XX
"Dinner was ended. Daisy Holroyd lighted her father's pipe for him,and insisted on my smoking as much as I pleased. Then she sat down,and folded her hands like a good little girl, waiting for her fatherto make the revelation which I felt in my bones must be something outof the ordinary.
"The professor smoked for a while, gazing meditatively at hisdaughter; then, fixing his gray eyes on me, he said:
"'Have you ever heard of the kree--that Australian bird, half parrot,half hawk, that destroys so many sheep in New South Wales?'
"I nodded.
"'The kree kills a sheep by alighting on its back and tearing away theflesh with its hooked beak until a vital part is reached. You knowthat? Well, it has been discovered that the kree had prehistoricprototypes. These birds were enormous creatures, who preyed uponmammoths and mastodons, and even upon the great saurians. It has beenconclusively proved that a few saurians have been killed by theancestors of the kree, but the favorite food of these birds wasundoubtedly the thermosaurus. It is believed that the birds attackedthe eyes of the thermosaurus, and when, as was its habit, the mammothcreature turned on its back to claw them, they fell upon the thinnerscales of its stomach armor and finally killed it. This, of course, isa theory, but we have almost absolute proofs of its correctness. Now,these two birds are known among scientists as the ekaf-bird and theool-yllik. The names are Australian, in which country most of theirremains have been unearthed. They lived during the Carboniferousperiod. Now, it is not generally known, but the fact is, that in 1801Captain Ransom, of the British exploring vessel _Gull_, purchased fromthe natives of Tasmania the skin of an ekaf-bird that could not havebeen killed more than twenty-four hours previous to its sale. I sawthis skin in the British Museum. It was labelled, "Unknown bird,probably extinct." It took me exactly a week to satisfy myself that itwas actually the skin of an ekaf-bird. But that is not all, Dick,'continued the professor, excitedly. 'In 1854 Admiral Stuart, of ourown navy, saw the carcass of a strange, gigantic bird floating alongthe southern coast of Australia. Sharks were after it, and before aboat could be lowered these miserable fish got it. But the good oldadmiral secured a few feathers and sent them to the Smithsonian. I sawthem. They were not even labelled, but I knew that they were feathersfrom the ekaf-bird or its near relative, the ool-yllik.'
"I had grown so interested that I had leaned far across the table.Daisy, too, bent forward. It was only when the professor paused for amoment that I noticed how close together our heads were--Daisy's andmine. I don't think she realized it. She did not move.
"'Now comes the important part of this long discourse,' said theprofessor, smiling at our eagerness. "'Ever since the carcass of ourderelict thermosaurus was first noticed, every captain who has seen ithas also reported the presence of one or more gigantic birds in theneighborhood. These birds, at a great distance, appeared to behovering over the carcass, but on the approach of a vessel theydisappeared. Even in mid-ocean they were observed. When I heard aboutit I was puzzled. A month later I was satisfied that neither theekaf-bird nor the ool-yllik was extinct. Last Monday I knew that I wasright. I found forty-eight distinct impressions of the huge,seven-toed claw of the ekaf-bird on the beach here at Pine Inlet. Youmay imagine my excitement. I succeeded in digging up enough wet sandaround one of these impressions to preserve its form. I managed to getit into a soap-box, and now it is there in my shop. The tide rose toorapidly for me to save the other footprints.'
"I shuddered at the possibility of a clumsy misstep on my partobliterating the impression of an ool-yllik.
"'That is the reason that my daughter warned you off the beach,' hesaid, mildly.
"'Hanging would have been too good for the vandal who destroyed suchpriceless prizes,' I cried out, in self-reproach.
"Daisy Holroyd turned a flushed face to mine and impulsively laid herhand on my sleeve.
"'How could you know?' she said.
"'It's all right now,' said her father, emphasizing each word with agentle tap of his pipe-bowl on the table-edge; 'don't be hard onyourself, Dick. You'll do yeoman's service yet.'
"It was nearly midnight, and still we chatted on about thethermosaurus, the ekaf-bird, and the ool-yllik, eagerly discussing theprobability of the great reptile's carcass being in the vicinity. Thatalone seemed to explain the presence of these prehistoric birds atPine Inlet.
"'Do they ever attack human beings?' I asked.
"The professor looked startled.
"'Gracious!' he exclaimed, 'I never thought of that. And Daisy runningabout out-of-doors! Dear me! It takes a scientist to be an unnaturalparent!'
"His alarm was half real, half assumed; but, all the same, he glancedgravely at us both, shaking his handsome head, absorbed in thought.Daisy herself looked a little doubtful. As for me, my sensations weredistinctly queer.
"'It is true,' said the professor, frowning at the wall, 'that humanremains have been found associated with the bones of the ekaf-bird--Idon't know how intimately. It is a matter to be taken into mostserious consideration.'
"'The problem can be solved,' said I, 'in several ways. One is, tokeep Miss Holroyd in the house--'
"'I shall not stay in,' cried Daisy, indignantly.
"We all laughed, and her father assured her that she should not beabused.
"'Even if I did stay in,' she said, 'one of these birds might alighton Master Dick.'
"She looked saucily at me as she spoke, but turned crimson when herfather observed, quietly, 'You don't seem to think of me, Daisy!'
"'Of course I do,' she said, getting up and putting both arms aroundher father's neck; 'but Dick--as--as you call him--is so helpless andtimid.'
"My blissful smile froze on my lips.
"'Timid!' I repeated.
"She came back to the table, making me a mocking reverence.
"'Do you think I am to be laughed at with impunity?' she said.
"'What are your other plans, Dick?' asked the professor. 'Daisy, lethim alone, you little tease!'
"'One is, to haul a lot of cast-iron boilers along the dunes,' I said.'If these birds come when the carcass floats in, and if they seemdisposed to trouble us, we could crawl into the boilers and be safe.'
"'Why, that is really brilliant!' cried Daisy.
"'Be quiet, my child. Dick, the plan is sound and sensible andperfectly practical. McPeek and Frisby shall go for a dozen loads ofboilers to-morrow.'
"'It will spoil the beauty of the landscape,' said Daisy, with ataunting nod to me.
"'And Frisby will probably attempt to cover them with bill-posters,' Iadded, laughing.
"'That,' said Daisy, 'I shall prevent, even at the cost of his life.'And she stood up, looking very determined.
"'Children, children,' protested the professor, 'go to bed--you botherme.'
"Then I turned deliberately to Miss Holroyd.
"'Good-night, Daisy,' I said.
"'Good-night, Dick,' she said, very gently.