Disclaimer: I do not own TLW or any of the associated characters.
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– THE LOST WORLD –
Final Correspondence
Macapá, Brazil – May 14, 1919
International Herald Tribune – Field Reporter, Edward D. Malone
I address you now personally, Mr. McArdle, for it is with great concern that I set out on the second leg of this journey. It is not the reputation of the Tribune or even your editorial integrity for which I express this concern, but the very character of my companions that has given me pause to continue.
We have landed safely at Macapá, in the delta of the mighty Amazon. Lord Roxton has chartered a large steam-launch, the Esmeralda, which is to carry us up river to Manaus. I will, in spite of my concerns, be aboard her. I entrust this post to the harbormaster here in Macapá, with a firm confidence that these pages will find you. As this may be my final correspondence, I speak freely and leave the use of this material to your discretion.
I shall begin this narrative from the safe harbors of Southampton, just two weeks ago…
Chapter I
- Southampton -
A light breeze bent cold waves against the seawall, matting my jacket with a salty mist. Hungry gulls rode low, squabbling over flotsam set adrift by early morning fishermen. The Booth liner Francisca sat neatly at dock, a two stacker out of the Canary Islands – and our passage to this grand adventure.
"She's a lovely ship," a familiar voice spun me about.
"Dr. Summerlee?" I questioned, although I recognized him immediately.
He extended his hand in greeting – a portly man, keen with passion and intellect but lacking the dominance of a Professor George Challenger… or perhaps he had outgrown it.
"You must be Ned –Ned Malone; please, call me Arthur."
His handshake was firm, but just at the end, there was a note of fatherly concern that I believe I took just as he had intended. I gained a measure of the man's compassion – a compassion I felt others might take as weakness.
My only estimate of the doctor had been our distant encounter at the Zoological Society's lecture hall. Here, after a redeye trip by rail and a brief rest in a shipyard inn, he seemed a different fellow entirely. Not the contrary opposition to Professor Challenger but an empathetic soul in his own right. My new companion – appraising a lovely ship."
"We're a bit early, Dr. Summerlee," I said, although I had intended on calling him Arthur, my manners wouldn't allow the familiarity. "Boarding won't begin for an hour yet."
He slipped a pipe and a tobacco-tin from his coat pocket and leaned into the railing – just alongside me. I saw the same blend of skepticism and wonder on his face that I knew mirrored my own.
"Oh, Lad… what have we gotten ourselves into?" he seemed to be asking the sea.
"I'd call it: The Adventure of a Lifetime!" Lord John Roxton's confident exclamation washed away our doubts (or at the very least, shamed them into remission).
The world-renowned hunter tossed down his duffle and in a single pass he shook both our hands – clapping the poor doctor's shoulder with a force that sent spark and ash from his pipe.
Lord Roxton's confidence was infectious. His company transformed fear into excitement and opportunity. I could see a change in Summerlee as well.
"Having you along may be the only sensible decision Challenger has made for this trip," the older man said, punctuating every few words with a nod of his head – lending them a mysterious credibility.
John pulled in a deep breath of the chilly morning air and looked out over the harbor. "The Francisca?" he questioned our ship, "I thought she'd been requisitioned to bring our boys home."
"–Just decommissioned this month," I added much too quickly, and I'm sure Lord Roxton sensed my eagerness to impress him.
He let me off with just a grin and said, "She did her part for The War… just like the rest of us." I felt this was his way of including me in his circle, and I must admit, a swell of boyish pride passed through me upon his approval.
The three of us stood in silence for a time.
I cannot say for certain what brought me to laughter; but there I stood, a grown man, prepared to travel half way around the globe – in search of dinosaurs. I laughed quietly, to myself at first, but soon I had infected the good doctor. Hearing Summerlee's laughter fueled my own, and we began to draw curious stares from passersby.
Lord Roxton issued a few embarrassed apologies on our behalf, but we would not be quieted. After a time, he shook his head, saying, "You two are going to be very hard to keep alive." And with that, he secured his duffle and took his leave.
It stung to lose Lord Roxton's approval so quickly after he had imparted it and I set out after him. Summerlee stopped me with a calm hand on my shoulder. His voice still lilt with laughter, he said, "We have a long journey ahead; give him time." He seemed to understand my need to prove myself, so I took his lead. Together, we turned back to the rail and watched the sea.
Below us, men worked rope and winch, swinging large crates from the pier to the deck of the ocean liner, where the cargo descended into the hold. I spotted Roxton moving freely amid the longshoremen, inspecting the cargo. His bearing commanded a liberty with the workmen that I knew would not have been afforded the likes of me or even Dr. Summerlee. John pulled back a tarp covering a massive stack of crates; printed neatly on each container were the words: Challenger Expedition.
The scope of what I had committed myself to, began to settle in. Suddenly, I felt foolish for my behavior earlier; I realized that standing in the shadow of men such as these, I could easily be cast as a boy. I resolved then and there to carry myself in that manner which Lord Roxton seemed to wield so effortlessly.
As if the doctor could read my thoughts or perhaps he noticed the change in my own bearing, he said, "It looks like Roxton could use a hand inspecting our supplies."
I left my kit in Summerlee's care and headed for the breach in the seawall that descended to the supply dock. As I passed the boarding ramp, I felt my newly found resolve drain from my legs. There, standing alongside Lord Roxton, was Professor George Challenger, two rugged men cut from opposite ends of the same cloth. They seemed to converse so easily, each accepting the other as his equal.
You may think me prattling on about my own insecurities, but I assure you Mr. McArdle, these are intimidating characters and to earn their confidence is no small task. It is important that you gain a proper regard for these men, so that you might fully appreciate the architect of their undoing – and there in, understand my apprehension to continue this journey.
As I was considering my exit, Roxton caught sight of me and called out, "Neddy-Boy, just the man we need; give us a hand with these crates." For the next hour I kept my eyes low and did as I was instructed. After a short time, Challenger offered me his gloves and was content to just give orders. Even Lord Roxton slowed a bit toward the end. As Summerlee looked on from above, I knew we both took some satisfaction that my youthful stature had proven true to this task.
The boarding bell had already rung for the second time, and we made haste for the boarding ramp. I found Dr. Summerlee there among the crowd and retrieved my bag, I offered to carry his as well, and he seemed genuinely relieved to be free of it.
"Mine are over there," a female voice caught me unaware. I turned to see Miss Krux moving through the crowd toward the front of the boarding line. Her pace seemed to indicate that she expected people to move out of her path, and to my surprise, the people did. I found my own self stepping out of her way as she approached the ticket master. It was only then that I realized, she had been speaking to me when she said, "Mine are over there." I looked in the direction she had pointed, and there sat a pile of luggage.
I looked to Roxton in disbelief, but he only gave me a broad grin, saying, "Oh, don't worry about me Neddy-Boy; I'll carry my own." With that, he hoisted his duffle to his shoulder.
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Next Chapter: The Francisca