might not be influenced by its great bulk of iron and steel I turned

the delicate instrument about in every direction.

Always and steadily the needle remained rigidly fixed upon a point

straight out to sea, apparently pointing toward a large island some

ten or twenty miles distant. This then should be north.

I drew my note-book from my pocket and made a careful topographical

sketch of the locality within the range of my vision. Due north

lay the island, far out upon the shimmering sea.

The spot I had chosen for my observations was the top of a large,

flat boulder which rose six or eight feet above the turf. This

spot I called Greenwich. The boulder was the "Royal Observatory."

I had made a start! I cannot tell you what a sense of relief was

imparted to me by the simple fact that there was at least one spot

within Pellucidar with a familiar name and a place upon a map.

It was with almost childish joy that I made a little circle in my

note-book and traced the word Greenwich beside it.

Now I felt I might start out upon my search with some assurance of

finding my way back again to the prospector.

I decided that at first I would travel directly south in the hope

that I might in that direction find some familiar landmark. It

was as good a direction as any. This much at least might be said

of it.

Among the many other things I had brought from the outer world were

a number of pedometers. I slipped three of these into my pockets

with the idea that I might arrive at a more or less accurate mean

from the registrations of them all.

On my map I would register so many paces south, so many east, so

<<BackPagesTo menuNext>>