e head was obviously reptilian, but
had a beak similar to that of their tortoise. The hind legs were
developed like those of a kangaroo, while the small rudimentary
forepaws, which could be used as hands or for going quadruped-fashion,
now hung down. The strong thick tail was evidently of great use to
them when standing erect, by forming a sort of tripod.

"How I wish we could take a pair of those creatures with us when we
return to the earth!" said Cortlandt.

"They would be trump cards," replied Bearwarden, "in a zoological
garden or a dime museum, and would take the wind out of the sails of
all the other freaks."

As they lay flat on the turtle's back, the monsters gazed at them
unconcernedly, munching the palm-tree fruit so loudly that they could
be heard a long distance.

[Illustration: The ride on the giant tortoise.]

"Having nothing to fear from a tortoise," resumed Cortlandt, "they may
allow us to stalk them. We are in their eyes like hippocentaurs,
except that we are part of a tortoise instead of part of a horse, or
else they take us for a parasite or fibrous growth on the shell."

"They would not have much to fear from us as we really are," replied
Bearwarden, "were it not for our explosive bullets."

"I am surprised," said Ayrault, "that graminivorous animals should be
so heavily armed as these, since there can be no great struggle in
obtaining their food."

"From the looks of their jaws," replied Cortlandt, "I should say they
are omnivorous, and would doubtless prefer meat to what they are eating
now. Something seems to have gone wrong with the animal creation
hereabouts to-day."

Their war-horse clanked along like a badly rusted machine, approaching
the dinosaurs obliquely. When only about fifty yards intervened, as
the hunters were preparing to aim, their attention was diverted by a
tremendous commotion in the woods on their left and somewhat ahead.
With the crunching of dead branches and swaying of the trees, a drove
of monsters made a hasty exit and sped across the open valley. Some
showed only the tops of their backs above the long grass, while others
shambled and leaped with their heads nearly thirty feet above the
ground. The dinosaurs instantly dropped on all-fours and joined in the
flight, though at about half-minute intervals they rose on their hind
legs and for a few seconds ran erect. The drove passed about half a
mile before the travellers, and made straight for the woods opp