The Lost Continent Edgar Rice

nlj Channel January 2024 Burrows Edgar Rice the Lost Continent 1916 since earliest childhood I have been strangely fascinated by the mystery surrounding the history of the last days of 20th century Europe my interest is keenest perhaps not so much in relation to known facts as to speculation upon the unknowable of the two centuries that have rolled by since human intercourse between the Western and Eastern hemispheres ceased the mystery of Europe's State following the termination of the Great Wa

r provided of course that the war had been terminated from out of the meagerness of our sensed histories we learned that for 15 years after the cessation of diplomatic relations between the United States of North America and the belligerent nations of of the old world news of more or less doubtful authenticity filtered from time to time into the Western Hemisphere from the Eastern then came the fruition of that historic propaganda which is best described by its own slogan the East for the East t

he West for the west and all further intercourse was stopped by Statute even prior to this trans Oceanic Commerce had practically ceased owing to The Perils and Hazards of the Mind stwn Waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans just when submarine activities ended we do not know but the last vessel of this type cited by a Pan-American merchantman was the huge Q 138 which discharged 29 Torpedoes at a Brazilian tank steamer off the Bermudas in the fall of 1972 a heavy Sea and the excellent SE

manip of the master of the Brazilian permitted the Pan-American to escape and report this last of a long series of outrages Upon Our Commerce God Alone knows how many hundreds of our ancient ships fell prey to the roving steel sharks of blood frenzied Europe countless were the vessels and men that passed over our eastern and western Horizons never to return but whether they met their Fates before the belching tubes of submarines among the aimlessly drifting Mine Fields no man lived to tell and

then came the great Pan American Federation which linked the Western Hemisphere from pole to pole under a single flag which joined the Navies of the new world into the mightiest fighting force that ever sailed the seven seas the greatest argument for peace the world had ever known since that day peace had rained from the Western shores of the aor to the Western shores of the Hawaiian Islands nor has any man of either hemisphere dared cross 30 DEC wats or 175 DEC wats from 30d to 175d Is Ours fro

m 30d to 175d is peace prosperity and happiness Beyond was the great unknown even the geographies of my Boyhood show knowed nothing Beyond we were taught of nothing Beyond speculation was discouraged for 200 years the Eastern Hemisphere had been wiped from the maps and histories of panamerica its mention in fiction even was forbidden our ships of Peace Patrol 30 and 175 what ships from Beyond they have warned only the secret archives of government show but and navil officer myself I have gathere

d from the traditions of the service that it has been fully 200 years since smoke or sale has been cited east of 30d or west of 175d the fate of the relinquished provinces which lay beyond the dead lines we could only speculate upon that they were taken by the military power which rose so suddenly in China after the fall of the Republic and which rested Manchuria and Korea from Russia and Japan and also absorbed the Philippines is quite within the range of possibility it was the commander of a C

hinese man of war who received a copy of the Edict of 1972 from the hand of my illustrious ancestor Admiral Turk on 175 206 years ago and from the yellowed pages of the Admiral's diary I learned that the fate of the Philippines was even then pred by these Chinese naval officers yes for over 200 years no man crossed 30d to 175d and lived to tell his story not until chance drew me across and back again and public opinion revolting at last against the DraStic regulations of our long dead forbears d

emanded that my story be given to the world and that the narrow interdict which commanded peace prosperity and happiness to Halt at 30d and 175d be removed forever I am glad that it was given to me to be an instrument in the hands of Providence for the uplifting of bited Europe and the amelioration of the suffering degradation and abysmal ignorance in which I found her I shall not live to see the complete regeneration of the Savage hordes of the Eastern Hemisphere that is a work which will requi

re many generations perhaps ages so complete has been their reversion to savagery but I know that the work has been started and I am proud of the share in it which my generous countrymen have placed in my hands the government already possesses a complete official report of my Adventures Beyond 30 in the narrative I purpose telling my story in a less formal and I hope a more entertaining style though being only a naval officer and without claim to the slightest literary ability I shall most certa

inly fall far short of the possibilities which are inherent in my subject that I have passed through the most wondrous Adventures that have befallen a civilized man during the past two centuries encourages me in the belief that however ill the telling the facts themselves will command your interest to the final Page Beyond 30 romance Adventure strange peoples fearsome beasts all the excitement and Scurry of the lives of the 20th century ancients that have been denied Us in these dull days of pea

ce and prosaic Prosperity all all lay Beyond 30 the invisible barrier between the stupid commercial present and the Carefree barbarous past what boy has not sighed for the good old days of Wars revolutions and rs how I used to pour over the chronicles of those old days those dear old days when workmen went armed to their labors when they fell upon one another with gun and bomb and Dagger and the streets ran red with blood ah but those were the times when life was worth the living when a man who

went out by Night knew not at which dark corner a foot pad might leap upon and slay him when wild beasts roam the forest and the jungles and there were Savage men and countries yet unexplored now in all the Western Hemisphere dwells no man who may not find a Schoolhouse within walking distance of his home or at least within flying distance the wildest Beast that roams our waste places layers in the Frozen North or the Frozen South within a government Reserve where the Curious May view him and fe

ed him bread crusts from the hand with perfect impunity but beyond 30 and I have gone there and come back and now you may go there for no longer is it high treason punishable by disgrace or death to Cross 30d or 175d my name is Jefferson Turk I am a leftenant in the Navy in the great Pan-American Navy the only Navy which now exists in all the world I was born in Arizona in the United States of North America in the year of Our Lord 2,116 therefore I am 21 years old in early Boyhood I tired of the

teeing cities and overcrowded rural districts of Arizona every generation of Turks for over two centuries has been represented in the Navy the Navy called to me as did the free wide unpeopled spaces of the mighty oceans answer I joined the Navy coming up from the ranks as we all must learning our craft as we advance my promotion was rapid for my family seems to inherit Naval law we are born offices and I reserve to myself no special credit for an early advancement in the service at 20 I found m

yself a leftenant in command of the AOS submarine Coldwater of the ss96 class the cold water was one of the first of the air and underwater craft which have been so greatly improved since its launching and was possessed of innumerable weaknesses which fortunately have been eliminated in more recent vessels of similar type even when I took command she was fit only for the junk pile but the world old parsimony of government retained her in active service and sent 200 men to see in her with myself

a mere boy in command of her to patrol 30 from Iceland to the aors much of my service had been spent aboard the great merchantman of War these are the utility Naval vessels that have transformed the Navies of old which burden the peoples with taxes for their support into the present day fleets of self-supporting ships that find ample time for target practice and gun drill while they bear Freight and the males from the continents to the far scattered island of Pan America this change in service w

as most welcome to me especially as it brought with it coveted responsib abilities of Soul command and I was prone to overlook the deficiencies of the cold water in the natural Pride I felt in my first ship the cold water was fully equipped for two months patrolling the ordinary length of assignment to this service and a month had already passed its monotony entirely unrelieved by sight of another craft when the first of our misfortunes befell we had been riding out a storm at at an altitude of

about 3,000 ft all night we had hovered above the tossing Billows of the Moonlight clouds the detonation of the Thunder and the glare of lightning through an occasional Rift in the vaporous wall proclaimed the continued Fury of the Tempest upon the surface of the sea but we far above it all rode in comparative ease upon the upper Gale with the coming of dawn the clouds beneath us became a glorious sea of gold and silver soft and beautiful but they could not deceive us as to the Blackness and the

Terrors of the storm lashed ocean which they hid I was at breakfast when my chief engineer entered and saluted his face was grave and I thought he was even a trifle paler than usual well I asked he drew the back of his forefinger nervously across his brow in a gesture that was habitual with with him in moments of mental stress the gravitation screen generators sir he said number one went to the bad about an hour and a half ago we have been working upon it steadily since but I have to report sir

that it is beyond repair number two will keep us supplied I answered in the meantime we will send a wireless for relief but that is the trouble sir he went on number two has stopped I knew it would come sir I made a report on these generators 3 years ago I advised then that they both be scrapped their principle is entirely wrong they're done for and with a grim smile I shall at least have the satisfaction of knowing my report was accurate have we sufficient Reserve screen to permit us to make l

and or at least meet our relief halfway I asked no sir he replied Gravely we are sinking now have you anything further to report I asked no sir he said very good I replied and as I dismissed him I rang for my wireless operator when he appeared I gave him a message to the Secretary of the Navy to whom all vessels in service on 30 and 175 report direct I explained our predicament and stated that with what screening Force remained I should continue in the air making as rapid Headway towards St John

's as possible and that when we were forced to take to the water I should continue in the same direction the accident occurred directly over 30d and about 52 DN the surface wind was blowing a tempest from the West to attempt to ride out such a storm upon the surface seemed suicidal for the cold water was not designed for surface navigation except under fair weather conditions submerged or in the air she was tractable enough in any sort of weather when under control but without her screen generat

ors she was almost helpless since could not fly and if submerged could not rise to the surface all these defects have been remedied in later models but the knowledge did not help us any that day aboard the slowly settling cold water with an angry sea roaring beneath a tempest raging out of the West and 30d only a few knots a Stern to cross 30 or 175 has been as you know the darest Calamity that could befall a naval Commander Court Marshal and degradation follow swiftly unless as is often the cas

e the unfortunate man takes his own life before this unjust and heartless regulation can hold him up to public scorn there has been in the past no excuse no circumstance that could palate the offense he was in command and he took his ship across 30 that was sufficient it might not have been in any way his fault as in the case of the Coldwater it could not possibly have been justly charged to my account that the gravitation screen generators were worthless but well I knew that should chance have

it that we were blown across 30 today as we might easily be before the terrific West Wind that we could hear howling below us the responsibility would fall upon my shoulders in a way the regulation was a good one for it certainly accomplished that for which it was intended we all fought shy of 30d on the East and 175d on the west and though we had to skirt them pretty close nothing but an act of God ever Drew one of us across you all are familiar with the naval tradition that a good officer coul

d sense proximity to either line and for my part I am firmly convinced of the truth of this as I am that the compass finds the north without recourse to tedious processes of reasoning old Admiral Sanchez was want to maintain that he could smell 30 and the men of the first ship in which I sailed claimed that Cobin the navigating officer Knew by name every wave along 30 from 60 Des Newtons to 60 Desi Seamans how ever I'd hate to vouch for this well to get back to my narrative we kept on dropping s

lowly toward the surface the while we bucked the West Wind clawing away from 30 as fast as we could I was on the bridge and as we dropped from the brilliant sunlight into the dense Vapor of clouds and on down through them to the wild Dark Storm strata beneath it seemed that my spirits dropped with the falling ship and the Bo and of Hope ran low in sympathy the waves were running to tremendous Heights and the cold water was not designed to meet such waves headon her elements were the blue ether f

ar above the raging storm or the greater depths of ocean which no storm could ruffle as I stood speculating upon our chances once we settled into the frightful melstrom beneath us and at the same time mentally Computing the hours which must elapse before a could reach us the wireless operator clambered up the ladder to the bridge and the sheveled and breathless stood before me at salute it needed but a glance at him to assure me that something was a Miss what now I asked the wireless sir he crie

d my God sir I cannot send but the emergency outfit I asked I have tried everything sir I have exhausted every resource we cannot send and he drew himself up and saluted again I dismissed him with a few kind words for I knew that it was through no fault of his that the mechanism was Antiquated and worthless in common with the balance of the coldwater's equipment there was no finer operator in Pan America than he the failure of the Wild did not appear as momentous to me as to him which is not unn

atural since it is but human to feel that when our own little Cog slips the entire universe must necessarily be put out of gear I knew that if this storm were destined to blow us across 30 or send us to the bottom of the ocean no help could reach us in time to prevent it I had ordered the message sent solely because regulations required it and not with any particular hope that we could benefit by it in our present extremity I had little time to dwell upon The Coincidence of the simultaneous fail

ure of the wireless and the Bucy generators since very shortly after the cold water had dropped so low over the waters that all my attention was necessarily centered upon the delicate business of settling upon the waves without breaking my ship's back with our boy and generators in commission it would have been a simple thing to enter the water since then it would have been but a trifling matter of a 45° dive into the base of a huge wave we should have cut into the water like a hot knife through

butter and have been totally submerged with scarce a jar I have done it a thousand times but I did not dare submerge the cold water for fear that it would remain submerged to the end of time a condition far from conducive to the longevity of Commander or crew most of my offices were older men than I John Alvarez my first officer is 20 years my senior he stood at my side on the bridge as the ship glided closer and closer to those stupendous waves he watched my every move but he was by far too fi

ne an officer and gentleman to embarrass me by either comment or suggestion when I saw that we soon would touch I ordered the ship brought around broadside to the wind and there we hovered a moment until a huge wave reached up and seized us upon its Crest and then I gave the order that suddenly reversed the screening force and let us into the ocean down into the trough we went wallowing like the carcass of a dead whale and then began the fight with Rudder and propellers to force the cold water b

ack into the teeth of the Gale and drive her on and on farther and farther from Relentless 30 I think that we should have succeeded even though the ship was racked from stem to stern by the terrific buffetings she received and though she were half submerged the greater part of the time had no further accident befallen us we were making Headway though slowly and it began to look as though we were going to to pull through Alvarez never left my side though I all but ordered him below for much neede

d rest my second officer poerio Johnson was also often on the bridge he was a good officer but a man for whom I had conceived a rather unreasoning aversion almost at the first moment of meeting him an aversion which was not lessened by the knowledge which I subsequently gained that he looked upon my rapid promotion with jealousy he was 10 years my senior both in years and service and I rather think he could never forget the fact that he had been an officer when I was a green Apprentice as it bec

ame more and more apparent that the cold water under my seamanship was weathering The Tempest and giving promise of pulling through safely I could have sworn that I perceived a shade of annoyance and disappointment growing upon his dark countenance he left the bridge finally and went below I do not know that he is directly responsible for What followed so shortly after but I have always had my suspicions and Alvarez is even more prone to place the blame upon him than I it was about six bells of

the for noon watch the Johnson return to the bridge after an absence of some 30 minutes he seemed nervous and Ill at ease a fact which made little impression on me at the time but which both Alvarez and I recalled subsequently not 3 minutes after his reappearance at my side the cold water suddenly commenced to lose Headway I seized the telephone at my elbow pressing upon the button which would call the chief engineer to the instrument in the bowels of the ship only to find him already at the rec

eiver attempting to reach me numbers one two and five engines have broken down sir he called shall we force the remaining three we can do nothing else I bellowed into the transmitter they won't stand the Gaff sir he returned can you suggest a better plan I asked no sir he replied then give them the Gaff leftenant I shouted back and hung up the receiver for 20 minutes the cold water bucked the great seas with her three engines I doubt if she Advanced a foot but it was enough to keep her nose in t

he wind and at least we were not drifting toward 30 Johnson and Alvarez were at my side when without warning the bow swung swiftly around and the ship fell into the trough of the sea the other three have gone I said and I happened to be looking at Johnson as I spoke was it the shadow of a satisfied smile that crossed his thin lips I do not know but at least he did not weep you always have been curious sir about the great unknown Beyond 30 he said you are in a good way to have your curiosity sati

sfied and then I could not mistake the slight sniff that curved his upper lip there must have been a trace of disrespect in his tone or manner which escaped me for Alvarez turned upon him like a flash when leftenant Turk crosses 30 he said we shall all cross with him and God help the officer or the man who reproaches him I shall not be a party to high treason snapped Johnson the regulations are explicit and if the cold water crosses 30 it devolves upon you to place leftenant Turk under arrest an

d immediately exert every Endeavor to bring the ship back into Pan-American Waters I shall not know replied Alvarez that the cold water passes 30 nor shall any other man aboard know it and with his words he drew a revolver from his pocket and before either I or Johnson could prevent it had put a bullet into every instrument upon the bridge ruining them Beyond repair and then he saluted me and stro from the bridge a Marty to loyalty and friendship for though no man might know that leftenant Jeffe

rson Turk had taken his ship across 30 every man aboard would know that the first officer had committed a crime that was punishable by both degradation and death Johnson turned and eyed me narrowly shall I place him under arrest he asked you shall not I replied nor shall anyone else you become a party to his crime he cried angrily you may go below Mr Johnson I said and attend to the work of unpacking the extra instruments and having them properly set upon the bridge he saluted and left me and fo

r some time I stood gazing out upon the angry Waters my mind filled with unhappy Reflections upon the unjust fate that had overtaken me and the sorrow and disgrace that I had unwittingly brought down upon my house I rejoiced that I should leave neither wife nor child to Bear the burden of my shame throughout their lives as I thought upon my Misfortune I considered more clearly than ever before the unrighteousness of the regulation which was to prove my doom and in the natural revolt against its

