Exploring the Land of the Lost

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One Mystery Solved

By

Jeanne Rudmann Grunert

"I'm not a baby," Holly muttered to herself as she slid down to the floor of the cave, folding her legs Indian-style.  She fiddled with a coil of rope hanging at her belt and glared at her father and her brother.  She said under her breath, "You're always telling me to stay out of the way."

          Rick stopped with his experiments at the matrix table.  "Holly," he said sharply, stepping around the table to face his daughter.  "We may be in Enik's cave, but we're not safe.  Even though it's their dormant season, the Sleestak could awaken at any time."

          "I know, Dad! But I could help! Just give me something to do."

          "We don't have time to argue," Rick said sternly. "Enik may be back at any moment, and I don't think he's doing to be pleased that we're messing around with his matrix table."

  Will, keeping guard at the doorway, glanced back over his shoulder at his father.  "Dad, maybe you should wait until Enik gets back," he suggested.

Rick glanced up at Will, but continued lecturing Holly instead of answering his son.  "The time doorways and matrix tables are dangerous things.  You can either help your brother stand guard, or you can sit quietly and watch, but you may not touch crystals on the matrix table or wander the caves and explore.  If we explore, we explore together."

          "Yeah," Will chimed in.  "You don't want to end up as dinner for the Sleestak God, do you?"

          Holly leaned her back against the wall of the cave and stuck her tongue out at Will as soon as Rick returned to studying the matrix table.   Will returned the favor, then turned back to watching the corridor for Sleestak.

          "I'm not a baby," she muttered.  She closed her eyes and pressed the back of her head against the wall, feeling the cold of the cavern through her hair.  "I'll show you both."

*

Kirkwood, Scotland, 1759

          "Maggie, stay out of the way!" John Dumphries scolded his youngest daughter.   He stood on the deck of his small fishing boat, coiling the line in his right hand, pipe firmly clasped between his blackened teeth.  Gulls screeched and wheeled overhead, pecking at the scraps of cod the fishermen threw off the decks of their ships after gutting and cleaning the fish to prepare it for salting.

          Maggie's brother Ian stowed  the sails in the aft compartment of the tight little fishing vessel.  "Yeah, girlie, go back to the croft and do the mending, for the love of God!"  Ian stuck his tongue out at Maggie.  Maggie returned the favor.

"Margaret Dumphries, you act like a lady!" John scolded his daughter.  "What would your poor mother say about your behavior, now?"

"Ya! You act like a baby." Ian grinned.  He knew just how to get under her skin.

She flounced off the deck, taking one great leap to the shore, her skirts and petticoats crinkling.  "I am not such a baby, that!" she cried over her shoulder.  "Da, it's not fair!  I can help aboard, I can.  I can stow sails as well as Ian, if not better, and I can coil the lines.   I can wash the deck later too.  Just let me stay and help."

          "Ah, Mag, fishing is men's work," John Dumphries smiled at his youngest daughter.  "You're never going to catch a husband if you stay with the men folk and catch fish."

          "With a face like that, she ain't never going to catch a husband anyway," Ian teased.

          "Enough of you, Ian Dumphries!" Maggie shouted.  She whirled away and bounded with flying leaps, her lithe body skimming the ground as she dashed away from the quay.   The other men in the village were also pulling up their boats, taking in their nets, and stowing their gear.  Tomorrow was the Sabbath.  No fishing, then, but the day of rest.   She dashed between wooden crates filled with dried and salted cod, the village of Kirkwell's major export to England and her colonies.   She wove in and out among the groups on the shore, skirting the edges of the quay, then running up the hills of heather towards their tiny croft cottage on the moor.

          The one room cottage was dark and smoke-scented.   Maggie sank to the dirt floor and buried her face in her arms and sobbed.  When would they realize she wasn't a baby?  She was twelve years old, the lady of the family since her mother had passed on when she was just a babe.   She cooked, cleaned and sewed for her father and for Ian, but she yearned for adventure, to row out through the lochs and rivers to the sea and fish with the men folk during the week.

          The sun slanted through the tiny smoke-chimney opening in the thatched roof,  and the single ray marched through the inches to mark passing of an hour.   With a sniffle, Maggie wiped her nose and eyes on the hem of her apron, and rose to her feet.   No matter how angry and disappointed she was, there was work to do.   She left the croft and took as many large sticks of wood as she could carry from the pile behind the cottage and brought these back inside, where she built the fire.  She set the kettle on the hob and took the peeling pan to the front yard.  A scrawny chicken pecked at the dirt path.   She threw her a potato peel, dried to the edges of the pan, which the chicken clucked at eagerly.  Maggie settled on her heels, her back against the thatched croft, and used a sharp knife to peel the potatoes. 

          Someday, she thought, her blue eyes seeking the horizon among the heather, someday, I'll prove to them just how brave I am!  

*

          "Anything yet, Dad?" Will asked his father.   He had been standing guard for three quarters of an hour and he was getting tired.  Except for the steady drip-drip of a water source somewhere deep in the caverns, the Lost City was quiet.  Nothing stirred.

          The matrix table hummed; the glowing jewels pulsed quickly.   To Will, the table seemed angry every time his father touched the crystals.  It had been an unproductive afternoon. 

          "No," Rick sighed.  "Nothing at all.   I get it to make noises.  The lights blink faster or slower.  But I can't get the time doorway to open."

          Holly, who had been sulking by herself for a while, said, "Can we try yet?"

          "Yeah, Dad, how about letting me and Holly give it a go? You'll be right here."

          Rick shook his head.  "No, Holly.  I don't want you or Will touching it.  It's too dangerous."

          "But you do it," Holly protested.

          For once, Will agreed with her.  "Yeah, Dad," Will said.  "Look, I hate to argue with you, but this time, Holly's right.  Most of the time you know lots more about stuff than we do, but in this case, we know just as much about the matrix tables as you do.  Maybe more."

