'Remarkable!' Johnny murmured. 'Although this species is closely related to fern growths found in fossilized state in certain parts of the world, it is much larger than anything — '
'You must consider the fact that this crater is merely a spot left behind in the march of time,' Doc interposed. 'Some changes are bound to have taken place in the countless ages, however. And after all, science has but scratched the surface in ascertaining the nature of prehistoric fauna and flora. We may; indeed, we surely should, find many species undreamed of hitherto — '
'How we gonna sleep up here without fallin’ off?' Monk wanted to know.
'Sleep!' jeered Ham. 'If you ask me, there won’t be much sleep tonight. Listen!'
In a distant part of the crater, another ferocious fight between reptilian monsters was in progress. Although the sound was borne to them muffled, it had a fearsome quality that brought a cold sweat to each man.
'What an awful place!' Oliver Wording Bittman whimpered. Terror had literally frozen the taxidermist to the limb to which he clung.
IT was a ghastly night they spent. No sooner did one titanic struggle of dinosaurs subside, than another arose. Often more than one noisy, blood-curdling fight was in progress at the same moment.
Vast bodies sloughed through the dense plant growth, some going with great hops as had the tyrannosaurus, others traveling on all fours.
Sleep was out of the question. Doc and his friends felt safe in their fern top — until some monstrous dinosaur came along and browsed off the crest of a fern which they could tell by the sound was nearly as tall as their perch. After this, throughout the night, they rested in momentary expectation of meeting disaster.
But, had they been in perfect safety, they would not have slept. Slumber was unthinkable. There was too much to hear. For they were wayfarers in another world!
They might as well have stepped back in time a thousand ages!
Daylight returned as suddenly as it had departed. With the appearance of the sun, a heavy rain fell, a tropical downpour that lasted only a few minutes. But as the water hit the red-hot surface of the mud lake up on the crater side, tremendous clouds of steam rolled.
The day was about as bright as a very cloudy winter afternoon in New York City, due to the 'steam' clouds always above the crater.
It was at once evident that the ferocious dinosaurs preferred to prowl at night. For with dawn, the hideous bloodshed within the crater subsided to a marked degree.
Doc at once led his friends — with the exception of the whimpering Oliver Wording Bittman, who would not desert his perch in the fern tree — to see what had happened to Renny.
They found Renny’s collapsed parachute at last. The spot where it lay was some hundreds of yards from the nearest giant fern which would offer safety to a man.
Monk had been making himself a cigarette. But at sight of what lay near Renny’s parachute, his big and hairy hands froze, can of tobacco in one, papers in the other.
For all about Renny’s ‘chute was torn and ripped turf. And blood! Amid the gore lay Renny’s hat.
It looked like a dinosaur had devoured Renny!
'Maybe — he got away?' Long Tom mumbled hopefully. But Doc, after a quick circle of the spot, replied: 'There is no human trail away from this place! I’m sure of that! The soft earth would take the prints. Renny never walked away from here!'
Monk slowly stuffed the tobacco can in a pocket. He had no appetite for a smoke now.
A reverent, sorrowful silence prevailed, dedicated to the memory of Renny.
This was broken in a frightful fashion.
'Over there!' Ham’s voice cracked. 'What — '
They looked, as one man, at first hoping Ham had sighted Renny. But it was not that.
OUT of the unhealthy rank jungle growth had come an amazing animal. In appearance, the thing was a conglomerate of weasel, cat, dog and bear. It was remarkable because it seemed a combination of most animals known to the twentieth century world.
But it was approximately the size of a very large elephant!
Monk gulped, 'What the — '
'A creodont!' breathed Johnny, awed. 'The ancestor of a great many of our modern animals!'
'Yeah?' muttered Monk. 'Well, from right now on, you don’t catch me out of jumping distance of a tree!'
These words brought home to the others the shocking fact that they were helpless before the nondescript but fierce creodont. This animal could not be dodged as they had evaded the tyrannosaurus. It could turn too quickly! And its jaws were full of great teeth; its claws long and sharp. And no safety lay within reach!
The creodont abruptly charged!
Their guns cracked. But the gigantic animal came on as fast as ever. The thing had its head low — they could not locate its small eyes for an effective target.
The men spread apart. But that could help but little. The monstrous creodont would lay about among them, crushing and mangling. They could not hope to outrun it!
Only a few yards distant, the creodont reared and separated its great, frothing jaws. It sprang with a hideous snarl.
It looked like the end for Doc and his men — an end as terrible as they supposed Renny had suffered.
Chapter 17. RENNY, THE HUNTED
WHILE Doc and his friends faced the dangers of this weird place the first night, Renny, lost from the others, had difficulties of his own.
When Renny’s parachute lowered him to the spongy floor of the vast crater, he landed in the midst of such a scene as his wildest nightmares had never produced.
He dropped squarely into the fight which was heard from the air. This was a ferocious battle between the same tyrannosaurus which had pursued Doc and the others, and a three-horned rhinoceros of a monster.
Renny’s parachute spilled over the revolting face of the terrible tyrannosaurus. Renny instantly squirmed out of the ‘chute harness and dropped to the cushionlike earth.
The tyrannosaurus, pitching about like a tall house caught in a tornado, soon got the silken folds out of its face.
But Renny had no time to witness that. The other beast came thundering straight for Renny.
The iron-fisted engineer had inspected the pictures of a few of the genus triceratops in textbooks, and had gazed without particular interest at a skeleton of one as displayed in a great museum. Beyond that, his knowledge did not extend.
He recognized the thing as a triceratops, for Renny had an excellent memory. But he didn’t know it was a herb eater. He wouldn’t have believed that at the moment, anyway. The thing looked like it was bent on making a meal out of Renny.
The monster dinosaur came at him with all the noise and impressive size of a snorting locomotive. Renny didn’t have time to clutch for his gun. It was just as well. He could not have stopped the triceratops.
The huge reptile possessed three rhinoceroslike horns. Two jutted straight forward, one above each eye. These were fully as long as Renny’s by-no-means-short body. The third horn was much smaller, and set down on the nose, as though for rooting purposes.
The striking thing about the triceratops was the great bony hood extending back from the head. This natural armor protected the neck and fore part of the body.
The armor was marked with great, fresh gouges. The fearful tyrannosaurus had been engaged in slaying this armored, three-horned vegetation eater for supper. Only the armor had saved the triceratops.
