"Aim for the heart,"said Bearwarden to Ayrault."When you show me his ribs,I will follow you in the hole."Ayrault instantly fired for a point just back of the left foreleg.The explosion had the same effect as on the mastodon,removing a half-barrel of hide,etc;and the next second Bearwarden sent a bullet less than an inch from where Ayrault's had stopped.Before the colossus could turn,each had caused several explosions in close proximity to the first.The creature was of course terribly wounded,and several ribs were cracked,but no ball had gone through.With a roar it made straight for the woods,and with surprising agility,running fully as fast as an elephant.Bearwarden and Ayrault kept up a rapid fire at the left hind leg,and soon completely disabled it.The dinosaur,however,supported itself with its huge tail,and continued to make good time.Knowing they could not give it a fatal wound at the intervening distance,in the uncertain light,they stopped firing and set out in pursuit.Cortlandt paused to stop the bell that still rang,and then put his best foot foremost in regaining his friends.For half a mile they hurried along,until,seeing by the quantity of blood on the ground that they were in no danger of losing the game,they determined to save their strength.The trail entered the woods by a narrow ravine,passed through what proved to be but a belt of timber,and then turned north to the right.Presently in the semi-darkness they saw the monster's head against the sky.He was browsing among the trees,tearing off the young branches,and the hunters succeeded in getting within seventy-five yards before being discovered.Just as he began to run,the two rifles again fired,this time at the right hind leg,which they succeeded in hamstringing.After that the Triceratops prorsus was at their mercy,and they quickly put an end to its suffering.
"The sun is about to rise,"said Bearwarden;"in a few minutes we shall have enough light."They cut out a dozen thick slices of tenderloin steak,and soon were broiling and eating a substantial breakfast.
"There are not as many spectators to watch us eat here,"said Cortlandt,"as in the woods.I suggest that,after returning to camp for our blankets and things,we steer for the Callisto,via this Triceratops,to see what creatures have been attracted by the body."On finishing their meal they returned to the place at which they had passed the night.Having straightened the protection-wires,which had become twisted,and arranged their impedimenta,they set out,and were soon once more beside their latest victim.
CHAPTER IX.
THE HONEY OF DEATH.
At first nothing seemed to have been disturbed,when they suddenly perceived that both forelegs were missing.On further examination they found that the ponderous tail,seven feet in diameter,was cut through in two places,the thicker portion having disappeared,and that the heavy bones in this extremity of the vertebral column had been severed like straws.The cut surfaces were but little cooler than the interior of the body,showing how recently the mutilation had been effected.
"By all the gods!"exclaimed Bearwarden,"it is easy to see the method in this;the hunters have again cut off only those parts that could be easily rolled.These Jovian fellows must have weapons compared with which the old scythe chariots would be but toys,with which they amputate the legs of their victims.We must see to it that their scimitars do not come too near to us,and I venture to hope that in our bullets they will find their match.What say you,doctor?""I see no depression such as such heavy bodies would necessarily have made had they been rolled along the ground,neither does it seem to me that these curious tracks in the sand are those of men."The loose earth looked as if the cross-ties of some railroad had been removed,the space formerly occupied having been but partly filled,and these depressions were across the probable direction of motion.
"Whatever was capable of chasing mastodons and carrying such weights,"said Ayrault,"will,I suspect,have little to fear from us.Probably nothing short of light artillery would leave much effect.""I dare say,"replied Bearwarden,"we had better give the unknown quantity a wide berth,though I would give a year's salary to see what it is like.The absence of other tracks shows that his confreres leave 'Scissor-jaw'alone."Keeping a sharp lookout in all directions,they resumed their march along the third side of the square which was to bring them back to the Callisto.Their course was parallel to the stream,and on comparatively high ground.Cortlandt's gun did good service,bringing down between fifty and sixty birds that usually allowed them to get as near as they pleased,and often seemed unwilling to leave their branches.By the time they were ready for luncheon they saw it would be dark in an hour.As the rapidity of the planet's rotation did not give them a chance to become tired,they concluded not to pitch their camp,but to resume the march by moonlight,which would be easy in the high,open country they were traversing.
While in quest of fire-wood,they came upon great heaps of bones,mostly those of birds,and were attracted by the tall,bell-shaped flowers growing luxuriantly in their midst.These exhaled a most delicious perfume,and at the centre of each flower was a viscous liquid,the colour of honey.
"If this tastes as well as it looks,"said Bearwarden,"it will come in well for dessert";saying which he thrust his finger into the recesses of the flower,intending to taste the essence.
Quietly,but like a flash,the flower closed,his hand being nearly caught and badly scratched by the long,sharp thorns that now appeared at the edges.
