Part 6 (1/2)

”Trade gin, I should think”

”Oh, that's the best explanation you can give, is it?”

”Well, sir, what is yours?”

”The obvious one that the creature exists That is actually sketched frohed only that I had a vision of our doing another Catharine-wheel down the passage

”No doubt,” said I, ”no doubt,” as one humors an imbecile ”I confess, however,” I added, ”that this tiny huure puzzles me If it were an Indian we could set it down as evidence of somy race in America, but it appears to be a European in a sun-hat”

The Professor snorted like an angry buffalo ”You really touch the lie my view of the possible Cerebral paresis! Mental inertia! Wonderful!”

He was too absurd to y, for if you were going to be angry with this ry all the ti wearily ”It struck me that theforward and dabbing a great hairy sausage of a finger on to the picture ”You see that plant behind the aniht it was a dandelion or a Brussels sprout--what? Well, it is a vegetable ivory palm, and they run to about fifty or sixty feet Don't you see that the man is put in for a purpose? He couldn't really have stood in front of that brute and lived to draw it He sketched hihts

He ill say, over five feet high The tree is ten tier, which is what one would expect”

”Good heavens!” I cried ”Then you think the beast was---- Why, Charing Cross station would hardly eration, he is certainly a well-grown specimen,” said the Professor, complacently

”But,” I cried, ”surely the whole experience of the hule sketch”--I had turned over the leaves and ascertained that there was nothingAmerican artist who may have done it under hashi+sh, or in the deliriuination You can't, as a man of science, defend such a position as that”

For answer the Professor took a book down froifted friend, Ray Lankester!”

said he ”There is an illustration here which would interest you Ah, yes, here it is! The inscription beneath it runs: 'Probable appearance in life of the Jurassic Dinosaur Stegosaurus The hind leg alone is twice as tall as a full-grown man' Well, what do you make of that?”

He handed me the open book I started as I looked at the picture In this reconstructed anireat resemblance to the sketch of the unknown artist

”That is certainly remarkable,” said I

”But you won't adht be a coincidence, or this American may have seen a picture of the kind and carried it in his memory It would be likely to recur to a ood,” said the Professor, indulgently; ”we leave it at that I will now ask you to look at this bone” He handed over the one which he had already described as part of the dead , and thicker than e at one end of it

”To what known creature does that bone belong?” asked the Professor

I exaotten knowledge

”It ht be a very thick human collar-bone,” I said

My companion waved his hand in contemptuous deprecation

”The huroove upon its surface showing that a great tendon played across it, which could not be the case with a clavicle”

”Then I must confess that I don't knohat it is”

”You need not be ashanorance, for I don't suppose the whole South Kensington staff could give a name to it” He took a little bone the size of a bean out of a pill-box ”So far as I aue of the one which you hold in your hand That will give you some idea of the size of the creature You will observe froe that this is no fossil specimen, but recent What do you say to that?”