ve a
short ejaculation of wondering awe.

It was a headless body upon which he gazed, ragged fragments of skin and
a few splinters of bone alone remaining to tell that a solid skull had
so recently been thereon.

Professor Phaeton gave another of his peculiar little chuckles, as
he drew near, then patted the compact little rifle with which he had
wrought such extraordinary work: a weapon of his own invention, as were
the dynamite-filled shells to match.

"Although I am rather puny myself, boys, with this neat little
contrivance I could fairly well hold my own against man or beast," he
modestly averred.

"A modern David," gravely added Bruno, while Waldo chimed in with:

"What a dandy Jack the Giant-killer you would have been, uncle Phaeton,
if you had only lived in the good old days! I wish--and yet I don't,
either! Of course, it might have been jolly old sport right then, but
now,--where'd I be, to-day?"

"A day on which has happened a miracle far more marvellous than all that
has been set down in fairyland romance, my dear son," earnestly spoke
the professor. "And when the astounding truth shall have been published,
broadcast, throughout all Christendom, what praises--"

"How thoroughly we shall be branded liars, and falsificationers from
'way up the crick'!" exploded the youngster, making a wry grimace and
moving on to view the headless lion from a different standpoint.

"He means well, uncle Phaeton," assured Bruno, in lowered tones. "He
would not knowingly hurt your feelings, sir, but--may I speak out?"

"Why not?" quickly. "Surely I am not one to stand in awe of, lad?"

"One to be loved and reverenced, rather," with poorly hidden emotion;
then rallying, to add, "But when one finds it impossible to realise all
that has happened this afternoon, when one feels afraid to even make an
effort at such belief, how can the boy be blamed for feeling that all
others would pronounce us mad or--wilful liars?"

Professor Phaeton saw the point, and made a wry grimace while roughing
up his pompadour and brushing his closely trimmed beard with doubtful
hand. After all, was the whole truth to be ever spoken?

"Well, well, we can determine more clearly after fully weighing the
subject," he said, turning back towards the flying-machine. "And, after
all, what has happened to us thus far may not seem so utterly incredible
after our explorations are completed."

"Of this region, do you mean, sir?"

"Of the Olympic mount