Chapter 6
As we strolled slowly back toward the boat, planning and discussingthis, we were suddenly startled by a loud and unmistakable detonation.
"A shell from the U-33!" exclaimed von Schoenvorts.
"What can be after signifyin'?" queried Olson.
"They are in trouble," I answered for all, "and it's up to us to getback to them. Drop that carcass," I directed the men carrying themeat, "and follow me!" I set off at a rapid run in the direction ofthe harbor.
We ran for the better part of a mile without hearing anything more fromthe direction of the harbor, and then I reduced the speed to a walk,for the exercise was telling on us who had been cooped up for so longin the confined interior of the U-33. Puffing and panting, we ploddedon until within about a mile of the harbor we came upon a sight thatbrought us all up standing. We had been passing through a littleheavier timber than was usual to this part of the country, when wesuddenly emerged into an open space in the center of which was such aband as might have caused the most courageous to pause. It consistedof upward of five hundred individuals representing several speciesclosely allied to man. There were anthropoid apes and gorillas--theseI had no difficulty in recognizing; but there were other forms which Ihad never before seen, and I was hard put to it to say whether theywere ape or man. Some of them resembled the corpse we had found uponthe narrow beach against Caprona's sea-wall, while others were of astill lower type, more nearly resembling the apes, and yet others wereuncannily manlike, standing there erect, being less hairy andpossessing better shaped heads.
There was one among the lot, evidently the leader of them, who bore aclose resemblance to the so-called Neanderthal man of LaChapelle-aux-Saints. There was the same short, stocky trunk upon whichrested an enormous head habitually bent forward into the same curvatureas the back, the arms shorter than the legs, and the lower legconsiderably shorter than that of modern man, the knees bent forwardand never straightened. This creature and one or two others whoappeared to be of a lower order than he, yet higher than that of theapes, carried heavy clubs; the others were armed only with giantmuscles and fighting fangs--nature's weapons. All were males, and allwere entirely naked; nor was there upon even the highest among them asign of ornamentation.
At sight of us they turned with bared fangs and low growls to confrontus. I did not wish to fire among them unless it became absolutelynecessary, and so I started to lead my party around them; but theinstant that the Neanderthal man guessed my intention, he evidentlyattributed it to cowardice upon our part, and with a wild cry he leapedtoward us, waving his cudgel above his head. The others followed him,and in a minute we should have been overwhelmed. I gave the order tofire, and at the first volley six of them went down, including theNeanderthal man. The others hesitated a moment and then broke for thetrees, some running nimbly among the branches, while others lostthemselves to us between the boles. Both von Schoenvorts and I noticedthat at least two of the higher, manlike types took to the trees quiteas nimbly as the apes, while others that more nearly approached man incarriage and appearance sought safety upon the ground with the gorillas.
An examination disclosed that five of our erstwhile opponents were deadand the sixth, the Neanderthal man, was but slightly wounded, a bullethaving glanced from his thick skull, stunning him. We decided to takehim with us to camp, and by means of belts we managed to secure hishands behind his back and place a leash around his neck before heregained consciousness. We then retraced our steps for our meat beingconvinced by our own experience that those aboard the U-33 had beenable to frighten off this party with a single shell--but when we cameto where we had left the deer it had disappeared.
On the return journey Whitely and I preceded the rest of the party byabout a hundred yards in the hope of getting another shot at somethingedible, for we were all greatly disgusted and disappointed by the lossof our venison. Whitely and I advanced very cautiously, and not havingthe whole party with us, we fared better than on the journey out,bagging two large antelope not a half-mile from the harbor; so with ourgame and our prisoner we made a cheerful return to the boat, where wefound that all were safe. On the shore a little north of where we laythere were the corpses of twenty of the wild creatures who had attackedBradley and his party in our absence, and the rest of whom we had metand scattered a few minutes later.
We felt that we had taught these wild ape-men a lesson and that becauseof it we would be safer in the future--at least safer from them; but wedecided not to abate our carefulness one whit, feeling that this newworld was filled with terrors still unknown to us; nor were we wrong.
