[00:00.72] Chapter seven.
[00:03.12] A Midnight Adventure.
[00:06.53] That night, Summerly was on guard duty.
[00:10.58] I saw his thin, bony figure by the fire.
[00:15.13] Every so often, his wispy goat's beard wagged as he dozed off.
[00:22.33] Challenger and Lord John were asleep, but not me.
[00:27.43] I was still too excited about my mapmaking adventure.
[00:32.94] The ape man I'd seen, that lake at the center of the plateau, those caves.
[00:42.27] I couldn't help feeling very pleased with myself.
[00:47.63] Before, I had felt like a boy in the company of men.
[00:53.91] Now I felt like a real grown up.
[00:58.70] I wanted to do something else daring to win more praise and prove myself to the others once and for all.
[01:09.45] Why don't you go to that lake?
[01:12.48] I asked myself, and find out more about those mysterious creatures on the shore.
[01:20.40] I could see the others clapping me on the back when I came back, marveling.
[01:27.36] What, you went out exploring at night, all alone?
[01:35.33] I could see the headline in my newspaper.
[01:39.53] Top reporter takes midnight stroll in dinosaur forest.
[01:46.47] I'll go, I decided.
[01:51.17] It was a very stupid thing to do.
[01:56.05] My need for praise blinded me.
[02:00.76] If I'd known then what I know now, I'd never have taken that walk.
[02:09.73] I crept past the snoozing Summerly and plunged into the dark forest, following the little stream, which I was sure would lead me to the central lake.
[02:23.46] It was a bright moonlit night, but among the trees, shadows moved.
[02:31.72] My heart hammered.
[02:35.33] My head whipped round at every sound.
[02:39.82] Something scuttled away into the bushes.
[02:45.48] I told myself, Malone, this is a big mistake.
[02:54.15] My pride had made me do something foolish.
[02:59.49] But now my pride wouldn't let me go back.
[03:04.79] Not without completing my mission.
[03:08.86] So, I pushed on through that dreadful forest with rustlings, howls, and all sorts of strange cries around me.
[03:18.69] What was that huge crouching shape among the trees?
[03:24.20] A picture flashed into my mind of the allosaurus with blood dripping from its jaws.
[03:34.38] But the shape melted away, and I realized it was just my eyes playing tricks.
[03:40.83] Get a grip, Malone, I told myself sternly.
[03:48.11] At last, I reached the lake.
[03:51.86] I seemed to have been walking for hours, but my watch said it was only 1:00 in the morning.
[04:00.27] But I couldn't afford to waste time.
[04:03.92] I wanted to explore the lake and be back in camp before dawn.
[04:12.42] The lake shone silver in the moonlight.
[04:17.08] Then, I saw ripples.
[04:21.50] Suddenly, a snaky head and neck rose up like a swimming serpent.
[04:28.67] Then another, then another.
[04:34.21] Their long necks waved as they glided gracefully through the water.
[04:39.89] I watched them, fascinated.
[04:47.07] The creatures crawled clumsily out onto the bank.
[04:52.23] They had huge barrel-shaped bodies and fins like giant seals.
[04:59.48] Plesiosaurs, I breathed.
[05:04.67] They must be.
[05:07.04] How thrilled Challenger would be when I told him, how he'd crow.
[05:12.97] I knew I was right.
[05:18.67] Then my eyes caught some lights.
[05:22.85] They were high up on the cliffs beyond the lake.
[05:28.59] It was where I'd seen the caves through the binoculars.
[05:34.11] I stared at them amazed.
[05:37.87] The lights were red and twinkling.
[05:43.55] Those are fires, I told myself.
[05:48.16] Fires in the caves.
[05:51.15] What else could they be?
[05:56.33] And fires meant people.
[06:00.99] People probably more advanced than the ape man I'd seen in the tree.
[06:09.85] I leaped up, filled with excitement about what I'd learned.
[06:16.54] I would have liked to explore further, to go around the lake, climb those cliffs and peep into the caves.
[06:27.02] But I had to get back to camp.
