The letter that started me--I was going to say startled me, but only
imaginative people are startled--the letter, then, that started me
from Bronx Park to the South I print without the permission of my
superior, Professor Farrago. I have not obtained his permission, for
the somewhat exciting reason that nobody knows where he is. Publicity
being now recognized as the annihilator of mysteries, a benevolent
purpose alone inspires me to publish a letter so strange, so
pathetically remarkable, in view of what has recently occurred.
As I say, I had only just returned from Java with a valuable
collection of undescribed isopods--an order of edriophthalmous
crustaceans with seven free thoracic somites furnished with fourteen
legs--and I beg my reader's pardon, but my reader will see the
necessity for the author's absolute accuracy in insisting on detail,
because the story that follows is a dangerous story for a scientist to
tell, in view of the vast amount of nonsense and fiction in
circulation masquerading as stories of scientific adventure.
I was, therefore, anticipating a delightful summer's work with pen and
microscope, when on April 1st I received the following extraordinary
letter from Professor Farrago:
"IN CAMP, LITTLE SPRITE LAKE,
"EVERGLADES, FLORIDA, _March 15, 1902._
"MY DEAR MR. GILLAND,--On receipt of this communication you
will immediately secure for me the following articles:
"One complete outfit of woman's clothing.
"One camera.
"One light steel cage, large enough for you to stand in.
"One stenographer (male sex).
"One five-pound steel tank, with siphon and hose attachment.
"One rifle and ammunition.
"Three ounces rosium oxyde.
"One ounce chlorate strontium.
"You will then, within twenty-four hours, set out with the
stenographer and the supplies mentioned and join me in camp on
Little Sprite Lake. This order is formal and admits of no
delay. You will appreciate the necessity of absolute and
unquestioning obedience when I tell you that I am practically
on the brink of the most astonishing discovery recorded in
natural history since Monsieur Zani discovered the
purple-spotted zoombok in Nyanza; and that I depend upon you
and your zeal and fidelity for success.
"I dare not, lest my letter fall into unscrupulous hands,
convey to you more than a hint of what lies before us in these
uncharted solitudes of the Everglades.
"You must read between the lines when I say that because one
can see through a sheet of glass, the glass is none the less
solid and palpable. One can see _through_ it--if that is also
seeing it; but one can nevertheless hold it and feel it and
receive from it sensations of cold or heat according to its
temperature.
"Certain jellyfish are absolutely transparent when in the
water, and one can only know of their presence by accidental
contact, not by sight.
"_Have you ever thought that possibly there might exist larger
and more highly organized creatures transparent to eyesight,
yet palpable to touch?_
"Little Sprite Lake is the jumping-off place; beyond lie the
Everglades, the outskirts of which are haunted by the
Seminoles, the interior of which have never been visited by
man, as far as we know.
"As you are aware, no general survey of Florida has yet been
made; there exist no maps of the Everglades south of
Okeechobee; even Little Sprite Lake is but a vague blot on our
maps. We know, of course, that south of the eleven thousand
square miles of fresh water which is called Lake Okeechobee
the Everglades form a vast, delta-like projection of thousands
and thousands of square miles. Darkest Africa is no longer a
mystery; but the Everglades to-day remain the sombre secret of
our continent. And, to-day, this unknown expanse of swamps,
barrens, forests, and lagoons is greater than in the days of
De Soto, because the entire region has been slowly rising.
"All this, my dear sir, you already know, and I ask your
indulgence for recalling the facts to your memory. I do it for
this reason--the search for _what I am seeking_ may lead us to
utter destruction; and therefore my formal orders to you
should be modified to this extent:--do you volunteer? If you
volunteer, my orders remain; if not, turn this letter over to
Mr. Kingsley, who will find for me the companion I require.
"In the event of your coming, you must break your journey at
False Cape and ask for an old man named Slunk. He will give
you a packet; you will give him a dollar, and drive on to Cape
Canaveral, and you will do what is to be done there. From
there to Fort Kissimmee, to Okeechobee, traversing the lake to
the Rita River, where I have marked the trail to Little
Sprite.
"At Little Sprite I shall await you; beyond that point a
merciful Providence alone can know what awaits us.
"Yours fraternally,
"FARRAGO.
"P.S.--I think that you had better make your will, and suggest
the same idea to the stenographer who is to accompany you.