The following morning we commenced work upon our camp, Bradley, Olson,von Schoenvorts, Miss La Rue, and I having sat up half the nightdiscussing the matter and drawing plans. We set the men at workfelling trees, selecting for the purpose jarrah, a hard,weather-resisting timber which grew in profusion near by. Half the menlabored while the other half stood guard, alternating each hour with anhour off at noon. Olson directed this work. Bradley, von Schoenvortsand I, with Miss La Rue's help, staked out the various buildings andthe outer wall. When the day was done, we had quite an array of logsnicely notched and ready for our building operations on the morrow, andwe were all tired, for after the buildings had been staked out we allfell in and helped with the logging--all but von Schoenvorts. He,being a Prussian and a gentleman, couldn't stoop to such menial laborin the presence of his men, and I didn't see fit to ask it of him, asthe work was purely voluntary upon our part. He spent the afternoonshaping a swagger-stick from the branch of jarrah and talking with MissLa Rue, who had sufficiently unbent toward him to notice his existence.
We saw nothing of the wild men of the previous day, and only once werewe menaced by any of the strange denizens of Caprona, when somefrightful nightmare of the sky swooped down upon us, only to be drivenoff by a fusillade of bullets. The thing appeared to be some varietyof pterodactyl, and what with its enormous size and ferocious aspectwas most awe-inspiring. There was another incident, too, which to meat least was far more unpleasant than the sudden onslaught of theprehistoric reptile. Two of the men, both Germans, were stripping afelled tree of its branches. Von Schoenvorts had completed hisswagger-stick, and he and I were passing close to where the two worked.
One of them threw to his rear a small branch that he had just choppedoff, and as misfortune would have it, it struck von Schoenvorts acrossthe face. It couldn't have hurt him, for it didn't leave a mark; buthe flew into a terrific rage, shouting: "Attention!" in a loud voice.The sailor immediately straightened up, faced his officer, clicked hisheels together and saluted. "Pig!" roared the Baron, and struck thefellow across the face, breaking his nose. I grabbed von Schoenvorts'arm and jerked him away before he could strike again, if such had beenhis intention, and then he raised his little stick to strike me; butbefore it descended the muzzle of my pistol was against his belly andhe must have seen in my eyes that nothing would suit me better than anexcuse to pull the trigger. Like all his kind and all other bullies,von Schoenvorts was a coward at heart, and so he dropped his hand tohis side and started to turn away; but I pulled him back, and therebefore his men I told him that such a thing must never againoccur--that no man was to be struck or otherwise punished other than indue process of the laws that we had made and the court that we hadestablished. All the time the sailor stood rigidly at attention, norcould I tell from his expression whether he most resented the blow hisofficer had struck him or my interference in the gospel of theKaiser-breed. Nor did he move until I said to him: "Plesser, you mayreturn to your quarters and dress your wound." Then he saluted andmarched stiffly off toward the U-33.
Just before dusk we moved out into the bay a hundred yards from shoreand dropped anchor, for I felt that we should be safer there thanelsewhere. I also detailed men to stand watch during the night andappointed Olson officer of the watch for the entire night, telling himto bring his blankets on deck and get what rest he could. At dinner wetasted our first roast Caprona a
ntelope, and we had a mess of greensthat the cook had found growing along the stream. All during the mealvon Schoenvorts was silent and surly.
After dinner we all went on deck and watched the unfamiliar scenes of aCapronian night--that is, all but von Schoenvorts. There was less tosee than to hear. From the great inland lake behind us came thehissing and the screaming of countless saurians. Above us we heard theflap of giant wings, while from the shore rose the multitudinous voicesof a tropical jungle--of a warm, damp atmosphere such as must haveenveloped the entire earth during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. Buthere were intermingled the voices of later eras--the scream of thepanther, the roar of the lion, the baying of wolves and a thunderousgrowling which we could attribute to nothing earthly but which one daywe were to connect with the most fearsome of ancient creatures.
One by one the others went to their rooms, until the girl and I wereleft alone together, for I had permitted the watch to go below for afew minutes, knowing that I would be on deck. Miss La Rue was veryquiet, though she replied graciously enough to whatever I had to saythat required reply. I asked her if she did not feel well.