Injustice my anger Rose and there mounted within me a feeling which I imagine must have paralleled that spirit that once was prevalent among the Ancients called Anarchy for the first time in my life I found my sentiments arraying themselves against custom tradition and even government the wave of rebellion swept over me in an instant but beginning with an heretical doubt as to the sanctity of the established order of things that fetish which has ruled pan Americans for two centuries and which is

based upon a blind faith in the infallibility of the pressence of the long dead framers of the articles of panamerican federation and ending in an adamantine determination to defend my honor and my life to the last ditch against the Blind and sensus regulation which assumed the synony ity of Misfortune and treason I would replace the destroyed instruments upon the bridge every officer and man should know when we crossed 30 but then I should assert the spirit which dominated me I should resist a

rrest and insist upon bringing my ship back across the deadline remaining at my post until we had reached New York then I should make a full report and with it a demand upon public opinion that the dead lines be wiped forever from the Seas I knew that I was right I knew that no more loyal officer wore the uniform of the Navy I knew that I was a good officer and sailor and I didn't propose submitting to degradation and discharge because a lot of old preglacial fossils had declared over 200 years

before that no man should cross 30 even while these thoughts were passing through my mind I was busy with the details of my duties I had seen to it that a sea anchor was rigged and even now the men had completed their task and the cold water was swinging around rapidly her nose pointing once more into the wind and the frightful rolling consequent upon her wallowing in the trough was happily diminishing it was then that Johnson came hurrying to the bridge one of his eyes was swollen and already d

arkening and his lip was cut and bleeding without even the formality of a salute he burst upon me white with Fury leftenant Alvarez attacked me he cried I demand that he be placed under arrest I found him in the act of destroying the reserve instruments and when I would have interfered to protect them he fell upon me and beat me I demand that you arrest him you forget yourself Mr Johnson I said you are not in command of the ship I deplore the action of leftenant Alvarez but I cannot expunge from

my mind the loyalty and self-sacrificing friendship which has prompted him to his Acts were I you sir I should profit by the example he has set further Mr Johnson I intend retaining command of the ship even though though she crosses 30 and I shall demand implicit obedience from every officer and man aboard until I am properly relieved from Duty by a superior officer in the port of New York you mean to say that you will cross 30 without submitting to arrest he almost shouted I do sir I replied a

nd now you may go below and when again you find it necessary to address me you will please be so good as to bear in mind the fact that I am your commanding officer and as such entitled to a salute he flushed hesitated a moment and then saluting turned upon his heel and left the bridge shortly after Alvarez appeared he was pale and seemed to have aged 10 years in the few brief minutes since I last had seen him saluting he told me very simply what he had done and asked that I place him under arres

t I put my hand on his shoulder and I guessed that my voice trembled at triflers while reproving him for his ACT I made it plain to him that my gratitude was no less potent a force than his loyalty to me then it was that I outlined to him my purpose to defy the regulation that had raised the deadlines and to take my ship back to New York York myself I did not ask him to share the responsibility with me I merely stated that I should refuse to submit to arrest and that I should demand of him and e

very other officer and man implicit obedience to my every command until we docked at home his face brightened at my words and he assured me that I would find him as ready to acknowledge my command upon the wrong side of 30 as upon the right an assurance which I hastened to tell him I did not need the storm continued to rage for 3 days and as far as the wind scarce varied a point during all that time I knew that we must be far beyond 30 drifting rapidly East by South all this time it had been imp

ossible to work upon the damaged engines or the gravity screen generators but we had a full set of instruments upon the bridge for Alvarez after discovering my intentions had fetched the reserve instruments from his own cabin where he had hidden them those which Johnson had seen him destroy had been a third set which only Alvarez had known was aboard the cold water we waited impatiently for the Sun that we might determine our exact location and upon the fourth day our vigil was rewarded a few mi

nutes before noon every officer and man aboard was tense with nervous excitement as we awaited the result of the reading the crew had known almost as soon as I that we were doomed to cross 30 and I am inclined to believe that every man Jack of them was tickled to death for the spirits of Adventure and romance still live in the hearts of men of the 22nd century even though there be little for them to feed upon between 30 and 175 the men carried none of the burdens of responsibility they might cro

ss 30 with impunity and doubtless they would return to be heroes at home but how different the homecoming of their commanding officer the wind had dropped to a steady blow still from West by North and the Sea had gone down correspondingly the crew with the exception of those whose duties kept them below were ranged on Deck below the bridge when our position was definitely fixed I personally announced it to the eager waiting men men I said stepping forward to the handrail and looking down into th

eir upturned bronzed faces you are anxiously awaiting information as to the ship's position it has been determined at Latitude 50° 7 Minutes North longitude 20° 16 minutes West I paused and a buzz of animated comment ran through the massed men beneath me Beyond 30 but there will be no change in commanding offices in routine or in discipline until after we have docked again in New York as I ceased speaking and stepped back from the rail there was a roar of Applause from the deck such as I never b

efore had heard aboard a ship of Peace it recalled to my mind Tales that I had read of the good old days when Naval vessels were built to fight when ships of Peace had been man of war and guns had flashed in other than futile target practice and decks had run red with blood with the subsistence of the sea we were able to go to work upon the damaged engines to some effect and I also set men to examining the gravitation screen generators with a view to putting them in working order should it prove

not beyond our resources for 2 weeks we labored at the engines which indisputably showed evidence of having been tampered with I appointed a board to investigate and Report upon the disaster but it accomplished nothing other than to convince me that there were several officers upon it who were in full sympathy with Johnson for though no charges had been preferred against him the board went out of its way specifically to ex erate him in its findings all this time we were drifting almost due east

the work upon the engines had progressed to such an extent that within a few hours we might expect to be able to proceed under our own power westward in the direction of Pan-American Waters to relieve the monotony I had taken to fishing and early that morning I had departed from the cold water in one of the boats on such an Excursion a gentle west wind was blowing the sea shimmered in the sunlight a cloudless sky canopied the West for our sport as I had made it a point never voluntarily to make

an inch toward the East that I could avoid at least they should not be able to charge me with a willful violation of the deadlines regulation I had with me only the boat's ordinary compliment of men three in all and more than enough to handle any small power boat I had not asked any of my offices to accompany me as I wish to be alone and very glad am I now that I had not my only regret is that in view of what befell US it had been necessary to bring the three Brave fellows who manned the boat o

ur fishing which proved excellent carried us so far to the West that we no longer could see the cold water the day wore on until at last about midafternoon I gave the order to return to the ship we had proceeded but a short distance toward the East when one of the men gave an exclamation of excitement at the same time pointing Eastward we all looked on in the direction he had indicated and there a short distance above the Horizon we saw the outlines of the cold water silhouetted against the sky

they've repaired the engines and the generators both exclaimed one of the men it seemed impossible but yet it had evidently been done only that morning leftenant Johnson had told me that he feared that it would be impossible to repair the generators I had put him in charge of this work since he always had been accounted one of the best gravitation screen men in the Navy he had invented several of the improvements that are Incorporated in the later models of these generators and I am convinced th

at he knows more concerning both the theory and the practice of screening gravitation than any living Pan-American at the sight of the cold water once more under control the three men burst into a glad chair but for some reason which I could not then account I was strangely overcome by a inition of personal Misfortune it was not that I now anticipated an early return to Pan America and a board of inquiry for I had rather looked forward to the fight that must follow my return no there was somethi

ng else something indefinable and vague that cast a strange Gloom upon me as I saw my ship Rising farther above the water and making straight in our Direction I was not long in ascertaining a possible explanation of my depression for though we were plainly visible from the bridge of the arrow submarine and to the hundreds of men who swarmed her deck the ship passed directly above us not 500 ft from the water and sped directly Westward we all shouted and I fired my pistol to attract their attenti

on though I knew full well that all who cared to had observed us but the ship moved moved steadily away growing smaller and smaller to our view until at last she passed completely out of sight two what could it mean I had left Alvarez in command he was my most loyal subordinate it was absolutely Beyond The Pale of possibility that Alvarez should desert me no there was some other explanation something occurred to place my second officer poerio Johnson in command I was sure of it but why speculate

the futility of conjecture was only too palpable the cold water had abandoned us in mid ocean doubtless none of us would survive to know why the young man at the wheel of the power booat had turned her nose about as it became evident that the ship intended passing over us and now he still held her in futile pursuit of the cold water bring her about Snider I directed and hold her due east we can't catch the cold water and we can't cross the Atlantic in this our only hope lies in making the neare

st land which unless I am mistaken is the silly islands of the Southwest coast of England ever heard of England Snider there's a part of the United States of North America that used to be known to the Ancients as New England he replied is that where you mean sir no Snider I replied the England I refer to was an island off the continent of Europe it was the seat of a very powerful Kingdom that flourished over 200 years ago a part of the United States of North America and all of the Federated Stat

es of Canada once belonged to this ancient England Europe breathed one of the men his voice tense with excitement my grandfather used to tell me stories of the world Beyond 30 he had been a great student and he had read much from forbidden books in which I resemble your grandfather I said for I too have read more even than Naval offices are supposed to read and as you men know know we are permitted a greater latitude in the study of geography and history than men of other professions among the b

ooks and papers of Admiral Porter Turk who lived 200 years ago and from whom I am descended many volumes still exist and are in my possession which deal with the history and geography of ancient Europe usually I bring several of these books with me upon a cruise and this time among others I have maps of Europe and her surrounding Waters I was studying them as we came away from the cold water this morning and luckily I have them with me you are going to try to make Europe sir asked Taylor the you

ng man who had last spoken it is the nearest land I replied I have always wanted to explore the Forgotten lands of the Eastern Hemisphere here's our our chance to remain at Sea is to perish none of us ever will see home again let us make the best of it and enjoy while we do live that which is forbidden the balance of our race the adventure and the Mystery which lie Beyond 30 Taylor and delard seized the spirit of my mood but Snider I think was a trial skeptical it is treason sir I replied but th

ere there is no law which compels us to visit punishment upon ourselves could we return to panamerica I should be the first to insist that we face it but we know that's not possible even if this craft would carry us so far we haven't enough water or food for more than 3 days we are doomed Snider to die far from home and without ever again looking upon the face of another fellow country than those who sit here now in this boat isn't that punishment sufficient for even the most exacting judge even

Snider had to admit that it was very well then let us live while we live and enjoy to the fullest whatever of Adventure or pleasure each New Day brings since any day may be our last and we shall be dead for a considerable while I could see that Snider was still fearful but Taylor and delart responded with a hearty I I sir they were of different mold both were sons of naval officers they represented the aristocracy of birth and they dar to think for themselves Snider was in the minority and so w

e continued toward the East Beyond 30 and separated from my ship my authority ceased I held leadership if I was to hold it at all by virtue of personal qualifications only but I did not doubt my ability to remain the director of our Destinies in so far as they were amable to human agencies I have always LED while my brain and Brawn remain unimpaired I shall continue always to lead following is an art which Turks do not easily learn it was not until the Third day that we raised land Dead Ahead wh

ich I took from my map to be the Arles of silly but such a gale was blowing that I did not dare attempt to land and so we passed to the north of them skirted Lands End and entered the English Channel I think that up to that moment I had never experienced such a thrill as passed through me when I realized that I was navigating these historic Waters the the lifelong dreams that I never had dared hoped to see fulfilled were at last a reality but under what foror circumstances never could I return t

o my native land to the end of my days I must remain in Exile yet even these thoughts failed to dampen my ardor my eyes scanned the waters to the north I could see the rockbound coast of Cornwall mine were the first American eyes to rest upon it for more than 200 years in vain I searched for some sign of ancient Commerce that if history is to be believed must have dotted the bosom of the Channel with white sails and blackened the heavens with the smoke of countless funnels but as far as I could

reach the tossing Waters of the channel were empty and deserted toward midnight the Wind and Sea abated so that shortly after Dawn I determined to make in sh in an attempt to affect a landing for we were sadly in need of fresh water and food according to my observations we were just off ram head and it was my intention to enter Plymouth Bay and visit Plymouth from my map it appeared that this city lay back from the coast a short distance and there was another city given as devonport which appear

ed to lie at the mouth of the river Tamar however I knew that it would make little difference which city we entered as the English people were famed of old for their Hospitality toward visiting Mariners as we approached the mouth of the bay I looked for the fishing craft which I expected to see emerging thus early in the day for their labors but even after we rounded ramhead and were well within the Waters of the bay I saw no vessel neither was there boy nor light nor any other Mark to show ligh

t larger ships the channel and I wondered much at this the coast was densely overgrown nor was any building or sign of man Apparent from the water up the bay and into the river Tamar we mooted through a Solitude as unbroken as that which rested upon the waters of the channel for all we could see there was no indication that man had ever set his foot upon this silent Coast I was non Plus and then for the first time there crept over me an intuition of the truth here was no sign of War as far as th

is portion of the Devon Coast was concerned that seemed to have been over for many years but neither were there any people yet I could not find it within myself to believe that I should find no inhabitants in England reasoning thus I discovered that it was improbable that a state of War still existed and that the people all had been drawn from this portion of England to some other where they might better defend themselves against an Invader but what of their ancient Coast defenses what was there

here in Plymouth Bay to prevent an enemy Landing in force and marching where they wished nothing I could not believe that any enlightened military Nation such as the ancient English are reputed to have been would have voluntarily so deserted an exposed coast and an excellent Harbor to the mercies of an enemy I found myself becoming more and more deeply involved in quander the puzzle which confronted me I could not unravel we had landed and I now stood upon the spot where according to my map a l

arge city should rear its spires and chimies there was nothing but rough Broken Ground covered densely with weeds and brambles and Tall rank grass had a city ever stood there no sign of it remained the roughness and unevenness of the ground suggested something of a great mass of debris hidden by the accumulation of centuries of undergrowth I drew the short cutless with which both officers and Men of the Navy are as you know armed out of courtesy to the traditions and memories of the past and wit

h its Point dug into the LOM about the roots of the vegetation growing at my feet the blade entered the soil for a matter of 7 in when it struck upon something ston likee digging about the obstacle I presently loosened it and when I had withdrawn it from its Seiler I found the thing to be an ancient brick of clay baked in an oven delart we had left in charge of the boat but Snider and T were with me and following my example each engaged in the fascinating sport of prospecting for antiques each o

f us uncovered a great number of these bricks until we commenced to weary of the monotony of it when Snider suddenly gave an exclamation of excitement and as I turned to look he held up a human skull for my inspection I took it from him and examined it directly in the center of the forehead was a small round hole the gentleman had evidently come to his end defending his country from an Invader Snider again held aoft another trophy of the search a metal Spike and some tarnished and corroded metal

ornaments they had lay close beside the skull with the point of his cutless Snider scraped the dirt and verdigre from the face of the larger ornament an inscript ion he said and handed the thing to me they were the spike and ornaments of an ancient German Helmet before long we had uncovered many other indications that a great battle had been fought upon the ground where we stood but I was then and still am at lost to account for the presence of German soldiers upon the English Coast so far from

London Which history suggests would have been the natural goal of an inv I can only account for it by assuming that either England was temporarily conquered by the Tans or that an invasion of so vast proportions was undertaken that German troops were hurled upon the England coast in huge numbers and The Landings were necessarily affected at many places simultaneously subsequent discoveries tend to strengthen this view we dug about for a short time with our cutlasses until I came convinced that

a city had stood upon the spot at some time in the past and that beneath our feet crumbled and dead lay ancient devonport I could not repress aside the thought of the Havoc War had wrought in this part of England at least farther east nearer London we should find things very different there would be the civilization that two centuries must have wrought Upon Our English country as they had upon us there would be Mighty cities cultivated Fields happy people there we would be welcomed as long lost

Brothers there would we find a great nation anxious to learn of the world beyond their side of 30 as I had been anxious to learn of that which lay beyond our side of the Dead line I turned back toward the boat come men I said we will go up the river and fill our cks with fresh water search for food and fuel and then tomorrow be in Readiness to push on toward the East I am going to London three the report of a gun blasted The Silence of a dead devonport with startling abruptness it came from the

direction of the launch and in an instant we three were running for the boat as fast as our legs would carry us as we came in s of it we saw delart 100 yards Inland from the launch leaning over something which lay upon the ground as we called to him he waved his cap and stooping lifted a small deer for our inspection I was about to congratulate him on his trophy when we were startled by a horrid half human half bestial scream a little ahead and to the right of us it seemed to come from a clump o

f rank and tank angled Bush not far from where delart stood it was a horrid fearsome sound the like of which never had fallen upon my ears before we looked in the direction from which it came the smile had died from Del cart's lips even at the distance we were from him I saw his face go suddenly white and he quickly threw his rifle to his shoulder at the same moment the thing that had given tongue to the cry moved from the concealing Brushwood far enough for us to to see it both Taylor and Snide

r gave little gasps of astonishment and dismay what is it sir asked the latter the creature stood about the height of a tall man's waist and was long and gaunt and sinuous with a tny coat striped with black and with white throat and belly in conformation it was similar to a cat cat a huge cat exaggerated colossal cat with fish eyes and the most devilish cast of countenance as it wrinkled its bristling snout and Beed its great yellow fangs it was pacing or rather slinking straight for delart who

had now leveled his rifle upon it what is it sir mumbled Snider again and then a half forgotten picture from an old natural history sprang to my mind and I recognized in the frightful Beast the fellow Tigress of Ancient Asia specimens of which had in former centuries been exhibited in the Western Hemisphere Snider and Taylor were armed with rifles and revolvers while I carried only a revolver seizing Snider's rifle from his trembling hands I called to Taylor to follow me and together we ran forw

ard shouting to attract the beasts attention from delart until we should all be quite close enough to attack with the greatest Assurance of success I cried to delard not to fire until we reached his side for I was fearful lest our small caliber steel jacketed bullets should far from killing the Beast tend merely to enrage it still further but he misunderstood me thinking that I had ordered him to fire with the report of his rifle the tiger stopped short in apparent surprise then turned and bit s

avagely at its shoulder for an instant after which it wheeled again toward delart issuing the most terrific Roars and screams and launched itself with Incredible speed toward the brave fellow who now stood his ground pumping bullets from his automatic rifle as rapidly as the weapon would fire Taylor and I also opened up on the creature and as it was broadside to us it offered a splendid Target though for all the impression we appeared to make upon the great cat we might as well have been launchi

ng soap bubbles at it straight as a torpedo it rushed for delart and as Taylor and I stumbled on through the Tall Grass toward our unfortunate comrade we saw the tiger rear upon him and crush him to the Earth not a backwards step had the noble delart taken 200 years of Peace had not sapped the red blood from his courageous line he went down beneath that Avalanche of bestial savagery still working his gun and with his face toward his antagonist even in the instant that I thought him dead I could

not help but feel a thrill of Pride that he was one of my men one of my class A Pan-American gentleman of birth and that he had demonstrated one of the principal contentions of the Army and Navy adherence that military training was necessary for the Salvation of personal courage in the Pan-American race which for Generations had had to face no dangers more grave than those incident to ordinary life in a highly civilized Community safeguarded by every means at the disposal of a perfectly organize

d and all powerful government utilizing the best that advanced science could suggest as we ran toward delart both Taylor and I were struck by the fact that the Beast upon Him appeared not to be maing him but lay quiet and motionless upon its prey and when we were quite close and the muzzles of our guns were at the animals head I saw the explanation of this sudden sensation of hostilities fellis Tigress was dead one of our bullets or one of the last that delart fired had penetrated the heart and

the Beast had died even as it sprawled forward crushing delart to the ground a moment later with our assistance the man had scrambled from beneath the carcass of his wouldbe Slayer without a scratch to indicate how close to death he had been Del cart's buoyance was entirely unruffled he came from under the tiger with a broad grin on his handsome face nor could I perceive that a muscle trembled or that his voice showed the least indication of nervousness or excitement with the termination of the

adventure we began to speculate upon the explanation of the presence of this Savage brute at large so greater distance from its native habitat my readings had taught me that it was practically unknown outside of Asia and that so late as the 20th century at least there had been no savage beasts outside captivity in England as we talked Snider joined us and I returned his rifle to him Taylor and delard picked up the slain deer and we all started down toward the launch walking slowly delart wanted