          "Will, don't get cocky," Rick warned.

          "Will's right, Daddy," Holly said.  "After all, he did open the time doorway on top of the mountain, when Colonel Jackson's glider came through."

          "And nearly destroyed us all when the hurricane winds came roaring through," Rick said.  "Will, Holly, this is my final word.  The time doorways are dangerous, and so are the matrix tables.  You are not to touch them unless I'm here.  Do you understand?"

          Will and Holly nodded mutely.  Will caught Holly's eye.  There was complete understanding between them.  Holly nodded.   Yes, she seemed to say, this time Daddy's wrong and we're right. 

          Soft, measured footsteps in the corridor made them all jump.  "Quick, Will, Holly!" Rick said softly.  "Get ready to run.  It could be a Sleestak."

          "No," a familiar voice from the doorway said.  "It is an Altrusian.  Rick Marshall.  What are you doing in my chambers?"

          Enik entered his chamber and looked around.  He spied Will and Holly crouched on the floor. "An unusual greeting," he said to the children.  "An Earth-custom of yours?" He tried to crouch down in imitation, but his legs refused to bend all the way, and he had to grasp the edges of the matrix table to support himself.

          Holly and Will both ran to their friend and grasped him under the arms to steady him.  "Uh, no, not exactly, Enik," Will said.  "It was a reaction to fear.  We thought you were a Sleestak."

          "Ah.  Interesting."  Enik righted himself.  He glanced around his chambers, his gaze resting on the matrix table.  "Who has touched the matrix table?"

          No one answered.  Finally, Rick said, "I did.  We thought we could find our time doorway…"

          "How?"  When none of the Marshalls answered, Enik said coldly, "Rick Marshall, I have warned you before.  The time doorways and the matrix tables are dangerous.  You cannot open them through trial and error.  It takes scientific study, a knowledge of temporal physics, and some telepathic ability to link to the matrix tables.  You are not capable of opening a time doorway through accident."

          "But we did, Enik," Will said.  "That is, Holly and me, we did it.  On top of the mountain."

          Enik studied them for a moment. "Then why have you not allowed Will and Holly Marshall to try the matrix table?" he asked Rick.  "If they have proven to be able to open a time doorway in the past, it stands to reason they would be able to open one now."

          For once, Rick was at a loss for words.  "I - I - it just seemed to me - it seemed dangerous and –"

          Enik made several sweeping gestures with his clawed hands over the matrix table, and the violently flashing lights quieted.  The hum lowered in pitch as the table shut down.   Reflectively, he touched the pylon-shaped crystal hanging from his vestments.   There was silence in the rooms for a moment.  Then he said, "It is good that I have found you, although I am most displeased to find you in my chambers."

          "I know," Rick said.  "I'm sorry."

          "I do not enter your cave without permission," Enik said. "So you should not enter my cave without my permission."

          "He's got you there, Dad," Will murmured. 

          "Why is it good that you found us, Mr. Enik?" Holly asked.

          "I have found a most interesting cavern," Enik said.  "I have been exploring deep within the Lost City to ascertain the layout of this place.  The layout of this city is different from the city I knew in Altrusia, although there are some similarities.  I thought it logical to map the caves, and compare them to my memory of my home.   This way, I could determine which caverns should have matrix tables, and which should not, providing me with a list of viable locations for a time doorway."

          "A logical deduction, of course," Rick said.

          "Of course," Enik continued.  "And to ensure my safety, I have chosen the Sleestak dormant season to do my investigating."

          "Why aren't you dormant?" Will asked.

          "Will, that might be a rude question!" Rick said under his breath.

          "Rude?" Enik pondered the word.  "If I understand the human definition of rude, as being asking questions of a personal nature, then the answer is yes.   It is a rude question.  I will ignore it."

          "But do you sleep –?" Holly asked.

          "Holly!" Rick hissed.

          "My brain goes into cycles of deep theta waves, every eighteen  of your Earth hours," Enik answered.  "During this cycle, I am effectively 'asleep.'  I may be standing, I may be lying down, but for the space of several minutes, I am what you would term sleeping. It is enough for my body to perform necessary tissue repairs.  Have I explained this sufficiently?" The Marshalls nodded.

          "Enik, what about this cavern?" Rick asked.

          "Come," Enik beckoned to Rick.  "I will take you to see it. There are symbols on the walls which are not Altrusian.  I do not believe the Sleestak evolved a separate form of writing.   They are degenerates, and most likely, our writing de-evolved with them.   This writing is unfamiliar to me.  I am hoping that you may be able to identify it."

          "It could be English writing!" Will cried.  "From someone who's been here before, and found a way out.  C'mon Dad, let's go see."

          "It is dangerous to get to the cavern," Enik warned. "I suggest that only Rick Marshall accompany me."

          "Dangerous?" Rick asked.  "What are the dangers?"

          "First," Enik said, "one must pass through a chamber of dormant Sleestaks.  There are fifty Sleestaks in this chamber."

          Rick swallowed.  "And?"

          "There are numerous arachnids in the large chambers.   I do not think they are harmful to me, but they could be poisonous to a human."

"Anything else?"

"The chamber is reached only by crossing a rope bridge," Enik said.  "The bridge was erected long ago and it is in disrepair.  Even when I crossed it, my weight snapped two of the rope steps.  The drop is precipitous."

          "How deep?"

          "A stone dropped from the bridge did not make a noise after ten of your Earth minutes," Enik replied. "Although, eventually of course, it would at some point create a sound wave after it struck another stone."

          Will whistled softly. "A bottomless crevasse!"

          "A colorful turn of phrase," Enik said.  "But an adequate description.  Yes.  I would suggest that only one of you accompany me in case we should die."

