I thought of Perry, and but for the hope that I might better encompass1 his release if myself free I should have put the thought of freedom from me at once. As it was I hastened on toward the right searching for an exit toward which no Sagoths were fleeing, and at last I found it—a low, narrow aperture2 leading into a dark corridor.
Without thought of the possible consequence, I darted3 into the shadows of the tunnel, feeling my way along through the gloom for some distance. The noises of the amphitheater had grown fainter and fainter until now all was as silent as the tomb about me. Faint light filtered from above through occasional ventilating and lighting4 tubes, but it was scarce sufficient to enable my human eyes to cope with the darkness, and so I was forced to move with extreme care, feeling my way along step by step with a hand upon the wall beside me.
Presently the light increased and a moment later, to my delight, I came upon a flight of steps leading upward, at the top of which the brilliant light of the noonday sun shone through an opening in the ground.
Cautiously I crept up the stairway to the tunnel's end, and peering out saw the broad plain of Phutra before me. The numerous lofty, granite5 towers which mark the several entrances to the subterranean6 city were all in front of me—behind, the plain stretched level and unbroken to the nearby foothills. I had come to the surface, then, beyond the city, and my chances for escape seemed much enhanced.
My first impulse was to await darkness before attempting to cross the plain, so deeply implanted are habits of thought; but of a sudden I recollected8 the perpetual noonday brilliance9 which envelops10 Pellucidar, and with a smile I stepped forth11 into the daylight.
Rank grass, waist high, grows upon the plain of Phutra—the gorgeous flowering grass of the inner world, each particular blade of which is tipped with a tiny, five-pointed blossom—brilliant little stars of varying colors that twinkle in the green foliage12 to add still another charm to the weird13, yet lovely, landscape.
But then the only aspect which attracted me was the distant hills in which I hoped to find sanctuary14, and so I hastened on, trampling15 the myriad16 beauties beneath my hurrying feet. Perry says that the force of gravity is less upon the surface of the inner world than upon that of the outer. He explained it all to me once, but I was never particularly brilliant in such matters and so most of it has escaped me. As I recall it the difference is due in some part to the counter-attraction of that portion of the earth's crust directly opposite the spot upon the face of Pellucidar at which one's calculations are being made. Be that as it may, it always seemed to me that I moved with greater speed and agility17 within Pellucidar than upon the outer surface—there was a certain airy lightness of step that was most pleasing, and a feeling of bodily detachment which I can only compare with that occasionally experienced in dreams.
And as I crossed Phutra's flower-bespangled plain that time I seemed almost to fly, though how much of the sensation was due to Perry's suggestion and how much to actuality I am sure I do not know. The more I thought of Perry the less pleasure I took in my new-found freedom. There could be no liberty for me within Pellucidar unless the old man shared it with me, and only the hope that I might find some way to encompass his release kept me from turning back to Phutra.
Just how I was to help Perry I could scarce imagine, but I hoped that some fortuitous circumstance might solve the problem for me. It was quite evident however that little less than a miracle could aid me, for what could I accomplish in this strange world, naked and unarmed? It was even doubtful that I could retrace18 my steps to Phutra should I once pass beyond view of the plain, and even were that possible, what aid could I bring to Perry no matter how far I wandered?
The case looked more and more hopeless the longer I viewed it, yet with a stubborn persistency19 I forged ahead toward the foothills. Behind me no sign of pursuit developed, before me I saw no living thing. It was as though I moved through a dead and forgotten world.
I have no idea, of course, how long it took me to reach the limit of the plain, but at last I entered the foothills, following a pretty little canyon20 upward toward the mountains. Beside me frolicked a laughing brooklet21, hurrying upon its noisy way down to the silent sea. In its quieter pools I discovered many small fish, of four-or five-pound weight I should imagine. In appearance, except as to size and color, they were not unlike the whale of our own seas. As I watched them playing about I discovered, not only that they suckled their young, but that at intervals23 they rose to the surface to breathe as well as to feed upon certain grasses and a strange, scarlet24 lichen25 which grew upon the rocks just above the water line.
