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About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 16, 1925)
THE LOST WORLD By SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (Continued from Saturday.) . "But you won't admit* that it 4s final?" "Surely it might he a coincidence, or this American may have seen a picture of the kind and carried it In his memory. It would be likely to recur to a man In a delirium." “Very good." said the Professor, in dulgently; "we leave it at that. I will now ask you to look at this bone.' Ho handed over the bon ■ which uas part of the dead man's possessions. It was about six Inches long, anil thicker than iny thumb, with some' indications of dried carti lage ..t one end of it. "To m hat known creature does that bone belong? ’ asked the Professor. t examined it with care and tried lo recall somo halt-forgotten ltnowl ■ gi . "It might be a \ery thick human collarbone," I said. My companion waved his hand in (outcrop.irons deprecation. . "The human collarbone is curved. Thai is straight. There is a groove upon its surface showing that a great tendon played across it. which could not be the case with a clavicle." "Then I must confess that 1 don't know what it is.” - "You need not be ashamed to ex pose your ignorance, for I don’t sup pose tire whole South Kensington staff could give a name for it." He rook a little bone the size of a bean out, of o pillbox. "So far as 1 am a| judge this human bone is the analogue • if the one which you hold in your hand. That will give you some idea «f the size of the creature. You will observe from ilie cartilage that, this is no fossil specimen, but recent. What do you say to that?" "Surely in an elephant—” He winced ns if in pain. "Don't: Don't talk of elephants in South America. Even in these days of board schools—’ "Well." I interrupted, "any large South American nnlntal—a tapir, for example." "You may take it, young man. that I am versed in the elements of my business. This Is not a conceivable bone either of a tapir or of any other oreature known to zoology^ Tt be longs to a very large, a very strong, and. by all analogy, a very fierce animal which exists upon the face of the earth, but has not yet come under the notice of science. Yo\are ■till unconvinced?” "I atn at least deeply interested." “Then your case is not hopeless. T feel that there Is reason lurking in you sonewhere, so we will patiently group round for It. "We will now leave the dead Amer lean and proceed with my narrative. You can imagine that I could hardly come away from the Amazon without New York -- Day by Day -- __—-->| B.r O. O. MYNTTRE New York, Feb. IS.—A pago from the diary of a modern Samuel Pepya: Early up and with Ray Dong to Jersey to see Burt Terbune. the scriv ener, and his kennel At collie dogs and played with them for two hours and great sport It was, too. Then to sit before a great log fire and talk awhile before coming back to the city. At my stint In the late afternoon and fashioned a piece about my father for a magazine of which I was very proud. Caine Lee dwell. MayB»l!e Man bins and Mrs. Aroon Carter and ail of us to a tea and a duke and prince were there and they served us a urlnk out of a glass howl that almost had me foxed. Later to a club to a dinner and Grant Clarke, the song writer. Joined me and I find him the merriest, gayest wag I know what with this quip and that. So home and to bed. One of 9 rant Clarke's stories con cerned a. Grand Canyon tourist who was going up the dangerous narrow trail on horseback in charge of a guide. The tourist seemed oblivious to danger in his desire to get an eye ful. Time and again the guide would shout: "Keep that horse's head straight!'’ Finally on a narrow turn it happened. The tourist was gazing in the vast depths and horse and rider went over in an avalanche of gravel, dirt and trees. When he had dropped about 1,500 feet the guide •■.upped his hands and yelled down: “It serves you right, You sight see Ing son of a sea cook." Til* subway in New York has been In operation for 20 years. Last year 714,933,000 rides were recorded, a total comparing with London's 216,998,000. The subway is one of the most amazing of 'metropolitan wonders. The way it whisks millions daily under Manhattan Island and the river Is an engineering triumph. During the rush hour 10-car ex press trains arrive at each station every three moments. Despite pre dictions the .frightful subway disaster has never happened. Also the fear that subway workers would suffer from fetid underground air proved a. myth. Every worker immediately takes on what is called "Subway Fat.’’ They are healthier than men in most any other calling. The sub way’s poorest paid workers face the greatest dangers. They are the track walkers who dally burrow through the darkness to keep the tracks clear and to pick up bits of paper and re fuse with spiked sticks. Now and (hen a fast train hits one of them. Tiie subway patron finds many di verting moments In perusing the Daily Subway Sun—a placard pasted up Iff each end of the car. There is also Interest In the flashing, bright colored advertizing signs. If one tires of this there is always amusement in listening to the guards call out tlie stations. Each station seems to be “t'mty TTmph-Umph." A New' Yorker bawled out by s traffic cop for Jaywalking registered zero in quick retorting. "You ain't got no heart!'' he yelled. Who In this merry world ever had the slightest suspicion a New York traffic cop had n heart? Th» prize trnff!o*bawler out stand at tho Union Lengus club corner. ITe has the meanest disposition ever paged. No one Is Immune. Twice I have sizzled under his scorn and for days I sat around thinking up rut ting things f might have said to him. Rut the trouble is you never say them. My Ides of supreme courage is to be unafraid of a charging poller man. I wonder if anyone really Is? They ran make me gulp and slam Bier at the slightest feature. (Copyright, lK#.) probing deeper into tlie nmtter. Thei e were indication as to the direction from which the dead traveler had come. Indian legends would alone have been my guide, for 1 found that rumors of a strange land were com mon among ,-^11 the riverine tribes. You have heard, no doubt, of Curu purl?" "Never.” •T.'urupurl is tlie spirit of the woods, something terrible, something malevo lent. something to be avoided. None can deseripe its shape or nature, hut it is a word of terror along the Amazon. Now all tribes agree as to the direction in which t'urupuri lives, it was the same direction from which the American had come. Something terrible lay that way. It was my business to find out w hat it was.” “What did you do-.’” My flippancy was all gone. This massiv e man com pelled one's attention and respect. “I overcame the extreme reluctance of tlie natives—a reluctance which extends even to talk upon the sub ject—and by judicious persuasion and gifts, aided, I will admit, by sonic threats of coercion. I got two of them to act as guides. After many adven tures which I need not describe, and after traveling a distance which I will not mention, in a direction which I withhold, we came at last to a tract of country which lias never been described, nor. indeed, visited save by my unfortunate predecessor. Would you kindly look at tills?” He handed me a photograph—half plate size. "The unsatisfactory appearance o( it is due to the fact,” said he. "that on descending the river the boat was upset and the case which contained the undeveloped films was broken with disastrous results. Nearly all of them were totally ruined—an irre parable loss. This Is one of the few which partially escaped. This ex planation of deficiencies or abnormali ties you will kindly accept. There was talk of faking. I am not In a mood to argue such a point.” The photograph was certainly very off-colored. An unkind critic might easily have misinterpreted that dim surface. It was a dull gray land scape. and ns I gradually deciphered the details of it I realized that it represented a long and enormously high line of cliffs exactly like an immense cataract seen in the dtstanqgf' with a slopping, tree-clad plain m the foreground. "X believe it Is the same place as the painted picture,” said I. “It is the same place,” the Pro fessor answered. “I found traces of the fellow's camp. Now look at this." Tt was a nearer view of the same scene, though the photograph was extremely defective. I could distinct ly see the isolated, tree-crowned ’fin nacle of rock which was detached from the crag. “I have no doubt of It at all," said T. “Well, that is something gained," said he. ”\Ve progress, do we. not? Now will you please look at the top of that rocky pinnacle? Do you ob serve something there?” ”£n enormous tree.” "But on the tree?” “A large bird,” said I. He handed me a lens. "Yes.” I said, peering through It, "a large bird stands on (lie tree. It appears to have a considerable beak. I should say It. was a pelican." “X cannot congratulate you upon your eyesight," said the Professor. "It is not a pelican, nor, indeed, is it a bird. It may interest you to know that T succeeded in shooting that particular specimen. It was the only absolute proof of my expe riences which I was able to bring away with me." “You have it, then?” Here at last was tangible corroboration. “I had It. It was unfortunately lost with so much else in the same boat accident which ruined my photo graphs. I clutched a( it as It disap peared in the swirl of the rapids, and part of Its wing was left In my hand. [ was Insensible when washed ashore, but the miserable remnant of my superb specimen was still intact; I now lay it before you.” From a drawer he produced what seemed to m« to ge the upper portion of the wing of a large bat. It was at least two feet In length, a curved bone, with a membranous veil beneath it. "A monstrous bat!” T suggested "Nothing of