to fetch the Tiger's skin but I had to deny him permission since we had no means to properly cure it upon the beach we skinned the deer and cut away as much meat as we thought we could dispose of and as we were again embarking to continue up the river for fresh water and fuel we were startled by a series of Screams from the bushes a short distance away another fellous Tigress said Taylor or a dozen of them supplemented delart and even as he spoke they leaped into sight one after another eight of

the beasts full grown magnificent specimens at the sight of us they came charging down like infuriated demons I saw that three rifles would be no match for them and so I gave the word to put out from Shore hoping that the tiger as the Ancients called him could not swim sure enough they all halted at the beach pacing back and forth uttering fish cries and staring at us in the most malevolent manner as we moed away we presently heard the calls of similar animals far inland they seem to be answeri

ng the cries of their fellows at the water's edge and from the wide distribution and great volume of the sound we came to the conclusion that enormous numbers of these beasts must roam the adjacent country they have eaten up the inhabitants murmured Snider shuddering I imagine you are right I agreed for their extreme boldness and fearlessness in the presence of man would suggest either that man is entirely unknown to them or that they're extremely familiar with him as their natural and most easi

ly procured prey but where did they come from asked delart could they have traveled here from Asia I shook my head the thing was a puzzle to me I knew that it was was practically Beyond Reason to imagine that Tigers had crossed the mountain ranges and rivers and all the great continent of Europe to travel this far from the Native layers and entirely impossible that they should have crossed the English Channel at all yet here they were and in great numbers we continued up the Tamar several miles

filled our cks and then landed to cook some of our deer steak and have the first Square meal that had Fallen to our lot since the cold water deserted us but scarce had we built our fire and prepared the meat for cooking than Snider whose eyes had been constantly roving about the landscape from the moment that we left the launch touched me on the arm and pointed to a clump of bushes which grew a couple of hundred yards away half concealed behind their screening foliage I saw the yellow and black

of a big tiger and as I looked the Beast stalked majestically toward us a moment later he was followed by another and another and it is needless to state that we beat a hasty Retreat to the launch the country was apparently Infested by these huge Carnivor for after three other attempts to land and cook our food we were forced to abandon the idea entirely as each time we were driven off by hunting Tigers it was also equally impossible to obtain the necessary ingredients for our chemical Fuel and

as we had very little left aboard we determined to step our folding Mast and proceed under sail hoarding our fuel supply for use in emergencies I may say that it was with no regret that we bided you to tigerland as we recen the ancient Devon and beating out into the channel turned the launcher's nose Southeast to round bolt head and continue up the coast toward the straight of DOA and the North Sea I was determined to reach London as soon as possible that we might obtain fresh clothing meet with

cultured people and learn from the lips of Englishmen the secrets of the two centuries since the East had been divorced from the West our first stopping place was the a of white we entered the solent about 10:00 one morning and and I must confess that my heart sank as we came close to shore no Lighthouse was visible the one was plainly indicated upon my map upon neither Shore was sign of human habitation we skirted the northern shore of the island in fruitless search for man and then at last la

nded upon an Eastern point where Newport should have stood but where only weeds and great trees and Tangled Wildwood rioted and not a sing SLE man-made thing was visible to the eye before landing I had the men substitute soft bullets for the steel jacketed projectiles with which their belts and magazines were filled thus equipped we felt upon more even terms with the Tigers but there was no sign of the Tigers and I decided that they must be confined to the mainland after eating we set out in sea

rch of fuel leaving Taylor to go guard the launch for some reason I could not trust Snider alone I knew that he looked with disapproval upon my plan to visit England and I did not know but what at his first opportunity he might desert us taking the launch with him and attempt to return to Pan America that he would be full enough to venture it I did not doubt we had gone Inland for a mile or more and were passing through a park like wood when we came suddenly upon the first human beings we had se

en since we cited the English Coast there were a score of men in the party hairy half naked men they were resting in the shade of a great tree at the first sight of us they sprang to their feet with wild yells seizing long Spears that had Lin beside them as they rested for a matter of 50 yards they ran from us as rapidly as they could and then they turned and surveyed us for a moment evidently emboldened by the scarcity of our numbers they commenced to advance Upon Us brandishing their Spears an

d shouting horribly they were short and muscular of build with long hair and beards Tangled and matted with filth their heads however were shapely and their eyes though Fierce and warlike were intelligent appreciation of these physical attributes came later of course when I had better opportunity to study the men at close range and under circumstances less fraught with danger and excitement at the moment I saw and with unmixed Wonder only a score of Wild Savages charging down upon us where I had

expected to find a community of civilized and enlightened people each of us was armed with rifle revolver and cutless but as we stood shoulder to shoulder facing the wild men I was loath to give the command to fire upon them inflicting death or suffering upon strangers with whom we had no quarrel and so I attempted to restrain them for the moment that we might parley with them to this end I raised my left hand above my head with the Palm toward him as the most natural gesture indicative of peac

eful intentions which occurred to me at the same time I called aloud to them that we were friends though from their appearance there was nothing to indicate that they might understand Pan-American or ancient English which are of course practically identical at my gesture and words they ceased their shouting and came to a halt a few Paces from us then in deep tones one who was in advance of the others and whom I took to be the chief or leader of the party replied in a tongue which while intelligi

ble to us was so distorted from the English language from which it evidently had sprung that it was with difficulty that we interpreted it who are you he asked and from what country I told him that we were from Pan America but he only shook his head and asked where that was he had never heard of it or of the Atlantic Ocean which I told him separated his country from mine it has been 200 years I told him since a Pan-American visited England England he asked what is England why this is a part of E

ngland I exclaimed this is greton he assured me I know nothing about England and I have lived here all my life it was not until long after that the derivation of greton occurred to me unquestionably it is a Corruption of Great Britain a name formerly given to the large island comprising England Scotland and Wales subsequently we heard it pronounced grab Britain and gr Britain I then asked the fellow if he could direct us to ride or Newport but again he shook his head and said that he never had h

eard of such country and when I asked him if there were any cities in this country he did not know what I meant never having heard the word cities I explained my meaning as best I could by stating that by city I referred to a place where many people lived together in houses oh he exclaimed you mean a camp yes there are two great camps here East Camp and west camp we are from East East Camp the use of the word Camp to describe a collection of habitations naturally suggested War to me and my next

question was as to whether the war was over and who had been Victorious no he replied to this question the war is not yet over but it soon will be and it will end as it always us with the West Enders running away we the East Enders are always Victorious no I said seeing that he referred to the petty Tribal wars of his little island I mean the Great War the war with Germany is it ended and who was Victorious he shook his head impatiently I never heard he said of any of these strange countries of

which you speak it seemed incredible and yet it was true these people living at the very seat of the Great War knew nothing of it though but two centuries had passed since to our knowledge it had been running in the height of its Titanic frightfulness all about them and to us upon the far side of the Atlantic still was a subject of keen interest here was a lifelong inhabitant of the aisle of white who never had heard of either Germany or England I turned to him quite suddenly with a new question

what people live upon the mainland I asked and pointed in the direction of the Hans Coast no one lives there he replied long ago it is said my people dwelt across the waters upon that other land but the wild beasts devoured them in such numbers that finally they were driven here paddling across upon logs and Driftwood nor has any Dead return since because of the frightful creatures which dwell in that horrid country do no other peoples ever come to your country in ships I asked he never heard t

he word ship before and did not know its meaning but he assured me that until we came he had thought that there were no other peoples in the world other than the Grans who consist of the East Enders and the West Enders of the ancient a of white assured that we were inclined to friendliness our new acquaintances led us to their Village or as they call it Camp there we found a thousand people perhaps dwelling in rude shelters and living upon the fruits of the Chase and such Seafood as is obtainabl

e close to shore for they had no boats nor any knowledge of such things their weapons were most primitive consisting of rude Spears tipped with pieces of metal pounded roughly into shape they had no literature no religion and recognized no law other than the law of might they produced Fire by striking a bit of flint and steel together but for the most part they ate their food raw marriage is unknown among them and while they have the word mother they did not know what I meant by father the males

fight for the favor of the females they practice infanticide and kill the Aged and physically unfit the family consists of the mother and the children the men dwelling sometimes in one Hut and sometimes in another owing to their bloody Jewels they're always numerically inferior to the women so there is shelter for them all we spent several hours in the village where we were objects of the greatest curiosity the inhabitants examined our clothing and all our belongings and asked innumerable quest

ions concerning the strange country from which we had come and the manner of our coming I questioned many of them concerning past historical events but they knew nothing beyond the narrow limits of their Island and the Savage primitive life they LED there London they had never heard of and they assured me that I would find no human beings upon the mainland much SED by what I had seen I took my departure from him and the three of us made our way back to the launch accompanied by about 500 men wom

en girls and boys as we sailed away after procuring the necessary ingredients of our chemical fuel the Grans lined the shore in silent Wonder at the strange sight of our dainty craft dancing over the Sparkling Waters and watched us until we were were lost to their sight IV it was during the morning of July 6th 2137 that we entered the mouth of the temps to the best of my knowledge the first Western Keel to cut those historic waters for 221 years but where were the tugs and the lighters and the b

arges the light ships and the boys and all those countless attributes which went to make up the Myriad life of the ancient temps gone all gone only silence and desolation rained where once the Commerce of the world had centered I could not help but compare this once great Waterway with the waters about our New York or Rio or San Diego or valarezo they had become what they're today during the two centuries of the profound peace which we of the Navy have been prone to deplore and what during this

same period had Shone the Waters of the temps of their pristine Grandeur militarist that I am I could find but a single word of explanation War I bowed my head and turned my eyes downward from the lonely and depressing sight and in a silence which none of us seemed willing to break we proceeded up the deserted River we had reached a point which from my man I imagined must have been about the former sight of irth when I discovered a small band of antelope a short distance Inland as we were now en

tirely out of meat once more and as I had given up all expectations of finding a city upon the site of ancient London I determined to land and bag a couple of the animals assured that they would be timid and easily frightened I decided to stalk them alone telling the men to wait at the boat until I called to them to come and carry the carcasses back to the shore crawling carefully through the vegetation making use of such trees and bushes as afforded shelter I came at last almost within easy ran

ge of my Quarry when the antl head of the buck went suddenly into the air and then as though in accordance with a pre-arranged signal the whole band moved slowly off farther inland as their Pace was leisurely I determined to follow them until I came again within range as I was sure that they would stop and feed in a short time they must have led me a mile or more at least before they again halted and commen to browse upon the rank luxuri and grasses all the time that I had followed them I had ke

pt both eyes and ears alert for sign or sound that would indicate the presence of fellis Tigress but so far not the slightest indication of the Beast had been apparent as I crept closer to the Antelope sure this time of a good shot at a large Buck I suddenly saw something that caused me to forget all about my prey in wonderment it was the figure of an immense gray black creature rearing its colossal shoulders 12 or 14 ft above the ground never in my life had I seen such a beast nor did I at firs

t recognize it so different in appearance is the live reality from the stuffed unnatural specimens preserved to us in our museums but presently I guessed the identity of the mighty creature as elephas Africanus or as the Ancients commonly described it African elephant the antelope although in plain view of the huge Beast paid not the slightest attention to it and I was so wrapped up in watching The Mighty padm that I quite forgot to shoot at the buckon presently and in quite a startling manner i

t became impossible to do so the elephant was browsing upon the young and tender shoots of some low bushes waving his great ears and switching his short tail the antelope scarce 20 Paces from him continued their feeding when suddenly from close beside the L there came a most terrifying Roar and I saw a great tny body shoot from the concealing Verger beyond the antelope full upon the back of a small buck instantly the scene changed from one of quiet and pieace to Indescribable chaos the startled

and terrified Buck uttered cries of Agony his fellows broke and leaked off in all directions the elephant raised his trunk and trumpeting loudly lumbered off Through the Wood crushing down small trees and trampling bushes in his mad flight growling horribly a huge lion stood across the body of his prey such a creature as no Pan American of the 22nd century had ever beheld until my eyes rested upon this lordly specimen of the king of beasts but what a different creature was this Fierce High demon

palpitating in with life and vigor glossy of coat alert growling magnificent from the dingy motheaten replicas beneath the glass cases in the stuffy Halls of our public museums I had never hoped or expected to see a living lion tiger or elephant using the common terms that were familiar to the Ancients since they seem to me less unwieldy than those now in general use Among Us and so it was with sentiments not unmixed with all that I stood gazing at this Regal Beast as above the carcass of his k

ill he roared out his challenge to the world so enthralled was I by the spectacle that I quite forgot myself and the better to view him the great lion I had risen to my feet and stood not 50 Paces from him in full view for a moment he did not see me his attention being directed toward the retreating elephant and I had ample time to Feast my eyes upon his Splendid proportions his great head and his thick black man ah what thoughts passed through my mind in those brief moments as I stood there in

wrapped Fascination I had come to find a wondrous civilization and instead I found a wild beast monik of the realm where English kings had ruled a lion reigned undisturbed within a few miles of the seat of one of the greatest governments the world has ever known his domain a howling Wilderness where yesterday fell the Shadows of the largest city in the world it was appalling but my Reflections upon this depressing subject were doomed to sudden Extinction the lion had discovered me for an instant

he stood silent and motionless as one of the main the Effigies of home but only for an instant then with a most ferocious Roar and without the slightest hesitancy or warning he charged upon me he forsook the prey already dead beneath him for the pleasures of The Delectable tidbit man from the remorselessness with which the great Carnivor of modern England hunted man I am constrained to believe that whatever their appetites in times past they have cultivated a gruesome taste for human flesh as I

threw my rifle to my shoulder I thanked God the ancient god of my ancestors that I had replaced the hard jacketed bullets in my weapon with soft noosed projectiles for though this was my first experience with FIS Leo I knew the moment that I faced that charge that even my wonderfully perfected firearm would be as futile as a peashooter unless I ch to place my first bullet in a vital spot unless you had seen it you could not believe credible the speed of a charging lion apparently the animal is

not built for Speed nor can he maintain it for long but for a matter of 40 or 50 yards there is I believe no animal on Earth that can overtake him like a bolt he bore down upon me but fortunately for me I did not lose my head I guessed that no bullet would kill him instantly I doubted that I could pierce his skull there was hope though in finding his heart through his exposed chest or better yet of breaking his shoulder or for leg and bringing him up long enough to pump more bullets into him and

finish him I covered his left shoulder and pulled the trigger as he was almost upon me it stopped him with a terrific howl of pain and rage The Brute rolled over and over upon the ground almost to my feet as he came I pumped two more bullets into him and as he struggled to rise claing viciously at me I put a bullet in his spine that finished him and I am free to admit that I was mighty glad of it there was a great Tree close behind me and stepping within its shade I leaned against it wiping the

perspiration from my face for the day was hot and the exertion and excitement left me exhausted I stood there resting for a moment Preparatory to turning and retracing my steps to the launch when without warning something whizzed through space straight toward me there was a dull thud of impact as it struck the tree and as I to one side and turned to look at the thing I saw a heavy spear embedded in the wood not 3 in from where my head had been the thing had come from a little to one side of me

and without waiting to investigate at the instant I leaped behind the tree and circling it peered around the other side to get a sight of my would be murderer this time I was pitted against men the spear told told me that all too plainly but so long as they didn't take me unawares or from behind I had little fear of them cautiously I edged about the far side of the trees until I could obtain a view of the spot from which the spear must have come and when I did I saw the head of a man just emergi

ng from behind a bush the fellow was quite similar in type to those I had seen upon the aisle of white he was hairy and unkempt and as he finally stepped into view I saw that he was garbed in the same primitive fashion he stood for a moment gazing about in search of me and then he Advanced as he did so a number of others precisely like him stepped from the concealing Verger of nearby bushes and followed in his wake keeping the trees between them and me I ran back a short distance until I found a

clump of underbrush Rush that would effectually conceal me for I wish to discover the strength of the party and its Armament before attempting to Pary with it the useless destruction of any of these poor creatures was the farthest idea from my mind I should have liked to have spoken with them but I did not care to risk having to use my high-powered rifle upon them other than in the last extremity once in my new place of concealment I watched them as they approached the tree there were about 30

men in the party and one woman a girl whose hands seemed to be bound behind her and who was being pulled Along by two of the men they came forward wearily peering cautiously into every Bush and halting often at the body of the lion they paused and I could see from their gesticulations and the higher pitch of their voices that they were much excited Ed over my kill but presently they resumed their search for me and as they Advanced I became suddenly aware of the unnecessary brutality with which t

he girl's guards were treating her she stumbled once not far from my place of concealment and after the balance of the party had passed me as she did so one of the men at her side jerked her roughly to her feet and struck her across the mouth with his fist instantly my blood boiled and forgetting every consideration of caution I leaped from my concealment and springing to the man's side felled him with a blow so unexpected had been my act that it found him and his fellow unprepared but instantly

the latter drew the knife that protruded from his belt and lunged viciously at me at the same time giving voice to a wild Cry of alarm the girl shrank back at sight of me her eyes wide in astonishment and then my antagonist was upon me I carried his first blow with my forearm at the same time delivering a powerful blow to his jaw that sent him reeling back but he was at me again in an instant though in the brief interim I had time to draw My Revolver I Saw His companion crawling slowly to his f

eet and the others of the party racing down upon me there was no time to argue now other than with the weapons we wore and Sir as the fellow lunged at me again with the wicked looking knife I covered his heart and pulled the trigger without a sound He Slipped to the Earth and then I turned the weapon upon the other guard who was now about to attack me he two collapsed and I was alone with the astonished girl the balance of the party was some 20 Paces from us but coming rapidly I seized her arm a

nd Drew her after me behind a nearby tree for I had seen that with both their comrades down the others were preparing to launch their Spears with the girl safe behind the tree I stepped out in sight of the advancing foe shouting to them that I was no enemy and that they should Halt and listen to me but for answer so they only yelled in derision and launched a couple of Spears at me both of which missed I saw then that I must fight yet still I hated to slay them and it was only as a final Resort

that I dropped two of them with my rifle bringing the others to a temporary halt again I appealed to them to desist but they only mistook my solicitude for them for fear and with shouts of rage and derision leaped forward once again to overwhelm me it was now quite evident that I must punish them severely or myself die and relinquish the girl once more to her captors neither of these things had I the slightest notion of doing and so I again stepped from behind the tree and with all the Care and

deliberation of target practice I commenced picking off the foremost of my assailants One By One The Wild men dropped yet on came the others Fierce and vengeful until only a few remaining these seemed to realize the futility of combating my modern weapon with the Primitive Spears and still howling wrathfully withdrew toward the west now for the first time I had an opportunity to turn my attention toward the girl who had stood silent and motionless behind me as I pumped death into my enemies and