          There was silence in the cavern.  "Daddy, let me do it!" Holly cried.  "I'm light enough.  I could walk across that rope bridge and hardy break anything."

          "But you're afraid of heights, remember?" Will asked.  "I should go."

          "It doesn't matter," Rick replied.  "Will and Holly, you stay here.  It is too dangerous and I won't let you take the risk.  Enik, can you erect your force field again so that Will and Holly are safe, in case the Sleestak awaken?"
          "But Dad, what if we need to get out of here?" Will cried.  "You can't lock us in here."

          "I will show you how to de-activate it from the inside if you should wish to leave," Enik promised. 

          "Dad, I still think we should go with you," Holly said.  "You're always telling us we have to stick together."

          "Yeah, Dad," Will said.

          Rick just shook his head.  "In this case, I want you two here, safe."

          Although the children continued to protest, Rick argued them down each time.   Sullenly, Will and Holly retreated to the far wall and waited while Enik showed them how to active and de-activate the force field.  "But do not come after us until such time has passed as you feel it would be unlikely we were safe," Enik cautioned them.  "Do you carry chronometers similar to your father's?" He pointed to Rick's wristwatch.

          "I have mine," Will said.  The band had broken, so he kept it in his pocket, but he pulled it out now to show to Enik.

          "Will, time us on your watch," Rick said. "If we're not back by the end of two hours, gather some crystals and come after us.  Find a length of Sleestak rope and come after us."

          "Okay, Dad," Will said.

          "I still think I could do it," Holly said.  "I've done scarier things."

          Rick smiled fondly at his young daughter.  "I know, honey," he said.  "But this time, I'll go with Enik.  You two stay here."

          And with that, he left with the Altrusian.  Will activated the force field as Enik had shown him.  He and Holly were left staring at each other over the matrix table.

          "Well?" Will said.

          "Well what?" Holly replied.  "Daddy told us to stay here."

          "Of course," Will said smoothly.  "But you also heard what Enik said about the matrix table and the time doorway.  It's only logical that we should experiment a bit…" He ran his fingertips lightly over the edge of the table.  Instantly, a soft light suffused the crystals, and a low, crooning hum filled the air.  "See that? It likes me already."

          "Will…"

          "Well, Holly?  You said you wanted to help.  What if we could open the time doorway home? Think about it!"

          "I think you're going to get us into trouble," Holly said.  She sat down again in the same spot she was in before, with her back pressed against the wall of Enik's cave.  "I'm just going to sit right here.  You go ahead."

          Will grinned at her.  "All right.  But you're going to miss out on the glory if I open a time doorway…"

          "Don't worry," Holly assured him.  "You can have it!"

          Slowly, Will began touching crystals on the matrix table.

*

Kirkwood, Scotland, 1759

          Sundays were a fine day in Kirkwood.   Maggie donned her other dress, a gown of deep blue, with an apron embroidered with blue flowers, and a bonnet that matched the apron.   Ian and John Dumphries pulled on clean leggings and breaches, cleaned their boots as best they could, and pulled their caps over neatly combed hair.   The Dumphries family walked the five miles to Kirkwood, to the tiny church nestled amidst the shops across from the town square.   Maggie loved church.   She greeted the ladies of the village, she smiled at her friends, and took her place in the back of the church with the other fishing families to hear the Reverend Anderson's sermon.

          After church, they visited her mother's grave.  She picked a small nosegay of violets and left them against the plain headstone that read simply "Jenny Marshall Dumphries.  Beloved wife and mother."   Then, they walked the five miles back to the croft very slowly, their father spinning stories of fairies and ghosts, of times long past when magic ruled the day as they walked the rolling hills of heather and violets and the sun warmed them through their clothes.

          Evening settled in the croft too early for Maggie's taste.   She made a supper of cold ham and boiled greens, and Da had his pipe, and Ian sat by the fire, mending the nets.   Wrapped in one of her mother's old patched cloaks, Maggie warmed her hands by the fire as the spring chill settled in with the dark.   An involuntary shuddered passed through her.

          "Why Mags, ghosties step on your grave?" her father smiled.

          Maggie shrugged.  "Dunno, Da," she said.  "I just felt a shiver pass through me."

          "She's believing your tales of ghosties again, Da," Ian grinned at his sister.  "C'mon, Mag, there's no such thing as the creatures in Da's stories.  They're just stories, is all."

          "Aye, but the Reverend Anderson read the story of Jonah today," Maggie said.  "So there be monsters, for it says so in the Bible."

          "Aye, that be so," John Dumphries acknowledged.  "For it says so in the Bible."

          "You don't believe in that old tale, do you?" Ian asked.

          John cuffed him aside the head.  "You mind your tongue," he said sharply.  "For if it be so in the Bible, it be so."

          "I'll not believe it until I see it!" Ian Dumphries declared, and with that, he went into the croft to prepare for night.

*

          Rick followed Enik through twisting caverns, some so narrow that he had to walk sideways through them, others wide but so low that he had to crawl on hands and knees behind the Altrusian.  The dark pressed upon them grievously, and Rick clicked together two crystals to give himself some light which seemed to annoy Enik.  Rick insisted upon marking their route with a rock which he scraped against the walls, drawing arrows to indicate the direction, and double arrows whenever they changed direction or whenever there several routes which could be followed.

          "It amazes me that you don't have to mark your path," Rick said to Enik as they twisted and corkscrewed through a particularly torturous upward sloping passageway.

          "As I cannot understand the human's incessant need for light," Enik said, shielding his eyes from the white-hot glare of the touching crystals in Rick's hand.  "Can you not simply grasp the hem of my tunic and follow?"

          "I could, but I'm afraid of losing you in the caverns."

          "Does not your internal sense tell you the route?" Enik said. 

          "Not down here. On the surface, yes."

          "Interesting," was all Enik would say.

