Stranger Than Fiction

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21806, 11 June 1936, Page 7 (Supplement)

Stranger T han Fiction

I write this story in the guise of fiction because were I to write it as fact I should never be believed. I kriow this from experience—when I recount the story to. an acquaintance (and I often do, for it is a good story) the acquaintance invariably expresses disbelief. On such occasions it is my wont to take the disbeliever into my trophy room rnd show him exhibit number one. It is a strange object. At first sight it looks like a grey boulder worn smooth by the action of running water but upon closer investigation it proves to be an enormous egg. It measures three feet from end lo end and I doubt not is the only specimen of its kind in existence. It happened just before the outbreak of the world war. At the time I was in my middle teens and was attending a college for AngloIndians at Calcutta. My father was the owner of considerable rubber plantations in Malaya and India. There was big money to be made in rubber in those days and thus he was able to leave his estates in the hands of managers and indulge to the full his passion <or the sea by spending most of his time afloat in his private yacht. It was generally my lot during the school holidays to accompany him on a voyage to one of the beautiful islands of the Indian Archipelago. My father had hinted in a letter that the voyage of which I write was to be of special interest so I was not surprised on boarding the yacht at Calcutta to find him in the saloon chatting to a lean bronzed man whose appearance I found vaguely familiar. “This is Sir Roger Wilton,” said my father as I entered. “I think that you know him quite well by reputation,” And indeed I did. My father had often spoken to me of him and I had read one of his interesting boo's on travel in central China. My father and Sit Roger then went on to tell me how they had resolved that voyage to investigate the air of mystery that surrounded Tawan, a comparatively unknown island in the Indian Archipelago, which was held in siiperstitous dread by the natives of neighbouring islands. You see, said Sir Roger in explanation, a friend of mine named Buckley recently visited the island on a prospecting trip. He had reason to believe that there were gold deposits there. So he and two other men landed and arranged for a boat to call for them after a month. But when the boat called they were nowhere to be found. The captain and the two white officers r went ashore and found the camp in a shambles. That is all we have to go on, Martin, for the crew 6f the boat was composed entirely of Malays and when they heard the news they were scared stiff. The captain was afraid to stay any time at Tawan for fear of mutiny.” Well, it sounded to me as though we were in for a pretty thrilling time and I said so. “Thrilling!” said Sir Roger grimly. "Yes, It’ll probably be thrilling all right, but I’m not going just to bo thrilled—-I’m going there to find out what happened to Buckley and I’m going to find out if it’s the last thing I do.” And from the look on his face and the way he thumped the table as he spoke there was no mistaking the fact that he meant what he said. Men of Sir Roger’s calibre don’t make resolutions unless they are prepared to back them up "And I’m with you, Wilton!” said my father,

(By Chester Loring)

“And so am I!” I said readily. Sir Roger smiled. “Like father like son,” he laughed. We reached Tawan just before dusk about a week later. With pleasurable anticipation I watched it grow from a mere speck on the horizon. Slowly its main features became more distinct: its lofty twin peaks, green-clad almost to their summits; its rocky coastline, and presently the palms fringing the little natural harbour .which. Sir Roger pointed out to me as our proposed anchorage. I was disappointed in the place. “Looks to me just the same as any other island,” I said to Sir Roger. “It does, too,” he said scanning the place through a telescope. “But I’ve a feeling that things are going to happen on Tawan.” And things did happen. They began happening that very evening as we were sitting on deck. I shall never forget that evening. It was one of those evenings one gets in the tropics sometimes —hot, yet'not oppressively so. The wind had dropped completely and the yacht lay perfectly motionless, anchored close into the shore so that occasionally we could hear the rustling made

by some nocturnal beast as it passed through thick undergrowth skirting the beach. Nothing less like an island of terror could be imagined. Apart from those rustlings in the foliage the onW sign of life about 'he place was the swarm of insects droning round the light over the card table at which Sir Roger and my father were playing a game of bridge with the captain and the first officer. : I had almost succumbed to the drowsy atmosphere of the night. I lay back in my chair with eyes closed, listening to the friendly banter of the four men—to the musical tinkle of ice against glass as one of them picked up the glass ready at his elbow. Then suddenly I became aware of another nojse. It came very faintly at first: a distant crashing in the undergrowth accompanied by a peculiar noise, half panting, half snorting. I turned towards the table and saw that the four men had stopped their game and now sat in various attitudes of listening,

