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05 - Lost Continent (Beyond Thirty) by Edgar Rice Burroughs · Lost Continent (Beyond Thirty)

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Speaker 1: Chapter five of the Lost Continent. Thisce LibriVox recording is
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Speaker 1: in the public domain. The Lost Continent by Edgar Rice Burroughs,
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Speaker 1: Chapter five. As we entered deeper into what had once
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Speaker 1: been the city, the evidences of man's past occupancy became
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Speaker 1: more frequent. For a mile from the arch there was
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Speaker 1: only a riot of weeds and undergrowth and trees covering
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Speaker 1: small mounds and little hillocks that I was sure were
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Speaker 1: formed of the ruins of stately buildings of the dead past.
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Speaker 1: But presently we came upon a district where shattered walls
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Speaker 1: still raised their crumbling tops in sad silence. Above the
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Speaker 1: grass grown sepulchers of their fallen fallows, softened and mellowed
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Speaker 1: by ancient ivy, stood these sentinels of sorrow, their sacred
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Speaker 1: faces still revealing the reddents and gashes of shrapnel and
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Speaker 1: of bomb Contrary to our expectations, we found little indication
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Speaker 1: that lions in any great numbers led in this part
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Speaker 1: of ancient London. Well worn pathways molded by padded paws,
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Speaker 1: led through the cavernous windows or doorways of a few
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Speaker 1: of the ruins we passed, and once we saw the
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Speaker 1: savage face of a great black maned lion scowling down
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Speaker 1: upon us from a shattered stone balcony. We followed down
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Speaker 1: the bank of the Thames. After we came upon it,
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Speaker 1: I was anxious to look with my own eyes upon
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Speaker 1: the famous bridge, and I guessed too that the river
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Speaker 1: would lead me into the part of London where stood
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Speaker 1: Westminster Abbey and the Tower. Realizing that the section through
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Speaker 1: which we had been passing was doubtless outlying, and therefore
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Speaker 1: not so built up with large structures as the more
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Speaker 1: centrally located part of the old town, I felt sure
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Speaker 1: that farther down the river I should find the ruins larger.
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Speaker 1: The bridge would be there in part at least, and
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Speaker 1: so would remain the walls of many of the great
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Speaker 1: edifices of the past. There would be no such complete
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Speaker 1: ruin of large structures as I had seen among the
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Speaker 1: smaller buildings. But when I had come to that part
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Speaker 1: of the city which I judged to have contained the relics,
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Speaker 1: I thought I found havoc that had been wrought there
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Speaker 1: even greater than elsewhere. At one point upon the bosom
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Speaker 1: of the Thames, there rises, a few feet above the water,
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Speaker 1: a single, disintegrating mound of masonry. Opposite it, upon either
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Speaker 1: bank of the river, a tumble piles of ruins, overgrown
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Speaker 1: with vegetation. These I am forced to believe, are all
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Speaker 1: that remain of London Bridge. For nowhere else along the
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Speaker 1: river is there any other slightest sign of peer or abutment.
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Speaker 1: Rounding the base of a large pile of grass covered debris,
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Speaker 1: we came suddenly upon the best preserved ruin we had
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Speaker 1: yet discovered. The entire lowest story and part of the
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Speaker 1: second story of what must once have been a splendid
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Speaker 1: public building, rose from a great knoll of shrubbery and trees,
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Speaker 1: while ivy, thick and luxuriant clambered upward to the summit
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Speaker 1: of the broken walls. In many places the gray stone
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Speaker 1: was still exposed, its smoothly chiseled face pitted with the
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Speaker 1: scars of battle. The massive portal yawned somber and sorrowful
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Speaker 1: before us, giving a glimpse of marble halls within. The
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Speaker 1: temptation to enter was too great. I wished to explore
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Speaker 1: the interior of this one remaining monument of civilization, now
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Speaker 1: dead beyond recall, through this same portal, within these very
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Speaker 1: marble halls had gray, and chamberlain, and kitchener and shawl,
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Speaker 1: perhaps come and gone with the other great ones of
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Speaker 1: the past. I took Victory's hand in mine. Come, I said,
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Speaker 1: I do not know the name by which this great
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Speaker 1: pile was known, nor the purposes it fulfilled. It may
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Speaker 1: have been the palace of your size's victory, from some
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Speaker 1: great thrown within your foe best may have directed the
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Speaker 1: destinies of half the world. Come, I must confess to
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Speaker 1: a feeling of awe. As we entered the rotunda of
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Speaker 1: the great building, pieces of massive furniture of another day
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Speaker 1: still stood where man had placed them centrary years ago.