It was this last habit that gave me the opportunity I craved26 to capture one of these herbivorous cetaceans—that is what Perry calls them—and make as good a meal as one can on raw, warm-blooded fish; but I had become rather used, by this time, to the eating of food in its natural state, though I still balked27 on the eyes and entrails, much to the amusement of Ghak, to whom I always passed these delicacies28.
Crouching29 beside the brook22, I waited until one of the diminutive30 purple whales rose to nibble31 at the long grasses which overhung the water, and then, like the beast of prey32 that man really is, I sprang upon my victim, appeasing33 my hunger while he yet wriggled34 to escape.
Then I drank from the clear pool, and after washing my hands and face continued my flight. Above the source of the brook I encountered a rugged35 climb to the summit of a long ridge36. Beyond was a steep declivity37 to the shore of a placid38, inland sea, upon the quiet surface of which lay several beautiful islands.
The view was charming in the extreme, and as no man or beast was to be seen that might threaten my new-found liberty, I slid over the edge of the bluff39, and half sliding, half falling, dropped into the delightful40 valley, the very aspect of which seemed to offer a haven41 of peace and security.
The gently sloping beach along which I walked was thickly strewn with strangely shaped, colored shells; some empty, others still housing as varied42 a multitude of mollusks as ever might have drawn43 out their sluggish44 lives along the silent shores of the antediluvian45 seas of the outer crust. As I walked I could not but compare myself with the first man of that other world, so complete the solitude46 which surrounded me, so primal47 and untouched the virgin48 wonders and beauties of adolescent nature. I felt myself a second Adam wending my lonely way through the childhood of a world, searching for my Eve, and at the thought there rose before my mind's eye the exquisite49 outlines of a perfect face surmounted50 by a loose pile of wondrous51, raven52 hair.
As I walked, my eyes were bent53 upon the beach so that it was not until I had come quite upon it that I discovered that which shattered all my beautiful dream of solitude and safety and peace and primal overlordship. The thing was a hollowed log drawn upon the sands, and in the bottom of it lay a crude paddle.
The rude shock of awakening54 to what doubtless might prove some new form of danger was still upon me when I heard a rattling55 of loose stones from the direction of the bluff, and turning my eyes in that direction I beheld56 the author of the disturbance57, a great copper58-colored man, running rapidly toward me.
There was that in the haste with which he came which seemed quite sufficiently59 menacing, so that I did not need the added evidence of brandishing60 spear and scowling61 face to warn me that I was in no safe position, but whither to flee was indeed a momentous62 question.
The speed of the fellow seemed to preclude63 the possibility of escaping him upon the open beach. There was but a single alternative—the rude skiff—and with a celerity which equaled his, I pushed the thing into the sea and as it floated gave a final shove and clambered in over the end.
A cry of rage rose from the owner of the primitive64 craft, and an instant later his heavy, stone-tipped spear grazed my shoulder and buried itself in the bow of the boat beyond. Then I grasped the paddle, and with feverish65 haste urged the awkward, wobbly thing out upon the surface of the sea.
A glance over my shoulder showed me that the copper-colored one had plunged66 in after me and was swimming rapidly in pursuit. His mighty67 strokes bade fair to close up the distance between us in short order, for at best I could make but slow progress with my unfamiliar68 craft, which nosed stubbornly in every direction but that which I desired to follow, so that fully69 half my energy was expended70 in turning its blunt prow71 back into the course.
I had covered some hundred yards from shore when it became evident that my pursuer must grasp the stern of the skiff within the next half-dozen strokes. In a frenzy72 of despair, I bent to the grandfather of all paddles in a hopeless effort to escape, and still the copper giant behind me gained and gained.
His hand was reaching upward for the stern when I saw a sleek73, sinuous74 body shoot from the depths below. The man saw it too, and the look of terror that overspread his face assured me that I need have no further concern as to him, for the fear of certain death was in his look.
