We made our way cautiously through the woods, Lord John in the lead, while the two professors kept stopping to exclaim over some wonderful new insect or flower. Then we heard a strange whistling sound. Lord John beckoned us to a line of boulders, where we looked down into a bowl-shaped crater.

At the bottom lay pools of stagnant water. It was a weird place, but its inhabitants were even more weird. It was a nursery of pterodactyls! There were hundreds of them, the loathsome mothers sitting hatching out their leathery, yellow eggs at the bottom of the pit. Above them the males sat around, each on a separate rock, absolutely motionless, except to snap their rat-trap jaws if a huge dragonfly flew by. They looked like hideous old women, wrapped in shawls, as they folded their bat-like wings around themselves. They ate fish and dead birds, judging from the bits and pieces on the rocks and the horrible smell.

Suddenly the pterodactyls realised we were there. About a hundred took to the air and circled round us. Summerlee was pecked by one of their horrid beaks. Challenger was knocked to the ground by the blow of a wing. Lord John struggled with a creature that looked like a devil, with its open beak and bloodshot eyes. We rushed for the trees, where there was no room for them to sweep beneath the breaches, so they gave up the chase. Thankfully we returned to the shelter of our camp.

That night I could not sleep. I had a queer feeling we were being watched from above, though I could see nothing in the gloom of the great tree overhead. Suddenly we were awakened by the most frightening noise. It was an ear-splitting scream, like a train-whistle, only much deeper, accompanied by a low gurgling laugh. As it died away, we heard the heavy soft padding of some huge animal, just outside our camp. We could see its crouching shadow under the tree.

Lord John bravely snatched a blazing branch from the fire and, running forward, dashed it into the creature's face. For one moment I glimpsed a horrible mask, like a giant toad, a warty skin and a loose mouth, beslobbered with blood. Then the creature was gone. We took it in turns to keep watch for the rest of the night.

In the morning we found the reason for the hideous noises. The iguanodon glade looked like a battlefield. Blood and lumps of flesh were everywhere. One of the unwieldy monsters had been torn to pieces. The Professors thought the enemy could have been one of the great carnivorous (flesh eating) dinosaurs: perhaps a megalosaurus.

We still had no idea of the extent of the plateau. I offered to climb the huge gingko tree by our camp to survey the scene from above. Everybody thought this was a good idea, and I was hoisted into the branches. The foliage was thick and, as I climbed, I pushed a great clump of leaves out of my way. To my horror, I found myself looking into what appeared to be a human face, though more like a monkey's. It was ugly and bestial, with a flat nose, coarse whiskers and curved canine teeth. Its eyes were evil and ferocious. Suddenly it took fright and dived down into the greenery. I glimpsed a hairy body, like that of a reddish pig, and it was gone.

I climbed on, determined to complete my mission, until I was at the top of the tree and could see the wonderful panorama of that strange country.

It was oval in shape, about thirty miles by twenty and looked like a funnel because all the sides sloped down to a lake in the centre. Our side of the plateau was woodland. I could see the glade of the iguanodons and the pterodactyl swamp. On the opposite side were cliffs, with a number of round openings, like caves. I made a quick sketch, then scrambled down to tell my companions of my discoveries.

Professor Challenger thought my monkey might very well be the "missing link" between ape and man.

That night I was so excited that, once more, I could not sleep. I wanted to explore the wonders of the plateau, so I set off on my own, without telling the others.

I made my way down the course of the stream to the shores of the lake which was the drinking place of the animals. Climbing a high rock, I could look down and watch the strange creatures. There were rings and ripples on the water, the gleam of great silvery fish leaping, and the arched backs and snake-like necks of passing monsters.

A giant elk, like a huge stag with branching horns, came down to drink. Best of all, I had a glimpse of the stegosaurus, the very creature Maple White had drawn in his notebook. It passed so close I could have touched the wattles on its back.

Looking across at the cliffs, I was astonished to see discs of light. There must be fires in those caves, lit by men! There were human beings living on the plateau! I turned back immediately to tell the others. On the way, I narrowly escaped from the great flesh-eating dinosaur with the toad-like face, the megalosaurus. It came snuffling after me among the bushes and I ran like a madman. I fell headlong into a pit in the middle of the path, covered with branches. There was a great wooden spike in it, smeared with blood, and surrounded by bones and animal remains. This must be a trap, dug by the cave-dwellers, I thought, as I scrambled out.