the sort." sold the Pro fessor, severely. " l.f vtnV as 1 do. in an educated and scientific atmos phere, I could not have conceived that the first principles of zoology were so little known. It. is possible that you do not know the elemen tary fact in comparative anatomy, that the wing of a bird is really the forearmy, while the wing of a bat con sists of elongated fingers with mem branes between? Now, in this case the bone is certainly not the fore arm, and you can see for yourself that tliis Is a single membrane hang ing upon a single bone, and there fore that it cannot belong to a bat. But if it is neither bird nor bat. w hat is It?" My small stock of knowledge was exhausted. "I really do not know." sald'T. He opened the standard work to which he had already referred me. "Here," said he, pointing to the picture of an extraordinary flying monster, "is an excellent reproduction of the dlmorphodon, or pterodactyl, a flying reptile of tlie Jurassic period. On the next page is a diagram of the mechanism of its wing. Kindly compare it with the specimen in your hand." A wave of amazement passed over me as I looked. I was convinced. There could be no getting away from it. The cumulative proof was over whelming. The sketch, the photo graphs. the narrative, and now the actual specimen—the evidence was complete. 1 said so—I said it warmly, for I felt that the professor was an ill-used man. He leaned luck in his chair with dropping eyelids and in tolerant smile, basking in this sudden gleam of sunshine. "It's just the very biggest thing that 1 ever heard of!" said I. though it was my journalistic rather titan my scientific enthusiasm that was roused. "It is colossal. You are a Columbus of Science w ho has discovered a lost world. I'm awfully sorry if I seemed to doubt you. It Was all so unthink able. But I understand evidence when I see Jt, and this should be good enough 'for anyone." _ -» Thte Professor purred with satis faction. “And then, sir. what did you d" next?” “It was the wet season. Mr. Malone, and my stores were exhausted, t cx plored some portion of this huge elift. but I was unable to find any way to scale it. The pyramidal rook upon which I saw and shot the pterodactyl was more accessible. Being some thing of a cragsman, I did manage to get half way to the top of that. I'roni that height I had a better Idea of 11 if plateau upon the top of the crags. It appeared to lie very large; neither to east nor to west could I see any end to the \ista of green c apped cliffs. Be low, it is a swampy, jungle region, full of snakes, insects and fever. It is a natural protection to this singu lar country.” “Did you see any other trace of life?” , "No. sir, T did not; but during the week that we lay encamis’d at the base of the cliff we heard some very strange noises from above.” “But the creature that the Amer ican drew ? Mow do you account for that?" “We can only suppose that he must have made Ids way to the summit "nil seen it there. We know, there fore, that there Is a way up. We jually that It must he a very difficult one. otherwise the creatures would couie down and overrun the surrounding country. Sorely that is clear?" ________ "But how did they come to be there?" "I do not think that the problem is a very obscure one," said the Pro fessor. "there < an only 'be one ex planation. South America is. as you may have’ h,-aid, a granite continent. At this single point in the interior there has been, in some far distant age. sudden volcanic upheaval. These cliffs. 1 may remark, are basaltic, end therefore plutonio. An area, as large perhaps as Su.-sex, has been lifted up en bloc with all its living contents, and cut off by perpendicular preci pices of a hardness which defies ero sion from all the rest of the conti nent. What is the result? Why, the ordinary laws of Nature are suspend ed. The various checks which influ ence tIT- struggle for existence in the world at large are alll neutralised or altered. Creatures survive which oth erwise disappear. You will observe that both the peterodactyl and the stegosaurus are Jurassic, and there fore of a great age in the order of life. They have been artificially con served by those strange accidental conditions.” "But surely your evidence i.s con elusive. You have only to lay It be fore the property authorities." "So. in my simplicity, had Imag ined," said the Professor bitterly. "X cun only tell you that It was not so. that I was met at e<ery turn by in credulity, born partly of stupidity and partly of jealousy. It Is not my na ture, sir. to cringe to any man or to seek to prove a fact if my word has been doubted. After ttie fust I have not condescended to show such corroborative proofs as T possess. The subject became hateful to me—I would not speak of it. When men like yourself, who represent the fool ish <-urio*lty of the public, came to disturb my privacy 1 was unable to meet them with dignified reserve. By nature I am. I admit, somewhat fiery, and under provocation I am inclined to lie violent. I fear you may have remarked it." I nursed niy eve and was silent. “My wife has frequently remon strated with me upon the subject, and yet T fancy that any man of honor would feel the same. Tonight, how ever. I propose to give an extreme example of the control of the will ovej the emotions. 