lightness to Alden's
reply.

The dark haired pilot, with a curious, detached sense of unreality,
stepped into the middle of the room, the automatic in his hand seeming
no more potent than a water pistol, for a ponderous, lambent eyed
monster was now hopping forward. While minute particles of dust and
dirt rained down from the disappearing barrier, the foremost
allosaurus opened its enormous jaws, uttered an eery scream and
charged straight at the unbarred cell.

Drawing a deep breath, Nelson raised the .45, sighted, and,
remembering his former experience, fired at the enormous right eye. As
in a dream, he felt the recoil. The monster neither slowed nor swerved
in the least, though its great, saucer-like eye disintegrated
horribly. Immediately Nelson swiftly sighted at the other eye and
fired, just as the allosaurus' shadow filled the threshold.

_Crack!_ A swirl of bitter smoke stung the aviator's staring eyes.
He'd hit; he knew it!

* * * * *

Cyclopean moments followed as the blinded monster dashed forward,
missed the circular door, and, butting his head against the stone wall
to the left, fell completely stunned, effectively blocking the doorway
with its huge body. One enormous hind leg, fully ten feet long, and
equipped with three razor-like claws, projected into the cell and
lashed aimlessly back and forth, forcing the two prisoners to dodge
wildly.

There ensued that indescribable kind of a moment when men go mad.
Outside the cell the ravenous herd pounced upon their fallen mate and
with hideous grunts and snarls promptly commenced to tear it apart.
The shaken prisoners realized that the rending jaws would before long
undoubtedly remove the temporary obstacle; but meanwhile the hideous
hissing and the fetid stench of the allosauri breath made the cell a
mad-house.

Gradually, the gigantic carcass at the door commenced to quiver and
roll violently under the ferocious tugs of the eager feasters. A gap
of light appeared over the huge haunches, and, all at once, another
of those terrible heads slipped over the carcass and into the cell.

Again the .45 thundered, lighting the darkened cell with a brief
orange flame. A noise like the furious trumpeting of a dozen elephants
nearly blew Nelson flat as the wounded monster drew back its head, but
the respite promised to be short, for the other reptiles only
re-doubled their horrid, cannibalistic rending of the carcass. When
the ba