hers from my automatic rifle she was of medium height well-formed and with fine clearcut features her forehead was high and her eyes both intelligent and beautiful exposure to the sun had browned a smooth and velvety skin to a shade which seemed to enhance rather than more an altogether lovely picture of youthful femin inity a trace of apprehension marked her expression I cannot call it fear since I have learned to know her and astonishment was still apparent in her eyes she stood quite erect he

r hands still bound behind her and met my gaze with level proud return what language do you speak I asked do you understand mine yes she replied it is similar to my own I am grab Britain what are you I am a Pan-American I answered she shook her head what is that I pointed toward the west far away across the ocean her expression aled a trifle a slight frown contracted her brow the expression of apprehension deepened take off your cap she said and when to humor her a strange request I did as she b

id she appeared relieved then she edged to one side and leaned over seemingly to peer behind me I turned quickly to see what she discovered but finding nothing wheeled about to see that her expression was once more altered you are not from there and she pointed toward the East it was a half question you are not from across the water there no I assured her I am from panamerica far away to the West have you ever heard of panamerica she shook her head in negation I do not care where you are from sh

e explained if you are not from there and I am sure you are not for the men from there have horns and Tails it was with difficulty that I restrained a smile who are the men from there I asked they bad men she replied some of my people do not believe that there are such creatures but we have a legend a very old old legend that once the men from there came across to grab Britain They Came Upon the water and under the water and even in the air they came in great numbers so that they rolled across t

he land like a great gray fog they brought with them thunder and lightning and smoke that killed and they fell upon us and slew Our People by the thousands and the hundreds of thousands but at last we drove them back to the water's edge back into the sea where many were drowned some escaped and these are people followed men women and even children we followed them back that is all the legend says our people never returned maybe they were all killed kill maybe they are still there but this also i

s in the legend that as we drove the men back across the water they swore that they would return and that when they left our Shores they would leave no human being alive behind them I was afraid that you were from there by what name were these men called I asked we call them only the men from there she replied pointing toward the east I have never heard that they had another name in the light of what I knew of ancient history it was not difficult for me to guess the nationality of those she desc

ribes simply as the men from over there but what utter and appalling Devastation the Great War must have wrought to have erased not only every sign of civilization from the face of this great land but even the name of the enemy from the knowledge and language of the people I could only account for it on the hypothesis that the country had been entirely depopulated except for a few scattered and forgotten children who in some marvelous manner had been preserved by Providence to repopulate the lan

d these children had doubtless been too young to retain in their memories to transmit to their children any but the vaguest suggestion of the cataclysm which had overwhelmed the parents professor cortran since my return to paname has suggested another theory which is not entirely without claim to Serious consideration he points out that it is quite Beyond The Pale of human instinct to Desert little children as my theory suggests the ancient English must have done he is more inclined to believe t

hat the expulsion of the foe from England was synchronous with widespread victories by the Allies upon the continent and that the people of England merely immigrated from their ruined cities and the devastated blood drenched fields to the mainland in the hope of finding in the domain of the conquered enemy cities and Farms which would replace those they had lost the Learned Professor assumes that while a long continued War had strengthened rather than weakened the Instinct of paternal devotion i

t had also dulled other humanitarian instincts and raised to the first magnitude the lore of the survival of the fittest with the result that when The Exodus took place the strong the intelligent and the cunning together with their offspring crossed the Waters of the channel or the North Sea to the continent leaving in unhappy England only the helpless inmates of asylums for the feebleminded and insane my objections to this that the present inhabitants of England are mentally fit and could there

fore not have have descended from An ancestry of undiluted lunacy he brushes aside with the assertion that insanity is not necessarily hereditary and that even though it was in many cases a return to natural conditions from the state of high civilization which is thought to have induced mental disease in the ancient world would after several Generations have thoroughly expunged every trace of the Affliction from the brains and nerves of the descendants of the original Maniacs personally I do not

Place much stock in Professor corran's Theory though I admit that I am prejudiced naturally one does not care to believe that the object of his greatest affection is descended from a gibbering idiot and a raving Maniac but I am forgetting the continuity of my narrative a continuity which I desire to maintain though I fear that I shall often be led astray so numerous and varied are the by paaths of speculation which led from the present day story of the grab brittans into the mysterious past of

their forebears as I stood talking with the girl I presently recollected that she still was bound and with a word of apology I drew my knife and cut the raw High thongs which confined her wrists at her back she thanked me and with such a sweet smile that I should have been amply repaid by it for a much more arduous service and now I said let me accompany you to your home and see you safely again under the protection of your friends no she said with a hint of alarm in her voice you must not come

with me Buckingham will kill you Buckingham the name was famous in ancient English History its survival with many other illustrious names is one of the strongest arguments in refutable of Professor corton's Theory yet it opens no new doors to the past and on the whole rather adds to than dissipates the mystery and who is Buckingham I asked and why should he wish to kill me he would think that you had stolen me she replied and as he wishes me for himself he will kill any other whom he thinks thin

ks desires me he killed weton a few days ago my mother told me once that weton was my father he was King now Buckingham is King here evidently were a people slightly Superior to those of the a of white these must have at least the rudiments of civilized governments since they recognized one among them as ruler with the title King also they retained the word father the girl's pronunciation while far from identical with ours was much closer than the tortured dialect of the East Enders of the aisle

of white the longer I talked with her the more hopeful I became of finding here among her people some records or Traditions which might assist in clearing up the historic Enigma of the past two centuries I asked her if we were far from the city of London but she did not know what I meant when I tried to explain describing Mighty buildings of stone and brick broad Avenues Parks palaces and countless people she but shook her head sadly there is no such place nearby she said only the camp of the L

ions has places of stone where the beasts lay but there are no people in the camp of the Lions who would dare go there and she shuddered the camp of the Lions I repeated and where is that and what it is there she said pointing up the river toward the west I have seen it from a great distance but I have never been there we are much afraid of the Lions for this is their country and they're angry that man has come to live here far away there and she pointed Ed toward the Southwest is the land of ti

gers which is even worse than this the land of the Lions for the Tigers are more numerous than the Lions and hungrier for human flesh there were Tigers here long ago but both the Lions and the men set upon them and drove them off where did these Savage beasts come from I asked oh she replied they have been here always it is their country country do they not kill and eat your people I asked often when we meet them by accident and we are too few to slay them or when one goes too close to their cam

p but seldom do they hunt us for they find what food they need among the deer and wild cattle and two we make them gifts for are we not Intruders in their country really we live upon good terms with them the though I should not care to meet one where there not many Spears in my party I should like to visit this Camp of the Lions I said oh no you must not cried the girl that would be terrible they would eat you for a moment then she seemed lost in thought but presently she turned upon me with you

must go now for any minute Buckingham may come in search of me long since should they have learned that I am gone from the camp they watch over me very closely and they will set out after me go I shall wait here until they come in search of me no I told her I'll not leave you alone in a land Infested by lions and other wild beasts if you won't let me go as far as your camp with you then I'll wait here until they come in search of you you please go she begged you have saved me and I would save y

ou but nothing will save you if Buckingham gets his hands on you he is a bad man he wishes to have me for his woman so that he may be king he would kill anyone who befriended me for fear that I might become anothers didn't you say that Buckingham is already the king I asked he is he took my mother for his woman after he had killed weton but my mother will die soon she is very old and then the man to whom I belong will become king finally after much questioning I got the thing through my head it

appears that the line of dissent is through the women a man is merely head of his wife's family that is all if she chances to be the oldest female member of the royal house he is King very naively the girl explained that there was seldom any doubt as to whom a child's mother was this accounted for the girl's importance in the community and for Buckingham's anxiety to claim her though she told me that she did not wish to become his woman for he was a bad man and would make a bad King but he was p

owerful and there was no other man who dared dis his wishes why not come with me I suggested if you do not wish to become Buckinghams where would you take me she asked where indeed I had not thought of that but before I could reply to her question she shook her head and said no I cannot leave my people I must stay and do my best even if Buckingham gets me but you must go once do not wait until it is too late the Lions have had no offering for a long time and Buckingham would seize upon the first

stranger as a gift to them I did not perfectly understand what she meant and was about to ask her when a heavy body leaped upon me from behind and great arms encircled my neck I struggled to free myself and turn upon my antagonist but in another instant I was overwhelmed by a half dozen powerful half naked men while a score of others surrounded me a couple of whom seized the girl I fought as best I could for my Liberty and for hers but the weight of numbers was too great though I had the satisf

action at least of giving them a good fight when they had overpowered me and I stood my hands bound behind me at the girl's side she gave Ed commiseratingly at me it is too bad that you did not do as I bid you she said for now it has happened just as I feared Buckingham has you which is Buckingham I asked I am Buckingham growled a Burly unwashed brute swaggering truculently before me and who are you who would have stolen my woman the girl spoke up then and tried to explain that I had not stolen

her but on the contrary I had saved her from the men from the elephant country who were carrying her away Buckingham only sneered at her explanation and a moment later gave the command that started us all off toward the west we marched for a matter of an hour or so coming at last to a collection of rude Huts fashioned from branches of trees covered with skins and grasses and sometimes plas Ed with mud all about the camp they had erected a wall of saplings pointed at the tops and fire hardened th

is Palisade was a protection against both man and beasts and within it dwelt upward of 2,000 persons the shelters being built very close together and sometimes partially underground like deep trenches with the poles and hides above merely as protection from the Sun and Rain the older part of the camp consisted almost wholly of trenches as though this had been the original form of dwellings which was slowly giving way to the drier and AER surface domiciles in these trench habitations I saw a surv

ival of the military trenches which formed so famous a part of the operation of the Waring Nations during the 20th century the women wore a single light beer skin about their hips for it was summer and and quite warm the men too were clothed in a single garment usually the Pelt of some Beast of prey the hair of both men and women was confined by a raarh high thong passing about the forehead and tied behind in this Lether band were stuck feathers flowers or the Tails of small mammals all wore nec

klaces of the teeth or claws of wild beasts and there were numerous metal wristlets and anklets among them they wore in fact every indication of a most primitive people a race which had not yet risen to the heights of Agriculture or even the possession of domestic animals they were Hunters the lowest plane in the evolution of the human race of which science takes cognizance and yet as I looked at their well-shaped heads their handsome features and their intelligent eyes it was difficult to belie

ve that I was not among my own it was only when I took into consideration their mode of living their scant apparel the lack of every least luxury among them that I was forced to admit that they were in truth but ignorant Savages Buckingham had relieved me of my weapons though he had not the slightest idea of their purpose or uses and when we reached the camp he exhibited both me and my arms with every indication of pride in this great capture the inhabitants flocked around me Examining my clothi

ng and exclaiming in wonderment at each new discovery of button Buckle pocket and flap it seemed incredible that such a thing could be almost within a stone's throw of the spot where but a brief two centuries before had stood the greatest city of the world they bound me to a small tree that grew in the middle of one of the Crooked streets but the girl they released as soon as we had entered the enclosure the people greeted her with every Mark of respect as she hastened to a large hug near the ce

nter of the camp presently she returned with a fooking white-haired woman who proved to be her mother the older woman carried herself with a Regal dignity that seemed quite remarkable in a place of such primitive squala the People Fell aside as she approached making a wide way for her and her daughter when they had come near and stopped before me the older woman addressed me my daughter has told me she said of the manner in which you rescued her from the men of the elephant country if weton live

d you would be well treated but Buckingham has taken me now and is King you can hope for nothing from such a beast as Buckingham the fact that Buckingham stood within a pace of us and was an interested listener appeared not to temper her expressions in the slightest Buckingham is a pig she continued he is a coward He Came Upon weton from behind and ran his spear through him he will not be king for long someone will make a face at him and he will run away and jump into the the river the people be

gan to titter and clap their hands Buckingham became red in the face it was evident that he was far from popular if he dared went on the old lady he would kill me now but he does not dare he is too great a coward if I could help you I should gladly do so but I am only Queen the vehicle that has helped carry down unsullied the royal blood from the days when graban was a mighty country the old Queen's words had a noticeable effect upon the mob of curious Savages which surrounded me the moment they

discovered that the old Queen was friendly to me and that I had rescued her daughter they commenced to Accord me a more friendly interest and I heard many words spoken in my behalf and demands were made that I not be harmed but now Buckingham in inter feared he had no intention of being robbed of his prey blustering and storming he ordered the people back to their Huts at the same time directing two of his Warriors to confine me in a Dugout in one of the trenches close to his own shelter here t

hey threw me upon the ground binding my ankles together and trussing them up to my wrists behind there they left me lying upon my stomach a a most uncomfortable and strained position to which was added the pain where the cords cut into my flesh just a few days ago my mind had been filled with the anticipation of the friendly welcome I should find among the cultured Englishman of London today I should be sitting in the place of honor at the banquet Board of one of London's most exclusive clubs fa

d and lionized the actuality here I a bound hand and foot doubtless almost upon the very sight of a part of ancient London yet all about me was a primeval Wilderness and I was a captive of half- naked wild men I wondered what had become of delart and Taylor and Snider would they search for me they could never find me I feared yet if they did what could they accomplish against this horde of savage Warriors would the I could warn them I thought of the girl doubtless she could get word to them but

how was I to communicate with her would she come to see me before I was killed it seemed incredible that she should not make some slight attempt to befriend me yet as I recalled she had made no effort to speak with me after we had reached the village she had hastened to her mother the moment she had been liberated though she had returned with the old Queen she had not spoken to me even then I began to have my doubts finally I came to the conclusion that I was absolutely friendless except for the

old Queen for some unaccountable reason my rage against the girl for her ingratitude Rose to colossal proportions for a long time I waited for someone to come to my prison whom I might ask to bear word to the queen but I seemed to have been forgotten the strained position in which I lay became unbearable I wriggled and twisted until I managed to turn myself partially upon my side where I lay half facing the entrance to the Dugout presently my attention was attracted by the shadow of something m

oving in the trench without and a moment later the figure of a child appeared creeping upon all fours as wide-eyed and prompted by Childish curiosity a little girl crawled to the entrance of my Hut and peered cautiously and fearfully in I did not speak at first for fear of frightening the little one away but when I was satisfied that her eyes had become sufficiently accustomed to the subdued light of the Interior I smiled instantly the expression of fear faded from her eyes to be repl placed wit

h an answering smile who are you little girl I asked my name is Mary she replied I am victory's sister and who is Victory you do not know who Victory is she asked in astonishment I shook my head in negation you saved her from the elephant country people and yet you say you do not know her she exclaimed oh so she is Victory and you are her sister I have not heard her name before that is why I did not know whom you meant I explained here was just the messenger for me fate was becoming more kind wi

ll you do something for me Mary I asked if I can go to your mother the queen and ask her to come to me I said I have a favor to ask she said that she would and with a parting smile she left me for what seemed many hours I awaited her return chafing with impatience the afternoon war on a night came and yet no one came near me my captors brought me neither food nor water I was suffering considerable pain where the Raw Hide thongs cut into my swollen flesh I thought that they had either forgotten m

e or that it was their intention to leave me here to die of starvation once I heard a great uproar in the village men were shouting women were screaming and moaning after a time this subsided and again there was a long interval of Silence half the night must have been spent when I heard a sound in the trench near the Hut it resembled muffled s sobs presently a figure appeared silhouetted against the Lesser Darkness beyond the doorway it crept inside the hut are you here whispered a childlike voi

ce it was Mary she had returned the thongs no longer hurt me the pangs of hunger and thirst disappeared I realized that it had been loneliness from which I suffered most Mary I exclaimed you are a good girl you have come back after all I had commenced to think that you would not did you give my message to the queen will she come where is she the child's sobs increased and she flung herself upon the dirt floor of the Hut apparently overcome by grief what is it I asked why do you cry the queen my

mother will not come to you she he said between sobs she is dead Buckingham has killed her now he will take victory for victory is Queen he kept us fastened up in our shelter for fear that Victory would Escape him but I dug a hole beneath the back wall and got out I came to you because you saved Victory once before and I thought that you might save her again and me also tell me that you will I am bound and helpless Mary I replied otherwise I would do what I could to save you and your sister I wi

ll set you free cried the girl creeping up to my side I will set you free and then you may come and slay Buckingham gladly I ascented we must hurry she went on as she fumbled with the hard knots in the stiffened Raw Hide for Buckingham will be after you soon he must make an offering to the lions at dawn before he can take Victory The Taking of a queen requires a human offering and I am to be the offering I asked yes she said tugging at a knot Buckingham has been wanting a sacrifice ever since he

killed weton that he might slay my mother and take Victory the thought was horrible not solely because of the Hideous fate to which I was condemned but from the contemplation it engendered of the sad decadence of a once enlightened race to these depths of ignorance brutality and Superstition had the vaunted civilization of 20th century England been plunged and by what war I felt the structure of our time honored militaristic arguments crumbling about me Mary labored with the thongs that confine

d me they proved refractory defying her tender childish fingers she assured me however that she would release me if they did not come too soon but alas they came we heard them coming down the trench and I B Mary hide in a corner lest she be discovered and punished there was not else she could do and so she crawled away in to the stigan Blackness behind me presently two Warriors entered the leader exhibited a unique method of discovering my whereabouts in the darkness he Advanced slowly kicking o

ut viciously before him finally he kicked me in the face then he knew where I was a moment later I had been jerked roughly to my feet one of the fellows stopped and severed the bonds that held my ankles I could scarcely Stand Alone the two pulled and hauled me through the low doorway and along the trench a party of 40 or 50 warriors were awaiting us at the brink of the excavation some hundred yards from the Hut hands were lowered to us and we were dragged to the surface then commenced a long mar

ch we stumbled through the underbrush wet with Jew our way lighted by a score of t torch bearers who surrounded us but the Torches were not to light the way that was but incidental they were carried to keep off the huge Carnivor that moaned and coughed and roared about us the noises were hideous the whole country seemed alive with lions yellow green eyes blazed wickedly at us from out the surrounding darkness my escort carried long heavy Spears these they kept never pointed toward the Beast of p

rey and I learned from snatches of the conversation I overheard that occasionally there might be a lion who would Brave even the Terrors of fire to LEAP in upon human prey it was for such that the spears were always couched but nothing of the sort occurred during this hideous Death March and with the first pale heralding of dawn we reached our goal an open place in the midst of a tangled Wildwood here Rose in crumbling Grandeur the first evidences I had seen of the ancient civilization which onc

