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A
wide
,
open
space
lay
before
us
--
some
hundreds
of
yards
across
--
all
green
turf
and
low
bracken
growing
to
the
very
edge
of
the
cliff
.
Round
this
clearing
there
was
a
semi-circle
of
trees
with
curious
huts
built
of
foliage
piled
one
above
the
other
among
the
branches
.
A
rookery
,
with
every
nest
a
little
house
,
would
best
convey
the
idea
.
The
openings
of
these
huts
and
the
branches
of
the
trees
were
thronged
with
a
dense
mob
of
ape-people
,
whom
from
their
size
I
took
to
be
the
females
and
infants
of
the
tribe
.
They
formed
the
background
of
the
picture
,
and
were
all
looking
out
with
eager
interest
at
the
same
scene
which
fascinated
and
bewildered
us
.
In
the
open
,
and
near
the
edge
of
the
cliff
,
there
had
assembled
a
crowd
of
some
hundred
of
these
shaggy
,
red-haired
creatures
,
many
of
them
of
immense
size
,
and
all
of
them
horrible
to
look
upon
.
There
was
a
certain
discipline
among
them
,
for
none
of
them
attempted
to
break
the
line
which
had
been
formed
.
In
front
there
stood
a
small
group
of
Indians
--
little
,
clean-limbed
,
red
fellows
,
whose
skins
glowed
like
polished
bronze
in
the
strong
sunlight
.
A
tall
,
thin
white
man
was
standing
beside
them
,
his
head
bowed
,
his
arms
folded
,
his
whole
attitude
expressive
of
his
horror
and
dejection
.
There
was
no
mistaking
the
angular
form
of
Professor
Summerlee
.
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In
front
of
and
around
this
dejected
group
of
prisoners
were
several
ape-men
,
who
watched
them
closely
and
made
all
escape
impossible
.
Then
,
right
out
from
all
the
others
and
close
to
the
edge
of
the
cliff
,
were
two
figures
,
so
strange
,
and
under
other
circumstances
so
ludicrous
,
that
they
absorbed
my
attention
.
The
one
was
our
comrade
,
Professor
Challenger
.
The
remains
of
his
coat
still
hung
in
strips
from
his
shoulders
,
but
his
shirt
had
been
all
torn
out
,
and
his
great
beard
merged
itself
in
the
black
tangle
which
covered
his
mighty
chest
.
He
had
lost
his
hat
,
and
his
hair
,
which
had
grown
long
in
our
wanderings
,
was
flying
in
wild
disorder
.
A
single
day
seemed
to
have
changed
him
from
the
highest
product
of
modern
civilization
to
the
most
desperate
savage
in
South
America
.
Beside
him
stood
his
master
,
the
king
of
the
ape-men
.
In
all
things
he
was
,
as
Lord
John
had
said
,
the
very
image
of
our
Professor
,
save
that
his
coloring
was
red
instead
of
black
.
The
same
short
,
broad
figure
,
the
same
heavy
shoulders
,
the
same
forward
hang
of
the
arms
,
the
same
bristling
beard
merging
itself
in
the
hairy
chest
.
Only
above
the
eyebrows
,
where
the
sloping
forehead
and
low
,
curved
skull
of
the
ape-man
were
in
sharp
contrast
to
the
broad
brow
and
magnificent
cranium
of
the
European
,
could
one
see
any
marked
difference
.
At
every
other
point
the
king
was
an
absurd
parody
of
the
Professor
.
All
this
,
which
takes
me
so
long
to
describe
,
impressed
itself
upon
me
in
a
few
seconds
.
Then
we
had
very
different
things
to
think
of
,
for
an
active
drama
was
in
progress
.
Two
of
the
ape-men
had
seized
one
of
the
Indians
out
of
the
group
and
dragged
him
forward
to
the
edge
of
the
cliff
.
The
king
raised
his
hand
as
a
signal
.
They
caught
the
man
by
his
leg
and
arm
,
and
swung
him
three
times
backwards
and
forwards
with
tremendous
violence
.
Then
,
with
a
frightful
heave
they
shot
the
poor
wretch
over
the
precipice
.
With
such
force
did
they
throw
him
that
he
curved
high
in
the
air
before
beginning
to
drop
.
As
he
vanished
from
sight
,
the
whole
assembly
,
except
the
guards
,
rushed
forward
to
the
edge
of
the
precipice
,
and
there
was
a
long
pause
of
absolute
silence
,
broken
by
a
mad
yell
of
delight
.
They
sprang
about
,
tossing
their
long
,
hairy
arms
in
the
air
and
howling
with
exultation
.
Then
they
fell
back
from
the
edge
,
formed
themselves
again
into
line
,
and
waited
for
the
next
victim
.
This
time
it
was
Summerlee
.
Two
of
his
guards
caught
him
by
the
wrists
and
pulled
him
brutally
to
the
front
.
His
thin
figure
and
long
limbs
struggled
and
fluttered
like
a
chicken
being
dragged
from
a
coop
.
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Challenger
had
turned
to
the
king
and
waved
his
hands
frantically
before
him
.
He
was
begging
,
pleading
,
imploring
for
his
comrade
's
life
.
The
ape-man
pushed
him
roughly
aside
and
shook
his
head
.
It
was
the
last
conscious
movement
he
was
to
make
upon
earth
.
Lord
John
's
rifle
cracked
,
and
the
king
sank
down
,
a
tangled
red
sprawling
thing
,
upon
the
ground
.
"
Shoot
into
the
thick
of
them
!
Shoot
!
sonny
,
shoot
!
"
cried
my
companion
.
There
are
strange
red
depths
in
the
soul
of
the
most
commonplace
man
.
I
am
tenderhearted
by
nature
,
and
have
found
my
eyes
moist
many
a
time
over
the
scream
of
a
wounded
hare
.
Yet
the
blood
lust
was
on
me
now
.
I
found
myself
on
my
feet
emptying
one
magazine
,
then
the
other
,
clicking
open
the
breech
to
re-load
,
snapping
it
to
again
,
while
cheering
and
yelling
with
pure
ferocity
and
joy
of
slaughter
as
I
did
so
.
With
our
four
guns
the
two
of
us
made
a
horrible
havoc
.
Both
the
guards
who
held
Summerlee
were
down
,
and
he
was
staggering
about
like
a
drunken
man
in
his
amazement
,
unable
to
realize
that
he
was
a
free
man
.
The
dense
mob
of
ape-men
ran
about
in
bewilderment
,
marveling
whence
this
storm
of
death
was
coming
or
what
it
might
mean
.
They
waved
,
gesticulated
,
screamed
,
and
tripped
up
over
those
who
had
fallen
.
Then
,
with
a
sudden
impulse
,
they
all
rushed
in
a
howling
crowd
to
the
trees
for
shelter
,
leaving
the
ground
behind
them
spotted
with
their
stricken
comrades
.
The
prisoners
were
left
for
the
moment
standing
alone
in
the
middle
of
the
clearing
.