ABSTRACT
It was only by dint of many reiterated questions that the author elicited from the poor scared children the truth of what had occurred. The spot where they had landed was a strip of level sward a few hundred yards in width between the river and the forest behind. Here they had played games, run races, and enjoyed themselves with a hundred childish sports, till just before sundown a loud hoot was heard from the neighbouring trees. When they turned round startled to discover what might be the source of the sound, they were horrified to see emerging from the wood two monstrous engines, far larger, they declared, and far more elaborate than any of those that had besieged Jefferson City bearing directly down upon them. Gell found that he was deeper in the wood than he had imagined, and would have had some trouble in finding his way but for a pocket compass he carried with him.
