In form and features, as nearly as I could
judge at that distance, they were human, but in color they were scarlet,
and surmounting the head and extending along the arms to the elbows on
every individual was a whitish, membraneous frill, which at first sight,
reminded me of an Indian’s war bonnet. The beings appeared to be of
average height, but as the _Chiriqui’s_ keel touched solid ground and,
keeling to one side, she rested upon one of her bilges, I saw with a
shock, that the scarlet creatures were of gigantic size, fully thirty
feet in height, and that, without exception, all were females! All were
stark naked; but despite the frills upon their heads and shoulders,
despite their bizarre scarlet skins, despite their gigantic proportions,
they were unquestionably human beings, women without doubt, and of the
most perfect proportions, the most graceful forms and the most regular
and even handsome features. Beside the stranded ship, they loomed as
giants; but against the stupendous proportions of their land and city,
they appeared no larger than ordinary mortals. By now they were
streaming from their houses and even in the surprise and excitement of
that moment I noticed that the giant rocky columns were perforated by
windows and doors, and had obviously been hollowed out to form
dwellings. Meantime, too, the huge machine which had captured the
_Chiriqui_ had descended and was lying at rest, and no longer emitting
its green light, upon a cradle erected near the waterfall, and from
openings in its central band several of the scarlet, giant Amazons were
emerging. How long, I wondered, would I remain undiscovered? How long
would it be before one of the female giants spied me? And then, what
would be my fate? Why had they captured the ship? Where was I? What was
this strange land reached through a crater? “All these thoughts rushed through my brain as I peered cautiously down
at the giant women who swarmed about the ship. But I had not long to
wait for an answer to my first mental question. With a sudden spring,
one of the women leaped to the _Chiriqui’s_ anchor, with a second bound
she was on the fore deck, and close at her heels came a score of others. Standing upon the deck with her head fringed by its erect vibrating
membrane level with the boat-deck, she gazed about for an instant. Then,
catching sight of the form of a sailor sprawled upon the deck, she
uttered a shrill, piercing cry, leaped forward, and, before my
unbelieving, horror-stricken eyes, tore the still living, palpitating
body to pieces and ravenously devoured it. “Unable to stir through the very repulsiveness of the scene, realizing
that my turn might be next, I gazed fascinated. But the giant cannibal
female was not to feast in peace. As her companions reached the deck,
they rushed upon her and fought viciously for a portion of the reeking
flesh. The struggle of these awful giants, as smeared with human blood,
scratching and clawing, uttering shrill cries of rage, they rolled and
fought on the deck, was indescribably terrible and disgusting. But it
came to an abrupt end. With a bound, a giantess of giantesses, a
powerfully-muscled female, appeared, and like cowed beasts, the others
drew aside, licking their chops, the membranes on their heads rising and
falling in excitement, like the frills on an iguana lizard, and watching
the newly-arrived giantess with furtive eyes. Evidently she was the
leader or chieftainess, and in curt but strangely shrill and, of course,
to me, utterly unintelligible words, she gave orders to the others. Instantly, the horde of women began swarming over the ship, searching
every nook and corner, and, wherever they discovered the inert bodies of
the ship’s company, dragged them on deck and piled them in heaps. Shaking with abject terror, I crouched back of the bridge, and racked my
brains for thought of some safe spot in which to hide. But before I
could make up my mind, one of the terrifying, monstrous females sprang
upon the bridge and rushed towards me. With a maniacal scream, I turned
and fled. Then, before me, blocking my way, there appeared another of
the creatures. And then a most marvelous and surprising thing happened. Instead of falling upon me as I expected her to do, the giantess turned,
and with a scream that equalled my own, leaped over the rail and fled to
the uttermost extremity of the deck. “I forgot my terror in my amazement. Why should this giant, cannibal
woman fear me? Why should she run from me when, a few moments before,
she had been fighting over a meal of an unconscious sailor? And it was
evident that the others were equally afraid of me, for at her cry, and
my appearance, all had rushed as far from me as possible, and stood
regarding me with an odd mixture of wonder and terror on their huge
faces. And then it occurred to me that their fear was, perhaps, due to
my gas-mask, to the apparatus that transformed me from a human being to
a weird-looking monster. At any rate, I was evidently safe from
molestation for the time being, and thanking my lucky stars that I had
on the mask, I descended from the bridge, the giantesses retreating as I
advanced. I entered the captain’s cabin and locked the door. “Here I breathed more freely, for even if the women overcame their fear
of me and attempted to capture me, the steel doors and walls of the
cabin would be impregnable defenses. Moreover, upon the wall above the
bunk, was a rifle, in a drawer of the dresser was a loaded revolver, and
a short search revealed a plentiful supply of cartridges. Yes, if I were
attacked, I could give a good account of myself, and I determined, if
worst came to the worst, that I would blow out my brains rather than
fall a victim to the female cannibal horde. “Dully, through the thick walls of the cabin, I could hear the sounds of
the women on the deck, but I had no desire to witness what was going on,
and seated upon the captain’s chair, I thought over the events which had
transpired during the past few hours and tried to find a reasonable
solution to the incredible happenings. “That I was within the earth seemed certain, though utterly fantastic,
but who the giant women were, why they had captured the _Chiriqui_ or by
what unknown, tremendous power their marvelous airship was operated,
were all utterly beyond my comprehension. But I must hurry on and relate
the more important matters, for my time is limited and the important
thing is to let the world know how the human race may be saved from the
terrible fate which has befallen me and all those upon the _Chiriqui_,
and upon the destroyer _McCracken_, for that vessel, too, has fallen a
victim to these horrible cannibalistic giantesses here within the centre
of the earth. *       *       *       *       *

“Hunger and thirst drove me at last from my refuge in the captain’s
cabin, and armed with the loaded rifle and revolver, I cautiously peered
out and stepped upon the deck.