          The narrow passageways sloped upwards.  Rick felt a burning sensation in the back of his calves and his breathing was labored as he following Enik blindly through the dark.  He kept one hand on the walls, and sometimes he touched moisture as water dripped through the cavern.  At other places, the walls were surprisingly warm, as if warm air currents flowed through a hidden chimney.  

          Finally, the two emerged into a large cavern.  In the darkness, Rick could barely see a crevasse, and the bridge Enik had mentioned spanning each side.   Rick added a third crystal to the pile, and placed the whole upon on a flat topped rock to the right of the bridge.  White-hot light flowed from the pile of stones, illuminating a tattered and rotted rope bridge, with planks forming crude stepping-points.   The ends of the rope were bound around stalagmites on either side of the bridge.   He stepped to the edge, and tapped it with his booted foot.   The ropes creaked under the slightest pressure, and the whole apparatus swayed.

          "As I said, the bridge is in poor repair," Enik said.  "I recommend caution."

          "Do you want to go first, or shall I?"

          "You may."

          Gingerly, Rick stepped out onto the bridge.  It groaned under his weight, and the ropes pulled against the rock anchors.  He grasped the side ropes, then dropped them hurriedly when his hands were left coated with an unidentifiable slime.  The light from his crystals illuminated only three quarters of the bridge.  The last quarter remained in gloomy shadows, a darkness never penetrated by light.  He stepped as calmly as he could from plank to plank, sometimes reaching with all his strength for the next one because some were missing.  

          As he reached the edge of the light, one plank snapped under his weight.  Scrambling, Rick grasped the slimy rope with all his might, hauling himself to the opposite side of the crevasse.  He heard the plank snap and half of it fall.   But even as his hammering heart thudded in his ears, he listened for it to hit. 

          It never did…or he couldn't hear it when it did.

          Enik said calmly, "You are almost up to the dangerous point.  I recommend extreme caution."

          And he crossed this by himself? Rick thought, clenching his teeth to prevent an angry retort from leaving his lips.  

          The bridge swayed from the force of the broken plank and Rick's mad scramble to the next plank.  Now it settled down to a steady bobbing, and Rick steeled himself for the worst.  He placed his foot upon the next plank, and the next.  Nothing.  In fact, these planks seemed steadier than the ones on the side from which he had left.

          "Enik!" he called as he reached with his foot for the next plank.  "What's so dangerous about this side –"

          He foot connected to nothing but air.  He slid precariously on the ropes, trying to maintain his balance while the bridge bobbed and swayed.

          "There are no more planks," Enik called calmly.  "You will have to jump."

          Gasping for breath, Rick leaned his chest against the rope handrails, his feet resting on the last plank as Enik's words sunk into his mind.  "Are you telling me I have to jump over a bottomless crevasse to a ledge I can't even see?"

          "Yes.  You have stated the situation correctly."

          "Enik, humans can't do that in the dark."

          "Have you done this before?"

          "No, of course not!"

          "If you have never done this in the past, how do you know that you cannot do so now?"

          "Because common sense tells me I can't, that's why!  I don't want to die trying."

          "Then you shall die by not finding out," Enik replied, "for on the opposite shore could be a clue to the way to leave this place."

          Rick forced himself to take several deep breaths.  Enik was right.  If he didn't try, if he didn't make an attempt…but Will and Holly! What if he fell?  They would be left stranded, orphaned!  He couldn't.

          But what was worse…to die trying, or die knowing he hadn't tried?

          Before he could think any more, before he could picture the crevasse and all its attendant horrors, Rick jumped.

          For a split second, he was suspended in air.  Then he felt rock underfoot, and he crashed face first into a rock wall.  The force nearly propelled him backwards into the crevasse, but his fingers connected with a small outcropping, and he held fast.  He grasped the rock, grateful to feel its solidity underfoot and before him. 

          "Rick Marshall? Are you all right?"

          "I'm fine, Enik, I'm fine!" Rick called.  Then, angrily: "How come you didn't tell me it was only about a meter?"

          "You never asked."

          Damn that Altrusian logic! Rick thought.  Aloud, he said, "Let me make another light."  He removed several crystals from his pocket, and placed them on the ground at his feet.  He nudged them closer with the tip of his boot until they were touching. A white glow suffused the air.   He could see now that he was standing on a narrow, three foot wide ledge.  Sheer rock greeted him.  The crevasse glittered like a dark ribbon before him, curving around out of sight.  The rope bridge was swaying from the force of his jump and from Enik's bulk as the Altrusian stepped to the other side.   Rick turned away and studied the rock, but the ledge curved around and out of sight.

          "The entrance to the large cavern is beyond," Enik said.  Rick marveled at the Altrusian's steady, turtle-like persistence as he stepped solidly from one plank to the other with even, measured steps.

          "Just a little farther…" Rick said encouragingly.

          "I am aware of that."

          Suddenly, the ropes' groaning changed pitch.  The higher sound was a short warning before the inevitable happened. "Enik! Look out!"

          The ropes, with sickening slowness, began snapping on the side from which they had come.

          With a mighty leap, Enik cleared the last several feet and landed on the ledge next to Rick as the ropes snapped.  With a crash and a clatter, the bridge collapsed, hanging from the ledge upon which they stood.

          Rick's heart hammered in his throat.  "Now what will we do to get back?"

          "Never fear," Enik said calmly.  "Three choices are available to us.  That is good."

          "Good! We're stuck in a strange cavern with no way back! What if the Sleestak - "

          "The dormant Sleestak are in the far cavern," Enik replied.

          "I know! What if they wake while we're in there with them? We'll be dead!"

          "No.  We will follow them out."

          Rick paused. "What?"

          "This bridge could not support a group of Sleestak crossing it once a season," Enik said.  "So, logic dictates that there must be another way out of the far cavern.  A way into the other caverns of the Lost City, or perhaps an exit to the open air of the valley."