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Speaker 1: They were littered with dust and broken stone and plaster,
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Speaker 1: but otherwise so perfect was their preservation I could hardly
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Speaker 1: believe that two centuries had rolled by since human eyes
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Speaker 1: were last set upon them. Through one great room after another,
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Speaker 1: we wandered hand in hand, while Victory asked many questions,
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Speaker 1: and for the first time I began to realize something
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Speaker 1: of the magnificence and power of the race from whose
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Speaker 1: loins she had sprung. Splendid tapestries, now mildewed and rotting,
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Speaker 1: hung upon the walls. There were mural paintings too, depicting
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Speaker 1: great historic events of the past. For the first time,
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Speaker 1: Victory saw the likeness of a horse, and she was
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Speaker 1: much affected by a huge oil which depicted some ancient
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Speaker 1: cavalry charge against a battery of field guns. In other
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Speaker 1: pictures there were steam ships, battleships, submarines, and quaint looking
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Speaker 1: railway trains, all small and antiquated in appearance to me,
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Speaker 1: but wonderful to Victory. She told me that she would
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Speaker 1: like to remain for the rest of her life where
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Speaker 1: she could look at those pictures daily. From room to
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Speaker 1: room we passed until presently we emerged into a mighty chamber,
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Speaker 1: dark and gloomy, for its high and narrow windows were
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Speaker 1: choked and clogged by ivy. Along one paneled wall, we
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Speaker 1: groped our eyes, slowly becoming accustomed to the darkness. A
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Speaker 1: rank and pungent odor pervaded the atmosphere. We had made
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Speaker 1: our way about half the distance across one end of
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Speaker 1: the great apartment when a low growl from the far
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Speaker 1: end brought us to a startled halt. Straining my eyes
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Speaker 1: through the gloom, I made out a raised dais at
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Speaker 1: the extreme opposite end of the hall. Upon the dais
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Speaker 1: stood two great chairs, high backed, and with great arms,
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Speaker 1: the throne of England. But what were those strange forms
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Speaker 1: about it? Victory gave my hand a quick, excited little
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Speaker 1: squeeze the lions, She whispered, yes, lions. Indeed, sprawled about
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Speaker 1: the dais were a dozen huge forms. While upon the
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Speaker 1: seat of one of the thrones, a small cub lay
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Speaker 1: curled in slumber. As we stood there for a moment,
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Speaker 1: spell bound by the sight of those fearsome creatures occupying
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Speaker 1: the very thrones of the sovereigns of England. The low
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Speaker 1: growl was repeated, and a great mail rose slowly to
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Speaker 1: his feet. His devilish eyes bored straight through the semidarkness
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Speaker 1: toward us. Had he discovered the anteloper? What right had
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Speaker 1: man within this palace of the beasts? Again he opened
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Speaker 1: his giant jaws, and this time there rumbled forth a
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Speaker 1: warning roar. Instantly, eight or ten of the other beasts
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Speaker 1: leaped to their feet. Already the great fellow, who had
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Speaker 1: spied us, was advancing slowly in our direction. I held
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Speaker 1: my rifle ready, But how futile it appeared in the
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Speaker 1: face of this savage horde. The foremost beasts broke into
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Speaker 1: a slow trot, and at his heels came the others.
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Speaker 1: All were roaring now, and the din of their great voices,
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Speaker 1: reverberating through the halls and corridors of the palace, formed
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Speaker 1: the most frightful chorus of thunderous savagery imaginable to the
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Speaker 1: mind of man. And then the leader charged, and upon
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Speaker 1: their hideous pandemonia, broke the sharp crack of my rifle once, twice, thrice.
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Speaker 1: Three lions rolled, struggling and biting to the floor. Victory
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Speaker 1: seized my arm with a quick this way, here is
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Speaker 1: a door, and a moment later we were in a
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Speaker 1: tiny ante chamber at the foot of a narrow stone staircase.
