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Larra sat in the copilot’s seat
as she guided the aircraft over the dense
rainforest. She was not an
experienced pilot. Katie had
learned to fly first and was teaching
her. Flying was a much faster
way to travel than trekking through the African
wilderness. There were only two
problems associated with it. One
was that the mountainous rainforest region below the aircraft offered few
places to land. The other was
that the plane needed to be refueled at regular intervals and there was not
an abundance of places offering refueling
facilities. And so they had chosen
a compromise. Katie had flown
the Westland Wessex trimotor on several missions over the African landscape,
eventually locating a landing area close to the region that they wished to
explore. Then she had flown in
a load of fuel and supplies for the
expedition. Finally, she flew
in Larra, Jia Li, and Amy. Sarah
remained behind in
As they approached the landing zone, Katie took over the
controls. Larra was not ready
for a rough surface landing yet.
Katie eased the aircraft down toward the landing
area. It was about as remote
from anywhere else in
The plane bumped to a stop and immediately a dozen black Africans swarmed
around it. There was not much
for them to unload this time. The
four women were the main cargo.
Within a few minutes all of the passengers and gear had been removed
from the plane. Larra and her
friends huddled under an awning attached to the main tent, poring over a
map of the area.
“This is about as good a map as I could find,” said Larra, “and
as you can see it lacks many details.
However, it should enable us to plan our search of the
area. Burroughs gave me general
instructions on where to look, but he was quite vague about most of the
area. Of course, he freely admitted
that he had never been here in person.
He was given the information about this region by someone called John
Grey. Supposedly, this John Grey
lives like a hermit somewhere near
here.”
“And you are sure that this John Grey exists and isn’t some figment
of Burroughs imagination?” asked Amy.
“I can’t be sure.” answered
Larra. “Burroughs could
be completely mad or even more likely just a fraud trying to make himself
more important. However, the
British foreign office says that there is indeed a German expedition headed
for this area by way of
Katie pointed to the map. “I
think the best plan is to break the map into quadrants and then check out
each quadrant from the air. If
I find anything promising we can investigate it more thoroughly on
foot.”
“I agree,” said Larra.
“We will start tomorrow.”
The search went as planned. For
several days Katie went up with one of the other women and scouted out each
quadrant. On the fourth day Jia
Li, who happened to have especially sharp eyes, spotted
something.
“Look there,” she said.
“I think I see a man-made
clearing.”
Katie flew over the area Jia Li had indicated, swooping low over the
treetops. Sure enough, there
was a definite clearing in the forest.
And at the edge of the clearing there was what appeared to be a small
ramshackle building.
“This looks worth checking out from the ground,” said
Katie. And she turned the plane
around and headed back to camp.
The clearing Jia Li had spotted was quite close to the base
camp. It was only a matter of
a few miles away as the plane flies.
It would, however, be a tough trek through the
rainforest.
The day after Jia Li’s discovery, Larra and Jia Li set off with five
porters. They were well equipped
with food, weapons, and other necessary
gear. It might only appear to
be a one-day walk, but Larra’s experience had taught her that short
walks in the rainforest could turn into ordeals that might last several
days.
This time, however, their progress was
swift. They covered the seven-mile
distance in only half a day.
Shortly after
Approaching the building cautiously, Larra spotted a footprint in the damp
soil near the front door of the building, but the print was pointed away
from the building toward the forest.
There was no sign of footprints going
in.
Larra and Jia Li followed the footprints toward the
forest. The print was interesting
in that it was of a bare foot.
Whomever had made it obviously did not own
shoes. Larra wondered if that
fitted the profile of John Grey.
Perhaps it did. Anyone
who lived alone in the rainforest could certainly be eccentric enough not
to wear shoes.
The footprints led to the trunk of a large tree and then
stopped. Larra furrowed her
attractive brow. It did not appear
that the prints continued on the other
side. Surely the maker of the
prints had not gone straight up the tree.
Larra and Jia Li gazed up the trunk of the massive rainforest
giant. Numerous vines were twisted
around the trunk. It would certainly
be possible to use these to climb the
tree. But what motive would anyone
have for climbing a rainforest tree?
Both women stepped back a little from the trunk, trying to penetrate
the dense canopy of leaves and branches that spread out from the trunk about
forty feet up.
