the.lost.world-第13部分

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　　　　〃I'm　not；　I'm　not。〃
　　　　〃Remember　what　Dr。　Levine　said。〃　〃Jeez；　Kel。　I　remember；　okay？〃
　　　　Across　the　street　was　parked　the　plain　gray　Taurus　sedan　that　they　had　seen；　off　and　on；　for　the　past　two　months。　Behind　the　wheel；　pretending　to　read　a　newspaper；　was　that　same　man　with　the　scraggly　growth　of　beard。　This　bearded　man　had　been　following　Dr。　Levine　ever　since　he　started　to　teach　the　class　at　Woodside。　Kelly　believed　that　man　was　the　reason　why　Dr。　Levine　asked　her　and　Arby　to　be　his　assistants　in　the　first　place。

Levine　had　told　them　their　job　would　be　to　help　him　by　carrying　equipment；　Xeroxing　class　assignments；　collecting　homework；　and　routine　things　like　that。　They　thought　it　would　be　a　big　honor　to　work　for　Dr。　Levine　…or　anyway；　interesting　to　work　for　an　actual　professional　scientist　…so　they　had　agreed　to　do　it。
　　　　But　it　turned　out　there　never　was　anything　to　be　done　for　the　class；　Dr。　Levine　did　all　that　himself　Instead；　he　sent　them　on　lots　of　little　errands。　And　he　had　told　them　to　be　careful　to　avoid　this　bearded　man　ill　the　car。　That　wasn't　hard；　the　man　never　paid　any　attention　to　them；　because　they　were　kids；
　　　　Dr。　Levine　had　explained　the　bearded　man　was　following　him　because　of　something　to　do　with　his　arrest；　but　Kelly　didn't　believe　that。　Her　own　mother　had　been　arrested　twice　for　drunk　driving；　and　there　was　never　anybody　following　her。　So　Kelly　didn't　know　why　this　man　was　following　Levine；　but　clearly　Levine　was　doing　some　secret　research　and　he　didn't　want　anybody　to　find　out　about　it。　She　knew　one　thing　…　Dr。　Levine　didn't　care　much　about　this　class　he　was　reaching。　He　usually　gave　the　lecture　off　the　top　of　his　head。　Other　times　he　would　walk　in　the　front　door　of　the　school；　hand　them　a　taped　lecture；　and　walk　out　the　back。　They　never　knew　where　he　went；　on　those　days。
　　　　The　errands　he　sent　them　on　were　mysterious；　too。　Once　they　went　to　Stanford　and　picked　up　five　small　squares　of　plastic　from　a　professor　there。　The　plastic　was　light；　and　sort　of　foamy。　Another　time　they　went　downtown　to　an　electronics　store　and　picked　up　a　triangular　device　that　the　man　behind　the　counter　gave　them　very　nervously；　as　if　it　might　be　illegal　or　something。　Another　time　they　picked　up　a　metal　tube　that　looked　like　it　contained　cigars。　They　couldn't　help　opening　it；　but　they　were　uneasy　to　find　four　sealed　plastic　ampoules　of　straw…colored　liquid。　The　ampoules　were　marked　EXTREME　DANGER！　LETHAL　TOXICITY！　and　had　the　three…bladed　international　symbol　for　biohazard。
　　　　But　mostly；　their　assignments　were　mundane。　He　often　sent　them　to　libraries　at　Stanford　to　Xerox　papers　on　all　sorts　of　subjects：　Japanese　sword…making；　X…ray　crystallography；　Mexican　vampire　bats；　Central　American　volcanoes；　oceanic　currents　of　El　Ni？o；　the　mating　behavior　of　mountain　sheep；　sea…cucumber　toxicity；　flying　buttresses　of　Gothic　cathedrals。。。
　　　　Dr。　Levine　never　explained　why　he　was　interested　in　these　subjects。　Often　he　would　send　them　back　day　after　day；　to　search　for　more　material。　And　then；　suddenly；　he　would　drop　the　subject；　and　never　refer　to　it　again。　And　they　would　be　on　to　something　else。
　　　　Of　course；　they　could　figure　some　of　it　out。　A　lot　of　the　questions　had　to　do　with　the　vehicles　that　Dr。　Thorne　was　building　for　Dr。　Levine's　expedition。　But　most　of　the　time；　the　subjects　were　pletely　mysterious。
　　　　Occasionally；　Kelly　wondered　what　the　bearded　man　would　make　of　all　this。　She　wondered　whether　he　knew　something　they　did　not。　But　actually；　the　bearded　man　seemed　kind　of　lazy。　He　never　seemed　to　figure　out　that　Kelly　and　Arby　were　doing　errands　for　Dr。　Levine。
　　　　Right　now；　the　bearded　man　glanced　over　at　the　entrance　to　the　school；　ignoring　them。　They　walked　to　the　end　of　the　street；　and　sat　on　the　bench　to　wait　for　the　bus。

