August 9, 2025 • 18 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the Avou Observatory by H. G. Wells. The observatory
at Avu in Borneo stands on the spur of the mountain.
To the north rises the old crater, black at night
against the unfathomable blue of the sky. From the little
circular building with its mushroom dome, the slopes plunged steeply
(00:23):
downward into the black mysteries of the tropical forest. Beneath
the little house in which the observer and his assistant
live is about fifty yards from the observatory, and beyond
this are the huts of their native attendants. Thaddy, the
chief observer, was down with a slight fever. His assistant
(00:45):
wood House paused for a moment in silent contemplation of
the tropical night, before commencing his solitary vigil. The night
was very still now, and then voices and laughter came
from the native hut, or the cry of some strange
animal was heard from the midst of the mystery of
the forest. Nocturnal insects appeared in ghostly fashion out of
(01:10):
the darkness and fluttered round his light. He thought, perhaps
of all the possibilities of discovery that still lay in
the black tangle beneath him. For to the naturalist, the
virgin forests of Borneo are still a wonderland, full of
strange questions and half suspected discoveries. Woodhouse carried a small
(01:32):
lantern in his hand, and its yellow glow contrasted vividly
with the infinite series of tints between lavender, blue and
black in which the landscape was painted. His hands and
feet were smeared with ointment against the attacks of the mosquitoes.
Even in these days of celestial photography, work done in
(01:53):
a purely temporary erection and with only the most primitive
appliances in addition to the telescope, still involves a very
large amount of cramped and motionless watch. He sighed as
he thought of the physical fatigues before him, stretched himself
and entered the observatory. The reader is probably familiar with
(02:15):
the structure of an ordinary astronomical observatory. The building is
usually cylindrical in shape, with a very light, hemispherical roof
capable of being turned round from the interior. The telescope
is supported upon a stone pillar in the center, and
a clockwork arrangement compensates for the Earth's rotation and allows
(02:36):
a star, once found to be continuously observed. Besides this,
there is a compact tracery of wheels and screws about
its point of support, by which the astronomer adjusts it.
There is, of course a slit in the movable roof
which follows the eye of the telescope in its survey
(02:57):
of the heavens. The observer sits or lies on a
sloping wooden arrangement, which he can wheel to any part
of the observatory as the position of the telescope may require.
Within it is advisable to have things as dark as
possible in order to enhance the brilliance of the stars observed.
(03:18):
The lantern flared as wood House entered his circular den,
and the general darkness fled into black shadows behind the
big machine, from which it presently seemed to creep back
over the whole place as the light waned. The slit
was a profound, transparent blue in which six stars shone
(03:38):
with tropical brilliance, and their light lay a pallid gleam
along the black tube of the instrument. Wood House shifted
the roof and then proceeded to the telescope, turned first
one wheel and then another, the great cylinder, slowly swinging
into a new position. Then he glanced through the finder
(04:03):
the little companion telescope, moved the roof a little more,
made some further adjustments, and set the clockwork in motion.
He took off his jacket for the night was very hot,
and pushed into position the uncomfortable seat to which he
was condemned for the next few hours. Then, with a sigh,
(04:23):
he resigned himself to his watch upon the mysteries of space.
There was no sound now in the observatory, and the
lantern waned steadily. Outside. There was the occasional cry of
some animal in alarm or pain, or calling to its mate,
and the intermittent sounds of the Malay and Dyak servants. Presently,
(04:47):
one of the men began a queer chanting song, in
which the others joined at intervals. After this, it would
seem that they turned in for the night, for no
further sound came from their direction, and the whispering stillness
became more and more profound. The clockwork ticked steadily. The
(05:09):
shrill hum of a mosquito explored the place and grew
shriller in indignation at Woodhouse's ointment. Then the lantern went out,
and all the observatory was black. Woodhouse shifted his position
presently when the slow movement of the telescope had carried
it beyond the limits of his comfort. He was watching
(05:31):
a little group of stars in the Milky Way, in
one of which his chief had seen or fancied a
remarkable color variability. It was not a part of the
regular work for which the establishment existed, and for that reason,
perhaps Woodhouse was deeply interested. He must have forgotten things terrestrial.