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Speaker 1: Up this we backed, Victory just behind me, as the
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Speaker 1: first of the remaining lions leaped from the throne room
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Speaker 1: and sprang for the stairs. Again, I fired, but others
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Speaker 1: of the ferocious beasts leapt over their fallen fellows and
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Speaker 1: pursued us. The stairs were very narrow. That was all
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Speaker 1: that saved us for as I backed slowly upward, but
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Speaker 1: a single lion could attack me at a time, and
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Speaker 1: the carcasses of those I slew impeded the rushes of
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Speaker 1: the others. At last we reached the the top. There
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Speaker 1: was a long corridor from which opened many doorways. One
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Speaker 1: directly behind us was tight closed. If we could open
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Speaker 1: it and pass into the chamber behind, we might find
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Speaker 1: a respite from attack. The remaining lions were roaring horribly.
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Speaker 1: I saw one sneaking very slowly up the stairs toward us.
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Speaker 1: Try that door, I called to Victory, see if it
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Speaker 1: will open. She ran up to it and pushed turn
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Speaker 1: the knob. I cried, seeing that she did not know
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Speaker 1: how to open a door, but neither did she know
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Speaker 1: what I meant by knob. I put a bullet in
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Speaker 1: the spine of the approaching lion and leaped to Victory side.
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Speaker 1: The door resisted my first efforts to swing it inward.
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Speaker 1: Rusted hinges and swollen wood held it tightly closed. But
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Speaker 1: at last it gave, and just as another lion mounted
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Speaker 1: to the top of the stairway, it swung in, and
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Speaker 1: I pushed Victory across the threshold. Then I turned to
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Speaker 1: me the renewed attack of the savage foe. One lion
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Speaker 1: fell in his tracks, another stumbled to my very feet,
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Speaker 1: and then I leaped within and slammed the portal too.
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Speaker 1: A quick glance showed me that this was the only
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Speaker 1: door to the small apartment in which we had found sanctuary,
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Speaker 1: and with a sigh of relief, I leaned for a
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Speaker 1: moment against the panels of the stout barrier that separated
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Speaker 1: us from the rampaging demons without. Across the room, between
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Speaker 1: two windows stood a flat topped desk. A little pile
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Speaker 1: of white and brown lay upon it, close to the
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Speaker 1: opposite edge. After a moment of rest, I crossed the
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Speaker 1: room to investigate. The white was the bleached human bones,
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Speaker 1: the skull, collar, bones, arms, and a few of the
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Speaker 1: upper ribs of a man. The brown was the dust
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Speaker 1: of a decayed military cap and blouse. In a chair
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Speaker 1: before the desk were other bones, while more still strewed
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Speaker 1: the floor. Beneath the desk and about the chair. The
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Speaker 1: man had died sitting there with his face buried in
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Speaker 1: his arms, two hundred years ago. Beneath the desk were
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Speaker 1: a pair of spurred military boots, green and rotten with
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Speaker 1: decay in them were the leg bones of a man.
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Speaker 1: Among the tiny bones of the hands was an ancient
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Speaker 1: fountain pen as good, apparently as the day it was made,
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Speaker 1: and a metal covered memoranda book closed over the bones
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Speaker 1: of an index finger. It was a gruesome sight, a
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Speaker 1: pitiful sight, this lone inhabitant of mighty London. I picked
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Speaker 1: up the metal covered memoranda book. Its pages were rotten
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Speaker 1: and stuck together. Only here and there was a sentence,
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Speaker 1: or a part of a sentence legible. The first that
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Speaker 1: I could read was near the middle of the little volume.
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Speaker 1: His Majesty left for Tunbridge ware else today he Jesty
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Speaker 1: was stricken today, God give she does not die, and
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Speaker 1: military governor of Lunn. And further on. It is awful,
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Speaker 1: one hundred deaths today, worse than the bombardam nearer the end,
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Speaker 1: I picked out the following, I promised his mage e
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Speaker 1: will find me here when he read alone, the most
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Speaker 1: legible passage was on the next page. Thank god we
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Speaker 1: drove them out. There is not a single man on
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Speaker 1: British soil today. But at what awful cost. I tried
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Speaker 1: to persuade Sir Philip to urge the people to remain.
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Speaker 1: But they are mad with fear of the death and
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Speaker 1: rage at our enemies. He tells me that the coast
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Speaker 1: cities are pat waiting to be taken across what will
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Speaker 1: become of in with none left to rebuild her shattered cities,
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Speaker 1: and the last entry alone only the wild beasts. A
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Speaker 1: lion is roaring now beneath the palace windows. I think
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Speaker 1: the people feared the beasts even more than they did
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Speaker 1: the death. But they are gone, all gone, and to
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Speaker 1: what how much better conditions will they find on the continent?