e had graced Fair albian a single timeworn arch of masonry the entrance to the camp of the Lions murmured one of the party in a voice husky with awe here the party knelt while Buckingham recited a weird prayer-like chant it was rather long and I Rec call only a portion of it which ran if my memory serves me somewhat as follows Lord of grab Britain we fall on our knees to thee this gift to bring greatest of kings are thou to thee we humbly bow peace to our camp allow God save thee King then the p

arty Rose and dragging me to the crumbling Arch made me fast to a huge corroded copper ring which was dangling from an eyebolt embedded in the masonry none of them not even Buckingham seemed to feel any personal animosity toward me they were naturally rough and brutal as primitive men are supposed to have been since the dawn of humanity but they did not go out of their way to maltreat me with the coming of dawn the number of lions about us seemed to have greatly diminished at at least they made

less noise and as Buckingham and his party disappeared into the woods leaving me alone to my terrible fate I could hear the grumblings and growlings of the beasts diminishing with the sound of the chant which the party still continued it appeared that the Lions had failed to note that I had been left for their breakfast and had followed off after their worshippers instead but I knew the reprieve would be but for a short time and though I had no wish to die I must confess that I rather wished the

ordeal over and the Peace of Oblivion upon me the voices of the men and the lions receded in the distance until finally quiet rained about me broken only by the sweet voices of birds and the sighing of the Summer Wind in the trees it seemed impossible to believe that in this peaceful Woodland setting the frightful thing was to occur which must must come with the passing of the next lion who chanced within sight or smell of the crumbling Arch I strove to tear myself loose from my boms but succee

ded only in tightening him about my arms then I remained passive for a long time letting the scenes of my lifetime pass in review before my mind's eye I tried to imagine the astonishment incredulity and horror with which my my family and friends would be overwhelmed if for an instant space could be annihilated and they could see me at the gates of London the gates of London where was the multitude hurrying to the Marts of trade after a night of pleasure or rest where was the clang of tramar gong

s the Screech of motor horns the vast murmur of a dense throng where were they and as I asked the question alone G lion Strode from the Tangled jungle upon the far side of the clearing majestically and noiselessly upon his padded feet the king of beasts moved slowly toward the gates of London and toward me was I afraid I fear that I was almost afraid I know that I thought that fear was coming to me and so I straightened up and squared my shoulders and looked the lion straight in the eyes and wai

ted it is not a night way to die alone with one's hands fast bound beneath the fangs and Talons of a beast of prey no it is not a nice way to die not a pretty way the lion was halfway across the clearing when I heard a slight sound behind me the great cat stopped in his tracks he lashed his tail against his sides now instead of Simply twitching its tip and his low moan became came a thunderous Roar as I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of the thing that had aroused the fury of the Beast before

me it sprang through the arched Gateway and was at my side with parted lips and heaving bosom and disheveled hair a bron and lovely Vision to eyes that had never harbored hope of Rescue It was Victory and In Her Arms she clutched my rifle and revolver a long knife was in the dokin belt that supported the dokin skirt tightly about her Li limbs she dropped my weapons at my feet and snatching the knife from its resting place severed the bonds that held me I was free and the lion Was preparing to ch

arge run I cried to the girl as I bent and seized my rifle but she only stood there at my side her bad blade ready in her hand the lion was bounding toward us now in prodigious leaps I raised the rifle and fired it was a lucky shot for I had no time to aim carefully and when the Beast crumpled and rolled lifeless to the ground I went upon my knees and gave thanks to the god of my ancestors and still upon my knees I turned and taking the girl's hand in mine I kissed it she smiled at that and laid

her other hand upon my head you have strange customs in your country she said I could not but smile at that when I thought how strange it would seem to my countrymen could they but see me kneeling there on the site of London kissing the hand of England's Queen and now I said as I Rose you must return to the safety of your Camp I will go with you you until you are near enough to continue alone in safety then I shall try to return to my comrades I will not return to the camp she replied but what

shall you do I asked I do not know only I shall never go back while Buckingham lives I should rather die than go back to him Mary came to me after they had taken you from the camp and told me I found your strange weapons and followed with them it took me a little longer for often I had to hide in the trees that the Lions might not get me but I came in time and now you are free to go back to your friends and leave you here I exclaimed she nodded but I could see through all her brave front that sh

e was frightened at the thought I could not leave her of course but what in the world I was to do cumbered with the care of a young woman and a queen at that I was at a loss to know I pointed out that phase of it to her but she only Shrugged her shapely shoulders and pointed to her knife it was evident that she felt entirely competent to protect herself as we stood there we heard the sound of voices they were coming from the forest through which we had passed when we had come from camp they're s

earching for me said the girl where shall we hide I didn't relish hiding but when I thought of the innumerable dangers which surrounded us and the comparatively small amount of ammunition that I had with me I hesitated to provoke a battle with Buckingham and his Warriors when by flight I could avoid them and preserve my cartridges against emergencies which could not be escaped would they follow as there I asked pointing through the archway into the camp of the Lions never she replied for in the

first place they would know that we would not dare go there and in the second they themselves would not dare then we shall take refuge in the camp of the Lions I said she shuted and Drew closer to me you dare she asked why not I returned we shall be safe from Buckingham and you have seen for the second time in two days that lines are harmless before my weapons then two I can find my friends easiest in this direction for the river temps runs through this place you call the Camp of the Lions and i

t is farther down the temps that my friends are awaiting me do you not dare come with me I dare follow Wherever You Led she answered simply answer I turned and passed beneath the great Arch into the city of London V as we entered deeper into what had once been the city the evidences of man's past occupancy became more frequent for a mile from the arch there was only a riot of weeds and undergrowth and trees covering small mounds and little helixs that I was sure were formed of the ruins of state

ly buildings of the Dead past but presently We Came Upon A District where shattered walls still raised their crumbling tops in sad silence above the grass grown sepers of their fallen fellows softened and mellowed by ancient Ivy stood these Sentinels of Sorrow their scarred faces still revealing the rents and gashes of shrapnel and of bomb contrary to our expectations we found little in indication that lions in any great numbers LED in this part of ancient London well-worn Pathways molded by pad

ded Paws LED through the cavernous windows or doorways of a few of the ruins we passed and once we saw the Savage face of a great black maned lion scowling down upon us from a shattered Stone balcony we followed down the bank of the temps after we came upon it I was anxious to look with my own eyes upon the famous bridge and I guessed too that the river would lead me into the part of London where stood Westminster Abbey and the tower realizing that the section through which we had been passing w

as doubtless outlying and therefore not so built up with large structures as the more centrally located part of the old town I felt sure that farther down the river I should find the ruins larger the Bridge would be there in part at least and so would remain the walls of many of the Great edifices of the past there would be no such complete ruin of large structures as I had seen among the smaller buildings but when I had come to that part of the city which I judged to have contained the relics I

sought I found Havoc that had been wrought there even greater than elsewhere at one point upon the bosom of the TS there Rises a few feet above the water a single disintegrating mound of masonry opposite it upon either Bank of the river are tumbled piles of ruins overgrown with vegetation these I am forced to believe or all that remain of London Bridge for nowhere else along the river is there any other slightest sign of Pier or abutment rounding the base of a large pile of grass covered debris

we came suddenly upon the best preserved ruin we had yet discovered the entire lower story and part of the second story of what must once have been a splendid public building rose from a great null of Shrubbery and trees while Ivy thick and luxuriant clambered upward to the summit of the Broken Walls in many places the gray stone was still exposed its smoothly chiseled face pitted with the scars of B the massive portal yawned somber and sorrowful before us giving a glimpse of marble halls withi

n the temptation to enter was too great I wish to explore the interior of this one remaining Monument of Civilization now dead Beyond recall through this same portal Within These very marble halls had gray and Chamberlain and Kitchener and Shaw perhaps come and gone with with the other great ones of the past I took victory's hand in mine come I said I do not know the name by which this great pile was known nor the purposes it fulfilled it may have been the Palace of your SS Victory from some gre

at Throne within your forebears may have directed The Destinies of half the world come I must confess to a feeling of a as we entered the Rotunda of the great building pieces of massive Furniture of another day still stood where man had placed them centuries ago they were lited with dust and broken Stone and plaster but otherwise so perfect was their preservation I could hardly believe that two centuries had rolled by since human eyes were last set upon them through one great room after another

we wandered handed in hand while Victory asked many questions and for the first time I began to realize something of the magnificence and power of the race from whose loins she had sprung Splendid tapestries now milju and rotting hung upon the walls there were mural paintings two depicting great historic events of the past for the first time Victory saw the likeness of a horse and she was much affected by a huge oil which depicted some ancient cavalry charge against a battery of field guns in ot

her pictures there were steam ships battleships submarines and quaint looking railway trains all small and Antiquated in appearance to me but wonderful to Victory she told me that she would like to remain for the rest of her life where she could look at those pictures daily from room to room room we passed until presently we emerged into a mighty chamber dark and gloomy for its high and narrow windows were choked and clogged by Ivy along one paneled wall we groped our eyes slowly becoming accust

omed to the darkness a rank and pungent odor pervaded the atmosphere we had made our way about half the distance across one end of the great apartment when a low growl from the far end brought us to startled halt straining my eyes through the Gloom I made out a raised Das at the extreme opposite end of the hall upon the D stood two great chairs high-backed and with great arms the Throne of England but what were those strange forms about it Victory gave my hand a quick excited little squeeze the

Lions she whispered yes Lions indeed spred about the Das were a dozen huge forms while upon the seat of one of the thrones a small CB lay curled in Slumber as we stood there for a moment Spellbound by the sight of those fearsome creatures occupying the very Thrones of the sovereigns of England the low growl was repeated and a great male Rose slowly to his feet his devilish eyes bored straight through the semi Darkness toward us he had discovered the interloper what right had man within this Pala

ce of the beasts again he opened his giant jaws and this time there rumbled forth a warning Roar instantly eight or 10 of the other beasts leaped to their feet already the great fellow who had spied us was advancing slowly in our Direction I held my rifle ready but how futile it appeared in the face of this Savage horde the foremost Beast broke into a slow Trot and at his heels came the others all were roaring now and the D of the great voices reverberating through the halls and corridors of the

palace formed the most frightful chorus of thunderous savagery imaginable to the mind of man and then the leader charged and upon the Hideous pandemonium broke the sharp crack of my rifle once twice Thrice Three Lions rolled struggling and biting to the floor Victory seized my arm with a quick this way here is a door and a moment later we were in a tiny antichamber at the foot of a narrow Stone staircase up this we backed Victory just behind me as the first of the remaining Lions leaped from th

e throne room and sprang for the stairs again I fired but others of the Ferocious beasts leaped over their fallen fellows and pursued us the stairs were very narrow that was all that saved us for as I backed slowly upward but a single line could attack me at a time and the carcasses of those I slew impeded the rushes of the others at last we reached the top there was a long corridor from which opened many doorways one directly behind us was tight closed if we could open it and pass into the cham

ber behind we might find a respite from Attack the remaining lions were roaring horribly I saw one sneaking very slowly up the stairs toward us try that door I called to Victory see if it will open she ran up to it and pushed turn the knob I cried seeing that she did not know know how to open a door but neither did she know what I meant by knob I put a bullet in the spine of the approaching lion and leaped to victory's side the door resisted my first efforts to swing it inward rusted hinges and

swollen would held it tightly closed but at last it gave and just as another lion mounted to the top of the stairway it swung in and I pushed Victory Across the Threshold then I turned to meet the renewed Attack Of The Savage foe one lion fell in his tracks another stumbled to my very feet and then I leaped within and slammed the portal too a quick glance showed me that this was the only door to the small apartment in which we had found sanctuary and with a sigh of relief I leaned for a moment a

gainst the panels of the Stout barrier that separated us from the ramping demons without across the room between two windows stood a flat top desk a little pile of white and brown lay upon it close to the opposite Edge after a moment of rest I crossed the room to investigate the white was the bleached human bones the skull collar bones arms and a few of the upper ribs of a man the brown was the dust of a decayed military cap and blouse in a chair before the desk were other bones while more still

strw the floor beneath the desk and about the chair a man had died sitting there with his face buried in his arms 200 years ago beneath the desk were a pair of spurred military boots green and rotten with decay in them were the leg bones of a man among the tiny bones of the hands was an ancient fountain pen as good apparently as the day it was made and a metal covered memoranda book closed over the bones of an index finger it was a gruesome sight a pitiful sight this lone inhabitant of Mighty L

ondon I picked up the metal covered memoranda book its Pages were rotten and stuck together only here and there was a sentence or a part of a sentence legible the first that I could read was near the middle of the little volume his majesty left for tonbridge Wells today he JY was stricken today God give she does not die a military governor of Lon and farther on it is awful 100 deaths today worse than the bombard him nearer the end I picked out the following I promised his major ye will find me h

ere when he read alone the most legible passage was on the next page thank God we drove them out there is not a single man on British soil today but at what awful cost I tried to persuade sir philli to urge the people to remain but they are mad with fear of the death and rage at our enemies he tells me that the coast cities are packed waiting to be taken across what will become of England with none left to rebuild her shattered cities and the last entry alone only the wild beasts a lion is roari

ng now beneath the palace windows I think the people feared the beasts even more than they did the death but they are gone all gone and to what how much better conditions will they find on the continent all gone only I remain I promised his majesty and when he returns he will find that I was true to my trust for I shall be awaiting him God saved the king that was all this Brave and forever nameless officer died nobly at his post true to his country and his King it was the death no doubt that too

k him some of the entries had been dated from the few legible letters and figures which remained I judge the end came some time in August 1937 but of that I am not at all certain the diary has cleared up at least one mystery that had puzzled me not a little and now I am surprised that I had not guessed its solution myself the presence of African and Asiatic beasts in England acclimated by years of confinement in the Zoological Gardens they were fitted to resume in England the wild existence for

which nature had intended them and once free had evidently bred prolifically in marked contrast to the captive Exotics of 20th century panamerica which had gradually become fewer until Extinction occurred some time during the 21st century the palace if such it was lay not far from the banks of the temps the room in which we were imprisoned over looked the river and I determined to attempt to escape in this direction to descend through the palace was out of the question but outside we could disco

ver no Lions the stems of the ivy which clambered upward past the window of the room were as large around as my arm I knew that they would support our weight and as we could gain Nothing by remaining longer in the palace I decided to descend by way of the Ivy and follow along down the river in the direction of the launch naturally I was much handicapped by the presence of the girl but I could not abandon her though I had no idea what I should do with her after rejoining my companions that she wo

uld prove a burden and an embarrassment I was certain but she had made it equally plain to me that she would never return to her people to mate with Buckingham I owed my life to her and all other considerations aside that was sufficient demand upon my gratitude and my honor to necessitate my suffering every inconvenience in her service two she was Queen of England but by far the most potent argument in her favor she was a woman in distress and a young and very beautiful one answer though I wishe

d a thousand times that she was back in her camp I never let her guess it but did all that lay within my power to serve and protect her I thank God now that I did so with the Lions still padding back and forth beyond the closed door Victory and I crossed the room to one of the windows I had outlined my plan to her and she had assured me that she could descend the ivy without assistance in fact she smiled a trifle at my question swinging myself outward I began The Descent and had come to within a

few feet of the ground being just opposite a narrow window when I was startled by a Savage growl almost in my ear and then a great talent paor darted from the aperture to seize me and I saw the snarling face of a lion within the Embraer releasing my hold upon the ivy I dropped the remaining distance to the ground saved from laceration only because the Lion's porw struck the thick stem of Ivy the creature was making a frightful racket now leaping back and forth from the floor at the broad window

ledge tearing at the masonry with his claws in vain attempts to reach me but the opening was too narrow and the masonry too solid Victory had commenced The Descent but I called to her to stop just above the window and as the lion reappeared growling and snarling I put a33 bullet in his face and at the same moment Victory slipped quickly past him dropping into Maya praised arms that were awaiting her the Roaring of the beasts that had discovered us together with the report of my rifle had set th

e balance of the fierce inmates of the palace into the most frightful uproar I have ever heard I feared that it would not be long long before intelligence or Instinct would draw them from the interiors and set them Upon Our Trail the river nor had we much more than reached it when a lion bounded around the corner of the edifice we had just quitted and stood looking about as though in search of us following came others while Victory and I crouched in hiding behind a clump of bushes close to the b

ank of the river the beasts sniffed about the ground for a while but they did not chance to go near the spot where we had stood beneath the window that had given us Escape presently a black maned male raised his head and with cocked ears and glaring eyes gazed straight at the bush behind which we lay I could have sworn that he had discovered us and when he took a few short and stately steps in our Direction I raised my rifle and covered him but after a long tense moment he looked away and turned

to glare in another Direction I breathed a sigh of relief and so did Victory I could feel her body quiver as she lay pressed close to me our cheeks almost touching as we both peered through the same small opening in the foliage I turned to give her a reassuring Smile as the lion indicated that he had not seen us and as I did so she two turned her face toward mine for the same purpose doubtless anyway as our heads turned simultaneously our lips brushed together a startled expression came into vi

ctory's eyes as she Drew back in evident confusion as for me the strangest Sensation that I have ever experienced claimed me for an instant A peculiar tingling thrill ran through my veins and my head swam I could not account for it naturally being a naval officer and consequently in the best Society of the Federation I have seen much of women with others I have laughed at the assertions of the servants that modern man is a cold and passionless Creation in comparison with the males of former ages

in a word that love as the one Grand Passion had ceased to exist I do not know now but that they were more nearly right than we have guessed at least in so far as modern civilized woman is concerned I have kissed many women young and beautiful and middle-aged and old and many that I had no business kissing but never before had I experienced that remarkable and altogether delightful thrill that followed the accidental brushing of my lips against the lips of Victory the occurrence interested me a

nd I was tempted to experiment further but when I would have essayed it another new and entirely unaccountable Force restrained me for the first time in my life I felt embarrassment in the presence of a woman what further might have developed I cannot say for at that moment a perfect shevil of a lioness with Keener eyes than her Lord and Master discovered us she came trotting toward our place of concealment growling and bearing her yellow fangs I waited for an instant hoping that I might be mist

aken and that she would turn off in some other direction but no she increased her Trot to a gallop and then I fired at her but the bullet though it struck her full in the breast didn't stop her screaming with pain and rage the creature fairly flew toward us behind her came other Lions our case looked hopeless we were upon the brink of the river there seemed no Avenue of escape and I knew that even my modern automatic rifle was inadequate in the face of so many of these Fierce beasts to remain wh