“What do you think of it. Wilton?" asked jny lather as the noise increased. “Can’t understand it at all,” replied Sir Roger getting up and looking shorewards. . “Sounds to me like a locomotive let loose!” said the captain. And that is exactly what it did sound like. You have all heard that rhythmic snorting of the train as it gathers speed—well, add to that a great crashing of breaking foliage and you have a pretty good idea of /the noise we heard that night. As it increased we rose and lined the railing, expectant, yet expecting we knew not what. I was aware that the native crew had flooded up from below and now stood in a frightened, jabbering group up for’ard. It happened that I found myself next to Sir Roger and . now he touched my arm and said: “Martin, go quickly and get me a gun—my elephant gun—you know where it is.” I hastened below into the saloon where the guns were kept,, each with a cartridge belt handy. But in my haste and because it was dark I seized a shotgun which is not unlike an elephant gun in appearance and did not notice my mistake till I regained the deck. I would have returned it, only the noise was now so close that curiosity rendered me physically incapable of tearing myself away. My father had taken

the electric light down from where it hung on the awning supports. It was on the end of a long flex so that he was able to carry it to the rail and. train it on to the beach. Suddenly an animal stepped from the bushes into the pale light It appeared to be a tiger and seemed, much distressed, for its eyes w0u1.4 gleam luminously one moment as it looted towards the. light and be hldden the next as it glanced back in.ihe*direetion whence came the snorting apd crashing. Then suddenly it seempd to make up its mind' and dashed off at right angles along the beach. But too late. The foliage was suddenly thrust aside and something reached out and pinned the animal to the ground. The tiger gave one hideous, despairing cry. I had a glimpse of a huge head, shapeless and terrifying in Its proportions, being thrust from the bushes, of two awful eyes reflecting the light as they stared unblinkingly towards u?. Then Sir Roger’s shotgun crashed out as he fired both Barrels In ranid succession. A great threshing in the

■ ■ I Ml undergowth the muffled cry bribe and' theD’ a shrill like that of an elephant, only WWBp This noise continued for WMfejwlp: probably a few seconds IWtijßHßjl. the time seemed endless. ceased as suddenly as it htt |MHr|' and the recommencing of ing noise and the crashing undergrowth told of the CfjjiHHE-. return whence it had come. IHBfc? Sir Roger turned to my ftHMi; ■ “Now • we'. 'know what .blißßßpto Buckley and Co,** he.aeid dMWpI '“We have a missicm to perfot|jM|| morrow, Seymour.” It was scarcely dawn toe IBBi. morning when. I was someone tapping me .op the pWMg I turned to find beside my bed fully olgtpeo..^-^^;. “The mate and Sir: are going ashore, Martin." jMK “L we stay here another nigWaMBI have trouble with the crew ■aWßwshave to get to work held out.his hand. “In case tIH see you again, lad, . . he HBr “But,” I cut In, “area'illJHg; - “It’ll be dangerous, MattEjjlMfe 'said-solemnly.- jgnHp “Well, I can look afteNgWKr with a gun as well as «y*gpSM|- ■ “You want 'to come, “Not only want to— By my father's smile I won the day. • 3fBHBHr “We leave* in about-• WWi. an hour," he said. “So jQPjKBHS. m’lad.” . The departure that zMRM| something that will snciE*B| mind forever. ’ I will not MjFggI was frightened—in fact sequent behaviour proved tnata^fflte not—but I experienced thgMnHr feeling of nausea wnich uMPrjjßg have experienced- in extreme excitement so unable to eat the hasty of which the others pwwoic m could I look at the food oflrfWWK.; when we halted later in We wefe all Sir Roger carried his elephsnMH|. my father and the first calibre repeating rifles, and 1 rifle of the British militaryMHHK We 1-mded at the scene Of i ious night’s activities. Theraaßß deal of blood staining the the vicinity and we had* in picking up the trail of and its prey. ■ Since then I have participaMlSKK several elephant hunts nessed the trail of an angry elephant leaves him. But compared with tnai «IBj|r we now followed the trail "jMEEelephant is nothing. In pßgpjHßptrees almost a foot in snapped Off close to tag’ and large shrubs were flawegjEKthough by the passing of a WgB;: tank. When my father asa»“jßf. Roger if he had any nature of our quarry tnewgHjr' shook his head, world tra v adventurer though he “1 haven’t the vaguest noawg||K I don’t mind admitting.lk “But the fact that even plants have not escaped ww-met and that no foliage a bow or so has been touched, indicate that it is a very short legs.” We made good progress cool hours of- the track was easy to follow, to our quarry, the going wSSHk. thick foliage ccmparaUVwtaMß; By nine we were well ypmmaMm valley which separate *RUBB oeaks of Tawan. At this PBBpME began to come upon similar to the one we seemed that they snot not far distant, and dicated that we were beast's lair. So Sir

• halt and we held a council of war while we partook of the refreshments we had brought, although as I have said, I was too excited to think of eating, and merely refreshed myself with a draught <4m my water-bottle. While we were thus engaged, a breeze sprang up and we became ■aware of a decidedly unpleasant l odour. Sir Roger sniffed the air speculatively. “Putrid flesh!” he announced. “How we shan’t be long.” We pushed on into the wind, the odour of decomposing flesh becoming stronger as we proceeded. At the end of about a quarter of an hour we came suddenly upon a little clearing on the side of the hill. About two acres in extent that clearing was, and there was scarcely* square yard of it not littered with fragments of bone. Some were white and bleached through long exposure; seme had fragments of decaying meat still adhering to them. The stench was now so great that what with it and my nervous excitement I came near to vomiting. For several seconds we surveyed the scene in awed silence. It occurred to me that some portion of Poor Buckley’s bones‘and those of hjs confederates probably lay bleaching out there. At last my tattler pointed to a cave in the hill•jde on the other side of that horrid waring, and said; '“That’s where it lives.” Sir Roger nodded and cocked his •no.