Jia Li gave a little start.
“There is something up there,” she said in a
whisper.
Larra stared as hard as she could.
Sure enough, she could make out the outline of some manmade structure
farther up the tree. It appeared
that someone had built some sort of platform among the interlocking branches
of the canopy.
“Well,” said Larra, “I guess one of us should take a
look.”
She shifted her rifle from her shoulder and lay it against the
trunk. She also removed her light
pack from her back and placed it on the
ground. Then using the vines
that encircled the trunk as climbing aids, she slowly ascended the trunk
of the massive tree. She took
her time. She did not want to
fall and injure herself so far away from medical aid, and she did not know
what was waiting for her farther up.
As she ascended she gradually merged with the
canopy. Now she could see that
she was climbing toward not just a platform, but a complete and elaborate
tree dwelling. Located about
sixty feet from the ground, the treehouse completely encircled the trunk
of the tree in a ten-foot diameter
circle. It was sturdily lashed
together with grass rope and thatched over to keep it dry during tropical
downpours.
Larra continued her climb. The
route she had chosen took her directly to an opening in the deck of the
treehouse. She poked her head
through the opening and looked around.
Seated on a stool about ten feet away, and looking directly at her
was a white man! He was dressed
in a tan shirt and a rather worn pair of
shorts. He wore no
shoes.
For what seemed like an eternity Larra and the mysterious white man studied
each other. Finally, the man
spoke: “I don’t get many visitors, but if I did you would probably
still qualify as the most beautiful guest I have ever
had.”
Larra stammered a reply. She
felt like an intruder breaking into someone’s
home. “I… I didn’t
mean to startle you.”
“Startle me? I have known
you were coming for over half an hour.
You made enough noise coming through the forest to alert
anyone. Despite your weapons,
I think that you are harmless. You
are connected to that aircraft that flew over here a day ago aren’t
you?” The man spoke perfect
Oxford English.
“Uhh, yes,” replied Larra.
She was still halfway through the
floor. “May I come
in?”
“Yes, of course,” said the man
rising. “How rude of
me. You must come
in. He extended his hand to Larra
and helped her through the opening in the
deck. “I am John
Grey. Please excuse my
rudeness. The last guest I had
was some strange American about 25 years
ago.”
“Burroughs,” said Larra.
Then she introduced herself.
“I am
John Grey looked at her sharply.
“Yes Burroughs. How
did you know? Did he send you
here?’
“Sort of,” said Larra. I
think I should explain. But may
I invite my friend up here?”
“Certainly, you may. I am
a poor host. You fetch your friend
and I will get some refreshments.”
Larra called down to Jia Li. She
wondered what kind of refreshments could be available out
here. Looking back to John Grey
she saw that he had disappeared around the other side of the
deck.
As Jia Li began to climb up, Grey
returned. He held a wicker bowl
full of tropical fruits.
“This is the best I can do,” he
said. “I don’t have
much contact with the outside.”
“This will be fine,” said
Larra. “Would you like some
tea?”
“That would be most welcome!” said Grey
enthusiastically. “I will
heat some water.”
Larra called down to the porters asking them to place some tea and sugar
in a basket that Grey had supplied her
with. A seventy-foot length of
grass rope was attached to it so that it could be pulled
up.
Jia Li arrived and Larra introduced her.
The porters stayed on the ground, which was just as well considering
that they were already disturbed enough by the discovery of the strange tree
dwelling.
“Grey seemed quite overwhelmed.
“Two beautiful women!
This is certainly a most eventful
day!”
Larra studied her host. He appeared
to be not much older than about thirty-five
years and was tall and
well muscled, with wavy dark hair.
This puzzled her. Burroughs
had written his first Apeman story about
1915. Could this John Grey be
the same man?
Grey continued talking. “I
had a wife once. But she could
not stand the isolation. I have
not seen a white woman in over 15 years.
I do see some people. I
come into contact with Africans and they trade me items that I cannot obtain
myself.”
Grey had escorted the two women to his kitchen
area. On the deck was a stone
hearth where he had lit a fire under a battered
kettle. “I have not had
much use for this,” he said.