ere we were would have been suicidal we were both standing now Victory keeping her place bravely at my side when I reached the only decision open to me seizing the girl's hand I turned just as the Lioness crashed into the opposite side of the bushes and dragging Victory after me leaped over the edge of the bank into the river I did not know that lions are not fond of water nor did I know if Victory could swim but death immediate and terrible stared Us in the face if we remained and so I took the

chance at this point the current ran close to the shore so that we were immediately in deep water and to my intense satisfaction Victory struck out with a strong overhand stroke and set all my fears on her account at rest but my relief was shortlived that lioness as I have said before was a veritable devil she stood for a moment glaring at us then like a shot she sprang into the river and swam swiftly after us victory was a length ahead of me swim for the other Shore I called to her I was much

impeded by my rifle having to swim with one hand while I clung to my precious weapon with the other the girl had seen the Lioness take to the water and she had also seen that I was swimming much more slowly than she and what did she do she started to drop back to my side go on I cried make for the other Shore and then follow down until you find my friends tell them that I sent you and with orders that they are to protect you go on go on but she only waited until we were again swimming side by si

de and I saw that she had drawn her long knife and was holding it between her teeth do as I tell you I said to her sharply but she shook her head the Lioness was overhauling us rapidly she was swimming silently her chin just touching the water but blood was streaming from between her lips it was evident that her lungs were pierced she was almost upon me I saw that in a moment she would take me under her forepaws or sees me in those great Jaws I felt that my time had come but I meant to die fight

ing answer I turned and Treading Water raised my rifle above my head and awaited her Victory animated by a bravery no less ferocious than that of the dumb Beast assailing us swam straight for me it all happened so swiftly that I cannot recall the details of the kider opic action which ensued I knew that I Rose High out of the water and with clubbed rifle dealt the animal a terrific blow upon the skull that I saw Victory her Long Blade flashing in her hand close striking upon the Beast that a gre

at pore fell upon her shoulder and that I was swept beneath the surface of the water like a straw before the prow of a freighter still clinging to my right I rose again to see the Lioness struggling in her death throws but an arms length from me scarcely had I risen than the beast turned upon her side struggled frantically for an instant and then sank V victory was nowhere in sight alone I floated upon the bosom of the temps in that brief instant I believe that I suffered more mental anguish tha

n I have crowded into all the balance of my life before or since a few hours before I had been wishing that I might be rid of her and now that she was gone I would have given my life to have her back again wearily I turned to swim about the spot where she had disappeared hoping that she might rise once at least and I would be given the opportunity to save her and as I turned the water boiled before my face and her head shot up before me I was on the point of striking out to seize her when a happ

y smile illumined her features you are not dead she cried I have been searching the bottom for you I was sure that the blow she gave you must have disabled you and she glanced about for the Lioness she has gone she asked dead I replied the blow you struck her with the you call rifle stunned her she explained and then I swam in close enough to get my knife into her heart ah such a girl I could not but wonder what one of our own panamerican women would have done under like circumstances but then o

f course they have not been trained by Stern necessity to cope with the emergencies and dangers of savage primeval Life along the bank we had just quitted a score of Lions paced to and fro growling menacingly we could not return and we struck out for the opposite Shore I am a strong swimmer and had no doubt as to my ability to cross the river but I was not so sure about Victory so I swam close behind her to be ready to give her assistance should she need it she did not however reaching the oppos

ite Bank as fresh apparently as when she entered the water Victory is a Wonder each day that we were together brought new proofs of it nor was it her courage or Vitality only which amazed me she had a head on those shapely shoulders of hers and dignity my but she could be Regal when she chose she told me that the lions were fewer upon this side of the river but that there were many wolves running in great packs later in the year now they were North somewhere and we should have little to fear fro

m them though we might meet with a few my first concern was to take my weapons apart and dry them which was rather difficult in the face of the fact that every rag about me was drenched but finally thanks to the Sun and much rubbing I succeeded though I had no oil to lubricate them we ate some wild berries and roots that Victory found and then we set off again down the river keeping an eye open for game on one side and the launch on the other for I thought that delart who would be the natural le

ader during my absence might run up the temps in search of me the balance of that day we sought in vain for game or for the launch and when night came we lay down our stomachs empty to sleep beneath the Stars we were entirely unprotected from attack from wild beasts and for this reason I remained awake most of the night on guard but nothing approached us though I could hear the lions roaring across the river and once I thought I heard the H of a beast north of us it might have been a wolf altoge

ther it was a most unpleasant night and I determined then that if we were forced to sleep out again that I should provide some sort of shelter which would protect us from Attack while we slept toward morning I dozed and the sun was well up when Victory aroused Me by gently shaking my shoulder Antelope she whispered in my ear and as I raised my head she pointed up River crawling to my knees I looked in the direction she indicated to see a buck standing upon a little n some 200 yard from us there

was good cover between the animal and me and Sir though I might have hit him at 200 yards I preferred to crawl closer to him and make sure of the meat we both so craved I had covered about 50 yards of the distance and the Beast was still feeding peacefully so I thought that I would make even sure of a hit by going ahead another 50 yards when the animals suddenly raised his head and looked away up River his whole attitude proclaimed that he was startled by something Beyond him that I could not se

e realizing that he might break and run and that I should then probably miss him entirely I raised my rifle to my shoulder but even as I did so the animal leaped into the air and simultaneously there was a sound of a shot from Beyond the null for an instant I was dumbfounded had the report come from down river I should have instantly thought that one of my own men had fired but coming from up River it puzzled me considerably who could there be with firearms in primitive England other than we of

the cold water victory was directly behind me and I motioned for her to lie down as I did behind the bush from which I had been upon the point of firing at the an op we could see that the buck was quite dead and from our hiding place we waited to discover the identity of his Slayer when the latter should approach and claim his kill we had not long to wait and when I saw the head and shoulders of a man appear above the crest of the null I sprang to my feet with a heartfelt Cry of joy for it was d

elart at the sound of my voice delart half raised his rifle in Readiness for the attack of an enemy but a moment later he recognized me and was coming rapidly to meet us behind him was Snider they both were astounded to see me upon the North Bank of the river and much more so at the sight of my companion then I introduced him to Victory and told them that she was Queen of England they thought at first that I was joking but when I had recounted my adventures and they realized that I was in Earnes

t they believed me they told me that they had followed me inshore when I had not returned from the hunt that they had met the men of the elephant country and had had a short and one-sided battle with the fellows and that afterward they had returned to the launch with a prisoner from whom they had learned that I had probably been captured by the men of the Lion Country with the prisoner as a guide they had set off up River in search of me but had been much delayed by motor trouble and had finally

camped after dark a half mile above the spot where Victory and I had spent the night they must have passed us in the dark and why I did not hear the sound of the propeller I do not know unless it passed me at a time when the Lions were making an unusually earsplitting din upon the opposite side taking the antelope with us we all returned to the launch where we found Taylor as delighted to see me alive again as delart had been I cannot say truthfully that Snyder evinced much enthusiasm at my res

cue Taylor had found the ingredients for chemical Fuel and the distilling of them had with the motor trouble acced for the delay in setting out after me the prisoner that delart and snip had taken was a powerful young fellow from the elephant country not withstanding the fact that they had all assured him to the contrary he still could not believe that we would not kill him he assured us that his name was 36 and as he could not count above 10 I am sure that he had no conception of the correct me

aning of the word and that it may have been handed down to him either from the military number of an ancestor who who had served in the English ranks during the Great War or that originally it was the number of some famous regiment with which a forbear fought now that we were reunited we held a council to determine what course we should pursue in the immediate future Snider was still for setting out to seea and returning to Pan America but the better judgment of delart and Taylor ridiculed the s

uggestion we should not have lived a for fornite to remain in England constantly menaced by wild beasts and Men equally as wild seemed about as bad I suggested that we cross the channel and ascertain if we could not discover a more enlightened and civilized people upon the continent I was sure that some trace of the ancient culture and greatness of Europe must remain Germany probably would be much as it was during the 20th Century for in common with most pan Americans I was positive that Germany

had been victorious in the Great War Snider demurred at the suggestion he said that it was bad enough to have come this far he did not want to make it worse by going to the continent the outcome of it was that I finally lost my patience and told him that from then on he would do what I thought best that I proposed osed to assume command of the party and that they might all consider themselves under my orders as much so as though we were still aboard the cold water and in Pan-American Waters del

art and Taylor immediately assured me that they had not for an instant assumed anything different and that they were as ready to follow and obey me here as they would be upon the other side of 30 Snider said nothing but he wore a sullen scowl and I wished then as I had before and as I did to a much greater extent later that fate had not decreed that he should have chance to be a member of the launchers party upon that memorable day when last we quitted the cold water Victory who was given a voic

e in our councils was all for going to the continent or anywhere else in fact where she might see new sights and experience new adventures afterward we can come back to graban she said and if Buckingham is not dead and we can catch him away from his men and kill him then I can return to my people and we can all live in peace and happiness she spoke of killing Buckingham with no greater concern than one might evince in the contemplated destruction of a Sheik yet she was neither cruel nor vindicti

ve in fact Victory is a very sweet and womanly woman but human life is of small account Beyond 30 a legacy from the bloody days when thousands of men perished in the trenches between the rising and the setting of a sun when they laid them lengthwise in these same trenches and sprinkled dirt over them when the Germans corded their corpses like wood and set fire to them when women and children and old men were butchered and great passenger ships were torpedoed without warning 36 finally assured th

at we did not intend slaying him was as Keen to accompany us as was Victory The Crossing to the continent was uneventful its monotony being relieved however by the childish Delight of victory in 36 in the novel experience of riding safely upon the bosom of the water and of being so far from land with the possible exception of snip the little party appeared in the best of spirits laughing and joking or interestedly discussing the possibilities which the future held for us what we should find upon

the continent and whether the inhabitants would be civilized or Barbarian peoples Victory asked me to explain the difference between the two and when I had tried to do so as clearly as possible she broke into a gay little laugh oh she cried then I am a barbarian I could not but laugh too as I admitted that she was indeed a barbarian she was not offended taking the matter as a huge joke but some time thereafter she sat in silence apparently deep in thought finally she looked up at me her strong

white teeth gleaming behind her smiling lips should you take that thing you call Razer she said and cut the hair from the face of 36 and exchange garments with him you would be the Barbarian and 36 the Civilized man there is no other difference between you except your weapons clothe you in a wolf skin give you a knife and a spear and set you down in the woods of grab Britain of what service would your civilization be to you delart and Taylor smiled at her reply but 36 and Snider laughed arious I

was not surprised at 36 but I thought that Snider laughed louder than the occasion warranted as a matter of fact Snider it seemed to me was taking advantage of every opportunity however slight to show insubordination and I determined then that at the first real breach of discipline I should take action that would remind nether ever after that I was still his commanding officer I could not help but notice that his eyes were much upon Victory and I did not like it for I knew the type of man he wa

s but as it would not be necessary ever to leave the girl alone with him I felt no apprehension for her safety after the incident of the discussion of Barbarians I thought that victory's manner toward me changed perceptibly she held aloof from me and when Snider took his turn at the wheel sat beside him upon the pretext that she wished to learn how to steer the launch I wondered if she had guessed the man's antipathy for me and was seeking his company solely for the purpose of peing me Snider wa

s too taking full advantage of his opportunity often he leaned toward the girl to whisper in her ear and he laughed much which was unusual with Snider of course it was nothing at all to me yet for some unaccountable reason the sight of the two of them sitting there so close to one another and seeming to be enjoying each other's Society to such a degree irritated me tremendously and put me in such a bad humor that I took no pleasure whatsoever in the last few hours of the crossing we aimed to lan

d near the sight of ancient end but when we neared the coast we discovered no indication of any human habitations whatever let alone a city after we had landed we found the same howling Wilderness about us that we had discovered on the British aisle there was no slightest indication that civilized man had ever set a foot upon that portion of the continent of Europe although I had feared as much since our experience in England I could not but owner a feeling of marked disappointment and to the gr

avest fears of the future which induced a mental depression that was in no way dissipated by the continued familiarity between Victory and Snider I was angry with myself that I permitted that matter to affect me as it had I did not wish to admit to myself that I was angry with this uncultured little Savage that it made the slightest difference to me what she did or what she did not do or that I could so lower myself as to feel personal enmity towards a common sailor and yet to be honest I was do

ing both finding nothing to detain us about the spot where end once had stood we set out up the coast in search of the mouth of the river rine which I purposed ascending in search of civilized man it was my intention to EXP explore the r as far up as the launch would take us if we found no civilization there we would return to the North Sea continue up the coast to the elb and follow that River and the canals of Berlin here at least I was sure that we should find what we sought and if not then a

ll Europe had reverted to barbarism the weather remained fine and we made excellent progress but but everywhere along the rine we met with the same disappointment no sign of civilized man in fact no sign of man at all I was not enjoying the exploration of modern Europe as I had anticipated I was unhappy Victory seemed changed too I had enjoyed her company at first but since the trip across the channel I had held aloof from her her chin was in the aend most of the time and yet I rather think that

she regretted her friendliness with Snider for I noticed that she avoided him entirely he on the contrary emboldened by her former friendliness sought every opportunity to be near her I should have liked nothing better than a reasonably good excuse to punch his head yet paradoxically I was ashamed of myself for Hing him any ill will I I realized that there was something the matter with me but I did not know what it was matters remained thus for several days and we continued our journey up the R

ind at cologne I had hoped to find some reassuring indications but there was no cologne and as there had been no other cities along the river up to that point the devastation was infinitely greater than time alone could have wrought great guns bombs and mines must have leveled every building that man had raised and then nature unhindered had covered the ghastly evidence of human depravity with her beautious mantle of virger Splendid trees reared their stately tops where Splendid Cathedrals once

had reared the domes and sweet wild flowers blossomed in simple Serenity in soil that once was drenched with human blood nature had reclaimed what man had once stolen from her and defiled a herd of zebras grazed where once the German Kaiser may have reviewed his troops an antelope rested peacefully in a bed of daisies where perhaps 200 years ago a big gun belched its Terror Laden messages of death of hate of Destruction against the works of man and God alike we were in need of fresh meat yet I h

esitated to shatter the quiet and peaceful Serenity of The View with the crack of a rifle and the death of one of those beautiful creatures before us but it had to be done we must eat I left the work to delart however and in a moment we had two Antelope and the landscape to ourselves after eating we boarded the launch and continued up the river for 2 days we passed through a primeval Wilderness in the afternoon of the second day we landed upon the West Bank of the river and leaving Snider and 36

to guard Victory and the launch delart Taylor and I set out after game we tramped away from the river for upwards of an hour before discovering anything and then only a small red deer which Taylor brought down with a neat shot of 200 yards it was getting too late to proceed farther so we rigged the sling and the two men carried the deer back toward the launch while I walked a 100 yards ahead in the hope of bagging something further for our ladder we had covered about half the distance to the ri

ver when I suddenly came face to face with a man he was as primitive and UNC in appearance as the grab brittans a Shaggy unkempt Savage clothed in a shirt of skin cured with the head on the latter surmounting his own head to form a bonnet and giving to him a most fearful and ferocious aspect the fellow was armed with a long Spear and a club the latter dangling down his back from a leathern thong about his neck his feet were incused in hide sandals at sight of me he halted for an instant then tur

ned and dove into the forest and though I called reassuringly to him in English he did not return nor or did I again see him the sight of the wild man raised my hopes once more that elsewhere we might find men in a higher state of civilization it was the Society of civilized man that I craved and so with a lighter heart I continued on toward the river and the launch I was still some distance ahead of delart and Taylor when I came in sight of the rine again but I came to the Wat Edge before I not

iced that anything was a Miss with the party we had left there a few hours before my first intimation of disaster was the absence of the launch from its former Moorings and then a moment later I discovered the body of a man lying upon the bank running toward it I saw that it was 36 and as I stopped and raised the grab brittain's head in my arms I heard a faint moan break from his lips he was not dead but that he was badly injured was all too evident delart and Taylor came up a moment later and t

he three of us worked over the fellow hoping to revive him that he might tell us what had happened and what had become of the others my first thought was prompted by the sight I had recently had of the Savage native the little party had evidently been surprised and in the attack 36 had been wounded and the others taken Prisoners the thought was almost like a physical blow in the face it stunned me victory in the hands of these abysmal brutes it was frightful I almost shook poor 36 in my efforts

to revive him I explained my theory to the others and then delart shattered it by a single movement of the hand he drew a inside the Lion's skin that covered half of the grab brittan's breast revealing a neat round hole in 36s chest a hole that could have been made by no other weapon than a rifle Snider I exclaimed delart nodded at about the same time the eyelids of the wounded man fluted and raised he looked up at us and very slowly the light of Consciousness returned to his eyes what happened