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Speaker 1: All gone? Only I remain. I promised his majesty, And
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Speaker 1: when he returns, he will find that I was true
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Speaker 1: to my trust, for I shall be awaiting him. God
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Speaker 1: save the King. That was all. This brave and forever
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Speaker 1: nameless officer died nobly at his post, true to his
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Speaker 1: country and his king. It was the death, no doubt,
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Speaker 1: that took him. Some of the entries had been dated.
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Speaker 1: From the few legible letters and figures which remained, I
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Speaker 1: judged the end came some time in August nineteen thirty seven,
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Speaker 1: but of that I am not at all certain. The
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Speaker 1: diary has cleared up at least one mystery that had
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Speaker 1: puzzled me not a little, And now I am surprised
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Speaker 1: that I had not guessed its solution myself. The presence
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Speaker 1: of African and Asiatic beasts in England. Acclimated by years
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Speaker 1: of confinement in the zoological gardens, they were fitted to
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Speaker 1: resume in England the wild existence for which nature had
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Speaker 1: intended them, and once free, had evidently bred prolifically, in
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Speaker 1: marked contrast to the captive exotics of twentieth century Pan America,
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Speaker 1: which had gradually become fewer until extinction occurred some time
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Speaker 1: during the twenty first century. The palace, if such it was,
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Speaker 1: lay not far from the banks of the Thames. The
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Speaker 1: room in which we were imprisoned overlooked the river, and
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Speaker 1: I determined to attempt to escape in this direction. To
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Speaker 1: descend through the palace was out of the question, but
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Speaker 1: outside we could discover no lions. The stems of the ivy,
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Speaker 1: which clambered upward past the window of the room, were
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Speaker 1: as large around as my arm. I knew that they
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Speaker 1: would support our weight, and as we could gain nothing
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Speaker 1: by remaining longer in the palace, I decided to descend
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Speaker 1: by way of the ivy and follow along down the
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Speaker 1: river in the direction of the launch. Naturally, I was
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Speaker 1: much handicapped by the presence of the girl, but I
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Speaker 1: could not abandon her. Though I had no idea what
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Speaker 1: I should do with her after rejoining my companions. That
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Speaker 1: she would prove a burden and an embarrassment, I was certain,
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Speaker 1: But she had made it equally plain to me that
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Speaker 1: she would never return to her people to mate with Buckingham.
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Speaker 1: I owed my life to her, and all other considerations aside.
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Speaker 1: That was sufficient demand upon my gratitude and my honor
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Speaker 1: to necessitate my suffering every inconvenience in her service. Two
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Speaker 1: she was Queen of England, but by far the most
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Speaker 1: potent argument in her favor, she was a woman in distress,
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Speaker 1: and a young and very beautiful one. And so though
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Speaker 1: I wished a thousand times that she was back in
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Speaker 1: her camp, I never let her guess it, but did
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Speaker 1: all that lay within my power to serve and protect her.
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Speaker 1: I thank god now that I did so. With the
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Speaker 1: lions still padding back and forth beyond the closed door,
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Speaker 1: victory and I crossed the room to one of the windows.
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Speaker 1: I had outlined my plan to her, and she had
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Speaker 1: assured me that she could descend the ivy without assistance.
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Speaker 1: In fact, she smiled a trifle at my question. Swinging
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Speaker 1: myself outward, I began the descent and had come to
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Speaker 1: within a few feet of the ground, being just opposite
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Speaker 1: a narrow window, when I was startled by a savage
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Speaker 1: growl almost in my ear, and then a great taloned
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Speaker 1: paw darted from the aperture to seize me, and I
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Speaker 1: saw the snarling face of a lion within the embrasure.
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Speaker 1: Releasing my hold upon the ivy, I dropped the remaining
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Speaker 1: distance to the ground, save from laceration only because the
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Speaker 1: lion's pow struck the thick stem of ivy. The creature
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Speaker 1: was making a frightful racket, now leaping back and forth
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Speaker 1: from the floor at the broad window ledge, tearing at
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Speaker 1: the masonry with his claws in vain attempts to reach me,
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Speaker 1: but the opening was too narrow and the masonry too solid.