And then about him coiled the great, slimy folds of a hideous75 monster of that prehistoric76 deep—a mighty serpent of the sea, with fanged77 jaws78, and darting79 forked tongue, with bulging80 eyes, and bony protuberances upon head and snout that formed short, stout81 horns.
As I looked at that hopeless struggle my eyes met those of the doomed82 man, and I could have sworn that in his I saw an expression of hopeless appeal. But whether I did or not there swept through me a sudden compassion83 for the fellow. He was indeed a brother-man, and that he might have killed me with pleasure had he caught me was forgotten in the extremity84 of his danger.
Unconsciously I had ceased paddling as the serpent rose to engage my pursuer, so now the skiff still drifted close beside the two. The monster seemed to be but playing with his victim before he closed his awful jaws upon him and dragged him down to his dark den7 beneath the surface to devour85 him. The huge, snakelike body coiled and uncoiled about its prey. The hideous, gaping86 jaws snapped in the victim's face. The forked tongue, lightning-like, ran in and out upon the copper skin.
Nobly the giant battled for his life, beating with his stone hatchet87 against the bony armor that covered that frightful88 carcass; but for all the damage he inflicted89 he might as well have struck with his open palm.
At last I could endure no longer to sit supinely by while a fellowman was dragged down to a horrible death by that repulsive90 reptile91. Embedded92 in the prow of the skiff lay the spear that had been cast after me by him whom I suddenly desired to save. With a wrench93 I tore it loose, and standing94 upright in the wobbly log drove it with all the strength of my two arms straight into the gaping jaws of the hydrophidian.
With a loud hiss95 the creature abandoned its prey to turn upon me, but the spear, imbedded in its throat, prevented it from seizing me though it came near to overturning the skiff in its mad efforts to reach me.
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1
encompass
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| vt.围绕，包围；包含，包括；完成 | |
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aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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3
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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4
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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5
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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8
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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envelops
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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13
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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14
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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15
trampling
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| 踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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16
myriad
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| adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量 | |
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17
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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18
retrace
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| v.折回；追溯，探源 | |
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19
persistency
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| n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数) | |
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canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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21
brooklet
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| n. 细流, 小河 | |
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22
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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23
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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24
scarlet
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| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
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25
lichen
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| n.地衣, 青苔 | |
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26
craved
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| 渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求 | |
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27
balked
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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28
delicacies
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| n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到 | |
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29
crouching
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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30
diminutive
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| adj.小巧可爱的，小的 | |
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31
nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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32
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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33
appeasing
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的现在分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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34
wriggled
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| v.扭动，蠕动，蜿蜒行进( wriggle的过去式和过去分词 )；（使身体某一部位）扭动；耍滑不做，逃避（应做的事等） | |
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35
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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38
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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39
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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40
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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41
haven
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| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
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42
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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43
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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44
sluggish
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| adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的 | |
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45
antediluvian
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| adj.史前的，陈旧的 | |
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46
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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47
primal
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| adj.原始的；最重要的 | |
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48
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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49
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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50
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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51
wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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52
raven
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| n.渡鸟，乌鸦；adj.乌亮的 | |
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53
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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54
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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55
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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56
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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57
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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58
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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59
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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60
brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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61
scowling
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| 怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 ) | |
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62
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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63
preclude
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| vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍 | |
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64
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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65
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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66
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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67
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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68
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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69
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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70
expended
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| v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽 | |
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71
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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72
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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73
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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74
sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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75
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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76
prehistoric
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| adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的 | |
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77
fanged
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| adj.有尖牙的，有牙根的，有毒牙的 | |
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78
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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79
darting
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的现在分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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80
bulging
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| 膨胀； 凸出（部）； 打气； 折皱 | |
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82
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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83
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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84
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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85
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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86
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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87
hatchet
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| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
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88
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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89
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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90
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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91
reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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92
embedded
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| a.扎牢的 | |
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93
wrench
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| v.猛拧；挣脱；使扭伤；n.扳手；痛苦，难受 | |
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94
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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95
hiss
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| v.发出嘶嘶声；发嘘声表示不满 | |
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