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Updated: June 21, 2025
Today I should be sitting in the place of honor at the banquet board of one of London's most exclusive clubs, feted and lionized. The actuality! Here I lay, bound hand and foot, doubtless almost upon the very site of a part of ancient London, yet all about me was a primeval wilderness, and I was a captive of half-naked wild men. I wondered what had become of Delcarte and Taylor and Snider.
I could see that Snider was still fearful, but Taylor and Delcarte responded with a hearty, "Aye, aye, sir!" They were of different mold. Both were sons of naval officers. They represented the aristocracy of birth, and they dared to think for themselves. Snider was in the minority, and so we continued toward the east. Beyond thirty, and separated from my ship, my authority ceased.
The sight of the wild man raised my hopes once more that elsewhere we might find men in a higher state of civilization it was the society of civilized man that I craved and so, with a lighter heart, I continued on toward the river and the launch. I was still some distance ahead of Delcarte and Taylor, when I came in sight of the Rhine again.
We were in need of fresh meat, yet I hesitated to shatter the quiet and peaceful serenity of the view with the crack of a rifle and the death of one of those beautiful creatures before us. But it had to be done we must eat. I left the work to Delcarte, however, and in a moment we had two antelope and the landscape to ourselves. After eating, we boarded the launch and continued up the river.
As we ran toward Delcarte, both Taylor and I were struck by the fact that the beast upon him appeared not to be mauling him, but lay quiet and motionless upon its prey, and when we were quite close, and the muzzles of our guns were at the animal's head, I saw the explanation of this sudden cessation of hostilities Felis tigris was dead.
Snider and Taylor were armed with rifles and revolvers, while I carried only a revolver. Seizing Snider's rifle from his trembling hands, I called to Taylor to follow me, and together we ran forward, shouting, to attract the beast's attention from Delcarte until we should all be quite close enough to attack with the greatest assurance of success.
As we called to him he waved his cap, and stooping, lifted a small deer for our inspection. I was about to congratulate him on his trophy when we were startled by a horrid, half-human, half-bestial scream a little ahead and to the right of us. It seemed to come from a clump of rank and tangled bush not far from where Delcarte stood.
The thought was almost like a physical blow in the face it stunned me. Victory in the hands of these abysmal brutes! It was frightful. I almost shook poor Thirty-six in my efforts to revive him. I explained my theory to the others, and then Delcarte shattered it by a single movement of the hand.
I then decided to retrace our journey, letting Taylor handle the launch, while Delcarte and I, upon opposite sides of the river, searched for some sign of the spot where Victory had landed. We found nothing until we had reached a point a few miles above the spot where I had first seen the launch drifting down toward us, and there I discovered the remnants of a recent camp fire.
He might also serve us better there, since it would give him an opportunity to take a shot at Snider should the man discover us and show himself. With powerful strokes we swam out in the path of the oncoming launch. Being a stronger swimmer than Delcarte, I soon was far in the lead, reaching the center of the channel just as the launch bore down upon me. It was drifting broadside on.
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