“A swim, Lord, in the deep water of the lake?” ejaculated Arima in horror-stricken accents. “Nay, that is impossible.”
“Impossible!” repeated Harry. “And why, pray?”
“Because of the monsters, Lord,” answered Arima. “Were we to venture to plunge into the lake we should almost certainly be devoured.”
“Indeed!” answered Harry. “So there are monsters in the lake, are there? I was not aware of that. And what are those ‘monsters’? Are they alligators, or voracious fish, or what are they? I should hardly have supposed that the water of the lake was warm enough for alligators to flourish in it.”
“Nay, Lord,” answered Arima, “they are not alligators. I have seen alligators in some of the northern rivers, and know them well enough to be able to distinguish between them and the monsters which haunt our lake. Nor are they fish; or if they be, they are quite unlike any other fish that these eyes of mine have ever beheld. We call them ‘monsters’ because our forefathers did so, and because we have no other name for them; also because of their exceeding size and malevolence.”
“Ah!” commented Harry. “Well, what are these creatures—these monsters—like, and how big are they? Have you ever seen them?”
“Yes, Lord,” was the answer. “I have seen them no less than three times at close quarters, and always with the same disastrous results. The first time was when, during my passage of the lake on a balsa, one of my companions had the misfortune to fall into the water. Ere the balsa could be stopped and paddled back to where the man was struggling, two of the monsters appeared and tore him limb from limb. The resemblance to an alligator lies chiefly in the shape of the head, which, however, is longer in proportion and more pointed than that of the alligator. Also, our monsters have smooth skins, nearly black in colour, and instead of feet and legs they have fins. The tail also is differently shaped from that of an alligator, being wide and flat at the end.”
“By Jove!” exclaimed Harry in astonishment, “they must be queer and formidable-looking creatures indeed; and fins in place of legs and feet! I’ll be shot if I can place them at all. Are there many of them?”
“We do not generally see more than two, or three at most, although it is on record that on one occasion, many years ago, four were seen, two of them being obviously young ones,” answered Arima.
“Upon my word, this all sounds exceedingly interesting,” commented Harry. “I should dearly like to see the creatures myself. Do they often show themselves?”