Edgar Rice Burroughs

The People That Time Forgot Edgar Rice Burroughs

I'll never forget my first impressions of Caspak as I circled in, high over the surrounding cliffs. From the plane I looked down through a mist upon the blurred landscape beneath me. The hot, humid atmosphere of Caspak condenses as it is fanned by the cold Antarctic air-currents whichsweep across the crater's top, sending a tenuous ribbon of vapor far out across the Pacific. Throughthis the picture gave one the suggestion of a colossal impressionistic canvas in greens and brownsand scarlets and yellows surrounding the deep blue of the inland sea-just blobs of color takingform through the tumbling mist. I dived close to the cliffs and skirted them for several miles without finding the least indicationof a suitable landing-place; and then I swung back at a lower level, looking for a clearing close to thebottom of the mighty escarpment; but I could find none of sufficient area to insure safety. I wasflying pretty low by this time, not only looking for landing places but watching the myriad lifebeneath me. I was down pretty well toward the south end of the island, where an arm of the lakereaches far inland, and I could see the surface of the water literally black with creatures of some sort. I was too far up to recognize individuals, but the general impression was of a vast army ofamphibious monsters. The land was almost equally alive with crawling, leaping, running, flyingthings. It was one of the latter which nearly did for me while my attention was fixed upon the weirdscene below. The first intimation I had of it was the sudden blotting out of the sunlight from above, and as Iglanced quickly up, I saw a most terrific creature swooping down upon me. It must have been fullyeighty feet long from the end of its long, hideous beak to the tip of its thick, short tail, with an equalspread of wings. It was coming straight for me and hissing frightfully-I could hear it above thewhir of the propeller. It was coming straight down toward the muzzle of the machine-gun and I letit have it right in the breast; but still it came for me, so that I had to dive and turn, though I wasdangerously close to earth