1 invite yoi» to be^ present at the exhibition." He handed me a card from his desk. "You will perceive that Mr. Pereival \V.il dron. a naturalist of some popular repute, is announced to lecture at eight-thirty at the Zoological Insti tute's Hair upon ‘The Record of the Ages.’ I have been specially invited to be present upon the platform, and to move a vote of thankg to the lec turer. While doing so. I shall make It my business, with infinite tact and delicacy, to throw out a few remarks which may arouse the interest of the audience and cause some of them to, desire lo go more deeply Into the mat te.. sothlng contentious, y ou under stand, but only an Indication that there are greater deeps beyond. I shall hold tnyself strongly in leash, md sec whether by Ihts self-restraint l attain a more favorable result.” •And 1 may come?” 1 asked eag erly. ”\\ hj .% surely,” he answ ered, cor dially. lie had an enormously mas si\e genial manner, which was almost is nvi-i powering as his violence. Ilis smile ut benevolence was a wonder ful thing, when his cheeks would -uddenlv hunch into two red apples, between his half closed eyes and hi great black beard. “By all means, i-omc. It will be a great comfort to me to know that 1 have one ally in the hull, however Inefficient and igno rant of the subject be may he. f fan. v there will be a large aiWiencc, for Waldron, though an absolute charlatan, has a considerable popular following Now, Mr. Malone. I have given ton rather more of my time than I Intended. The individual must not monopolize what is meant for the world T shall be pleased to see you at the lecture tonight. In the meantime, you will understand that no public use is to be made of any of the material that X have given you," . My day was a busy one. and I had an early dinner at the Savage Club with Tarp Henry, to whom I gate some account of my adventures. Me listened with a skeptical smile on his gaunt face, and roared with laugh* !i , on hearing that the Professor had convinced me. “My dear chap, things don't happen like that In real life, people don't .tumble upon enormous discoveries i ini then lose their evidence. Leave that to the novelist..'. The fellow is a- full of tricks as the monkey hous* at the zoo. It s all bosh." *** "But the American poet?" “He never existed.” “I saw h i> sket'di book/* ”t'haileuift r‘s sketch book.” You think he lrew that animal'.* "Of curse he did. Who else"' “Weil, then, the photographs?" There is nothing In (he photo graphs. I'.y ynur own admission yoi only saw a bird." "A pterodactyl." •■Thai'.' what hr .ays. lie put the pterodactyl into your head. "Well, then, the bones?" l-h-st one out of on Irish stew, yr, i ad one \ mp'd up for the ofca siou. If you are clever and know your i.iislncv* you ran fake a bone as easily is you can a plitograph." I began to feel uneasy. Perhaps, after all. I had belien premature in my acquiescence. Then I had a eud den happy thought. ••Will you come to the meeting'." I asked. Torp Henry looked thoughtful. (To He < nntinucil Tomorrow.! When a Feller Needs a Friend. • By BRIGGS I r , <£i - the DAV »t - ' TURNED WARMj f_^ «_Cl!'""'?? % ABIE THE AGENT Drawn for The Omaha Bee by Herthfiel'* RINMNG TRIE TO FORM m N THENEBBS IT’S A WONDERFUL WORLD AFTER ALL. directed tor I umana nee oy oo, nca t ce-n oa-r* 'CTwrOATE SPRECKLES l BELIr\/E f WERE YOU'RE WORKING YOuP LiPE AWAV TQVlNG \ Ar^ur nUMPTy- ft UERROYOUSING NGALL ' TO ©LEASE A LOT or CQAM*V WOMEN WTW THI& ' ?LJfg^8SlffI5oOlN6 Mol^Ss wSftT OOXOUM-AN cS&^MZSO*™* SO HERE'S MRS SPRECKLES fcy dCEROSvnG A SEWING wSppv irl^TONNV you i THE SEAMSTRESS AGAIN MACHINE WHEM YOU COULD P-KSyEup SwGVHG - TOO OWE ° TO I^NGJANgyOP W ONTHESTAGE MAKING * $ySuRE SUCH A MODEST 1 TEN TIMES fXS MUCH . GlRL"THAT'«S THE TROUBLE /l WAS ALWAYS the best Singer V IN SCHOOL 1 DDIATr11X10 I ID CATUCD Re*i.t«red see jiggs and maggie in full D1xI[T|\jI1nVJ L/I\ * *• nLlV U. S. Patent Offic* PAGE OF COLORS IN THE SUNDAY BEE _._- ■'■■'• ■■■■ ■ i — ■ r ISM T we WOnOEREuL \ AkjO TO TWikiK W / WES GOvnG to ThROvsj wimSELE away On yd TwAT KLOTlMEVER \a)Omanj WHO WAS NE'ThER LOOKS,STYLE or TALENT _ LOST a : a wi alkinG Bone yard we may be. l» I; \nSumCERE AnD Only TlatteR^nG ME Sot OM , HE SAYS \T SO LOVELY ». 1 W\Sw l WAD vs) WAT WE SA\0 On a PwOnO GRAPH RECORD - I D NEVER GET TVR.ED LISTENIN' TO 'T ^ Drawn for The Omaha Bee by McManus (Copyright 1925> * —r . t OX COLLX' I LL FIX. MACCilt AX DAUGHTER FER C>EIN‘ AMC.RX AT ME - I LL LEAVE _[THE HOOOE WITHOUT EATIN j rp^v BREAKFAST ' » ^ OR *3AXIN' “cooo OXEfJ I I I TILLIE, THE TOILER Bv \V r-tover