36 I asked him he tried to reply but the effort caused him to cough bringing about a hemorrhage of the lungs and again he fell back exhausted for several long minutes he lay as one dead then in an almost inaudible whisper he spoke Snider he paused tried to speak again raised a hand and pointed down river they when back and then he shuted convulsively and died none of us voiced his belief but I think they were all alike Victory and Snider had stolen the launch and deserted us seven we stood there

grouped about the body of the Dead grab Britain looking futilely down the river to where it made an Abrupt curve to the West a quarter of a mile below us and was lost to sight as though we expected to see the truant returning to us with our precious launch the thing that meant life or death to us in this unfriendly Savage world I felt rather than saw Taylor turned his eyes slowly toward my profile and as mine swung to meet them the expression upon his face recalled me to my duty and responsibil

ity as an officer the utter hopelessness that was reflected in his face Cas must have been the counterpart of what I myself felt but in that brief instant I determined to hide my own misgivings that I might bolster up the courage of the others we are lost was written as plainly upon Taylor's face as though his features were the printed words upon an open book he was thinking of the launch and of the launch alone was I I tried to think that I was but a greater grief than the loss of the launch co

uld have engendered in me filled my heart a sullen Goring misery which I tried to deny which I refused to admit but which persisted in obsessing me until my heart rose and filled my throat and I could not speak when I would have uttered words of reassurance to my companions and then rage came to my relief Rage Against the vile traitor who had deserted three of his fellow countrymen in so frightful a position I tried to feel an equal Rage Against the woman but somehow I could not and kept searchi

ng for excuses for her her youth her inexperience her savagery my Rising anger swept away my temporary helplessness I smiled and told Taylor not to look so glum we will follow them I said and the chances are that we shall overtake take them they will not travel as rapidly as Snider probably hopes he will be forced to Halt for fuel and for food and the launch must follow the windings of the river we can take shortcuts while they're traversing The Detour I have my map thank God I always carry it u

pon my person and with that and the compass we will have an advantage over them my words seem to cheer them both and they were for starting off at once in Pursuit there was no reason why we should delay and we set forth down the river as we tramped along we discussed a question that was uppermost in the mind of each what we should do with Snider when we had captured him for with the action of pursuit had come the optimistic conviction that we should succeed as a matter of fact we had to succeed

the very thought of remaining in this AR A wilderness for the rest of our lives was impossible we arrived at nothing very definite in the matter of Snider's punishment since Taylor was for shooting him delart insisting that he should be hanged while I although fully conscious of the gravity of his offense could not bring myself to give the death penalty I felt a wondering what charm Victory had found in such a man as Snider and why I insisted upon finding excuses for her and trying to defend her

indefensible act she was nothing to me aside from the natural gratitude I felt for her since she had saved my life I owed her nothing she was a half naked little Savage I a gentleman and an officer in the world's greatest Navy there could be no close bonds of interest between us this line of reflection I discovered to be as distressing as the former but though I tried to turn my mind to other things it persisted in returning to the vision of an oval face suntanned of smiling lips revealing whit

e and even teeth of Brave eyes that harbored no shadow of Gile and of a tumbling mass of wavy hair that crowned the loveliest picture on which my eyes had ever rested every time this Vision presented itself I felt myself turn cold with rage and hate against Snider I could forgive the launch but if he had wronged her he should die he should die at my own hands in this I was determined for two days we followed the river northward cutting off where we could but confined for the most part to the gam

e trails that paralleled the stream one afternoon we cut across a narrow neck of land that saved us many miles Where the River wound to the west and back again here we decided to Halt for we had had a hard day of it and if the truth were known I think that we had all given up hope of overtaking the launch other than by the mest accident we had shot a deer just before our Halt and as Taylor and delart were preparing it I walked down to the water to fill our cantens I had just finished and was str

aightening up when something floating around a Bend above me caught my eye for a moment I could not believe the testimony of my own senses it was a boat I shouted to delart and Taylor who came running to my side the launch cried delart and indeed it was the launch floating down river from above us where had it been been how had we passed it and how were we to reach it now should Snider and the girl discover us it's drifting said Taylor I see no one in it I was stripping off my clothes and delart

soon followed my example I told Taylor to remain on Shore with the clothing and rifles he might also serve us better there since it would give him an opportunity to take a shot at Snider should the man discover us and show himself with powerful Strokes we swam out in the path of the oncoming launch being a stronger swimmer than delart I soon was far in the lead reaching the center of the channel just as the launch bore down upon me it was drifting broadside on I seized the gunnel and raised mys

elf quickly so that my chin topped the side I I expected a blow the moment that I came within the view of the occupants but no blow fell Snider lay upon his back in the bottom of the boat alone even before I had clambered in and stooped above him I knew that he was dead without examining him further I ran forward to the control board and pressed the starting button to my relief the mechanism responded the launch was uninjured coming about I picked up delart he was astounded at the sight that met

his eyes and immediately fell to examining Snider's body for signs of life or an explanation of the manner in which he met his death the fellow had been dead for hours he was cold and still but Del cart's search was not without results for above Snider's heart was a wound a slit about an inch in length so such a slit as a sharp knife would make and in the dead fingers of one hand was clutched a strand of long brown hair victory's hair was brown they saw the dead men tell no Tales but Snyder tol

d the story of his end as clearly as though the dead lips had parted and poured forth the truth the Beast had attacked the girl and she had defended her honor We buried Snider beside the Rind and no stone marks his last resting place beasts do not require headstones then we set out in the launch turning her nose Upstream when I had told delart and Taylor that I intended searching for the girl neither had deerred we had her wrong in our thoughts said delart and the least that we can do in experat

ion is to find and rescue her we called her name aloud every few minutes as we moed up the river but though we returned all the way to our former camping place we did not find her I then decided to retrace our journey letting Taylor handle the launch while delart and I upon opposite sides of the river searched for some sign of the spot where Victory had landed we found nothing until we had reached a point a few miles above the spot where I had first seen the launch drifting down toward us and th

ere I discovered the remnants of a recent campfire that Victory carried flint and steel I was aware and that it was she who built the fire I was positive but which way had she gone since she stopped here would she go on down the river that she might thus bring herself nearer her own grab Britain or would she have sought to search for a substream where she had seen a last I had hailed Taylor and sent him across the river to take in delart that the two might join me and discuss my Discovery and ou

r future plans while waiting for them I stood looking out over the river my back toward the woods that stretched away to the east behind me delart was just stepping into the launch upon the opposite side of the stream when without the least warning I was violently seized by both arms and about the waist three or four men were upon me at once my rifle was snatched from my hands and My Revolver from my belt I struggled for an instant but finding my efforts of no avail I ceased them and turned my h

ead to have a look at my ass salance at the same time several others of them walked around in front of me and to my astonishment I found myself looking upon uniform soldiery armed with rifles revolvers and Sabers but with faces as black as Cole eight d e l c a r t and Taylor were now in Midstream coming toward us and I called to them to keep aloof until I knew whether the intentions of my captors were friendly or otherwise my good men wanted to come on and annihilate the blacks but there were up

ward of a hundred of the latter all well armed and so I commanded delard to keep out of Harm's Way and stay where he was till I needed him a young officer called and beckoned to them but they refused to come and so he gave orders that resulted in my hands being secured at my back after which the company marched away straight toward the East I noticed that the men wore Spurs which seemed strange to me but when late in the afternoon we arrived at their encampment I discovered that my captors were

cavalrymen in the center of a plane stood a log fort with a block housee of each of its Four Corners as we approached I saw a herd of Cavalry horses grazing under guard outside the walls of the post they were small stocky horses but the T saddle Galls proclaimed their calling the flag flying from a tall staff inside the Palisade was one which I had never before seen nor heard of we marched directly into the compound where the company was dismissed with the exception of a guard of four privates w

ho escorted me in the wake of the young officer the latter led us across a small parade ground where a battery of light field guns was parked and toward a log building in front of which rose the Flag Staff I was escorted within the building into the presence of an old negro a fine-looking man with a dignified and Military bearing he was a colonel I was to learn later and to him I owe the very Humane treatment that was accorded me while I remained his prisoner he listened to the report of his Jun

ior and then turned to question me but with no better results than the former had accomplished then he summoned an orderly and gave some instructions the soldier saluted and left the room returning in about 5 minutes with a hairy old white man just such a Savage primeval looking fellow as I had discovered in the woods the day that Snider had disappeared with the launch the colonel evidently expected to use the fellow as interpreter but when the Savage addressed me it was in a language as foreign

to me as was that of the blacks at last the old officer gave it up and shaking his head gave instructions for my removal from his office I was led to a guard house in which I found about 50 half naked whites clad in the skins of wild beasts I tried to converse with them but not one of them could understand paname nor could I make head or tail of their jargon for over a month I remained a prisoner there working from morning until night at odd jobs about the headquarters building of the commandin

g officer the other prisoners worked harder than I did and I owe my better treatment solely to the kindliness and discrimination of the old Colonel what had become of victory of delart of Taylor I could not know nor did it seem likely that I should ever learn I was most depressed but I wed away my time in performing the duties given me to the best of my ability and attempting to learn the language of my captors who they were or where they came from was a mystery to me that they were the Outpost

of some powerful Black Nation seemed likely yet where the seat of that Nation lay I could not guess they looked upon the whites as their inferiors and treated us accordingly they had a literature of their own and many of the men even the common soldiers were omnivorous readers every two weeks a dust covered Trooper would Trot his jaded Mount into the post and deliver a bulging sack of male at headquarters the next day he would be away again upon a fresh horse toward the South carrying the soldie

rs letters to friends in the far off land of mystery from whence they all had come troops sometimes mounted and sometimes a foot left the post daily for what I assumed to be Patrol Duty I judged the little force of a thousand men were detailed here to maintain the authority of a distant government in a conquered country later I learned that my surmise was correct and this was but one of a great chain of similar posts that dotted the new Frontier of the black nation into whose hands I had fallen

slowly I learned their tongue so that I could understand what was said before me and make myself understood I had seen from the first that I was being treated as a slave that all whites that fell into the hands of the blacks were thus treated almost daily new prisoners were brought in and about 3 weeks after I was brought into the poster troop of Cavalry came from the south to relieve one of the troops stationed there there was great Jubilation in the encampment after the arrival of the newcomer

s old friendships were renewed and new ones made but the happiest men were those of The Troop that was to be relieved the next morning they started away and as they were forced upon the parade ground we prisoners were marched from our quarters and lined up before them a couple of long chains were brought with rings in the links every few feet at first I could not guess the purpose of these chains but I was soon to learn a couple of soldiers snapped the first ring around the neck of a powerful wh

ite slave and one by one the rest of us were herded to our places and the work of shackling us neck to neck commenced the colonel stood watching the procedure presently his his eyes fell upon me and he spoke to a young officer at his side the latter stepped toward me and motioned me to follow him I did so and was led back to the colonel by this time I could understand a few words of their strange language and when the colonel asked me if I would prefer to remain at the post as his body servant I

signified my willingness as emphatically as possible for I had seen enough of the brutality of the common soldiers toward their white slaves to have no desire to start out upon a March of unknown length chained by the neck and driven on by the great whips that a score of the soldiers carried to accelerate the speed of their charges about 300 prisoners who had been housed in six prisons at the post marched out of the gates that morning toward what fate and what future I could not guess neither h

ad had the poor Devils themselves more than the most vague conception of what lay in store for them except that they were going elsewhere to continue in the slavery that they had known since their capture by the black conquerors a slavery that was to continue until death released them my position was altered at the post from working about the headquarters office I was transferred to the Colonel's living quarters I had greater freedom and no longer slept in one of the prisons but had a little roo

m to myself off the kitchen of the Colonel's log house my master was always kind to me and under him I rapidly learned the language of my captors and much concerning them that had been a mystery to me before his name was Abu bellik he was a colonel in the Cavalry of abisinia a country of which I do not remember ever hearing but which Colonel bellik assured me is the oldest civilized country in the world colonel bellik was born in Adis Abba the capital of the Empire and until recently had been in

command of The Emperor's Palace guard jealousy and the ambition and Intrigue of another officer had lost him the favor of his Emperor and he had been detailed to this Frontier post as a mark of his sovereign's displeasure some 50 years before the young Emperor menc 14 was ambitious he knew that a great world lay across the waters far to the North of his Capital once he had crossed the desert and looked out upon the blue sea that was the northern boundary of his dominions there lay another world

to conquer menc busied himself with the building of a great Fleet though his people were not a maritime race his army crossed into Europe it met with Little Resistance and for 50 years his soldiers had been pushing his boundaries farther and farther toward the north the yellow men from the East and North are contesting our rights here now said the colonel but we shall win we shall conquer the world carrying Christianity to all the bited Heathen of Europe and Asia as well you are a Christian peo

ple I asked he looked at me in surprise nodding his head affirmatively I am a Christian I said my people are the most powerful on Earth he smiled and shook his head indulgently as a father to a child who sets up his childish judgment against that of his Elders then I set out to prove my point I told him of our cities of our army of our great Navy he came right back at me asking for figures and when he was done I had to admit that only in our Navy were we numerically Superior menc 14 is the Undis

puted ruler of all the continent of Africa of all of ancient Europe except the British ises Scandinavia and Eastern Russia and has large possessions and prosperous colonies in what once were Arabia and turkey in Asia he has a standing army of 10 million men and his people possess slaves white slaves to the number of 10 or 15 million colonel bellik was much surprised however upon his part to learn of the great nation which lay across the ocean and when he found that I was a naval officer he was i

nclined to Accord me even greater consideration than formerly it was difficult for him to believe my assertion that there were but few blacks in my country and that these occupied a lower social plane than the whites just the reverse is true in colel bellic's land he considered whites inferior beings creatures of a lower order and assuring me that even the few white freemen of abisinia were never accorded anything approximating a position of social equality with the blacks they live in the poore

r districts of the cities in little white colonies and black who marries a white is socially ostracized the arms and ammunition of the abyssinians are greatly inferior to ours yet they are tremendously effective against thearmed barbarians of Europe their rifles are of a type similar to the magazine rifles of 20th century Pan America but carrying only five cartridges in the magazine in addition to the One in the Chamber they of extraordinary length even those of the Cavalry and are of extreme ac

curacy the abini themselves are a fin looking race of black men tall muscular with fine teeth and regular features which incline distinctly towards Semitic mold I refer to the full-blooded natives of abisinia they are the patricians the aristocracy the Army is officed almost exclusively by them among the soldiery a lower type of negro predominates with thicker lips and broader flatter noses these men are recruited so the colonel told me from among the conquered tribes of Africa they are good sol

diers Brave and loyal they can read and write and they're endowed with a self-confidence and pride which from my readings of the words of ancient African explorers must have been wanting in their earliest progen Senators on the whole it is apparent that the black race has thrived far better in the past two centuries under men of its own color than it had under the domination of whites during all previous history I had been a prisoner at the little Frontier post for over a month when orders came

to Colonel bellik to hasten to the Eastern Frontier with the major portion of his command leaving only one troop to Garrison the fort as his body servant I accompanied him mounted upon a fiery little Abyssinian Pony we marched rapidly for 10 days through the heart of the ancient German Empire halting when night found us in proximity to water often we passed small posts similar to that at which the colonels regiment had been courted finding in each instance that only a single company or troop rem

ained for defense the balance having been withdrawn toward the Northeast in the same direction in which we were moving naturally the colonel had not confided to me the nature of his orders but the rapidity of our March and the fact that all available troops were being hastened toward the Northeast assured me that a matter of vital importance to the Dominion of menc 14 in that part of Europe was threatening or had already broken I could not believe that the simple rising of the Savage tribes of w

hites would necessitate the mobilizing of such a force as we presently met with converging from the south into our Trail there were large bodies of Cavalry and infantry endless streams of artillery wagons and guns and countless horer covered Vehicles Laden with Camp equipage Munitions and Provisions here for the first time I saw camels great car an of them bearing all sorts of heavy burdens and miles upon miles of elephants doing similar service it was a scene of wondrous and barbaric Splendor f

or the men and beasts from the South were gay caparis anded in Rich colors in marked contrast to the gray uniform forces of the frontier with which I had been familiar the rumor reached us that menc himself was coming and the pitch of excitement to which this announcement raised the troops was little short of miraculous at least to one of my race and nationality whose rulers for centuries had been but ordinary men holding office at the will of the people for a few brief years as I witnessed it I

could not but speculate upon the moral effect upon his troops of a sovereign's presence in the midst of battle all else being equal in war between the troops of a republic and an Empire Empire could not this exhilarated mental state amounting almost to hysteria on the part of the Imperial troops way heavily against the soldiers of a president I wonder but if the emperor chaned to be absent what then again I wonder on the 11th day we reached our destination a wall Frontier City of about 20,000 w

e passed some lakes and crossed some old canals before before entering the gates within beside the frame buildings were many built of ancient brick and well- cut stone these I was told were of material taken from the ruins of the ancient city which once had stood upon the site of the present town the name of the town translated from the Abyssinian is new gond it stands I am convinced upon the ruins of ancient Berlin the one-time capital of the old German Empire but except for the old building ma

terial used in the new town there is no sign of the former city the day after we arrived the town was gay decorated with flags streamers gorgeous rugs and banners for the rumor had proved true the emperor was coming Colonel bellik had accorded me the greatest Liberty permitting me to go where I pleased after my few duties had been performed as a result of his kindness I spend much time wandering about new gond talking with the inhabitants and exploring the city of black men as I had been given a

semi-military uniform which bore Insignia indicating that I was an officers body servant even the blacks treated me with a species of respect though I could see by their manner that I was really as the dirt beneath their feet they answered my questions Civ enough but they would not enter into conversation with me it was from other slaves that I learned the gossip of the city troops were pouring in from the west and south and pouring out toward the East I asked an old slave who was sweeping the

dirt into little piles in the gutters of the street where the soldiers were going he looked looked at me in surprise why to fight the yellow men of course he said they have crossed the border and are Marching toward new gond who will win I asked he Shrugged his shoulders who knows he said I hope it will be the yellow men but menc is powerful it will take many yellow men to defeat him crowds were gathering along the side walks to view the emperor's entry into the city I took my place among them a

lthough I hate crowds and I am glad that I did for I witnessed such a spectacle of barbaric Splendor as no other panamerican has ever looked upon down the broad main thoroughfare which may once have been the historic unto Den Lindon came a brilliant cor at the Head Road a regiment of red coated huzar enormous men black as night there were troops of Riflemen mounted on camels the emperor rode in a golden howder upon the back of a huge elephant are covered with Rich hangings and embellished with s

cintillating gems that scar more than the beasts eyes and feet were visible menc was a rather gross looking man well past middle age but he carried himself with an air of dignity befitting one descended in Unbroken line from the prophet as was his claim his eyes were bright but crafty and his features denoted both sensuality and cruelness in his youth he may have been a rather fin looking black but when I saw him his appearance was revolting to me at least following the emperor came regiment aft

er regiment from the various branches of the service among them batteries of field guns mounted on elephants in the center of the troops following the Imperial elephant marched a great Caravan of slaves the old street sweeper at my elbow told me that these were the gifts brought in from the far outlying districts by the commanding officers of the frontier posts the majority of them were women destined I was told for the harms of the emperor and his favorites it made my old companion in clench hi

s fists to see those poor white women marching past to their horrid Fates and though I shared his sentiments I was as powerless to alter the Destinies as he for a week the troops kept pouring in and out of new gond in always from the south and west but always toward the East each new contingent brought its gifts to the emperor from the south they brought rugs and ornaments and jewels from the West slaves for the commanding officers of the Western frontier posts had not else to bring from the num

ber of women they brought I judged that they knew the weakness of their Imperial master and then soldiers commenced coming in from the East but not with the gay Assurance of those who came from the South and West no these others came in covered wagons blood soaked and suffering they came at first in little parties of eight or 10 and then they came in 50s in hundreds and one day a thousand maimed and dying men were carted into new gond it was then that menc 14 became uneasy for 50 years his armie

s had conquered wherever they had marched at first he had led them in person lately his presence within a 100 miles of the battle line had been sufficient for large engagements for minor ones only the knowledge that they were fighting for the glory of their Sovereign was necessary to win victories one morning new gond was awakened by the booming of Cannon it was the first intimation that the town's people had received that the enemy was forcing the Imperial troops back upon the city dust covered

couriers galloped in from the front fresh troops hastened from the city and about noon menc rode out surrounded by his staff for 3 Days thereafter we could hear the cannoning and the spitting of the small arms for the battle line was scarce two leagues from new gond the city was filled with Wounded just outside soldiers were engaged in throwing up Earthworks it was evident to the least enlightened that menc expected further reverses and then the Imperial troops fell back upon these new defenses

or rather they were forced back by the enemy shells commenced to fall within the city menc returned and took up his headquarters in the stone building that was called The Palace that night came a lull in the hostilities a truce had been arranged Colonel Bellic summoned me about 7:00 to dress him for a function at the palace in the in the midst of death and defeat the emperor was about to give a great banquet to his offices I was to accompany my master and wait upon him I Jefferson Turk leftenan

t in the Pan-American Navy in the privacy of the colonels quarters I had become accustomed to my menial duties lightened as they were by the natural kindliness of my master but the thought of appearing in public as a common slave revolted every fine Instinct within me yet there was nothing for it but to reey I cannot even now bring myself to a narration of the humiliation which I experienced that night as I stood behind my black master in silent servility now pouring his wine now cutting up his

