HOW HILTON ESCAPED FROM THE WOLF-MEN.
THE report of the rifle was followed by a piercing death-scream,
and one of the pursuers dropped in his tracks.
The rest, four in number, raised a hideous howl and came on.
As they approached, Wilson got a full view of the creatures, and
the devilish horror of the Things paralysed him.
“Fire!” cried Garth again, and, stumbling forward almost to the
engineer’s feet, he fell headlong, utterly exhausted.
His fall roused Wilson from his stupor, and, raising his rifle
again, the engineer fired thrice in quick succession.
At the reports two more of the creatures fell, either dead or
badly wounded, but the remaining two, with a snarling yelp, leapt
close in to the attack.
One Wilson dropped almost at the muzzle of his rifle; then, ere
he could fire again, the knife of the last flashed straight and true
for his heart.
Quick as thought he leapt aside, but he was too late to escape
the blow entirely.
With a shock that staggered him, the great blade buried itself in
the fleshy part of his arm.
The sting of the knife seemed to rouse all the murderous hate in
the engineer’s nature, and dropping his rifle, he gripped his fearsome
opponent by the throat, and bore him, struggling furiously, to the
ground.
In vain the creature writhed and twisted; in vain he clawed and
tore at the engineer. Try as he would, he could not unloose that
vice-like grip.
He gnashed his yellow fangs in a paroxysm of impotent fury, but,
for the moment, Wilson seemed possessed of the strength of a
giant.
Letting the murder lust within him have full sway, the lad beat
his enemy’s head to a shapeless pulp against the stones of the
beach.
Only when all motion of the writhing body had ceased for ever did
Wilson relax his grip; then, as he staggered to his feet, a red mist
swam before his eyes, and he fell, swooning, across the corpse of his
hideous opponent.
When consciousness returned he found the inventor kneeling by his
side, endeavouring to staunch the gaping wound in his arm, from which
he had withdrawn the knife.
“That was a narrow shave,” he said, as Wilson attempted to sit
up.
“It was,” the engineer returned; “he almost had me, the brute!”
and he shuddered.
Rising with the help of his friend, he moved down the beach and
got aboard.
“Now for your wound,” Garth said, and, ripping up the sleeve of
Wilson’s jacket, he skilfully dressed and bandaged the gash.
“Where are Haverly and Seymour?” he questioned, when the engineer
was feeling somewhat more comfortable.
“They went off to find you and Mervyn,” was the reply.
Continuing, Wilson told him how Seymour had returned, and all that had
befallen the _Seal_ since.
“Great Scott!” Hilton ejaculated, “you’ve had a marvellous
escape. I don’t feel easy about that saurian though. The old gentleman
may take it into his head to turn up again, and we can’t expect the
mist to be on hand a second time. However, there’s no need to worry
about that until he comes.”
“How did you manage to escape?” the engineer asked.
“It’s too long a story to tell you now,” Hilton answered. “I’m
just dying for a few hours’ sleep so, if you feel fit enough to keep
watch, I’ll slip below for a time. Call me at once should anything
turn up,” he added, and, turning, left the turret.
A short rest, followed by a bath, quickly restored the inventor’s
vitality.
Re-entering the wheelhouse, he found that Wilson had spread an
appetising meal upon the lockers.
“I thought it best to bring the grub up here,” the engineer
explained, “so that we can keep a look-out while we eat.”
“Quite right, old man,” Garth returned, and at once fell to.
For a while they ate in silence, then, at a question from his
friend, Hilton told his story.
“No doubt Seymour explained how Mervyn was carted off?” he began
interrogatively, “and how we scrambled down into the valley after
him?”
Wilson nodded.
“Well,” Hilton continued, “we soon decided that the only course
open to us was to follow the trail of the Triceratops, on the chance
of Mervyn being pitched off the brute’s back. We had just started
when, close at hand, came a chorus of howls, as though a whole
menagerie of wolves were upon our track. Turning, we made for the
valley again. Seymour got safely in, but I tripped over a fungus and
fell; something caught me a crack on the head, and for a time I knew
no more.