(05:52):
All his attention was concentrated upon the great blue circle
of the telescope field, a circle powdered so it seemed
within an innumerable multitude of stars, and all luminous against
the blackness of its setting. As he watched, he seemed
to himself to become incorporeal, as if he too were
(06:13):
floating in the ether of space. Infinitely remote was the
faint red spot he was observing. Suddenly the stars were
blotted out, a flash of blackness passed, and they were
visible again. Queer said Woodhouse must have been a bird.
The thing happened again, and immediately after the great tube
(06:36):
shivered as though it had been struck. Then the dome
of the observatory resounded with a series of thundering blows.
The stars seemed to sweep aside as the telescope, which
had been undampened, swung round and away from its slit
in the roof. Great Scott cried, Woodhouse, what's this? Some huge,
(06:57):
vague black shape with a flapping something like a wing
seemed to be struggling in the aperture of the roof.
In another moment, the slit was clear again, and the
luminous haze of the milky way shone warm and bright.
The interior of the roof was perfectly black, and only
a scraping sound marked the whereabouts of the unknown creature.
(07:19):
Woodhouse had scrambled from the seat to his feet. He
was trembling violently and in a perspiration with the suddenness
of the occurrence. Was the thing? Whatever it was inside
or out, it was big, whatever else it might be.
Something shot across the skylight and the telescope swayed. He
(07:40):
started violently and put his arm up. It was in
the observatory, then with him. It was clinging to the roof. Apparently,
what the devil was it? Could it see him? He
stood for perhaps a minute in a state of stupefication.
The beast, whatever it was, clawed at the interior of
(08:01):
the dome, and then something flapped almost into his face,
and he saw the momentary gleam of starlight on a
skin like oiled leather. His water bottle was knocked off
his little table with a smash. The sense of some
strange bird creature hovering a few yards from his face
in the darkness was indescribably unpleasant to wood House. As
(08:24):
his thought returned, he concluded that it must be some
night bird or large bat. At any risk, he would
see what it was, and pulling a match from his pocket,
he tried to strike it on the telescope seat. There
was a smoking streak of phosphorescent light. The match flared
for a moment, and he saw a vast wing sweeping
(08:44):
towards him, a gleam of gray brown fur. And then
he was struck in the face and the match knocked
out of his hand. The blow was aimed at his temple,
and a claw tore sideways down his cheek. He reeled
and fell. He heard the extinguished lantern smash. Another blow followed.
(09:04):
As he fell, He was partly stunned. He felt his
own warm blood stream out upon his face. Instinctively, he
felt his eyes had been struck out, and, turning over
on his face to protect them, tried to crawl under
the protection of the telescope. He was struck again upon
the back, and he heard his jacket rip, and then
(09:25):
the thing hit the roof of the observatory. He edged
as far back as he could between the wooden seat
and the eye piece of the instrument, and turned his
body round so that it was chiefly his feet that
were exposed. With these he could at least kick. He
was still in a mystified state. The strange beast banged
(09:46):
about in the darkness, and presently clung to the telescope,
making its sway and the gear rattle. Once it flapped
near him, and he kicked out madly and felt a
soft body with his feet. He was horribly scared. Now
it must be a big thing to swing the telescope
like that. He saw for a moment the outline of
(10:08):
a head black against the starlight, with sharply pointed upstanding
ears and a crest between them. It seemed to him
to be as big as a mastiff's. Then he began
to bawl out as loudly as he could for help.
At that the thing came down upon him again. As
it did so, his hand touched something beside him on
(10:28):
the floor. He kicked out, and the next moment his
ankle was gripped and held by a row of keen teeth.
