Загублений світ

           Whentheyeventuallyappeared,theytooktheirplacesinthefrontofaplatformwhichalreadycontainedalltheleadingscientificmen,notonlyofthiscountry,butofFranceandofGermany.Swedenwasalsorepresented,inthepersonofProfessorSergius,thefamousZoologistoftheUniversityofUpsala.Theentranceofthefourheroesoftheoccasionwasthesignalforaremarkabledemonstrationofwelcome,thewholeaudiencerisingandcheeringforsomeminutes.Anacuteobservermight,however,havedetectedsomesignsofdissentamidtheapplause,andgatheredthattheproceedingswerelikelytobecomemorelivelythanharmonious.Itmaysafelybeprophesied,however,thatnoonecouldhaveforeseentheextraordinaryturnwhichtheywereactuallytotake.

           "Oftheappearanceofthefourwandererslittleneedbesaid,sincetheirphotographshaveforsometimebeenappearinginallthepapers.Theybearfewtracesofthehardshipswhichtheyaresaidtohaveundergone.ProfessorChallenger’sbeardmaybemoreshaggy,ProfessorSummerlee’sfeaturesmoreascetic,LordJohnRoxton’sfiguremoregaunt,andallthreemaybeburnedtoadarkertintthanwhentheyleftourshores,buteachappearedtobeinmostexcellenthealth.Astoourownrepresentative,thewell-knownathleteandinternationalRugbyfootballplayer,E.D.Malone,helookstrainedtoahair,andashesurveyedthecrowdasmileofgood-humoredcontentmentpervadedhishonestbuthomelyface."