ard, when, scrutinising the shore through the telescope, I
saw two creatures suddenly burst through the dense scrub that seemed to
be the only form of vegetation growing thereabout, and begin--or,
possibly, it might have been, continue--what had all the appearance of a
desperate fight, on the open beach.

We were at that moment not more than a quarter of a mile from the shore
and but little farther than that from the spot where the fight was
taking place. The creatures were therefore within plain view of us,
while the telescope clearly revealed every detail of what was happening,
and of the creatures themselves, but so incredibly agile were they in
their movements that several minutes elapsed before I was able to do
more than just form a rough estimate of their size; but presently the
boat drew up fairly abreast of them, and then I directed Billy, who was
steering, to haul the fore-sheet to windward to deaden the boat's way,
for I was curious to see what would be the outcome of the struggle.

The combatants were well matched as to size and activity, there
appearing to be not a pin to choose between them in those respects. I
set them down to be about the same size as an ordinary donkey, but they
did not in the least resemble donkeys as to shape; indeed at first sight
they seemed to be more like gigantic frogs. That, however, was merely a
first impression, for there presently occurred a momentary pause in the
fight--presumably to enable them to get their second wind--and then I
was enabled to note details accurately. Their hind legs were,
proportionately, as long as those of frogs, but much more muscular,
while their fore legs appeared to be not more than a foot long, all four
extremities being armed with exceedingly stout and formidable claws.
Unlike frogs, however, they boasted powerful tails that seemed to serve
very much the same purpose as that of the kangaroo, both as a weapon and
a propellant. At the base it was the same thickness as the body,
tapering away to a point, and it appeared to be about the same length as
the body. The head was, however, the most remarkable feature of the
animal. When seen in profile it was not unlike those of the apes we had
encountered, but it was evidently even more formidable, for projecting
from its nose was a stout, sharp horn, similar to that of a rhinoceros,
while a pair of long tusks projected from its upper jaw. In colour the
animal was a greyish brown, dark on the upper