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I went armed with both rifle and revolver; but I stripped and had my swim
without further disturbance than the approach of a large hyena, a number of
which occupied caves in the sand-stone cliffs north of the camp. These brutes are
enormous and exceedingly ferocious. I imagine they correspond with the cave-
hyena of prehistoric times. This fellow charged Nobs, whose Capronian
experiences had taught him that discretion is the better part of valor--with the
result that he dived head foremost into the stream beside me after giving vent to a
series of ferocious growls which had no more effect upon Hyaena spelaeus than
might a sweet smile upon an enraged tusker. Afterward I shot the beast, and
Nobs had a feast while I dressed, for he had become quite a raw-meat eater
during our numerous hunting expeditions, upon which we always gave him a
portion of the kill.
Whitely and Olson were up and dressed when we returned, and we all sat down
to a good breakfast. I could not but wonder at Lys' absence from the table, for
she had always been one of the earliest risers in camp; so about nine o'clock,
becoming apprehensive lest she might be indisposed, I went to the door of her
room and knocked. I received no response, though I finally pounded with all my
strength; then I turned the knob and entered, only to find that she was not there.
Her bed had been occupied, and her clothing lay where she had placed it the
previous night upon retiring; but Lys was gone. To say that I was distracted with
terror would be to put it mildly. Though I knew she could not be in camp, I
searched every square inch of the compound and all the buildings, yet without
avail.
It was Whitely who discovered the first clue--a huge human-like footprint in the
soft earth beside the spring, and indications of a struggle in the mud.
Then I found a tiny handkerchief close to the outer wall. Lys had been stolen! It
was all too plain. Some hideous member of the ape-man tribe had entered the
fort and carried her off. While I stood stunned and horrified at the frightful
evidence before me, there came from the direction of the great lake an increasing
sound that rose to the volume of a shriek. We all looked up as the noise
approached apparently just above us, and a moment later there followed a terrific
explosion which hurled us to the ground. When we clambered to our feet, we saw
a large section of the west wall torn and shattered. It was Olson who first
recovered from his daze sufficiently to guess the explanation of the phenomenon.
"A shell!" he cried. "And there ain't no shells in Caspak besides what's on the U-
33. The dirty boches are shellin' the fort. Come on!" And he grasped his rifle and
started on a run toward the lake. It was over two miles, but we did not pause
until the harbor was in view, and still we could not see the lake because of the
sandstone cliffs which intervened. We ran as fast as we could around the lower
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