          Rick breathed easier.  "So that's one of our options.  Find another way out.  You said there were three."

          "Two, we can wait for Will and Holly to construct a new bridge for our exit."

          Rick didn't like that idea.   "We have to get back to them before the two hours have elapsed," he said. "It's too dangerous for them in that cavern.  They might get hurt trying to construct the bridge.  The third option?"

          "You and I must find a new way to construct the bridge."

          "I'm not much of an engineer," Rick said.  "My brother Jack's the engineer.  But okay.   So two out of three isn't bad."

          Glad to put the bridge behind them, Rick followed Enik around the rock ledge.

*

Kirkwood, Scotland

          Maggie Dumphries awoke with a start.  She had been dreaming the dream again.  The dream the Reverend Anderson had told her was an evil omen.

          In the dream, she was down by the loch.  She felt cold.  A golden mist crawled across the surface of the loch.   Suddenly, the dark waters were breached by an enormous green sea serpent…

          She shivered and pulled the woolen blanket closer around her shoulders.  Her brother Ian snored from his cot across the other side of the croft.   Her father lay by Ian's side, the two huddled together for warmth.   The croft was chilly in the spring night.  She heard the lambs bleating in the meadow and the short bark of their dog as he herded the lambs back into a tight circle around the croft.

          It's all right, she thought with relief, Only a dream. 

          But tomorrow, she'd go down to the loch with her father and Ian just to make sure.

*

They finally emerged from the twisting corridors into a huge cavern.  Niches lined the walls.   Rick shuddered at the immobile forms of the Sleestaks ranged about the room and covered with webs.  Large albino cave spiders, each one the size of a rat, scurried along the floor and away from them as the light from the crystals pierced the gloom.  The air was dank and cold and smelled musty.  The sand underfoot crunched with broken bits of rock and crystal.

          "This is the main dormancy cave," Enik said.  "And the spider habitat.  I am not sure yet if they are poisonous to humans, and I do not wish to make that discovery with you.   I am as immune to their bite as the Sleestak are, for my thick skin deflects much of their fangs.  But your skin is constructed differently.  I recommend caution."

          "Thanks much," Rick muttered, and he was very glad that Holly hadn't come along.  One albino, the size of a guinea pig, stopped arrogantly in front of them as they walked through the center of the cave.  It reared on its hind four feet and clicked together its front legs, making a soft chittering sound that echoed through the cave and made Rick shudder with primordial fear.

          "Get me out of here," he whispered under his breath as he followed quickly behind Enik, who waved his arms and used his telepathic ability to send the rest of the monsters scurrying.

          They left through the center of three passages, and continued down a good sized corridor braced with well-crafted beams - beams probably created by Altrusian craftsman, Rick thought, comparing them to other Altrusian made items he had seen in the Land of the Lost.

          They passed by an interesting cave which Rick asked Enik to stop a minute so he could see.   It was a Sleestak work room.  A primitive loom made of wood stood in the center.   A pile of drying reeds was in the corner.   Some rope was coiled under the spinning wheel.  Rick picked up a hollowed out gourd and dropped his crystals inside, making a sort of lantern.   The omnipresent webs had coated the warp and weft of the loom during the Sleestak's dormant period, and the albino arachnids scurried for cover when Rick's light pierced the cave.

          "How interesting," he murmured.  "So they do have some rudimentary skills, after all.  The loom looks almost human-made."

          "Yes," Enik confirmed.  "Altrusian looms for making natural fiber cloth do not look the same.  One would think that, logically, the Sleestaks would use a loom similar to the Altrusian loom.  Fascinating."

          Rick reluctantly left the cave and followed Enik down more corridors until finally, after much uphill climb, they emerged into the cavern in question.

          "Oh my," Rick breathed in amazement as his light touched the writing on the walls.

          "Then you do recognize the writing," Enik said.

          "Indeed, yes," Rick replied as he began walking towards the rope bridge.  He eyes roamed the cavern in amazement.  "I recognize it immediately."

*

          "Will…." Holly didn't know whether to join her brother at the matrix table, or continue to scold him from her position on the floor.  Finally she gave in to her curiosity and stood to his right, leaning over the matrix table.  "How are you getting it to do these things?"

          "I don't know," he grinned at her.  "It just likes me."

          The matrix table hummed and throbbed with a steady, almost living sound.  A thick sheet of mist covered the wall of the cave where Holly had been sitting.  Every few seconds, a picture flickered tantalizingly on the wall as Will opened a time doorway a crack.

          "Oooh…" Holly didn't dare to breathe.  She stepped closer to the rock wall as the images danced.  "Will, I think you're actually opening a time doorway."

          The mists parted.  Brother and sister stared at the image of a city, glistening with silver-sided buildings and glass windows winking in a warm, yellow-white sun.   The city sat atop a hillside overlooking a sunlit sea, and cascades of yellow star-shaped flowers bloomed raucously on the hillside, making a carpet for the sun.

          "Is it…" Holly could barely form the words.  "Is it Earth? But in the future?"

          "I don't know," Will whispered.  Tentatively, he reached out and touched a green crystal.  As if using a zoom lens, the time doorway zoomed in on one building  in particular, a low, two-story building.  In front was a plaza with a rock fountain.   Two humans sat on the edge of the fountain conversing, a man and a woman.  As the Marshall children watched, a blue-skinned alien with green eyes, wearing a white leather tunic, approached, bowed, and joined the conversation.

          "It's not Earth," Will said finally.  But the picture was so beautiful.  He felt drawn right into the time doorway.  Holly too had taken yet one more step closer.  "But it's so beautiful…"

          "And peaceful," Holly whispered.  "Will, this is weird. I feel like I belong there."

          "I know…me too…" Will replied.       

          But the time doorway was finished with this image.  The mists thickened, darkened.  The wall was obscured by the white gold curtain of mist, and the image disappeared.

