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I was weary and spent, so my progress was not so fast as I
wished; but at last I came into regions which I knew. There was
the swamp of the pterodactyls upon my left; there in front of me
was the glade of the iguanodons. Now I was in the last belt of
trees which separated me from Fort Challenger. I raised my voice
in a cheery shout to allay their fears. No answering greeting
came back to me. My heart sank at that ominous stillness.
I quickened my pace into a run. The zareba rose before me, even
as I had left it, but the gate was open. I rushed in. In the cold,
morning light it was a fearful sight which met my eyes. Our effects
were scattered in wild confusion over the ground; my comrades had
disappeared, and close to the smouldering ashes of our fire the
grass was stained crimson with a hideous pool of blood.
I was so stunned by this sudden shock that for a time I must
have nearly lost my reason. I have a vague recollection, as
one remembers a bad dream, of rushing about through the woods
all round the empty camp, calling wildly for my companions.
No answer came back from the silent shadows. The horrible
thought that I might never see them again, that I might find
myself abandoned all alone in that dreadful place, with no
possible way of descending into the world below, that I might
live and die in that nightmare country, drove me to desperation.
I could have torn my hair and beaten my head in my despair.
Only now did I realize how I had learned to lean upon my
companions, upon the serene self-confidence of Challenger,
and upon the masterful, humorous coolness of Lord John Roxton.
Without them I was like a child in the dark, helpless and powerless.
I did not know which way to turn or what I should do first.
After a period, during which I sat in bewilderment, I set myself
to try and discover what sudden misfortune could have befallen
my companions. The whole disordered appearance of the camp
showed that there had been some sort of attack, and the rifle-shot
no doubt marked the time when it had occurred. That there
should have been only one shot showed that it had been all over
in an instant. The rifles still lay upon the ground, and one
of them--Lord John's--had the empty cartridge in the breech.
The blankets of Challenger and of Summerlee beside the fire
suggested that they had been asleep at the time. The cases of
ammunition and of food were scattered about in a wild litter,
together with our unfortunate cameras and plate-carriers, but
none of them were missing. On the other hand, all the exposed
provisions--and I remembered that there were a considerable
quantity of them--were gone. They were animals, then, and not
natives, who had made the inroad, for surely the latter would
have left nothing behind.
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