"Yes," she said, "but I am depressed by the awfulness of it all. I feelof so little consequence--so small and helpless in the face of allthese myriad manifestations of life stripped to the bone of itssavagery and brutality. I realize as never before how cheap andvalueless a thing is life. Life seems a joke, a cruel, grim joke. Youare a laughable incident or a terrifying one as you happen to be lesspowerful or more powerful than some other form of life which crossesyour path; but as a rule you are of no moment whatsoever to anythingbut yourself. You are a comic little figure, hopping from the cradleto the grave. Yes, that is our trouble--we take ourselves tooseriously; but Caprona should be a sure cure for that." She paused andlaughed.
"You have evolved a beautiful philosophy," I said. "It fills such alonging in the human breast. It is full, it is satisfying, it isennobling. What wondrous strides toward perfection the human racemight have made if the first man had evolved it and it had persisteduntil now as the creed of humanity."
"I don't like irony," she said; "it indicates a small soul."
"What other sort of soul, then, would you expect from `a comic littlefigure hopping from the cradle to the grave'?" I inquired. "And whatdifference does it make, anyway, what you like and what you don't like?You are here for but an instant, and you mustn't take yourself tooseriously."
She looked up at me with a smile. "I imagine that I am frightened andblue," she said, "and I know that I am very, very homesick and lonely."There was almost a sob in her voice as she concluded. It was the firsttime that she had spoken thus to me. Involuntarily, I laid my handupon hers where it rested on the rail.
"I know how difficult your position is," I said; "but don't feel thatyou are alone. There is--is one here who--who would do anything in theworld for you," I ended lamely. She did not withdraw her hand, and shelooked up into my face with tears on her cheeks and I read in her eyesthe thanks her lips could not voice. Then she looked away across theweird moonlit landscape and sighed. Evidently her new-found philosophyhad tumbled about her ears, for she was seemingly taking herselfseriously. I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her how I lovedher, and had taken her hand from the rail and started to draw hertoward me when Olson came blundering up on deck with his bedding.
The following morning we started building operations in earnest, andthings progressed finely. The Neanderthal man was something of a care,for we had to keep him in irons all the time, and he was mighty savagewhen approached; but after a time he became more docile, and then wetried to discover if he had a language. Lys spent a great deal of timetalking to him and trying to draw him out; but for a long while she wasunsuccessful. It took us three weeks to build all the houses, which weconstructed close by a cold spring some two miles from the harbor.
We changed our plans a trifle when it came to building the palisade,for we found a rotted cliff near by where we could get all the flatbuilding-stone we needed, and so we constructed a stone wall entirelyaround the buildings. It was in the form of a square, with bastionsand towers at each corner which would permit an enfilading fire alongany side of the fort, and was about one hundred and thirty-five feetsquare on the outside, with walls three feet thick at the bottom andabout a foot and a half wide at the top, and fifteen feet high. Ittook a long time to build that wall, and we all turned in and helpedexcept von Schoenvorts, who, by the way, had not spoken to me except inthe line of official business since our encounter--a condition of armedneutrality which suited me to a T. We have just finished it, the lasttouches being put on today. I quit about a week ago and commencedworking on this chronicle for our strange adventures, which willaccount for any minor errors in chronology which may have crept in;there was so much material that I may have made some mistakes, but Ithink they are but minor and few.
I see in reading over the last few pages that I neglected to state thatLys finally discovered that the Neanderthal man possessed a language.She has learned to speak it, and so have I, to some extent. It washe--his name he says is Am, or Ahm--who told us that this country iscalled Caspak. When we asked him how far it extended, he waved botharms about his head in an all-including gesture which took in,apparently, the entire universe. He is more tractable now, and we aregoing to release him, for he has assured us that he will not permit hisfellows to harm us. He calls us Galus and says that in a short time hewill be a Galu. It is not quite clear to us what he means. He saysthat there are many Galus north of us, and that as soon as he becomesone he will go and live with them.
