FRONTIERLAND: LOST WORLDS 1

BOOK TWO: INTO DARKNESS

EIGHT

The voyage to the state of Para has been of little incident except to say that thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, Lord Northolt and Miss Lilian White, we were able to travel in some comfort. There have been, of course, numerous discussions between Professors Challenger and Summerlee, mostly about the course of evolution, which your humble narrator must leave you, the reader, to refer yourself to published papers by these learned gentlemen or your imagination to expand upon, as I cannot attempt it here. Suffice to say that at this stage Professor Challenger's assertion regarding the plateau he refers to remained in abeyance awaiting further evidence.

-The Journal of E.D.Malone for the London Sentinel, May1891.

"Come in?" Eddie called uncertainly at the knock on the door of his cabin. He was at his small desk in the panelled splendour of his first-class cabin writing his journal for the Sentinel, hoping to wire it back once they reached port. The ship was now a day and a half out from Southampton and Eddie had seen relatively little of his fellow passengers apart from at breakfast and lunch.

"Ah, Edward, just the chap," Roxton said as he entered. "Can I?" indicating a chair close to Eddie's desk in the main body of his cabin. The berth was behind a door to the left and the bath to the right. Eddie silently gestured for his guest to sit, immaculately dressed as always, it appeared, from a seemingly inexhaustible supply of three piece suits although he occasionally wore fatigues. Lilian, Eddie had noticed, tended to wear trousers on board the liner, with sports jackets of a fashionable cut. He sometimes felt out of place in his own suit made by a tailor in the East End.

"Thought we might have a quick chat, what?" Roxton eased his long frame into the chair and crossed his ankles over his stretched-out legs. Eddie had come to like Roxton over the past weeks and was glad to see him. He put down his pen and leaned back.

"Now, Challenger and Summerlee seem to be rather bitter rivals in science."

"I see that, Jack." Eddie had finally become more or less comfortable with Roxton's preferred choice of address. "Sounds as if Challenger wanted the chair at the London University Natural History School but Summerlee got it. Then Summerlee wanted the Prince Albert Science Award to fund one of his pieces of research but Challenger got it. It's all about ten years ago now, they seem to have been contesting each other ever since."

"Well they do appear to bicker all the time, you see. Looks to me that it's up to you an' me to keep these chaps from each others' throats. Can't expect Miss Lilian to do it."

"Well, you seem to have done a pretty good job yourself so far, I must admit."

"I daresay. Well, I'm convinced you're a sound chap, Edward. You mentioned you played for Ireland too."

"For my sins, yes." Eddie confessed.

"And had a bit of a run-in with old Challenger as well." Roxton chuckled. "Although I daresay that is now past history of course, water under the bridge, so to speak. There might be times when we need to keep a cool head, wouldn't you say? I think I can count on you to keep yours when these two boffins can't agree. Just a matter of keepin' the peace so we don't all go, er, crazy, eh?"

"I suppose so. What is it you want me to do?"

"Well, let's just try to keep things calm when these two chaps are at it. Need to know I have an ally I can rely on, what?"

"Well, I'll do my best. They are like overgrown schoolboys sometimes, I must admit."

"Good show. We're all going to be cooped up together for a bit, need to make sure we all get along, eh? Long trip ahead of us, may even get some good shootin' on the way!"