          "I wish we could ask Enik where that was," Holly whispered. "I bet he would know."

          "He might not," Will replied, "Enik doesn't know everything."

          "He knows a lot more than you."

          "I agree with you on that." Will continued touching crystals on the matrix table, but the only result was a deeper humming sound from the table.

*

          Rick walked once around the large cavern with his neck and head craned back to view the writing.   Enik created a light from several crystals arranged in a wooden basket, and it was enough to shine onto the cavern walls and illuminate the writing.

          "I've seen this writing before," Rick said. 

          "Where?" Enik asked.  "Can you read it?"

          Rick shook his head.  "I can't read it," he replied.  "But I've seen it before, outside of the Lost City.  There's a ruined temple with some strange objects inside, including a large, streamlined matrix table and a black statue of a human being.  Outside of the temple there's a stone with this writing on it.  It looks almost like runes…"

          He studied the mysterious writing for several minutes.  Something looked odd about the end of the last line.  It slanted upwards at a curious angle.

          Rick handed the gourd light to Enik, and the Altrusian held the light aloft so that the beams fell on the darkness beyond the words.  The wall beyond appeared to be made of solid granite, with tiny flecks of mica dotting its surface.   On the opposite side of the cavern was a large fin of rock, rising up like a large finger pointing heavenwards.  

          "There's got to be a clue here, somewhere!" Rick said.

*

          "Will, I don't think you should be doing that," Holly said nervously.

          Will laughed.   "You sound just like Dad," he said.  He touched two sets of red crystals set within the heart of the matrix table.  The table responded with a resonant hum, the sound deepening and reverberating from the walls of Enik's cave.  Crystals on the walls appeared to pick up the vibration, and several burst into fiery light so that the whole of Enik's cave was bathed in a rich ruby glow, the light turning Holly's straw colored braids auburn.

          "Will, this doesn't look good."

          "Holly, we've only got another hour or so until Dad and Enik get back," Will replied vehemently.  "And I don't plan to sit here and watch the time go by.  I want to get out of here and I want to go home.  Are you going to help me, or not?"

          Holly stood by his side next to the matrix table.  "Touch that one," she said, pointing to a yellow stone blinking furiously from the upper left hand corner of the table.

          "Why?"

          "I don't know.  Why did you touch the red ones?"

          "Hey, I'm trying to keep to a pattern here."

          "It looks like you're making a mess."

          "Thanks for the vote of confidence!"         Will continued touching crystals. Nothing happened.  He dropped his hands to his sides and sighed in disgust.  "I can't get this darned thing to do anything."

          "Well if Enik can't open a time doorway home, what makes you think you can?" Idly, Holly reached over and picked up a yellow crystal from the edge of the matrix table.

          Suddenly, a deep rumble shook the cavern.  The time doorway mists thickened and shimmered.  A golden beam penetrated the cavern.  Will cried out and raised his hands to shield his face as the rumbling grew louder and the floor rocked underfoot.

          "Holly! Put it back! Put it back!"

          "Will, I can't see because of the light!" Holly screamed in return.

          The rumbling grew louder, and the cavern began to shake.  Rocks tumbled from the falls and the matrix table swayed wildly.  Holly stumbled into her brother.  Will closed his eyes to keep out the bright light and grasped Holly by the hands.  She was still holding the yellow crystal. He guided her hands to approximately where he thought the missing crystal belonged, then shouted above the din, "Drop the crystal, Holly! I think you'll place it all right."

          The crystal dropped and bounced to the table.  As it touched the other crystals, sparks and smoke wafted from the top of the table.  The room rocked, and the golden beam of light raked unsteadily around the room.  "Will!  We've got to get the crystal back in place!"

          The light was so intense it hurt his eyes, but Will opened them a crack, and using the tip of his fingers, he nudged the yellow crystal back into place.

          Instantly, the rumbling ceased.  The smoke cleared from the matrix table.  The mists of the time doorway vanished.  They were left coughing and rubbing their tearing eyes.

          "Are you okay?" Will asked Holly.

          "I…I think so."  Holly peered over the edge of the matrix table.  "Uh oh."

          Will followed her gaze.  "Oh no," he whispered.

          The matrix table was dark.  Many of the crystals were blackened like burned out light bulbs.   The table, which always emitted a low frequency hum, was silent.

          "We've done it now," Holly whispered.  "What are we going to tell Enik?"

          "Worse," Will swallowed, "what are we going to tell Dad?"

*

          The quake hit the bowels of the Lost City without warning.  Rick was perched precariously upon Enik's sturdy shoulders, examining as best as he could the thin fin of rock protruding beyond the words written by the mysterious race.   Suddenly the ground started shaking, an eerie, high pitched keening wail sounded in the cavern.  Enik could not brace himself in time, and Rick tumbled to the cavern floor.

          "My matrix table!" Enik gasped as the ground shook and rocks tumbled around them.

          Rick kept his arms over his head to ward off the rain of pebbles and small stones that cascaded from the ceiling of the cavern.  "Will, Holly!" he shouted involuntarily.

          "Are the likely cause of this," Enik muttered.  "My matrix table!"

          When the shaking finally stopped, Rick raised his face from the ground.  "Enik!" he cried, pointing to the fin of rock.  "Look!"

*

Kirkwood, Scotland

          "No, Maggie, you can't come with us!"  John Dumphries said for the tenth time to his young daughter.  She stood on the quay, moving aside every few seconds as another fisherman hurried by, dragging lines, nets or buoys.  Ian was on deck stowing the gear for another day's fishing. 

          "But Da…" Maggie argued.  She stood at the edge of the quay, watching the waters warily. She did not tell her father about her dream.