He held again and tried to free his leg by
kicking with the other. Then he realized he had the
broken water bottle at his hand, and snatching it. He
struggled into a sitting posture, and, feeling in the darkness
(10:49):
towards his foot, gripped a velvety ear like the ear
of a big cat. He had seized the water bottle
by its neck and brought it down with a shivering
crash upon the head out of the strange beast. He
repeated the blow, and then stabbed and jobbed with the
jagged end of it in the darkness, where he judged
the face might be. The small teeth relaxed their hold,
(11:13):
and at once Woodhouse pulled his leg free and kicked hard.
He felt the sickening feel of fur and bone giving
under his foot. There was a tearing bite at his arm,
and he struck over it at the face as he
judged and hit damp fur. There was a pause. Then
he heard the sound of claws and the dragging of
(11:34):
a heavy body away from him over the observatory floor.
Then there was silence, broken only by his own sobbing breath,
and a sound like licking. Everything was black except for
the parallelogram of the blue skylight with the luminous dust
of stars, against which the end of the telescope now
(11:54):
appeared in silhouette. He waited, as it seemed an interminable
old time. Was the thing coming on again? He felt
in his trouser pocket for some matches and found one remaining.
He tried to strike this, but the floor was wet,
and it spat and went out. He cursed he could
(12:17):
not see where the door was situated. In his struggle,
he had quite lost his bearings. The strange beast, disturbed
by the splutter of the match, began to move again.
Time called wood House with a sudden gleam of mirth.
But the thing was not coming at him again. He
must have heard it, he thought, with the broken bottle.
(12:40):
He felt a dull pain in his ankle. Probably he
was bleeding there. He wondered if it would support him
if he tried to stand up. The night outside was
very still. There was no sound of any one moving.
The sleepy fools had not heard those wings battering upon
the dome, nor his shouts. It was no good wasting
(13:03):
strength and shouting. The monster flapped its wings and startled
him into a defensive attitude. He hid his elbow against
the seat, and it fell over with a crash. He
cursed this, and then he cursed the darkness. Suddenly the
oblong patch of starlight seemed to sway to and fro.
(13:23):
Was he going to faint? It would never do to faint.
He clutched his fists and set his teeth to hold
himself together. Where had the door got to? It occurred
to him he could get his bearings by the stars
visible through the skylight. The patch of stars he saw
was in Sagittarius and southeastward. The door was north or
(13:47):
was it north by west? He tried to think if
he could get the door open, he might retreat. It
might be the thing was wounded. The suspense was beastly.
Look here, he said, If you don't come on, I
shall come at you. Then the thing began clambering up
(14:08):
the side of the observatory, and he saw its black
outline gradually blought out the skylight. Was it in retreat?
He forgot about the door and watched as the dome
shifted and creaked. Somehow, he did not feel very frightened
or excited. Now he felt a curious sinking sensation inside him.
(14:28):
The sharply defined patch of light with the black form
moving across it, seemed to be growing smaller and smaller.
That was curious. He began to feel very thirsty, and
yet he did not feel inclined to get anything to drink.
He seemed to be sliding down a long funnel. He
felt a burning sensation in his throat, and then he
(14:51):
perceived it was broad daylight, and that one of the
Dayak servants was looking at him with a curious expression.
Then there was the top of Thatty's face upside down.
Funny fellow Thaddy to go about like that. Then he
grasped the situation better and perceived that his head was
on Thatty's knee, and Thaddy was giving him brandy. And
(15:14):
then he saw the eye piece of the telescope with
a lot of red smears on it. He began to remember,
you've made this observatory into a pretty mess, said Thaddy.
The dyak boy was beating up an egg in brandy.
