Page 43 - Fables volume 1

How the Troglodyte was Tracked Down

“But, Professor Planarius: how can you just go chasing after this
thing? Nobody knows what it looks like—or even if it really exists.”
Vivian Paris, the professor’s young secretary, shook her head violently
and stamped her heels. “And what about me? I’ll have to do all your
paperwork as well as answer the phone while you’re gone.”
The professor rose from his swivel chair and walked over to a large
map of the world on the wall opposite his desk. “I’m sorry, Vivi,” he
said soothingly. “I’d like to send one of the younger men on this
assignment, but I cannot risk failure by anyone else. And physical
danger is involved: that has to be my responsibility. And, when I do
find the troglodyte, well, if I may flatter myself a little, only a man of
my great experience in handling exotic fauna could ever hope to bring
it back alive to Fresno College Zoo.”
Miss Paris looked doubtful. “I know you, Professor,” she said.
“You’ve been director of this zoo for seven years, and you haven’t had
your name in the newspapers once—if you don’t count the time you
were trapped in the rhinoceros enclosure for three days. I’ve seen you
reading the stories every time some big-city zoo lands a gold-crested
basilisk or an albino sea cucumber. You’re out for glory, Professor;
don’t try to kid me. There’s no cage big or strong enough to hold your
ego.”
With that she turned and walked briskly out of his office,
slamming the door. Professor Planarius stared for a moment at the
spot where she had stood. He stroked his goatee absently and
frowned.
“Women!” he muttered. Then his eyes wandered to the map. He
located a small chain of islands running north and south near a corner
of the South China Sea: The Extremities. Once a British possession,
the area had gained independence during the shuffle at the end of the
last war. The professor already had a visa and official permission to
trap wild animals for his zoo. His gaze rested on a tiny dot in the
Upper Extremities. It was Serabella, source of recurrent rumors about
a strange creature living in the caves on one end of the island.

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