As I neared our camp, I shouted to let the others know I was back. To my surprise there was no reply. A fearful sight met my eyes. Our belongings were scattered about the clearing. Close to the smouldering ashes of our fire, the grass was stained with a hideous pool of blood.

As I gazed around in horror, my arm was gripped. I gave a cry of joy as I saw Lord John had returned. His face was scratched and bloody, his clothes were in rags, but he was unharmed.

"Quick, young fellow! Get the rifles and cartridges. Fill your pockets. Take some tins of food! don't talk! Get a move on or we are done!"

I rushed after him, bringing everything I could carry, until we reached a safe spot in the woods.

"What happened? Who is after us?" I cried.

"The ape-men," said he. "What brutes! Where were you all that time?"

I quickly told him. He related what had happened in my absence. The ape-men had attacked in the early morning.

"They came down out of the trees, as thick as falling apples. They tied us up with creepers, and sat round in a circle, looking murderous—great strong brutes. Challenger went off his head, and raged at them like a lunatic."

"What did they do?" I asked.

"That's the funny part of it! The chief ape looked the spitting image of Challenger! He had the same short body, big shoulders, no neck, great frill of a beard and tufted eye-brows. He seemed to think Challenger was his brother! They all started cackling with laughter, and dragged us off through the forest. They carried Challenger shoulder-high, like a Roman emperor. They took us to their headquarters on the edge of the cliff.

"You say you've seen signs of men. Well, we've seen the men themselves. The natives hold one side of the plateau—the cliffs and caves. The apes hold the other, and there is war between them. They'd captured a dozen or so natives and put two of them to death right away.

"You remember that clump of bamboos where we found the skeleton? It's right under their cliff, and they make their prisoners jump off, right on to the bamboo spikes. We were to be the next victims. Luckily I managed to knock out my guard and get away to fetch a rifle. The apes can't run very fast, and I don't think they know about guns, so we may have a chance."

Lord John had been speaking as we hurried along, and now we reached the edge of the cliff where there was a semi-circle of trees. There were rough huts in their branches, crowded with the females and infants of the ape people. Hundreds of the shaggy red-haired males were gathered down on the cliff. In front of them stood a little group of Indians—small men with red skins that glowed like polished bronze. Challenger and the ape-king stood separately from the others, looking absurdly alike, except that one had black hair and the other red.

Two of the ape-men seized an Indian by his leg and arm and hurled him over the precipice. The others rushed to the edge and yelled with delight to see him impaled on the bamboo spikes. Next it was Professor Summerlee's turn. His thin figure and long limbs struggled and fluttered like a chicken being dragged from its coop.

Our rifles cracked out. The ape-king fell to the ground. Summerlee's guards let him go and, as we shot into the crowd, the ape-men rushed howling to the trees for shelter. Challenger and Summerlee hurried to our side, and we made our way back to our headquarters with all speed, firing shots at any who pursued us.

When we got there, we heard a patter of feet and plaintive cried behind us. It was the Indians, begging for protection. One flung himself imploringly at Lord John's feet.

"Get up, young fellow, and take your face off my boots!" said Lord John.

"They live in the caves on the other side of the lake. We ought to get them back there," I suggested.

One of the young men, who seemed to be their chief, walked proudly ahead of us as our guide. We all made our way towards the lake, which we reached in the late afternoon.

There we saw a great flotilla of canoes making for the shore. A shout of delight went up from the Indians when they saw us. They waved their paddles and spears in the air to greet their young chief, then they beached their canoes and knelt before us in gratitude. These were warriors, come to rescue their friends from the ape-men.

We spent the day and night by the wonderful primeval lake. The trees were laden with luscious fruit, and exotic flowers bloomed in the grasses. The Professors were overjoyed at the sight of all the strange fishes, birds and reptiles which thronged the sheet of shimmering water. The sandbanks far out were spotted with ungainly crawling turtles. Here and there, high serpent heads projected out of the water. One of these wriggled on to a nearby sandbank, exposing its barrel-shaped body and huge flippers.

"It's a plesiosaurus!" gasped Summerlee. "You and I are the luckiest zoologists since the world began, Challenger!"

That night our camp fires glowed red in the shadows of the trees, and the snort and plunge of huge water animals could be heard far out in the lake.