Woodhouse took this and sat up. He felt a sharp
twinge of pain. His ankle was tied up, so were
(15:36):
his arm and the side of his face. The smashed glass,
red stained, lay about the floor. The telescope seat was overturned,
and by the opposite wall was a dark pool. The
door was open, and he saw the gray summit of
the mountain against the brilliant background of the blue sky. Pah,
(15:59):
said Woodhouse, who's been killing calves? Here? Take me out
of it. Then he remembered the thing and the fight
he had had with it. What was it, he said
to Thaddy. The thing I fought with? You know that best,
said Thaddy. But anyhow, don't worry yourself now about it.
(16:23):
Have some more to drink. Thatdy however, was curious enough,
and it was a hard struggle between duty and inclination
to keep Woodhouse quiet until he was decently put away
in bed and had slap upon the copious dose of
meat extract that he considered advisable. They then talked it
over together. It was, said Woodhouse, more like a big
(16:47):
bat than anything else in the world. It had sharp,
short ears and soft fur, and its wings were leathery.
Its teeth were little but devilish sharp, and its jaw
could not have been very strong earl it would have
bitten through my ankle. It was pretty nearly, said Thaddy.
It seemed to me to hit out with its claws
(17:07):
pretty freely. That is about as much as I know
about the beast. Our conversation was intimate, so to speak,
and yet not confidential. The Dak chaps talk about a
big colugo, a clangyu tang, whatever that might be. It
does not often attack man. But I suppose you made
it nervous. They say there is a big colugo and
(17:30):
a little colugo, and as something else that sounds like gobble.
They all fly about at night. For my own part,
I know there are flying foxes and flying lemas about here,
but they are none of them very big beasts. There
are more things in heaven and earth, said Woodhouse, and
Thaddy groaned at the quotation, and more particularly in the
(17:53):
forces of Borneo, than are dreamt of in our philosophies
on the whole. If the Borneo fauna is going to
disgorge any more of its novelties upon me. I should
prefer that it did so when I was not occupied
in the observatory at night and alone. And of the
Avous Observatory by H. G. Wells, read for LibriVox dot
(18:15):
org by Nacell Droll
In the Avou Observatory by H. G. Wells. The observatory
at Avu in Borneo stands on the spur of the mountain.
To the north rises the old crater, black at night
against the unfathomable blue of the sky. From the little
circular building with its mushroom dome, the slopes plunged steeply
(00:23):
downward into the black mysteries of the tropical forest. Beneath
the little house in which the observer and his assistant
live is about fifty yards from the observatory, and beyond
this are the huts of their native attendants. Thaddy, the
chief observer, was down with a slight fever. His assistant
(00:45):
wood House paused for a moment in silent contemplation of
the tropical night, before commencing his solitary vigil. The night
was very still now, and then voices and laughter came
from the native hut, or the cry of some strange
animal was heard from the midst of the mystery of
the forest. Nocturnal insects appeared in ghostly fashion out of
(01:10):
the darkness and fluttered round his light. He thought, perhaps
of all the possibilities of discovery that still lay in
the black tangle beneath him. For to the naturalist, the
virgin forests of Borneo are still a wonderland, full of
strange questions and half suspected discoveries. Woodhouse carried a small
(01:32):
lantern in his hand, and its yellow glow contrasted vividly
with the infinite series of tints between lavender, blue and
black in which the landscape was painted. His hands and
feet were smeared with ointment against the attacks of the mosquitoes.
Even in these days of celestial photography, work done in
(01:53):
a purely temporary erection and with only the most primitive
appliances in addition to the telescope, still involves a very
large amount of cramped and motionless watch. He sighed as
he thought of the physical fatigues before him, stretched himself
and entered the observatory. The reader is probably familiar with
(02:15):
the structure of an ordinary astronomical observatory. The building is
usually cylindrical in shape, with a very light, hemispherical roof
capable of being turned round from the interior. The telescope
is supported upon a stone pillar in the center, and
a clockwork arrangement compensates for the Earth's rotation and allows
(02:36):
a star, once found to be continuously observed. Besides this,
there is a compact tracery of wheels and screws about
its point of support, by which the astronomer adjusts it.
