e do not generally see more than two, or three at most, although it is
on record that on one occasion, many years ago, four were seen, two of
them being obviously young ones," answered Arima.

"Upon my word, this all sounds exceedingly interesting," commented
Harry. "I should dearly like to see the creatures myself. Do they
often show themselves?"

"Very rarely, Lord, save in the case of such accidents as those of which
I have told you," answered Arima. "Yet," he continued, "if my Lord
desires to see the monsters it could doubtless be managed. If the
carcass of an animal were deposited upon yonder rock,"--the Indian
pointed to a rock showing slightly above the water's surface about a
mile from the shore--"and another were cast into the water quite near
it, the monsters would doubtless be attracted to the place; and if my
Lord were close at hand at the time, upon a large and safe balsa, he
would see them when they crawl up on the rock to reach the carcass
exposed there."

"Ah!" ejaculated Harry; "you think so? Then let the matter be arranged
for to-morrow, Arima. I confess that your description of the creatures
has powerfully excited my curiosity, and made me very anxious to see
them."

And on the morrow the young Inca's curiosity was fully gratified, and
with something to spare.

Oh, those monsters! Harry believed he possessed a passably fair general
knowledge of natural history, but these creatures--monsters truly--were
entirely new to him. In no natural history had he ever seen a
representation of anything like them. And yet, when he came to think of
it again, singular and terrifying as was their appearance, it was not
altogether unfamiliar. He believed he had seen them portrayed
somewhere, although he could not for the moment remember where. Fully
forty feet long from the snout to the tip of the tail, with a head
shaped midway between that of a pike and a crocodile, with enormous
protruding eyes, with a smooth somewhat fish-shaped body almost black
above and shading off to a dirty whitish-grey beneath, with a long tail
broad and flat at its extremity, and with four seal-like flippers
instead of legs and feet, the monsters looked more like nightmare
creatures, evolved by reading a book on antediluvian animals after a--.
Of course, that was it, Escombe decided, as his thoughts took some such
turn as above. He now distinctly remembered having read some years ago
a most interesting illustrated magazine