          "No arguing, Mags," John said firmly.  She could see by the twitch at the corner of his mouth that he was at the limit of his deep patience.  "Fishing is men's work.  We'll be home for supper.   Keep to the croft and tend the flocks.  If you can today you may want to weed in the garden and draw some water from the well for the new plantings, they looked a bit peeked."

          "Don't worry, Mags," Ian grinned mischievously from the deck of the little boat as his father climbed aboard and began untying the mooring rope.  "We'll be sure to tell you all about our adventures."

          "Ian, enough teasing of your sister," John snapped.  With a wave, the boat set sail across the Loch to the  fishing grounds across the waters.  It was a fine, cool, sunny day in late spring, and a stiff breeze blew from the north.   John Dumphries was happy, for the fishing ought to be good, the weather was fair, and if he had a good enough catch he could sell some in town for the merchants.

          Maggie stood on the quay as, one by one, the other boats set sail.  Soon she was left with a mongrel dog and a few of the folks who had stayed behind. The dog wandered off.   She watched until her father's little boat became tiny, like a toy boat, then tinier still.  She watched until the stiff breeze carried them to the horizon, and they were gone.

          Slowly, she took up her basket and began the walk along the shore to the path that would take her back to the croft.   Without warning, the ground began to shake.

          "God's mercy!" she heard old Mrs. Asher cry from the ground next to her as they were flung to their faces on the heather.

          "It's the end of the world!" Hugh McGregor cried as he held onto the quay post.

          The ground shook and rumbled and reeled.  Lightning flashed across the sky, and a strange golden ray of sunshine swept across the face of the Loch.   Maggie held tightly to the heather and felt the ground roll under her like a pony trying to buck her off.  She closed her eyes and prayed to her heavenly father to protect her, she begged blessed Jesus to watch over her soul and the souls of her father and brother out in their little boat on the loch, which suddenly looked like the ocean as whitecaps roared into shore.

          As suddenly as it began, it ended.  The ground stopped rumbling.  Maggie sat up and felt sick to her stomach.  Old Mrs. Asher staggered unsteadily to her feet; Maggie rose quickly to help her.  "Och, Maggie my dear, are you all right?"

          "Yes ma'am, I think so," Maggie said.  She squinted out towards the water.  "Did you see that golden ray of sunlight?  It was so bright.  It wasn't like anything I've ever seen before."

          Mrs. Asher crossed herself.  "A miracle, it is," she cried.

          The loch was still foaming and rumbling, the waters heaving as if its own private earthquake still trembled beneath the emerald depths.

          Suddenly, the waters parted.  Mrs. Asher gasped and clutched her heart.  "Oh sweet Jesus!" she moaned as something emerged from the depths.

*

          Will and Holly looked in dismay at the darkened crystals.  "We've got to do something," Holly said.  She bit her lower lip.  "If Enik finds this mess he's going to kill us."

          "I'm more worried about Dad," Will replied.  The acrid smoke clung to his nose, and he sneezed.  "We opened a time doorway all right.  But what happened?"

          "It's like the matrix table blew up," Holly said.  She leaned over and touched the yellow crystal she'd removed.  Instantly, the table began to hum, although it was unsteady.  Light pulsed in the remaining crystals.

          "Well, we didn't break it totally," she said with relief.   She reached out to remove the blackened stones but Will grabbed her hand. 

          "Holly, don't touch anything!  We could make it worse."  She pulled away from Will and stepped away from the table.

          "But we've got to try to fix it!" Holly said.  "Will, we can't just leave it like this."

          Will frowned in concentration as he leaned over the table.  "Let me think a bit," he said.

*

          Rick couldn't believe his eyes.   Beyond the fin of rock high on the cavern wall he saw a perfect circle appear, like a television screen.  Surrounding the circle was the familiar golden glow of the time doorway.   It was as if the strange writing pointed directly to the circle.  

          "Is it a time doorway?" he gasped.  It was Earth.  He could see immediately by the crystal blue sky, the fleecy clouds, and the rolling hills.  He saw humans on a dock near a body of water.  Something about the scene wasn't right, however.  The people.  What was wrong with the people?  His rising hopes plunged when he realized the costumes that the people wore were severely out of time with the Marshall family's chronology.  Unless he was looking at a historical re-enactment, he guessed he was staring at a scene two hundred years before the Marshalls had embarked on their river journey.

          "It was a time doorway," Enik replied.  He walked as close to the portal as he could and tilted his head back to take in the scene.   "Unfortunately it appears that the matrix table powering it is only operating at half capacity.  Something has damaged it."  He pursued his lips as he watched the scene.

          "Matrix table?"  Rick had a sneaking suspicion of which matrix table was activated.  "Do you think that Will and Holly…?"
          "There are other possibilities," Enik replied.  "But the matrix table in my chambers is the only table that we know of powerful enough and tuned enough to open a time doorway.  This is an extension of the time doorway, a time window, if you will.  We used them on Altrusia to monitor activities in the time doorways when the doorways are in use.  It is much like a viewing screen…one cannot go through it, as with a time doorway, but one can observe activities from an open time doorway."

          "So they got a time doorway open? And it's still open?"

          "This is most dangerous," Enik said.  "We must make all haste back to my chambers and shut down the open time door.  The beam is still open somewhere near that body of water on Earth.  I suspect the beam opens to our own body of water here."

          "The swamp? But why?"

          Enik pointed.  "Behold."       

          As they watched the picture on the wall, something rippled across the body of water.   Rick watched in fascination as the people turned as one towards the water.  The ripples in the body of water grew more agitated.  Suddenly, a large green snout breached the surface of the water.

          "Oh no!" Rick cried.  "Something from the Land of the Lost crossed over!"

          "But what," Enik said, "from Earth crossed into the Land of the Lost?"