There is, of course a slit in the movable roof
which follows the eye of the telescope in its survey
(02:57):
of the heavens. The observer sits or lies on a
sloping wooden arrangement, which he can wheel to any part
of the observatory as the position of the telescope may require.
Within it is advisable to have things as dark as
possible in order to enhance the brilliance of the stars observed.
(03:18):
The lantern flared as wood House entered his circular den,
and the general darkness fled into black shadows behind the
big machine, from which it presently seemed to creep back
over the whole place as the light waned. The slit
was a profound, transparent blue in which six stars shone
(03:38):
with tropical brilliance, and their light lay a pallid gleam
along the black tube of the instrument. Wood House shifted
the roof and then proceeded to the telescope, turned first
one wheel and then another, the great cylinder, slowly swinging
into a new position. Then he glanced through the finder
(04:03):
the little companion telescope, moved the roof a little more,
made some further adjustments, and set the clockwork in motion.
He took off his jacket for the night was very hot,
and pushed into position the uncomfortable seat to which he
was condemned for the next few hours. Then, with a sigh,
(04:23):
he resigned himself to his watch upon the mysteries of space.
There was no sound now in the observatory, and the
lantern waned steadily. Outside. There was the occasional cry of
some animal in alarm or pain, or calling to its mate,
and the intermittent sounds of the Malay and Dyak servants. Presently,
(04:47):
one of the men began a queer chanting song, in
which the others joined at intervals. After this, it would
seem that they turned in for the night, for no
further sound came from their direction, and the whispering stillness
became more and more profound. The clockwork ticked steadily. The
(05:09):
shrill hum of a mosquito explored the place and grew
shriller in indignation at Woodhouse's ointment. Then the lantern went out,
and all the observatory was black. Woodhouse shifted his position
presently when the slow movement of the telescope had carried
it beyond the limits of his comfort. He was watching
(05:31):
a little group of stars in the Milky Way, in
one of which his chief had seen or fancied a
remarkable color variability. It was not a part of the
regular work for which the establishment existed, and for that reason,
perhaps Woodhouse was deeply interested. He must have forgotten things terrestrial.
(05:52):
All his attention was concentrated upon the great blue circle
of the telescope field, a circle powdered so it seemed
within an innumerable multitude of stars, and all luminous against
the blackness of its setting. As he watched, he seemed
to himself to become incorporeal, as if he too were
(06:13):
floating in the ether of space. Infinitely remote was the
faint red spot he was observing. Suddenly the stars were
blotted out, a flash of blackness passed, and they were
visible again. Queer said Woodhouse must have been a bird.
The thing happened again, and immediately after the great tube
(06:36):
shivered as though it had been struck. Then the dome
of the observatory resounded with a series of thundering blows.
The stars seemed to sweep aside as the telescope, which
had been undampened, swung round and away from its slit
in the roof. Great Scott cried, Woodhouse, what's this? Some huge,
(06:57):
vague black shape with a flapping something like a wing
seemed to be struggling in the aperture of the roof.
In another moment, the slit was clear again, and the
luminous haze of the milky way shone warm and bright.
The interior of the roof was perfectly black, and only
a scraping sound marked the whereabouts of the unknown creature.
(07:19):
Woodhouse had scrambled from the seat to his feet. He
was trembling violently and in a perspiration with the suddenness
of the occurrence. Was the thing? Whatever it was inside
or out, it was big, whatever else it might be.
Something shot across the skylight and the telescope swayed. He
(07:40):
started violently and put his arm up. It was in
the observatory, then with him. It was clinging to the roof. Apparently,
what the devil was it? Could it see him? He
stood for perhaps a minute in a state of stupefication.