Ahm went out to hunt with us yesterday and was much impressed by theease with which our rifles brought down antelopes and deer. We havebeen living upon the fat of the land, Ahm having shown us the ediblefruits, tubers and herbs, and twice a week we go out after fresh meat.A certain proportion of this we dry and store away, for we do not knowwhat may come. Our drying process is really smoking. We have alsodried a large quantity of two varieties of cereal which grow wild a fewmiles south of us. One of these is a giant Indian maize--a loftyperennial often fifty and sixty feet in height, with ears the size ofa man's body and kernels as large as your fist. We have had toconstruct a second store house for the great quantity of this that wehave gathered.
September 3, 1916: Three months ago today the torpedo from the U-33started me from the peaceful deck of the American liner upon thestrange voyage which has ended here in Caspak. We have settled down toan acceptance of our fate, for all are convinced that none of us willever see the outer world again. Ahm's repeated assertions that thereare human beings like ourselves in Caspak have roused the men to a keendesire for exploration. I sent out one party last week under Bradley.Ahm, who is now free to go and come as he wishes, accompanied them.They marched about twenty-five miles due west, encountering manyterrible beasts and reptiles and not a few manlike creatures whom Ahmsent away. Here is Bradley's report of the expedition:
Marched fifteen miles the first day, camping on the bank of a largestream which runs southward. Game was plentiful and we saw severalvarieties which we had not before encountered in Caspak. Just beforemaking camp we were charged by an enormous woolly rhinoceros, whichPlesser dropped with a perfect shot. We had rhinoceros-steaks forsupper. Ahm called the thing "Atis." It was almost a continuousbattle from the time we left the fort until we arrived at camp. Themind of man can scarce conceive the plethora of carnivorous life inthis lost world; and their prey, of course, is even more abundant.
The second day we marched about ten miles to the foot of the cliffs.Passed through dense forests close to the base of the cliffs. Sawmanlike creatures and a low order of ape in one band, and some of themen swore that there was a white man among them. They were inclined toattack us at first; but a volley from our rifles caused them to changetheir minds. We scaled the cliffs as far as we could; but near the topthey are absolutely perpendicular without any sufficient cleft orprotuberance to give hand or foot-hold. All w
ere disappointed, for wehungered for a view of the ocean and the outside world. We even had ahope that we might see and attract the attention of a passing ship. Ourexploration has determined one thing which will probably be of littlevalue to us and never heard of beyond Caprona's walls--this crater wasonce entirely filled with water. Indisputable evidence of this is onthe face of the cliffs.
Our return journey occupied two days and was as filled with adventureas usual. We are all becoming accustomed to adventure. It is beginningto pall on us. We suffered no casualties and there was no illness.
I had to smile as I read Bradley's report. In those four days he haddoubtless passed through more adventures than an African big-gamehunter experiences in a lifetime, and yet he covered it all in a fewlines. Yes, we are becoming accustomed to adventure. Not a day passesthat one or more of us does not face death at least once. Ahm taughtus a few things that have proved profitable and saved us muchammunition, which it is useless to expend except for food or in thelast recourse of self-preservation. Now when we are attacked by largeflying reptiles we run beneath spreading trees; when land carnivorathreaten us, we climb into trees, and we have learned not to fire atany of the dinosaurs unless we can keep out of their reach for at leasttwo minutes after hitting them in the brain or spine, or five minutesafter puncturing their hearts--it takes them so long to die. To hitthem elsewhere is worse than useless, for they do not seem to noticeit, and we had discovered that such shots do not kill or even disablethem.
September 7, 1916: Much has happened since I last wrote. Bradley isaway again on another exploration expedition to the cliffs. He expectsto be gone several weeks and to follow along their base in search of apoint where they may be scaled. He took Sinclair, Brady, James, andTippet with him. Ahm has disappeared. He has been gone about threedays; but the most startling thing I have on record is that vonSchoenvorts and Olson while out hunting the other day discovered oilabout fifteen miles north of us beyond the sandstone cliffs. Olson saysthere is a geyser of oil there, and von Schoenvorts is makingpreparations to refine it. If he succeeds, we shall have the means forleaving Caspak and returning to our own world. I can scarce believe thetruth of it. We are all elated to the seventh heaven of bliss. PrayGod we shall not be disappointed.
I have tried on several occasions to broach the subject of my love toLys; but she will not listen.