*

Kirkwood, Scotland

Mrs. Asher fell away in a dead faint.  Maggie tried rousing her, but she could not stop looking at the large creature that rose from the loch.  It was the creature from her dream.  The green head appeared over the water, studying the screaming humans with placid yellow tinted eyes.  Two nostrils flared as the creature took a deep breath.  Its skin glittered with the Loch water.  Then, apparently satisfied, it dipped its head back under water.  The ripples subsided and the creature returned to the Loch.

Mrs. Asher finally stirred.  "The Lord protect us!" she cried.

          "Da! Ian!" Maggie shouted, and left Mrs. Asher to race back to the quay.

*

          "Don't you think we've done enough damage already?" Holly asked her brother.

          Will continued to study the matrix table.  "Holly, can you find some replacement crystals around the cavern?" he asked her.  "Try to find some the same size, and smooth, like matrix table crystals."

          "You're going to replace them?" she asked.

          He nodded.  "It's the only way," he said.  "If we don't, Dad and Enik will surely know what's happened."

          "I hope you know what you're doing," she said doubtfully, but she surveyed the cavern floor and began picking up bits and pieces of fallen crystal near the edges of the room.

          "Oh, I think I do," Will said with more confidence than he felt.  He began removing the damaged crystals one by one, stuffing them into his pockets.

*

          "Da?" Ian Dumphries asked shakily as he gripped the mast of the sailboat.  "Da, where are we…?"

          They stared at the jungle.  They jumped at the sound of the hooting celaphysis.  Pterodactyls screamed overhead, veering away in a V pattern.   A brontosaur crunching on ferns near the marshy edges of the swamp raised its head and eyed them with the placidity of a cow.

          John Dumphries crossed himself in prayer.  "I think we've died and gone to hell," he whispered to his son. "Pray with me. Our Father who art in heaven…"

*

          "We've got to get back to your chambers," Rick said.  "Before Will and Holly do any more damage!"

          "Yes," Enik said, turning away from the time portal.  "We shall have to leave exploring this cavern to a later time, and find the way out of here now.  The Sleestaks must have a tunnel exiting from this cavern.  There is no other method of egress."

          Rick raised his makeshift lamp.   "Let's start a methodical search," he said.  "We'll both begin near the door. I'll move to the right.  You move to the left.  We should search every rock, every nook and cranny."

          Enik nodded.  "A logical method," he replied, and they began searching.

          About fifteen minutes passed in silence as each searched from floor to as high up as they could see for any opening, any aperture in the rock face.  Rick glanced towards the time window as often as he could, but aside from people gathering on the edges of the water, he saw no more movement from the dinosaur-like creature that had showed itself.   "I hope that whatever it is that crossed over, it doesn't like the taste of people," he muttered.

          "Unlikely for it to be a carnivore," Enik responded.  "It is more likely a close relative of the brontosaur, and therefore an herbivore, subsisting on water vegetation.   Rick Marshall, come here. I think I have found an opening."

          Rick left his side of the cavern and joined Enik.  Cave bacon dripped from the sides of the rock.   Behind an outcropping that rose straight up from the floor to the ceiling, Enik had found a narrow opening just wide enough for them to slip through sideways.  Rick shone his light on the floor.   The rock near the opening had been worn smooth, presumably by years of Sleestak feet tramping over it.

          "This has to be it!" he said with relief.  "But where does it go?"

          Suddenly, a low resonant hiss filled the room, growing louder with each second.  The sound came from the corridor leading back to the Sleestak's hibernation chamber.

          "We've got to hurry," Rick said, listening carefully to the sound.  "The Sleestak are waking up!"

Enik squeezed through the narrow opening.  "Follow me."

*

          Holly had succeeded in replacing all of the burned out green and blue crystals, but the yellows and reds were a bit more difficult to find.   She located a handful of yellows in the corridor near Enik's cave.  But the reds were tricky.  There were many crystals of that color scattered throughout Enik's cave and in the corridors beyond, but none fit into the slots on the matrix table.   The table, however, was sounding better and better, the hum steadier and not as strident.

          Will was still examining the device when Holly returned from her latest crystal foray.  She entered the cave at a brisk trot.  "Sleestak?" Will asked, ready to spring into action.

          "No, I just didn't want to meet any!" Holly said.  She dropped a handful of yellow crystals onto the sand at the foot of the table.  "What do you think?"

          Will examined them one by one, holding each up to the light emanating from the glowing quartz crystals embedded high in the walls of Enik's cave.  "These look pretty good," he said.  "No red ones?"

          "Nope."  Holly sat on the sand and watched as her brother carefully inspected each crystal and tried to fit the new ones into the slots.  He succeeded with three.  There were still three burned out reds.   "I just can't seem to find red crystals in these parts of the cavern.   Maybe if I went further down into the tunnels –"

          "It will be dangerous," Will said quickly.  "Even though it's the Sleestak's dormant period, you never know when they're going to wake up.   It feels pretty warm down here."

          "I can't tell. I just ran all the way from the pit to here."  She drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.   The coil of rope at her belt moved to the side a bit as she shifted position. "Will, do you think you've fixed the matrix table?"

          "I don't know," he confessed.  He stretched his aching back and glanced at his watch. "Oh wow.  Do you realize Dad and Enik have been gone almost the full two hours?"

          "Time flies when you're having fun," she said.

          "No, I mean if they're not back in about fifteen minutes, we're supposed to go and look for them," Will said.  He studied the matrix table and slapped his hand on the side.  "Darn it all! If I only had those missing crystals I might have been able to open the time doorway."

          "Well, we sure did something," Holly said.  The acrid odor of smoke still clung to her hair and clothes from when the table began spitting smoke and sparks.  "This whole room smells like a barbecue gone bad."

          Will sniffed. "You think Enik will notice?"

          "Do Altrusians have a good sense of smell?"

          "I've no idea.  What about Dad?"

          "Oh, he'll notice, all right," Holly said with assurance.  "Dad noticed everything."

          "Well, then I'm done for, tha