The beast, whatever it was, clawed at the interior of
(08:01):
the dome, and then something flapped almost into his face,
and he saw the momentary gleam of starlight on a
skin like oiled leather. His water bottle was knocked off
his little table with a smash. The sense of some
strange bird creature hovering a few yards from his face
in the darkness was indescribably unpleasant to wood House. As
(08:24):
his thought returned, he concluded that it must be some
night bird or large bat. At any risk, he would
see what it was, and pulling a match from his pocket,
he tried to strike it on the telescope seat. There
was a smoking streak of phosphorescent light. The match flared
for a moment, and he saw a vast wing sweeping
(08:44):
towards him, a gleam of gray brown fur. And then
he was struck in the face and the match knocked
out of his hand. The blow was aimed at his temple,
and a claw tore sideways down his cheek. He reeled
and fell. He heard the extinguished lantern smash. Another blow followed.
(09:04):
As he fell, He was partly stunned. He felt his
own warm blood stream out upon his face. Instinctively, he
felt his eyes had been struck out, and, turning over
on his face to protect them, tried to crawl under
the protection of the telescope. He was struck again upon
the back, and he heard his jacket rip, and then
(09:25):
the thing hit the roof of the observatory. He edged
as far back as he could between the wooden seat
and the eye piece of the instrument, and turned his
body round so that it was chiefly his feet that
were exposed. With these he could at least kick. He
was still in a mystified state. The strange beast banged
(09:46):
about in the darkness, and presently clung to the telescope,
making its sway and the gear rattle. Once it flapped
near him, and he kicked out madly and felt a
soft body with his feet. He was horribly scared. Now
it must be a big thing to swing the telescope
like that. He saw for a moment the outline of
(10:08):
a head black against the starlight, with sharply pointed upstanding
ears and a crest between them. It seemed to him
to be as big as a mastiff's. Then he began
to bawl out as loudly as he could for help.
At that the thing came down upon him again. As
it did so, his hand touched something beside him on
(10:28):
the floor. He kicked out, and the next moment his
ankle was gripped and held by a row of keen teeth.
He held again and tried to free his leg by
kicking with the other. Then he realized he had the
broken water bottle at his hand, and snatching it. He
struggled into a sitting posture, and, feeling in the darkness
(10:49):
towards his foot, gripped a velvety ear like the ear
of a big cat. He had seized the water bottle
by its neck and brought it down with a shivering
crash upon the head out of the strange beast. He
repeated the blow, and then stabbed and jobbed with the
jagged end of it in the darkness, where he judged
the face might be. The small teeth relaxed their hold,
(11:13):
and at once Woodhouse pulled his leg free and kicked hard.
He felt the sickening feel of fur and bone giving
under his foot. There was a tearing bite at his arm,
and he struck over it at the face as he
judged and hit damp fur. There was a pause. Then
he heard the sound of claws and the dragging of
(11:34):
a heavy body away from him over the observatory floor.
Then there was silence, broken only by his own sobbing breath,
and a sound like licking. Everything was black except for
the parallelogram of the blue skylight with the luminous dust
of stars, against which the end of the telescope now
(11:54):
appeared in silhouette. He waited, as it seemed an interminable
old time. Was the thing coming on again? He felt
in his trouser pocket for some matches and found one remaining.
He tried to strike this, but the floor was wet,
and it spat and went out. He cursed he could
(12:17):
not see where the door was situated. In his struggle,
he had quite lost his bearings. The strange beast, disturbed
by the splutter of the match, began to move again.
Time called wood House with a sudden gleam of mirth.
But the thing was not coming at him again. He
must have heard it, he thought, with the broken bottle.
(12:40):
He felt a dull pain in his ankle. Probably he
was bleeding there. He wondered if it would support him
if he tried to stand up. The night outside was
very still. There was no sound of any one moving.
