart the path, and suggested the idea of having been made
by the landing of the creature upon the ground after a forward jump.
These, too, Earle carefully examined before proceeding, and then the two
friends went on to the spot where Dick had seen the thing squatting.
And here, the soil being considerably more moist and clayey, they found,
to Earle's intense delight, some half a dozen deep and perfectly clear
imprints, only two of which had been partially obliterated by the feet
of Dick and Moquit on their return after killing the beast. The
imprints somewhat resembled those of a thick-toed bird, but were
immensely larger than the spoor of any known bird, measuring exactly
three feet nine and a quarter inches from the back of the heel to the
front of the middle claw--which seemed to be some six inches longer than
the two others--and two feet two inches across from one outer claw to
the other; the indent showing that the middle claw was fourteen inches
long.
"Gosh!" exclaimed Earle excitedly, as he rose to his full height after
having made a careful figured drawing of the impression in his
pocket-book--"what would I not give for enough plaster of paris to make
a cast of that footprint! Guess it will make some of the professors at
home sit up and take notice when they see this drawing in the book,
which I mean to publish when I get back. Most of 'em won't believe it,
I expect. They'll denounce it as a traveller's tale. Hold on, though,
I'll take a photograph--two or three photographs--of the impressions;
perhaps that will convince them. You shall stand just there, Dick, and
I'll include you in one of the pictures, to act as a sort of scale."
The photographs were duly taken; and then Earle expressed the utmost
anxiety to secure the carcass of the creature itself. But, as Dick
reminded his companion, the creature had no sooner been killed than it
became a prey to several alligators of formidable size, therefore any
attempt to fish up the remains from the bottom of the canal would be
certain to result in failure. And when Dick, pressing home his point,
inquired whether Earle proposed to dive to the bottom in search of the
body, the American reluctantly admitted that even his scientific ardour
was scarcely equal to the adoption of such a course. The march was
therefore resumed, after about an hour's delay, Earle consoling himself
with the hope that one specimen of the unknown monster having been found
in the swamp, others might also exist there, and they might be fortunate
enough to encounter one or more of them.
Naturally, the party's rate of travelling was slow; for not only was
Earle now constantly engaged in searching the ground for further "sign"
of creatures possibly peculiar to the swamp, but halts were frequently
being called while suspicious indications were carefully investigated;
consequently when the mid-day halt was at length called, it was
estimated that the party had not penetrated the swamp to a distance of
more than some six or seven miles as the crow flies, though, of course,
they had actually traversed a distance nearly half as much again. But,
even so, Earle was quite satisfied with what had been done so far; while
there was still no sign of a break in the continuity of the firm soil
upon which they had been travelling.
The camp was pitched at a point where it widened out until there was
fully a hundred yards of it between the two stretches of water to right
and left, while on the right hand, or northern side of this wide space,
the canal-like watercourse had given place to a sort of lagoon, nearly a
mile long by about half that width. The water in this lagoon was much
cleaner and more wholesome-looking than that in the canals, yet Earle
considered that it would be unwise to use it for drinking purposes; he
therefore selected a spot and set a couple of Indians to work to dig a
pit in search of water, which he expected to find at a depth of two or
three feet, such water to be first filtered and then boiled before use.
And while the digging was proceeding, Earle and Dick took up a position
on the summit of a low knoll a few yards away, and examined their
surroundings through their prismatic glasses.
Suddenly Dick turned to his companion and pointed.
"I say, Earle," he exclaimed, "what sort of an anima is that? Surely it
is not a wild boar, though it looks a bit like the pictures I have seen
of them."
"Where?" demanded Earle, who had been looking in another direction.
"Oh! I see," he continued, catching sight of the creature at which Dick
was pointing, and which was standing at the edge of a little strip of
beach, about a quarter of a mile away, on the opposite side of the
water.
The two raised their glasses to their eyes and proceeded to watch the
animal, which seemed to have a desire to drink, but was debating within
itself the question of how far it would be prudent to enter the water
even as far as would be necessary to enable it to do so. It was
standing quite still, staring down into the water, and thus afforded an
excellent opportunity for careful inspection.
"N-o," answered Earle slowly, after he had studied the appearance of the
creature for nearly a minute--"it certainly is not a boar, though it is
not altogether unlike one. But it is too big for a boar. Looks to me
more like a hyaena--though of course I know there are no such creatures
in this country. Also it is far too big to be a hyaena--unless it is an
entirely new species. And the thing has tusks, just like a wild boar.
Now, what the mischief can it be? It is rather too far off for a dead
shot, or I would have a try at it; but it would be a pity to merely
wound it and scare it away. Say! is there any way of getting across to
the other side, short of swimming?"
"I'm afraid not," answered Dick. "And after what I saw yesterday I
wouldn't give a farthing for the chance of anybody who should attempt to
swim in these waters."
Dick still had his glasses to his eyes as he spoke; and even as the last
words left his lips he had an impression of something stealthily moving
in the long herbage some distance to the rear of the strange animal
which they were watching. He was about to direct Earle's attention to
the circumstance when, from the spot where he had observed the stealthy
movement, a great body rose into the air with a tremendous leap and
hurtling through the intervening space, descended fair and square upon
the body of the creature standing by the water's edge.
"Gee-rusalem!" shouted Earle, as the harsh scream of the stricken animal
pealed out on the stagnant air. "See that, Cavendish?"
"Sure!" responded Dick. "Take particular notice of that last brute,
Earle; for as sure as my name is Cavendish, it is another of the same
kind that I killed yesterday."
"My revered ancestors! You don't say so!" gasped Earle. "Sure?"
"Absolutely certain," averred Dick.
"But--but--man alive--" stammered Earle in his excitement, "you told me
that the thing you shot yesterday was a sort of cross between a frog and
a kangaroo, and that beast doesn't suggest at all that sort of idea to
me. What a ferocious beast it is! He is literally tearing the other
poor brute to pieces."
"Yes," agreed Dick. "And I am just now beginning to understand what a
narrow squeak I had yesterday. For that fellow is exactly like the
thing I killed yesterday, though, now that I see him broadside-on, the
resemblance, whether to a frog or a kangaroo, is not so strong as it was
when I was facing him. But there are the same long, powerful hind legs,
the same almost invisible front ones, the same gaping mouth filled with
strong, dagger-like teeth, the same long, thick, pointed tail--in short,
the same creature from stem to stern."
"But the head of that thing is more like an alligator's than a frog's,"
objected Earle. "And then, look at that serrated arrangement of the
skin--I suppose it is--from the back of the head to the extremity of the
tail. You never said anything about that."
"No," admitted Dick, "I believe I didn't; but the other thing had it,
all the same. I remember noticing it, now that you call my attention to
it. I tell you that the two creatures are identical in every respect,
except that this one looks to be a bit bigger than the other. Do you
happen to know what the thing is called?"
"N-o, I am not sure that I do," answered Earle, "but I'll find out as
soon as ever I get back to New York. I shall remember the appearance of
the beast all right, now that I've actually seen it, and I guess there
will be somebody who can tell me. Say! Dick, I wouldn't have missed
this sight for a thousand dollars; and I'd give ten thousand to get the
skin and skeleton of the brute. If I could but secure them, I'd go
straight back to New York at once, and leave Manoa for another time.
Isn't there _any_ way by which we could get across that insignificant
strip of water?"