Meats for him now Fanning him with a large plumed fan of feathers as fond as I had grown of him I could have thrust a knife into him so keenly did I feel the affront that had been put upon me but at last the long banquet was concluded the tables were removed the emperor ascended a dis at one end of the room and seated himself upon a throne and the entertainment commenced it was only what ancient history might have led me to expect musicians dancing girls jugglers and the like near midnight the M

aster of Ceremonies announced that the slave women who had been presented to the emperor since his arrival in new gond would be exhibited that the Royal host would select such as he wished after which he would present the balance of them to his guests ah what royal generosity a small door at one side of the room opened and the poor creatures filed in and were arranged in a long line before the throne their backs which toward me I saw only an occasional profile as now and then a boulder Spirit am

ong them turned to survey the apartment and the gorgeous assemblage of offices in their brilliant dress uniforms they were profiles of young girls and pretty but horror was indelibly stamped upon them all I shuted as I contemplated their sad fate and turned my eyes away I heard the master of ceremony's command and to prostrate themselves before the emperor and the sounds as they went upon their knees before him touching their foreheads to the floor then came the officials voice again in sharp an

d peremptory command down slave he cried make oance to your Sovereign I looked up attracted by the tone of the man's voice to see a single straight slim figure standing erect in the center of the line of prostrate girls her arms folded across her breast and little chin in the air her back was toward me I could not see her face though I should like to see the countenance of this Savage young lioness standing there defiant among that herd of terrified Chic down down shouted the Master of Ceremonie

s taking a step toward her and drawing his sword my blood boiled to stand there inactive while a negro struck down that brave girl of my own race instinctively I took a forward step to place myself in the man's path but at the same instant menc raised his hand in a gesture that halted the officer the emperor seemed interested but in no way angered at the girl's attitude let us us inquire he said in a smooth pleasant voice why this young woman refuses to do homage to her Sovereign and he put the

question himself directly to her she answered him in abini but brokenly and with an accent that betrayed how recently she had acquired her slight knowledge of the tongue I go on my knees to know one she said I have no Sovereign I myself am Sovereign in my own own country menc at her words leaned back in his throne and laughed arious following his example which seemed always the correct procedure the assembled guests vied with one another in an effort to laugh more noisily than the emperor the gi

rl but tilted her chin a bit higher in the air even her back proclaimed her utter contempt for her captors finally menc restored quiet by the simple expedient of a frown whereupon each loyal guest exchanged his mirthful mean for an emulative scowl and who asked menc are you and by what name is your country called I am Victory queen of grab Britain replied the girl so quickly and so unexpectedly that I gasped in astonishment ex Victory she was here a slave to these black conquerors once more I st

arted toward her but better judgment held me back I could do nothing to help her other than by stealth could I even accomplish ought by this means I did not know it seemed Beyond The Pale of possibility and yet I should try and you will not bend the knee to me continued menc after she had spoken Victory shook her head in a most decided neg ation you shall be my first choice then said the emperor I like your spirit for the breaking of it will add to my pleasure in you and never fear but that it s

hall be broken this very night take her to my apartments and he motioned to an officer at his side I was surprised to see Victory follow the man off in apparent quiet submission I tried to follow that I might be near her against some opportunity to speak with her or assist in her Escape but after I had followed them from the throne room through several other apartments and down a long Corridor I found my further progress barred by a soldier who stood guard before a doorway through which the offi

cer conducted Victory almost immediately the officer reappeared and started back in the direction of the throne room I had been hiding in a doorway after the guard had turned me back having taken Refuge there while his back was turned and as the officer approached me I withdrew into the room Beyond which was in darkness there I remained for a long time watching the Sentry before the door of the room in which Victory was a prisoner and awaiting some favorable circumstance which would give me entr

y to her I have not ATT Ed to fully describe my Sensations at the moment I recognized Victory because I can assure you they were entirely Indescribable I should never have imagined that the sight of any human being could affect me as had this unexpected discovery of victory in the same room in which I was while I had thought of her for weeks either as dead or at best hundreds of miles to the west and as irretrievably lost to me as though she were in truth dead I was filled with a strange mad imp

ulse to be near her it was not enough merely to resist her or protect her I desired to touch her to take her in my arms I was astounded at myself another thing puzzled me it was my incomprehensible feeling of elation since I had again seen her with a fate worse than death staring her in the face face and with the knowledge that I should probably die defending her within the hour I was still happier than I had been for weeks and all because I had seen again for a few brief minutes the figure of a

little Heathen Maiden I couldn't account for it and it angered me I had never before felt any such Sensations in the presence of a woman and I had made love to some very beautiful ones in my time it seemed ages is that I stood in the shadow of that doorway in the ill lit Corridor of the Palace of menc 14 a sickly gas jet cast a sad P upon the black face of the Sentry the fellow seemed rooted to the spot evidently he would never leave or turn his back again I had been in hiding but a short time

when I heard the sound of distant Cannon the truce had ended and the battle had been resumed very shortly thereafter the Earth shook to the explosion of a shell within the city and from time to time thereafter other shells burst at no great distance from the palace the yellow men were bombarding New gond Again presently offices and slaves commenced to Traverse the corridor on matters pertaining to their duties and then came the emperor scowling and wful he was followed by a few personal attemp a

ttendants whom he dismissed at the doorway to his Apartments the same doorway through which Victory had been taken I chafed to follow him but the corridor was filled with people at Last they betook themselves to their own Apartments which lay upon either side of the corridor an officer and a slave entered the Very Room in which I hid forcing me to flatten myself to one side in the darkness until they had had passed then the slave made a light and I knew that I must find another Hiding Place step

ping boldly into the corridor I saw that it was now empty save for the single senty before the emperor's door he glanced up as I emerged from the room the occupants of which had not seen me I walked straight toward the soldier my mind made up in an instant I tried to simulate an expression of cringing cility and I must have succeeded for I entirely threw the man off his guard so that he permitted me to approach Within Reach of his rifle before stopping me then it was too late for him without a w

ord or a warning I snatched the piece from his grasp and at the same time struck him a terrific blow between the eyes with my clenched fist he staggered back in Surprise too dumbfounded even to cry out and then I clubbed his rifle and felled him with a single Mighty blow a moment later I had burst into the room Beyond it was empty I gazed about mad with disappointment two doors opened from this to other rooms I ran to the nearer and listened yes voices were coming from Beyond and one was a woman

's level and cold and filled with scorn there was no Terror in it it was victories I turned the knob and pushed the door inward just in time to see menc seize the girl and drag her toward the far end of the apartment at the same instant there was a deafening Roar just outside the palace her shell had struck much nearer than any of its predecessors the noise of it drowned my rapid Rush across the room but in her struggles Victory turned menc about so that he saw me she was striking him in the fac

e with her clenched Fist and now he was choking her at sight of me he gave voice to a roar of anger F what means this slave he cried out of here out of here quick before I kill you but for answer I rushed upon Him striking him with the butt of the rifle he staggered back dropping Victory to the floor and then he cried aloud for the guard and came at me again and again I struck him but his thick skull might have been armor plate for all the damage I did it he tried to close with me seizing the ri

fle but I was Stronger than he and wrenching the weapon from his grasp tossed it aside and made for his throat with my bare hand I had not dared fire the weapon for fear that its report would bring the larger guards stationed at the farther end of the corridor we struggled about the room striking one another knocking over furniture and rolling upon the floor menc was a powerful man and he was fighting for his life continually he kept calling for the guard until I succeeded in getting a grip upon

his throat but it was too late his cries had been heard and suddenly the door burst open and a score of armed Guardsmen rushed into the apartment Victory seized the rifle from the floor and leaped between me and them I had the black Emperor upon his back and both my hands were at his throat choking the life from him the rest happened in the fraction of a second there was a rening crash above us then a deafening explosion within the chamber smoke and powder fumes filled the room half stunned I R

ose from the lifeless body of my antagonist just in time to see Victory stagger to her feet and turn toward me slowly the smoke cleared to reveal the shattered remnants of the Guard her shell had fallen through the palace roof and exploded just in the rear of the Detachment of Guardsmen who who were coming to the rescue of their Emperor why neither Victory nor I was struck is a miracle the room was a wreck a great Jagged hole was torn in the ceiling and the wall toward the corridor had been blow

n entirely out as I Rose Victory had risen too and started toward me but when she saw that I was uninjured she stopped and stood there in the center of the demolished apartment looking looking at me her expression was inscrutable I could not guess whether she was glad to see me or not Victory I cried thank God that you are safe and I approached her a greater gladness in my heart than I had felt since the moment that I knew the cold water must be swept Beyond 30 there was no answering gladness in

her eyes instead she stamped her little foot in anger why did it have to be you who saved me she exclaimed I hate you hate me I asked why should you hate me Victory I do not hate you I I what was I about to say I was very close to her as a great light broke over me why had I never realized it before the truth accounted for a great many hither to inexplicable moods that had claimed me from time to time since first I had seen Victory why should I hate you she repeated because Snider told me he to

ld me that you had promised me to him but he did not get me I killed him as I should like to kill you Snider lied I cried and then I seized her and held her in my arms and made her listen to me though she struggled and fought like a young lioness I love you Victory you must know that I love you that I have always loved you and that I never could have made so base a promise she ceased her struggles just a trifle but still tried to push me from her you called me a barbarian she said ah so that was

it that still rankled I crushed her to me you could not love a Barbarian she went on but she had ceased to struggle but I do love a barbarian Victory I cried the dearest Barbarian in the world she raised her eyes to mine and then her smooth Brown arms encircled my neck and Drew my lips down to hers I love you I have loved you always she said and then she buried her face upon my shoulder and sobbed I have been so unhappy she said but I could not die while I thought that you might live as we stoo

d there momentarily forgetful of all else than our new found happiness the ferocity of the bombardment increased until scarce 30 seconds elapsed between the shells that rained about the palace to remain long would be to invite certain death we could not escape the way that we had entered the apartment for Not only was the corridor now choked with Deb but beyond the corridor there were doubtless many members of The Emperor's household who would stop us upon the opposite side of the room was anoth

er door and toward this I led the way it opened into a third apartment with Windows overlooking an inner Court greater than from one of these windows I surveyed the courtyard apparently it was empty and the rooms upon the opposite side were unlighted assisting Victory to the open I followed and together we crossed the court discovering upon the opposite side a number of wide wooden doors set in the wall of the palace with small Windows between as we stood close behind one of the doors listening

a horse within n The Stables I whispered and a moment later had pushed back a door and entered from the city about us we could hear the D of great commotion and quite close the sounds of battle the crack of thousands of rifles the yells of the soldiers the horse commands of officers and the Blair of bugles the bombardment had ceased as suddenly as it had commenced I judged that the enemy was storming the city for the sounds we heard were the sounds of hand-to-hand combat within the Stables I gro

ped about until I had found Saddles and bridles for two horses but afterward in the darkness I could find but a single Mount the doors of the opposite side leading to the street were open and we could see great multitudes of men women and children fleeing toward the west soldiers a foot unmounted were joining the Mad Exodus now and then a camel or an elephant would pass bearing some officer or dignitary to safety it was evident that the city would fall at any moment a fact which was amply procla

imed by the terror stricken haste of the fear mad mob horse camel and elephant trod helpless women and children beneath their feet a common Soldier dragged the general from his Mount and leaping to the animals back fled down the packed street toward the west a woman seized a gun and brained a c dignitary whose horse had trampled her child to death shrieks curses commands supplications filled the air it was a frightful scene one that will be burned upon my memory forever I had saddled and bridled

the single horse which had evidently been overlooked by the Royal household in its flight and standing a little back in the shadow of the Stables interior Victory and I watched the surging Throne without to have entered it would have been to have caued greater danger than we were already in we decided to wait until the stress of blacks thinned and for more than an hour we stood there while the sounds of battle raged upon the Eastern side of the city and the population flew toward the west more

and more numerous became the uniformed soldiers among the fleeing throng until toward the last the street was packed with them it was no orderly retreat but a route complete and terrible the fighting was steadily approaching us now until the crack of rifles sounded in the very Street upon which we were looking and then came a handful of brave men a little rear guard backing slowly toward the west working their smoking rifles in feverish haste as they fired volley after volley at the foe we could

not see but these were pressed back and back until the first line of the enemy came opposite our shelter they were men of medium height with olive complexions and armored eyes in I recognized the descendants of the ancient Chinese race they were well uniformed and superbly armed and they fought bravely and under perfect discipline so wrapped was I in the exciting events transpiring in the street that I did not hear the approach of a body of men from behind it was a party of the conquerors who h

ad entered the palace and were searching it They Came Upon Us so unexpectedly that we were prisoners before we realized what had happened that night we were held under a strong guard just outside the eastern wall of the city and the next morning was started Upon A Long March toward the East our captors were not unkind to us and treated the women prisoners with respect we marched for many days so many that I lost count of them and at last we came to another city a Chinese City this time which sta

nds upon the site of ancient Moscow it is only a small Frontier City but it is wellb built and well well kept here a large military force is maintained and here also is a Terminus of the railroad that crosses modern China to the Pacific there was every evidence of a high civilization in all that we saw within the city which in connection with the Humane treatment that had been accorded all prisoners upon the long and tiresome March encouraged me to hope that I might appeal to some high officer h

ere for the treatment which my rank and birth merited we could converse with our captors only through the medium of interpreters who spoke both Chinese and Abyssinian but there were many of these and shortly after we reached the city I persuaded one of them to carry a verbal message to the officer who had commanded the troops during the return from new gond asking that I might be given a hearing by some high official the reply to my request Quest was a summon to appear before the officer to whom

I had addressed my appeal a sergeant came for me along with the interpreter and I managed to obtain his permission to let Victory accompany me I had never left her alone with the prisoners since we had been captured to my delight I found that the officer into whose presence we were conducted spoke abian fluently he was astounded when I told him that I was a Pan-American unlike all others whom I had spoken with since my arrival in Europe he was well acquainted with ancient history was familiar w

ith 20th century conditions in panamerica and after putting a half dozen questions to me was satisfied that I spoke the truth when I told him that victory was Queen of England he showed little surprise telling me that in their recent Explorations in ancient Russia they had found many descendants of the old nobility and royalty he immediately set aside a comfortable house for us furnished us with servants and with money and in other ways showed us every attention and kindness he told me that he w

ould Telegraph his Emperor at once and the result was that we were presently commanded to repair to Ping and present ourselves before the ruler we made the journey in a com comtable Railway Carriage through a country which as we traveled farther toward the East showed increasing evidence of prosperity and wealth at the Imperial Court we were received with great kindness the emperor being most inquisitive about the state of modern panamerica he told me that while he personally deplored the existe

nce of the strict regulations which had raised a barrier between the East and the West he had felt has had his predecessors that recognition of The Wishes of the great Pan-American Federation would be most conducive to the continued peace of the world his Empire includes all of Asia and the islands of the Pacific as far east as 175 DEC wats the Empire of Japan no longer exists having been conquered and absorbed by China over a hundred years ago the the Philippines are well administered and const

itute one of the most Progressive colonies of the Chinese Empire the emperor told me that the building of this great Empire and the spreading of Enlightenment among its Diversified and Savage peoples had required all the best efforts of nearly 200 years upon his accession to the throne he had found the labor well nigh perfected and had turned his attention to the Reclamation of Europe his ambition is to rest it from the hands of the blacks and then to attempt the work of elevating its Fallen peo

ples to the highest state from which the Great War precipitated them I asked him who was victorious in that war and he shook his head sadly as he replied panamerica perhaps and China with the blacks of abisinia he said those who did not fight were the only one to reap any of the rewards that are supposed to belong to Victory the combatants reap not but Annihilation you have seen better than any man you must realize that there was no victory for Any Nation embroiled in that frightful War when did

it end I asked him again he shook his head it has not ended yet there has never been a formal peace declared in Europe after a while there were none left to make peace and the rude tribes which sprang from the survivors continued to fight among themselves because they knew no better condition of society War raised the works of man war and pestilence raised man God give that there shall never be such Another War you all know how poerio Johnson returned to Pan America with John Alvarez in Chains

how Alvarez's trial raised a popular demonstration that the government could not ignore his eloquent appeal not for himself but for me is historic as are its results you know how a fleet was sent across the Atlantic to search for me how the restrictions against Crossing 30 to 175 were removed forever and how the offices were brought to P King arriving upon the very day that Victory and I were married at the Imperial Court my return to Pan America was very different from anything I could possibly

have imagined a year before instead of being received as a traitor to my country I was acclaimed a hero it was good to get back again good to witness the kindly treatment that was accorded my dear Victory and when I learned that delart and Taya had been found at the mouth of the Rind and were already back in Pan America my joy was unalloyed and now we are going back Victory and I with the men and the Munitions and power to reclaim England for her Queen again I shall cross 30 but under what alte

red conditions a new Epoch for Europe is inaugurated with enlightened China on the East and enlightened panamer on the west the two great peace Powers whom God has preserved to regenerate chastened and forgiven Europe I have been through much I have suffered much but I have won two great laurel wreaths Beyond 30 one is the opportunity to rescue Europe from barbarism the other is a little Barbarian and the greater of these is Victory