The sleepy fools had not heard those wings battering upon
the dome, nor his shouts. It was no good wasting
(13:03):
strength and shouting. The monster flapped its wings and startled
him into a defensive attitude. He hid his elbow against
the seat, and it fell over with a crash. He
cursed this, and then he cursed the darkness. Suddenly the
oblong patch of starlight seemed to sway to and fro.
(13:23):
Was he going to faint? It would never do to faint.
He clutched his fists and set his teeth to hold
himself together. Where had the door got to? It occurred
to him he could get his bearings by the stars
visible through the skylight. The patch of stars he saw
was in Sagittarius and southeastward. The door was north or
(13:47):
was it north by west? He tried to think if
he could get the door open, he might retreat. It
might be the thing was wounded. The suspense was beastly.
Look here, he said, If you don't come on, I
shall come at you. Then the thing began clambering up
(14:08):
the side of the observatory, and he saw its black
outline gradually blought out the skylight. Was it in retreat?
He forgot about the door and watched as the dome
shifted and creaked. Somehow, he did not feel very frightened
or excited. Now he felt a curious sinking sensation inside him.
(14:28):
The sharply defined patch of light with the black form
moving across it, seemed to be growing smaller and smaller.
That was curious. He began to feel very thirsty, and
yet he did not feel inclined to get anything to drink.
He seemed to be sliding down a long funnel. He
felt a burning sensation in his throat, and then he
(14:51):
perceived it was broad daylight, and that one of the
Dayak servants was looking at him with a curious expression.
Then there was the top of Thatty's face upside down.
Funny fellow Thaddy to go about like that. Then he
grasped the situation better and perceived that his head was
on Thatty's knee, and Thaddy was giving him brandy. And
(15:14):
then he saw the eye piece of the telescope with
a lot of red smears on it. He began to remember,
you've made this observatory into a pretty mess, said Thaddy.
The dyak boy was beating up an egg in brandy.
Woodhouse took this and sat up. He felt a sharp
twinge of pain. His ankle was tied up, so were
(15:36):
his arm and the side of his face. The smashed glass,
red stained, lay about the floor. The telescope seat was overturned,
and by the opposite wall was a dark pool. The
door was open, and he saw the gray summit of
the mountain against the brilliant background of the blue sky. Pah,
(15:59):
said Woodhouse, who's been killing calves? Here? Take me out
of it. Then he remembered the thing and the fight
he had had with it. What was it, he said
to Thaddy. The thing I fought with? You know that best,
said Thaddy. But anyhow, don't worry yourself now about it.
(16:23):
Have some more to drink. Thatdy however, was curious enough,
and it was a hard struggle between duty and inclination
to keep Woodhouse quiet until he was decently put away
in bed and had slap upon the copious dose of
meat extract that he considered advisable. They then talked it
over together. It was, said Woodhouse, more like a big
(16:47):
bat than anything else in the world. It had sharp,
short ears and soft fur, and its wings were leathery.
Its teeth were little but devilish sharp, and its jaw
could not have been very strong earl it would have
bitten through my ankle. It was pretty nearly, said Thaddy.
It seemed to me to hit out with its claws
(17:07):
pretty freely. That is about as much as I know
about the beast. Our conversation was intimate, so to speak,
and yet not confidential. The Dak chaps talk about a
big colugo, a clangyu tang, whatever that might be. It
does not often attack man. But I suppose you made
it nervous. They say there is a big colugo and
(17:30):
a little colugo, and as something else that sounds like gobble.
They all fly about at night. For my own part,
I know there are flying foxes and flying lemas about here,
but they are none of them very big beasts. There
are more things in heaven and earth, said Woodhouse, and
Thaddy groaned at the quotation, and more particularly in the
(17:53):
forces of Borneo, than are dreamt of in our philosophies
on the whole. If the Borneo fauna is going to
disgorge any more of its novelties upon me. I should
prefer that it did so when I was not occupied
in the observatory at night and alone. And of the
Avous Observatory by H. G. Wells, read for LibriVox dot
(18:15):
org by Nacell Droll
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