“My last supply of tea ran out about three years ago and I have
not been able to get any since. I
have found a poor substitute in the leaves of some rainforest plant, but
it is not the same as the real
thing.”
“When we leave,” said Larra, “we will give you all that we
have.”
“When you leave…” Burroughs
mused. “You still have not
told me why you have come.”
Larra smiled. “I will
explain. It is a bit of a long
story, so I hope you will have the patience to hear me
out.”
“I am not going anywhere at the present,” replied
Grey. “I don’t seem
to have any pressing engagements.”
Larra used her smile again. It
was a powerful weapon. She was
beginning to like this strange man.
The kettle had boiled and Grey handed her some tea in a tin
cup. Larra began her
story.
“...and so you see,” she finished, “the
trail has led to you, and will likely go no farther without your
help.”
“So it is the Germans again,” said
Grey. “I killed quite a
few of them in the last war, but am not looking forward to doing so
again. I live here because I
want to live alone. But if what
you say is true, there may be considerable danger to a part of
Larra and Jia Li finished their meal with the eccentric
Grey. The fruit was quite excellent,
and consisted of some varieties that Larra had never encountered
before. After the meal Larra
excused herself and Jia Li and made ready to climb down the
tree.
“Oh no!” said Grey.
“It is much safer up here.
There are fewer insects and prowling
animals. You must spend the night
on the platform.”
“Thank you,” replied Larra, “but I
have…”
her voice trailed off.
How could she explain that she and Jia Li had business of a private
nature to attend to?
Grey seemed to guess her thoughts.
“There are facilities on that side of the tree,” he said,
pointing to the trunk of the tree and gesturing with a sweep of his hand
that they should make their way around to the other
side.
Larra and Jia Li followed the curved deck around and found that on the far
side a walkway led away from the deck toward the outer branches of the
tree. Perched at the end of the
walk was a wooden seat with a hole in it that would drop any body waste to
the forest floor sixty feet below.
It was a novel experience watching her body waste disappear into the
depths. Apparently John Grey’s
tree home had everything he needed.
After hauling up their sleeping gear Larra and Jia Li settled down for the
night. Below her the porters
camped around a bright fire singing African
songs. It seemed quite
romantic. Grey was still a handsome
man and he was sleeping only a few feet away from
her. That somehow bothered
her. If Burroughs’ story
was true, Grey should have been about fifty or sixty years old, yet he seemed
to be only in his thirties. But
Grey himself had spoken of killing Germans in the Great
War. It was a
mystery. As she mulled over the
contradictions, she fell asleep.
Early the next morning Larra and Jia Li were awakened by the chattering of
several brightly colored birds.
Grey was already awake and brewing up some
tea. Larra, who was not usually
a heavy sleeper had not heard
anything. She now noticed that
when Grey moved, he made almost no noise at
all.
“I have thought over what you told me and I have decided to help you,”
Grey said as Larra sat up. He
was certainly not one for small talk.
“I will not accompany you on your journey, but I will tell you
how to get there.”
Larra was relieved. She had not
expected Grey to accompany them anyway.
Of course, that was before she understood that he was not a sixty-year-old
recluse living in the jungle. But
whether he came or not, the information that he had was invaluable to
her.
Over breakfast Grey told Larra what she needed to
know. After that, there was really
nothing to keep her any longer, especially as every day that went by brought
the German expedition closer to the same place that she was
heading. So she and Jia Li said
their rather awkward good-byes and climbed down out of the
tree. They left Grey all of their
tea and sugar, as well as a few other food items and trekked off back the
way they had come.
“He a handsome man,” said Jia Li teasingly as they marched
off. Apparently the young Chinese
girl had noticed Larra’s interest.
“Yes,” Larra agreed. She
had to admit that if circumstances had been different she would have liked
to stay longer.
The return to the base camp took a little longer than the march
out. They ran into a heavy tropical
downpour and had to shelter for an hour until the rain
stopped. After that the wet trail
made walking difficult, as they were slogging through mud for much of the
time, but eventually they made their way back
safely.
After the usual round of welcoming hugs from Katie and Amy, they held a group
meeting. Larra told of what she
had learned. She now knew the
way to get to Burroughs’ mysterious lost
world. The next day, the expedition
broke camp, and
Larra and her companions moved off into the wilds of
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