“I came to with a splitting headache, and for a long time I could
remember nothing of the preceding events, so great was the pain of my
head. As my brain grew clearer, memory came back to me, and the
incidents of the last few hours flashed through my mind in a long
procession. Then, for the first time, I became aware of the fact that
I was being carried. Jolly good of Seymour, I thought, to cart me
along like this. I opened my eyes dreamily. Imagine my horror, if you
can, when I discovered that it was not Seymour who was carrying me,
but one of those Things!” Garth indicated the motionless forms which
still lay as they had fallen upon the beach.
“The creature bore me in its arms as easily as though I were a
child,” he went on, “and for some moments I felt too dazed by the
discovery of my terrible position to do aught but lie still. Then a
thought came to me that, if the creature were alone, I might manage to
escape from his grip. Vain hope! I gazed about me, only to find that a
few paces ahead were a dozen more of the brutes, who appeared to be
following a trail of some sort. I could see by the deep depressions in
the clayey ground that it was the trail of the Triceratops, but for
what reason they should follow the monstrous brute I could not
imagine--until I remembered Mervyn. Then I perceived their
motive.
“Sure enough, before we had gone much farther, the foremost of
the trackers set up a howl. The rest, and among them my bearer,
hurried forward. Beside the track, unconscious, with a great wound on
his temple, lay the professor. Picking him up, one of the brutes slung
him roughly over his shoulder; and the whole band set forward again at
a rapid trot. The rest of the journey seemed to me like some terrible
nightmare, with only one impression standing out clear in my mind, and
that was the hideous forms of the Things that flitted, spectre-like,
before me.
“But all things have an end, and this journey was no exception to
the rule. Ere long the creatures pulled up on the brink of a ravine,
from the depths of which arose a sound of a mighty torrent. Above this
chasm hung a frail hide bridge, and I shuddered as I became aware that
my captors were preparing to cross.
“Gripping Mervyn more firmly, the creature who carried him
stepped upon the swaying ropes. Luckily, the professor was still
unconscious, or I do not doubt he would have made some hasty action,
the result of which would have been disastrous in the extreme. I
marvelled how the creature, burdened as he was, kept his precarious
balance, but he managed it somehow, and at length laid down his
captive upon the farther side of the gorge, while he awaited the
crossing of his fellows.
“Then came my turn. My bearer advanced to the head of the bridge,
and had already placed one foot upon it, when, wildly furious at the
appalling prospect before me, I writhed out of his arms. For an
instant I had some mad hope of making a run for it, but before I could
take a step the brute had me again. Recklessly I struggled, determined
that I would not be taken across that abyss, to meet a terrible death
at the hands of these wolfish creatures. Far rather leap into the
depths, and perish in the dark waters below!
“But the creature had a grip like a Polar bear. Struggle as I
would, I could not again escape from his arms, and, at length, with my
ribs almost cracking beneath the strain, I ceased my efforts and lay
passive. With a hideous chuckle, which made me long to shoot him, he
raised me again, and began the passage of the bridge. Still as death I
lay until he had almost reached the centre. Then, when his grip was
somewhat relaxed, and all his efforts were centred upon keeping his
balance, I kicked out strongly. The sudden move, as I had intended it
should, completely destroyed our equilibrium. The bridge seemed to
sway from beneath us, and we hurtled into space.
“I remember my captor relaxing his grip of my body to make a
desperate clutch at the swinging ropes; a terrible fall which appeared
almost endless in duration; the roaring of many waters; then came a
shock, which knocked me senseless for the second time since leaving
the boat. But I am wearying you with my yarn?”
“Nothing of the kind,” returned Wilson eagerly; “your tale’s
every bit as good as a book!”
“To resume, then,” continued the inventor. “The next thing I
recollect is awaking from my swoon on the sandy beach at the mouth of
the river. How it came about that I was not drowned amid the rushing
waters I cannot make out, even now. It seems incredible that I should
have been carried, helpless as I was, through the foaming rapids of
the gorge, and washed safely ashore at the river-mouth. Yet the fact
remains.