[06:31.19] And anyhow, I was mad with impatience to tell the others what I'd found.
[06:39.96] Eagerly, I set off to follow the stream back.
[06:44.93] The forest didn't seem as frightening as before.
[06:49.89] It was peaceful, washed with silver, like a dream landscape.
[06:58.01] I felt bold and full of confidence.
[07:03.10] Why were you so scared?
[07:06.05] I mocked myself.
[07:10.58] But then, I heard a snarl.
[07:15.79] At first, I thought I'd imagined it.
[07:20.11] Then it came again, a low, menacing rumble.
[07:28.53] I stopped, trembling.
[07:33.35] The hairs prickled at the back of my neck.
[07:36.64] My eyes darted round.
[07:39.67] Where was it coming from?
[07:46.85] Over there.
[07:49.55] I saw an enormous shape in the shadows.
[07:54.14] It was crouched, ready to spring.
[07:58.36] It had powerful back legs, red, gleaming eyes.
[08:07.90] Allosaurus!
[08:10.46] My brain shrieked at me.
[08:14.28] I took off in a panic, crashing through the woods.
[08:20.20] I ran faster than I'd ever run before in my life, until I collapsed in the ferns, my chest burning.
[08:31.10] Was it still behind me?
[08:34.76] I thought for a moment I was safe.
[08:38.64] Then I saw it, sniffing the ground, following my scent, the scent of fresh meat.
[08:50.08] It sprang into a pool of moonlight, and I saw its terrible teeth and claws.
[08:58.68] I took off again, racing through the forest.
[09:03.54] It was still behind me, and it was gaining.
[09:09.25] The next second, I was falling through space, my arms and legs kicking wildly.
[09:16.74] I heard someone screaming in terror.
[09:20.60] It's me, I realized, as I hurtle downwards.
[09:27.04] Then there was a great thump and blackness.
[09:35.27] When I came to, I felt sick and groggy.
[09:40.09] What had happened?
[09:43.88] I was aching and bruised all over.
[09:50.41] And where was I?
[09:54.34] It was so dark that I could hardly see a thing.
[09:59.71] There was a foul smell, and my hand was touching something.
[10:09.06] I pulled it back, disgusted.
[10:13.90] It was a chunk of rotting meat.
[10:21.28] Then I remembered the allosaurus.
[10:26.24] I staggered to my feet and bumped into a huge stake.
[10:32.51] As I looked up, moonlight spilled over my face.
[10:37.82] The stake was sharpened at the top, and I could see that I was in some kind of pit.
[10:48.75] It's a trap, I thought.
[10:53.05] A dinosaur trap.
[11:00.60] The meat and bones around me were their rotting remains.
[11:08.74] Humans with some cunning and intelligence must have made it.
[11:14.53] Could it have been the cave dwellers whose fires I'd seen?
[11:21.35] But I had more urgent things to think about.
[11:26.56] Was the allosaurus still on my trail?
[11:31.23] He could be up there waiting for me.
[11:39.46] A dinosaur couldn't get out of this pit, but a human could.
[11:49.07] I scrambled up the sides, poked my head over the top, and looked around.
[11:56.31] As far as I could tell, there was no allosaurus.
[12:02.46] The forest looked peaceful again in the moonlight.
[12:10.19] Anyhow, you can't stay here all night, I told myself.
[12:17.14] So I pulled myself out, found the stream again, and with many nervous looks over my shoulder, I hurried back to camp.
[12:28.19] I'd still get there before dawn.
[12:32.67] I was about a mile away when I heard shouts from the direction of the camp.
[12:39.22] I stood dead still, my ears straining.
[12:44.76] Another shrill cry carried through the dark forest.
[12:50.34] Something was wrong.
[12:53.45] I forced my poor, aching body into a run.
[13:02.54] At last, I saw our thorny camp fence in front of me.
[13:09.29] I shouted out, Hey there.
[13:15.92] No reply.
[13:18.99] Sick with dread, I stumbled inside.
[13:24.77] The camp had been smashed up, destroyed, and our things thrown everywhere.
[13:34.19] My friends had gone.