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clambered, squirmed and wriggled to the deck, forcing us steadily backward,

though we emptied our pistols into them. There were all sorts and conditions of

horrible things--huge, hideous, grotesque, monstrous--a veritable Mesozoic

nightmare. I saw that the girl was gotten below as quickly as possible, and she

took Nobs with her--poor Nobs had nearly barked his head off; and I think, too,

that for the first time since his littlest puppyhood he had known fear; nor can I

blame him. After the girl I sent Bradley and most of the Allies and then the

Germans who were on deck--von Schoenvorts being still in irons below.

The creatures were approaching perilously close before I dropped through the

hatchway and slammed down the cover. Then I went into the tower and ordered

full speed ahead, hoping to distance the fearsome things; but it was useless. Not

only could any of them easily outdistance the U-33, but the further upstream we

progressed the greater the number of our besiegers, until fearful of navigating a

strange river at high speed, I gave orders to reduce and moved slowly and

majestically through the plunging, hissing mass. I was mighty glad that our

entrance into the interior of Caprona had been inside a submarine rather than in

any other form of vessel. I could readily understand how it might have been that

Caprona had been invaded in the past by venturesome navigators without word of

it ever reaching the outside world, for I can assure you that only by submarine

could man pass up that great sluggish river, alive.

We proceeded up the river for some forty miles before darkness overtook us. I

was afraid to submerge and lie on the bottom overnight for fear that the mud

might be deep enough to hold us, and as we could not hold with the anchor, I ran

in close to shore, and in a brief interim of attack from the reptiles we made fast to

a large tree. We also dipped up some of the river water and found it, though quite

warm, a little sweeter than before. We had food enough, and with the water we

were all quite refreshed; but we missed fresh meat. It had been weeks, now,

since we had tasted it, and the sight of the reptiles gave me an idea--that a steak

or two from one of them might not be bad eating. So I went on deck with a rifle,

twenty of which were aboard the U-33. At sight of me a huge thing charged and

climbed to the deck. I retreated to the top of the conning-tower, and when it had

raised its mighty bulk to the level of the little deck on which I stood, I let it have a

bullet right between the eyes.

The thing stopped then and looked at me a moment as much as to say: "Why this

thing has a stinger! I must be careful." And then it reached out its long neck and

opened its mighty jaws and grabbed for me; but I wasn't there. I had tumbled

backward into the tower, and I mighty near killed myself doing it. When I glanced

up, that little head on the end of its long neck was coming straight down on top of

The Land That Time Forgot