Next day we set out to attack the ape settlement. The Indians carried spears, bows and poisoned arrows, a contrast to our modern weapons. Scouts crawled ahead through the bushes, to the edge of the forest. Here we spread out in a line: Roxton and Summerlee on the right flank, Challenger and myself on the left. The clumsy ape-men came howling out of the trees with stones and clubs. We hardly needed to use our rifles, for the Indians soon got the upper hand. They drove the apes back to the edge of the cliff, where they had a taste of their own medicine, and fell on the bamboo spikes. Challenger said: "This is a moment of history! Man has triumphed over the ape!"

"We've had adventures enough," said Summerlee. "Let us get out of this horrible country, and back to civilisation."

But it was to be a long time before we could escape from the plateau. The Indians did not want us to go. They even offered us caves and wives! They showed us their wonderful paintings of animals on the smooth walls of the tunnels and caves. They were much more advanced than the apes, and even herded the iguanodons for meat, as we do cattle.

We spent our days exploring and collecting specimens. I was amused, one day, to meet Lord John Roxton walking around inside a bell-shaped wickerwork cage, made from bent canes.

"What on earth are you up to?" I asked.

"visiting my friends the pterodactyls. Interesting beasts, but rude to strangers. I've rigged up this contraption to keep off their attentions."

"But what do you want in the swamp?"

"I'm going to get a young devil chick for Challenger. I'm after something else, too. Don't you worry! I'll be back soon!"

At last, after many weeks, the young Indian chief came to our aid, and showed us which of the many cave passages led down to the plain.

The caves were full of bats, flapping round our heads. We hurried over white glistening sand, but everywhere came up against solid rock. There seemed no way through, till we found a larger passage. At the end was a brilliant light, like a curtain of flame, barring our path. Suddenly Lord John cried: "It's only the moon! We are through, boys." We gazed down on the plain below.

As we scrambled down the slopes to the plains to meet Zamba, a high whickering cry, the call of some weird animal, rang clear out of the darkness. It was the voice of the Lost World, bidding us goodbye.

Back in London, the news of our adventures had spread. A meeting of famous scientists had been arranged, in the Queen's Hall, Regent Street, and it was crowded out.

We four were on the platform. Professor Summerlee gave an account of our journey and experiences. When he began to talk about the animals we'd found on the plateau, he was interrupted. Dr James Illingworth, a scientist from Edinburgh, demanded real evidence of what we had seen. There was a great uproar in the audience, some of whom almost came to blows with each other, so Professor Challenger came to the rescue. He offered to show photographs we had taken, but Illingworth said no picture would convince him of anything.

"You require to see the thing itself?" asked Challenger, and he made a sign to Lord John and myself.

We brought forward a big packing-case from the back of the platform, and the Professor took off the lid. A scratching, rattling sound was heard. Then a most horrible creature emerged, and perched itself on the edge of the case. It had two red eyes, a long savage mouth with a double row of shark-like teeth. Its shoulders were humped, and round them was draped what looked like an old grey shawl. It was the devil of our childhood.

People screamed, some fainted and others rushed for the exit. The creature, alarmed, suddenly spread a pair of leathery wings and flapped round the ceiling, giving out a smell of rotten fish. It beat against the walls in a frenzy, darting its beak at the people in the gallery.

"Shut the window!" cried the Professor, but too late. The creature, beating against the wall like a huge moth, found the opening, squeezed through it, and was gone!

At last the Professor was believed. All of us were carried shoulder-high in a procession down to Piccadilly, the crowd cheering and singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!"

As for the pterodactyl, after frightening a sentry outside Marlborough House nearly out of his wits, it was sighted on the Devon coast, heading for the Atlantic. Perhaps its homing instinct took it back to Maple White Land.

Safe in Lord John Roxton's rooms in the Albany, the four of us were celebrating. Lord John had something to say: "It wasn't only the pterodactyl I brought from the swamp. Look at these!" and he produced a handful of dull pebbles.

Next, out of his pocket, he brought a huge sparkling diamond.

"I took this one to a jeweller to be cut and valued," he said. "The lot are worth over ?00,000. That's ?0,000 each. What will you do with yours, Challenger?"

"Found a private museum! It's always been my dream."

"And you, Summerlee?"

"Retire and classify my chalk fossils."

"I'll use mine in fitting up an expedition to have another look at the dear old plateau. And you, young fellow? I suppose you'll be getting married!"

"Not just yet," I said. "I think, if you'll have me, I'd rather go with you."

"Good chap!" said Lord John, shaking me firmly by the hand.

(THE END)