Затерянный мир
Those Were the Real Conquests
Screamingandhowling,thegreatcreaturesrushedawayinalldirectionsthroughthebrushwood,whileouralliesyelledintheirsavagedelight,followingswiftlyaftertheirflyingenemies.Allthefeudsofcountlessgenerations,allthehatredsandcrueltiesoftheirnarrowhistory,allthememoriesofill-usageandpersecutionweretobepurgedthatday.Atlastmanwastobesupremeandtheman-beasttofindforeverhisallottedplace.Flyastheywouldthefugitivesweretooslowtoescapefromtheactivesavages,andfromeverysideinthetangledwoodsweheardtheexultantyells,thetwangingofbows,andthecrashandthudasape-menwerebroughtdownfromtheirhiding-placesinthetrees.
Iwasfollowingtheothers,whenIfoundthatLordJohnandChallengerhadcomeacrosstojoinus.
"It’sover,"saidLordJohn."Ithinkwecanleavethetidyinguptothem.Perhapsthelessweseeofitthebetterweshallsleep."
Challenger’seyeswereshiningwiththelustofslaughter.
"Wehavebeenprivileged,"hecried,struttingaboutlikeagamecock,"tobepresentatoneofthetypicaldecisivebattlesofhistory—thebattleswhichhavedeterminedthefateoftheworld.What,myfriends,istheconquestofonenationbyanother?Itismeaningless.Eachproducesthesameresult.Butthosefiercefights,wheninthedawnoftheagesthecave-dwellersheldtheirownagainstthetigerfolk,ortheelephantsfirstfoundthattheyhadamaster,thoseweretherealconquests—thevictoriesthatcount.
