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In Search of the Unknown, a novel by Robert W. Chambers |
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Chapter 20 |
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_ CHAPTER XX "Dinner was ended. Daisy Holroyd lighted her father's pipe for him, and insisted on my smoking as much as I pleased. Then she sat down, and folded her hands like a good little girl, waiting for her father to make the revelation which I felt in my bones must be something out of the ordinary. "The professor smoked for a while, gazing meditatively at his daughter; then, fixing his gray eyes on me, he said: "'Have you ever heard of the kree--that Australian bird, half parrot, half hawk, that destroys so many sheep in New South Wales?' "I nodded. "'The kree kills a sheep by alighting on its back and tearing away the flesh with its hooked beak until a vital part is reached. You know that? Well, it has been discovered that the kree had prehistoric prototypes. These birds were enormous creatures, who preyed upon mammoths and mastodons, and even upon the great saurians. It has been conclusively proved that a few saurians have been killed by the ancestors of the kree, but the favorite food of these birds was undoubtedly the thermosaurus. It is believed that the birds attacked the eyes of the thermosaurus, and when, as was its habit, the mammoth creature turned on its back to claw them, they fell upon the thinner scales of its stomach armor and finally killed it. This, of course, is a theory, but we have almost absolute proofs of its correctness. Now, these two birds are known among scientists as the ekaf-bird and the ool-yllik. The names are Australian, in which country most of their remains have been unearthed. They lived during the Carboniferous period. Now, it is not generally known, but the fact is, that in 1801 Captain Ransom, of the British exploring vessel _Gull_, purchased from the natives of Tasmania the skin of an ekaf-bird that could not have been killed more than twenty-four hours previous to its sale. I saw this skin in the British Museum. It was labelled, "Unknown bird, probably extinct." It took me exactly a week to satisfy myself that it was actually the skin of an ekaf-bird. But that is not all, Dick,' continued the professor, excitedly. 'In 1854 Admiral Stuart, of our own navy, saw the carcass of a strange, gigantic bird floating along the southern coast of Australia. Sharks were after it, and before a boat could be lowered these miserable fish got it. But the good old admiral secured a few feathers and sent them to the Smithsonian. I saw them. They were not even labelled, but I knew that they were feathers from the ekaf-bird or its near relative, the ool-yllik.' "I had grown so interested that I had leaned far across the table. Daisy, too, bent forward. It was only when the professor paused for a moment that I noticed how close together our heads were--Daisy's and mine. I don't think she realized it. She did not move. "'Now comes the important part of this long discourse,' said the professor, smiling at our eagerness. "'Ever since the carcass of our derelict thermosaurus was first noticed, every captain who has seen it has also reported the presence of one or more gigantic birds in the neighborhood. These birds, at a great distance, appeared to be hovering over the carcass, but on the approach of a vessel they disappeared. Even in mid-ocean they were observed. When I heard about it I was puzzled. A month later I was satisfied that neither the ekaf-bird nor the ool-yllik was extinct. Last Monday I knew that I was right. I found forty-eight distinct impressions of the huge, seven-toed claw of the ekaf-bird on the beach here at Pine Inlet. You may imagine my excitement. I succeeded in digging up enough wet sand around one of these impressions to preserve its form. I managed to get it into a soap-box, and now it is there in my shop. The tide rose too rapidly for me to save the other footprints.' "I shuddered at the possibility of a clumsy misstep on my part obliterating the impression of an ool-yllik. "'That is the reason that my daughter warned you off the beach,' he said, mildly. "'Hanging would have been too good for the vandal who destroyed such priceless prizes,' I cried out, in self-reproach. "Daisy Holroyd turned a flushed face to mine and impulsively laid her hand on my sleeve. "'How could you know?' she said. "'It's all right now,' said her father, emphasizing each word with a gentle tap of his pipe-bowl on the table-edge; 'don't be hard on yourself, Dick. You'll do yeoman's service yet.' "It was nearly midnight, and still we chatted on about the thermosaurus, the ekaf-bird, and the ool-yllik, eagerly discussing the probability of the great reptile's carcass being in the vicinity. That alone seemed to explain the presence of these prehistoric birds at Pine Inlet. "'Do they ever attack human beings?' I asked. "The professor looked startled. "'Gracious!' he exclaimed, 'I never thought of that. And Daisy running about out-of-doors! Dear me! It takes a scientist to be an unnatural parent!' "His alarm was half real, half assumed; but, all the same, he glanced gravely at us both, shaking his handsome head, absorbed in thought. Daisy herself looked a little doubtful. As for me, my sensations were distinctly queer. "'It is true,' said the professor, frowning at the wall, 'that human remains have been found associated with the bones of the ekaf-bird--I don't know how intimately. It is a matter to be taken into most serious consideration.' "'The problem can be solved,' said I, 'in several ways. One is, to keep Miss Holroyd in the house--' "'I shall not stay in,' cried Daisy, indignantly. "We all laughed, and her father assured her that she should not be abused. "'Even if I did stay in,' she said, 'one of these birds might alight on Master Dick.' "She looked saucily at me as she spoke, but turned crimson when her father observed, quietly, 'You don't seem to think of me, Daisy!' "'Of course I do,' she said, getting up and putting both arms around her father's neck; 'but Dick--as--as you call him--is so helpless and timid.' "My blissful smile froze on my lips. "'Timid!' I repeated. "She came back to the table, making me a mocking reverence. "'Do you think I am to be laughed at with impunity?' she said. "'What are your other plans, Dick?' asked the professor. 'Daisy, let him alone, you little tease!' "'One is, to haul a lot of cast-iron boilers along the dunes,' I said. 'If these birds come when the carcass floats in, and if they seem disposed to trouble us, we could crawl into the boilers and be safe.' "'Why, that is really brilliant!' cried Daisy. "'Be quiet, my child. Dick, the plan is sound and sensible and perfectly practical. McPeek and Frisby shall go for a dozen loads of boilers to-morrow.' "'It will spoil the beauty of the landscape,' said Daisy, with a taunting nod to me. "'And Frisby will probably attempt to cover them with bill-posters,' I added, laughing. "'That,' said Daisy, 'I shall prevent, even at the cost of his life.' And she stood up, looking very determined. "'Children, children,' protested the professor, 'go to bed--you bother me.' "Then I turned deliberately to Miss Holroyd. "'Good-night, Daisy,' I said. "'Good-night, Dick,' she said, very gently. _ |
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