The Wolf-Men: A Tale of Amazing Adventure in the Under-World — Inside the Classic

PTER I. AT THE MERCY OF CONSPIRATORS 5 CHAPTER II. HOW HAVERLY FOILED THE BOAT-STEALERS 12 CHAPTER III. BEYOND THE GREAT BARRIER 21 CHAPTER IV. TRAPPED! 32 CHAPTER V. OVER THE CATARACT’S BRINK 38 CHAPTER VI. THE LAND OF ETERNAL TWILIGHT 45 CHAPTER VII. A REMARKABLE DISCOVERY AND ITS SEQUEL 55 CHAPTER VIII. THE ELK-HUNTERS 61 CHAPTER IX. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE “SEAL” 69 CHAPTER X. THE COMING OF THE GREAT FISH-LIZARD 76 CHAPTER XI. HOW HILTON ESCAPED FROM THE WOLF-MEN 83 CHAPTER XII. “GEHARI--THE WILY ONE” 91 CHAPTER XIII. THE FATE OF MERVYN 97 CHAPTER XIV. “RAHEE THE TERRIBLE!” 105 CHAPTER XV. FOR A FRIEND’S LIFE 112 CHAPTER XVI. HOW HAVERLY CHECKED THE STAMPEDE 119 CHAPTER XVII. A DUEL TO THE DEATH 126 CHAPTER XVIII. THE SINKING POOL 133 CHAPTER XIX. THE FIRE GULF 140 CHAPTER XX. THE LAST OF THE AYUTIS 147 CHAPTER XXI. “SUNSHINE!” 154 CHAPTER XXII. THE TERROR OF THE JUNGLE 164 CHAPTER XXIII. MUSWANI--MONSTER-FIGHTER 173 CHAPTER XXIV. A GLIMPSE OF THE UPPER WORLD 180 CHAPTER XXV. SEYMOUR’S FALL 189 CHAPTER XXVI. THE FASCINATION OF THE PRIEST 195 CHAPTER XXVII. IN THE VAULTS 202 CHAPTER XXVIII. IN THE WOLF-MEN’S HAUNTS 207 CHAPTER XXIX. RAHEE ASSISTS THE FUGITIVES 215 CHAPTER XXX. THE SCROLL OF NEOMRI 222 CHAPTER XXXI. “THE ‘SEAL!’” 229 CHAPTER XXXII. THE DOOM OF NORDHU 236 CHAPTER XXXIII. THE INVENTOR’S STORY 243 CHAPTER XXXIV. ON THE CREST OF THE TIDAL WAVE 248 CHAPTER XXXV. INTO THE SUNLIGHT 256

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

“For an instant it hung poised, then thundered downward” _Frontispiece_ “The next moment the rope parted behind him” _To face p._ 92 “The brute swung round and leapt again, missing his mark by a bare three inches” 116 “Amid the hideous forms of the Wolf-men the Ayuti towered as a god” 148 “The great saurian, reeling from the impact, lurched over upon his side” 174 “‘See, I have brought their weapons’” 180 “‘Back, you dogs!’ he roared. ‘A step further and your priest dies!’” 216 “Scuttling down to the water’s edge with the giant elk pounding along behind him” 234

Professor James Mervyn’s voice quivered with eagerness as he put this question to his companion, Sir William Seymour, in a private room of a large London hotel. The baronet, a man in the prime of life, over six feet in height, and broad in proportion, his bearded face tanned by many a year of travel under a tropical sun, rose, and paced the chamber for some moments ere answering.

“Yes, I’ll come,” he said at length. “I had made all arrangements to leave England to-morrow for a spell in India; but that must slide. I can’t miss this chance of a trip to the Pole. But now tell me something more of this wonderful idea of yours.”

The professor’s spare form seemed to dilate with scientific zeal, and his eyes flashed as he commenced to speak.

“To begin at the beginning,” he said. “I have had the idea in my mind for some years, but until the last six months I saw no chance of putting it into execution. Although my theory has been ridiculed and laughed to scorn by most, if not all, of my colleagues, yet I am still convinced that it is not only feasible, but that it is the only way in which the secret of the Pole, so jealously guarded by Dame Nature, may be wrested from her grasp.

“This was my line of reasoning: that it would be possible for a properly equipped submarine vessel to dive beneath the great ice barrier, and so reach the open sea which we know exists beyond. But the submarines of the day were in no way suitable for the attempt. Mere toys in size, and in some instances proving veritable death-traps to their unfortunate crews, of what use were these to cope with the perils of the Arctic seas? So my theory remained dormant until, some weeks ago, I received a letter from Garth Hilton. You remember what a fellow Garth always was for making model boats?”

Seymour nodded affirmatively.

“Well,” Mervyn continued, “it seems that he has had his old school chum, Tom Wilson, the engineer, staying with him at Hilton Manor for several months, and between them they have managed to construct a submarine, which, if it but answer their expectations, will prove the very thing I have been waiting for all these years. This is Garth’s description of his craft,” and, extracting a letter from the depths of a bulky note-book, Mervyn read as follows:

“Total length, three hundred and fifty feet; beam, fifty feet; torpedo-shaped, with turret or wheelhouse, from which the vessel is governed, in centre of deck. Tanks for submerging or raising; air reservoirs for supply whilst beneath the surface; liquid air engines, a patent of Wilson’s, maximum speed of which is forty-five knots per hour upon the surface, and thirty submerged.”

“Whew!” The professor’s companion whistled in his astonishment at this last statement.