the creature, beating and bumping along the wall like a
huge moth within a gas-shade, came upon the opening, squeezed its
hideous bulk through it, and was gone. Professor Challenger fell back
into his chair with his face buried in his hands, while the audience
gave one long, deep sigh of relief as they realized that the incident
was over.

"Then--oh! how shall one describe what took place then--when the full
exuberance of the majority and the full reaction of the minority united
to make one great wave of enthusiasm, which rolled from the back of the
hall, gathering volume as it came, swept over the orchestra, submerged
the platform, and carried the four heroes away upon its crest?" (Good
for you, Mac!) "If the audience had done less than justice, surely it
made ample amends. Every one was on his feet. Every one was moving,
shouting, gesticulating. A dense crowd of cheering men were round the
four travelers. 'Up with them! up with them!' cried a hundred voices.
In a moment four figures shot up above the crowd. In vain they strove
to break loose. They were held in their lofty places of honor. It
would have been hard to let them down if it had been wished, so dense
was the crowd around them. 'Regent Street! Regent Street!' sounded
the voices. There was a swirl in the packed multitude, and a slow
current, bearing the four upon their shoulders, made for the door. Out
in the street the scene was extraordinary. An assemblage of not less
than a hundred thousand people was waiting. The close-packed throng
extended from the other side of the Langham Hotel to Oxford Circus. A
roar of acclamation greeted the four adventurers as they appeared, high
above the heads of the people, under the vivid electric lamps outside
the hall. 'A procession! A procession!' was the cry. In a dense
phalanx, blocking the streets from side to side, the crowd set forth,
taking the route of Regent Street, Pall Mall, St. James's Street, and
Piccadilly. The whole central traffic of London was held up, and many
collisions were reported between the demonstrators upon the one side
and the police and taxi-cabmen upon the other. Finally, it was not
until after midnight that the four travelers were released at the
entrance to Lord John Roxton's chambers in the Albany, and that the
exuberant crowd, having sung 'They are Jolly Good Fellows' in chorus,
concluded their program with 'God Save the King.' So ended one of the
most remarkable evening