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Speaker 1: Victory had commenced the descent, but I called to her
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Speaker 1: to stop just above the window, and as the lion reappeared,
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Speaker 1: growling and snarling, I put a thirty three bullet in
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Speaker 1: his face, and at the same moment Victory slipped quickly
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Speaker 1: past him, dropping into my upraised arms that were awaiting her.
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Speaker 1: The roaring of the beasts that had discovered us, together
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Speaker 1: with the report of my rifle, had set the balance
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Speaker 1: of the fierce inmates of the palace into the most
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Speaker 1: frightful uproar I had ever heard. I feared that it
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Speaker 1: would not be long before intelligence or instinct would draw
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Speaker 1: them from the interiors and set them upon our trail
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Speaker 1: the river. Nor had we much more than reached it,
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Speaker 1: when a lion bounded around the corner of the edifice
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Speaker 1: we had just quitted, and stood looking about as though
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Speaker 1: in search of us. Following came others, while Victory and
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Speaker 1: I crouched in hiding behind a clump of bushes close
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Speaker 1: to the bank of the river. The beasts sniffed about
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Speaker 1: the ground for a while, but they did not chance
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Speaker 1: to go near the post where we had stood beneath
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Speaker 1: the window that had given us escape. Presently, a black
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Speaker 1: maned male raised his head, and, with cocked ears and
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Speaker 1: glaring eyes, gazed straight at the bush behind which we lay.
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Speaker 1: I could have sworn that he had discovered us, And
20:06
Speaker 1: when he took a few short and stately steps in
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Speaker 1: our direction, I raised my rifle and covered him, But
20:14
Speaker 1: after a long tense moment, he looked away and turned
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Speaker 1: to glare in another direction. I breathed a sigh of relief,
20:22
Speaker 1: and so did Victory. I could feel her body quiver
20:25
Speaker 1: as she lay pressed close to me, our cheeks almost touching,
20:30
Speaker 1: as we both peered through the same small opening in
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Speaker 1: the foliage. I turned to give her a reassuring smile
20:36
Speaker 1: as the lion indicated that he had not seen us,
20:39
Speaker 1: and as I did so, she too turned her face
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Speaker 1: toward mine for the same purpose. Doubtless anyway, As our
20:47
Speaker 1: heads turned simultaneously, our lips brushed together. A startled expression
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Speaker 1: came into Victory's eyes as she drew back in evident confusion.
20:57
Speaker 1: As for me, the stranger sensation that I have ever
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Speaker 1: experienced claimed me. For an instant, A peculiar, tingling thrill
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Speaker 1: ran through my veins and my head swam. I could
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Speaker 1: not account for it. Naturally, being a naval officer, and
21:14
Speaker 1: consequently in the best society of the Federation, I have
21:19
Speaker 1: seen much of women With others, I have laughed at
21:22
Speaker 1: the assertions of the savants that modern man is a
21:26
Speaker 1: cold and passionless creation in comparison with the males of
21:30
Speaker 1: former ages, in a world that love, as the one
21:35
Speaker 1: grand passion, had ceased to exist. I do not know now,
21:41
Speaker 1: but that they were more nearly right than we have guessed,
21:45
Speaker 1: at least in so far as modern civilized woman is concerned.
21:50
Speaker 1: I have kissed many women, young and beautiful, and middle
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Speaker 1: aged and old, and many that I had no business kissing.
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Speaker 1: But never before had I experienced that remarkable and altogether
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Speaker 1: delightful thrill that followed the accidental brushing of my lips
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Speaker 1: against the lips of victory. The occurrence interested me, and
22:14
Speaker 1: I was tempted to experiment further, But when I would
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Speaker 1: have essayed it, another new and entirely unaccountable force restrained me.
22:24
Speaker 1: For the first time in my life, I felt embarrassment
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Speaker 1: in the presence of a woman. What further might have developed,
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Speaker 1: I cannot say, for at that moment, a perfect she
22:35
Speaker 1: devil of a lioness with keener eyes than her Lord
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Speaker 1: and Master, discovered us. She came trotting toward our place
22:42
Speaker 1: of concealment, growling and bearing her yellow fangs. I waited
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Speaker 1: for an instant, hoping that I might be mistaken and
22:51
Speaker 1: that she would turn off in some other direction. But no,
22:55
Speaker 1: she increased her trot to a gallop, and then I
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Speaker 1: fired at her. But the bullet, though it struck her
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Speaker 1: full in the breast, didn't stop her. Screaming with pain
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Speaker 1: and rage. The creature fairly flew toward us. Behind her
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Speaker 1: came other lions. Our case looked hopeless. We were upon
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Speaker 1: the brink of the river. There seemed no avenue of escape,
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Speaker 1: and I knew that even my modern automatic rifle was
23:22
Speaker 1: inadequate in the face of so many of these fierce beasts.
