This is written from memory, unfortunately. If I could have brought with me thematerial I so carefully prepared, this would be a very different story. Wholebooks full of notes, carefully copied records, firsthand descriptions, and thepictures—that’s the worst loss. We had some bird’s-eyes ofthe cities and parks; a lot of lovely views of streets, of buildings, outsideand in, and some of those gorgeous gardens, and, most important of all, of thewomen themselves.
Nobody will ever believe how they looked. Descriptions aren’t any goodwhen it comes to women, and I never was good at descriptions anyhow. Butit’s got to be done somehow; the rest of the world needs to know aboutthat country.
I haven’t said where it was for fear some self-appointed missionaries, ortraders, or land-greedy expansionists, will take it upon themselves to push in.They will not be wanted, I can tell them that, and will fare worse than we didif they do find it.
It began this way. There were three of us, classmates and friends—TerryO. Nicholson (we used to call him the Old Nick, with good reason), JeffMargrave, and I, Vandyck Jennings.
We had known each other years and years, and in spite of our differences we hada good deal in common. All of us were interested in science.
Terry was rich enough to do as he pleased. His great aim was exploration. Heused to make all kinds of a row because there was nothing left to explore now,only patchwork and filling in, he said. He filled in well enough—he had alot of talents—great on mechanics and electricity. Had all kinds of boatsand motorcars, and was one of the best of our airmen.
We never could have done the thing at all without Terry.
Jeff Margrave was born to be a poet, a botanist—or both—but hisfolks persuaded him to be a doctor instead. He was a good one, for his age, buthis real interest was in what he loved to call “the wonders ofscience.”
As for me, sociology’s my major. You have to back that up with a lot ofother sciences, of course. I’m interested in them all.
Terry was strong on facts—geography and meteorology and those; Jeff couldbeat him any time on biology, and I didn’t care what it was they talkedabout, so long as it connected with human life, somehow. There are few thingsthat don’t.
We three had a chance to join a big sc