“For some considerable time I lay, drenched and thoroughly
exhausted, upon the sand; then, when my strength had returned in some
measure, I rose, and, though still very faint, made my way along the
beach, knowing that by following the coastline I must, sooner or
later, come across the _Seal._ As my blood began to circulate
more briskly my faintness vanished, and soon I felt as well as
ever.
“Save for the discomfort of my wet clothes, I really believe I
should have enjoyed my tramp. The thought that I had succeeded in
escaping from the clutches of the brutes who had captured me gave me
great satisfaction. I will hurry on, I thought, and, if Seymour has
returned, we will get up a rescue party at once. Then it will not be
long before we have Mervyn out of the power of these wolfish savages.
You see, I had forgotten that a considerable time must have elapsed
since my fall; that I must have lain unconscious for many hours.
“On I tramped, but as the time went by, and still no _Seal_
came in sight, I grew very uneasy. As I rounded each bend in the
coastline I looked eagerly out for the glare of the searchlight. But
never a glimmer did I see. Hours passed, and I grew faint with hunger,
yet still toiled on, hoping that in a little while my quest would be
ended. At length my hunger became unbearable. Plucking several fleshy
fungi, I tore off the thick outer skin and bolted the pulp eagerly,
caring little whether they were of a poisonous character or not, so
that the gnawing pain at my stomach was relieved.
“To my surprise, they proved not merely palatable, but
stimulating. The stagnant blood began to course with fresh vigour
through my veins, and I arose, refreshed and strengthened, to resume
my quest. It was pleasing to think that, at any rate, I need not
starve, even if I could not find the boat for a time. But should I
ever find her at all? The question, flashing through my mind of a
sudden, almost caused my heart to stand still.
“What if she had been moved from her old mooring-place, and taken
I knew not where? The thought made me desperate, and I raced madly
forward, shouting occasionally in hopes of hearing an answering hail.
Suddenly I came out upon the beach there. I recognised the spot in an
instant, but my worst fears were realised when I saw that the
_Seal_ was gone.
“For awhile my rage and despair knew no bounds, and I raced up
and down the beach like a madman, feeling that I was hopelessly lost
in this subterranean world. Presently I grew calmer, and began to look
at my position from the standpoint of common-sense. It was terrible
enough in all conscience. Alone, entirely defenceless--for I had
lost my revolver when I fell into the hands of the savages--in a
land inhabited by monstrous beasts and wolf-like men, it was a
situation, you will admit, that would have tried the stoutest
heart.
“Remember that then I fully believed the boat had gone for
ever.
“Suddenly, as I sat thinking out my future movements, a weird
howl broke upon my ears. In a fright I started up, and rushed off at
headlong speed down the shore, determined that I would not again be
taken. For how long I kept on I cannot tell, but I know that at last,
footsore and completely worn out, I flung myself down upon the sand
and fell fast asleep. I awoke ravenously hungry, and my first action
was to make a hearty attack upon a fungus. That done, I felt
better.
“Telling myself that I had been a fool to allow the cry of the
savages to startle me, I commenced to retrace my steps. I had covered
perhaps a mile, certainly not more, when, rounding a monstrous
boulder, I came plump upon those fellows”--and he pointed to the
beach again.
“They were squatting in an angle of the rock, eagerly tearing at
a carcase of some sort. For the moment they did not notice me, and I
was hoping to get past unobserved, when, as luck would have it, I
kicked against a stone. In a flash the brutes were up and after me.
Thinking to escape them amid the fungi, I plunged into the jungle. I
ran as I had never run before, but I could not shake them off. The
beasts seemed absolutely tireless.
“I had almost given up hope when I heard the reports of your
rifle. The sounds gave me fresh strength, and I dashed furiously on
until I emerged yonder. The rest you know.”
Garth rose as he finished his story, and glanced out through the
glass.
Then a startling cry burst from him.
“Great Heaven! Look there, Tom!”
Wilson turned quickly.
Through the ghostly twilight, a cable’s length astern, loomed the
monstrous form and vast, glaring orbs of the great fish-lizard.