Tf any of you feel you're not up »it. now’# your last chance to get •■V.” he said. We all stood fast.

“Good,” he said and picked up a large stone. “We’ll see if there s anyone at home.” And he hurled tne stone so that it clattered into the mouth of the cave. With nerves keyed up to breaking point we waited. My mouth was strangely dry and my pulses raced so that my heart seemed to thud in my very throat as I pushed forward the safety-catch of my rifle and stood at the ready. We did not have long to wait. Hardly had the clattering ox the stone ceased than another noise issued from the cave—the snorting noise I have already mentioned. And then slowly it came out. A gasp half of horror, half of incredulity escaped the lips of the four of us simultaneously. I doubt not that apart from Buckley and his party we four are the only men privileged to see such a sight in the last hundred centuries. Never have the visions of the most horrifying nightmares approached anything so terrifying as that creature. Although at the time I had not seen the moloch lizard of Australia, I have done so since. For the benefit of those who are familiar with that reptile’s appearance I can think of no better way of describing the creature that came out of that cave than as a giant moloch, some eight feet in height and 50 feet in length. The only difference between the two creatures is that whereas the moloch has an eye on each side of its head, those of this huge reptile were set close together, at the end of its snout. Its entire body, to the extreme end of its tail was covered with the same terrifying array of horny spikes as the moloch, and the two horns set on its snout like that of a rhinoceros, must have been some five feetin length. Originally the

creature’s colour must have been a reddish-brown, but the accumulated filth of years had made it a drab grey. Tangled vines and branches were matted round the spikes on its back. Although all this takes some time to relate, I observed it all within the few seconds that the creature stood hesitating in the mouth of its cave, turning its head slowly from side to side in a strange manner, for which I was at a loss to account. Sir Roger was the first to recover from his astonishment. He raised his gun and discharged it at the creature. Automatically the rest of us followed suit. The little valley boohied and roiled with the noise of oui* firing. In the brief intervals between shots we could hear the unmistakable high whine of ricocheting bullets. They were merely glancing off. But we had no time to consider the effect of our shooting. As our first shots rang out, the great reptile turned in our direction, and before we had fired two more volleys it was lumbering towards us. “Run!” shouted Sir Roger. “Run for your lives!” We ran. But even as I turned to flee I cast one last look at the monster. It was advancing with a strange deliberation, looking neither to left nor right—in fact it appeared to be using its sight not at all. Then all in a flash I realised the reason why—why I had found something strange in the way it acted when it had come out of its cave. “It’s blind!” I bellowed. “Sir Roger must’ve blinded it when he fired last night!” As I spoke Sir Roger, with magnificent courage, stopped and though the creature was almost upon him, picked up a stone and threw with all his strength

so that it clattered on the stony hillside. Instantly the reptile stopped and Sir Roger threw another stone in the same direction. The creature turned and lumbered away towards the sound. “You’re right, Martin!” said the baronet. “It is blind. Follow me all of you—quietly now.” Reloading as we went, we worked round till we faced the monster again. “At its eyes this time,” whispered Sir Roger. “It’s the only way. Aim —altogether now—firel” Our guns boomed in unison. The creature reared up on its short hind legs, giving vent to the shrill piping we had heard the previous night, pawed at the air a moment and then toppled sideways with blood gushing from its mouth and nostrils. , Its convulsive struggling shook the ground and the threshing of its spiked tail tore great furrows in the earth. Terrifying as it had been in life, it was even more so in the throes of death. There arc a few facts to be recorded in conclusion. I have spoken of an egg—we .found it nearby buried in a sandy patch as are the eggs of many reptiles.

The conclusion of this narrative will probably place a greater strain on the reader’s credulity than the foregoing text. Briefly it is this. On our retiflrn to civilisation Sir Roger and my father organised a large scientific party to go to Tawan and investigate the possibility of there being more of the monsters there. And when they arrived, what did they find? They found that in the meantime one of the twin peaks (an active volcano) had erupted and covered a large portion of the island with ashes and lava.

mfti- c . I- hidlur, the landlord comes in and demands his rent “Ton know how it is/' the bootmaker tells him, “I’ll pay when Pißw ind riMiMk S mtJi other with concern for the poor fellow. The landlord goes away, threatening to turn him out unless he is MWfel three davn The bootmaker shakes his head sadly, and a tear splashes on to his last. But he is greatly surprised when Clip and r ***** aAJB " ■ oop Jump down beside him. "Wo will help you!” says Clop,