23:28
Speaker 1: To remain where we were would have been suicidal. We
23:31
Speaker 1: were both standing now, Victory keeping her place bravely at
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Speaker 1: my side, when I reached the only decision open to me,
23:40
Speaker 1: seizing the girl's hand, I turned just as the lioness
23:44
Speaker 1: crashed into the opposite side of the bushes, and, dragging
23:47
Speaker 1: Victory after me, leapt over the edge of the bank
23:51
Speaker 1: into the river. I did not know that lions are
23:54
Speaker 1: not fond of water, nor did I know if Victory
23:58
Speaker 1: could swim, But death, immediate and terrible stared us in
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Speaker 1: the face if we remained, and so I took the chance.
24:07
Speaker 1: At this point, the current ran close to the shore,
24:11
Speaker 1: so that we were immediately in deep water, and to
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Speaker 1: my intense satisfaction, Victory struck out with a strong overhand
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Speaker 1: stroke and set all my fears on her account at rest.
24:25
Speaker 1: But my relief was short lived. That Lioness, as I
24:29
Speaker 1: have said before, was a veritable devil. She stood for
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Speaker 1: a moment, glaring at us, then like a shot, she
24:37
Speaker 1: sprang into the river and swam swiftly after us. Victory
24:43
Speaker 1: was a length ahead of me. Swim for the other shore,
24:47
Speaker 1: I called to her. I was much impeded by my rifle,
24:51
Speaker 1: having to swim with one hand while I clung to
24:54
Speaker 1: my precious weapon with the other. The girl had seen
24:57
Speaker 1: the Lioness take to the water, and she had also
25:00
Speaker 1: seen that I was swimming much more slowly than she.
25:04
Speaker 1: And what did she do? She started to drop back
25:07
Speaker 1: to my side. Go On, I cried, make for the
25:11
Speaker 1: other shore, and then follow down until you find my friends.
25:15
Speaker 1: Tell them that I sent you and with orders that
25:18
Speaker 1: they are to protect you. Go on, go on. But
25:23
Speaker 1: she only waited until we were again swimming side by side,
25:27
Speaker 1: and I saw that she had drawn her long knife
25:31
Speaker 1: and was holding it between her teeth. Do as I
25:35
Speaker 1: tell you, I said to her, sharply, but she shook
25:38
Speaker 1: her head. The Lioness was overhauling us rapidly. She was
25:43
Speaker 1: swimming silently, her chin just touching the water, but blood
25:48
Speaker 1: was streaming from between her lips. It was evident that
25:52
Speaker 1: her lungs were pierced. She was almost upon me. I
25:57
Speaker 1: saw that in a moment she would take me under
26:00
Speaker 1: her fore paws or seized me in those great jaws.
26:05
Speaker 1: I felt that my time had come, but I meant
26:09
Speaker 1: to die fighting, and so I turned and treading mortar,
26:13
Speaker 1: raised my rifle above my head and awaited her victory.
26:18
Speaker 1: Animated by a bravery no less ferocious than that of
26:21
Speaker 1: the dumb beast assailing us, swam straight for me. It
26:26
Speaker 1: all happened so swiftly that I cannot recall the details
26:30
Speaker 1: of the kaleidoscopic action which ensued. I knew that I
26:35
Speaker 1: rose high out of the water, and with clubbed rifle,
26:38
Speaker 1: dealt the animal a terrific blow upon the skull. That
26:42
Speaker 1: I saw victory, her long blade flashing in her hand,
26:46
Speaker 1: close striking upon the beast, that a great poor fell
26:51
Speaker 1: upon her shoulder, and that I was swept beneath the
26:54
Speaker 1: surface of the water like a straw before the prow
26:58
Speaker 1: of a freighter. Still you were clinging to my rifle.
27:02
Speaker 1: I rose again to see the lioness struggling in her
27:05
Speaker 1: death roes, but an arm's length from me. Scarcely had
27:09
Speaker 1: I risen than the beast turned upon her side, struggled
27:14
Speaker 1: frantically for an instant, and then sank end of Chapter five,