Tag

The　baby　snow　leopard　spit　the　bottle　out；　and　rolled　over　onto　its　back；　paws　in　the　air。　It　made　a　soft　mewing　sound。
　　　　〃She　wants　to　be　petted；〃　Elizabeth　Gelman　said。
　　　　Malcolm　reached　out　his　hand；　to　stroke　the　belly。　The　cub　spun　around；　and　sunk　its　tiny　teeth　into　his　fingers。　Malcolm　yelled。
　　　　〃She　does　that；　sometimes；〃　Gelman　said。　〃Dorje！　Bad　girl！　Is　that　any　way　to　treat　our　distinguished　visitor？〃　She　reached　out；　took　Malcolm's　hand。　〃It　didn't　break　the　skin；　but　we　should　clean　it　anyway。〃　They　were　in　the　white　research　laboratory　of　the　San　Francisco　Zoo；　at　three　o'clock　in　the　afternoon。　Elizabeth　Gelman；　the　youthful　head　of　research；　was　supposed　to　report　on　her　findings；　but　they　had　to　delay　for　the　afternoon　feeding　in　the　nursery。　Malcolm　had　watched　them　feed　a　baby　gorilla；　which　spit　up　like　a　human　baby；　and　a　koala；　and　then　the　very　cute　snow…leopard　cub。
　　　　〃Sorry　about　that；〃　Gelman　said。　She　took　him　to　a　side　basin；　and　soaped　his　hand。　〃But　I　thought　it　was　better　that　you　e　here　now；　when　the　regular　staff　is　all　at　the　weekly　conference。〃
　　　　〃Why　is　that？〃
　　　　〃Because　there's　a　lot　of　interest　in　the　material　you　gave　us；　Ian。　A　lot。〃　She　dried　his　hand　with　a　towel；　inspected　it　again。　〃I　think　you'll　survive。〃
　　　　〃What　have　you　found？〃　Malcolm　said　to　her。
　　　　〃You　have　to　admit；　it　is　very　provocative。　By　the　way；　is　it　from　Costa　Rica？〃
　　　　Keeping　his　voice　neutral；　Malcolm　said；　〃Why　do　you　say　that？〃
　　　　〃Because　there　are　all　these　rumors　about　unknown　animals　showing　up　in　Costa　Rica。　And　this　is　definitely　an　unknown　animal；　Ian。〃
　　　　She　led　him　out　of　the　nursery；　and　into　a　small　conference　room　He　dropped　into　a　chair；　resting　his　cane　on　the　table。　She　lowered　the　lights；　and　clicked　on　a　slide　protector。　〃Okay。　Here's　a　close…up　of　your　original　material；　before　we　be　an　our　examination。　As　you　see；　it　consists　of　a　fragment　of　animal　tissue　in　a　state　of　very　advanced　necrosis。　The　tissue　measures　four　centimeters　by　six　centimeters。　Attached　to　it　is　a　green　plastic　tag；　measuring　two　centimeters　square。　Tissue　cut　by　a　knife；　but　not　a　very　sharp　one。〃
　　　　Malcolm　nodded。
　　　　〃What'd　you　use；　Ian；　your　pocketknife？〃　〃Something　like　that。〃
　　　　〃All　right。　Let's　deal　with　the　tissue　sample　first。〃　The　slide　changed；　Malcolm　saw　a　microscopic　view。　〃This　is　a　gross　histologic　section　through　the　superficial　epidermis。　Those　patchy；　ragged　gaps　are　where　the　postmortem　necrotic　change　has　eroded　the　skin　surface。　But　what　is　interesting　is　the　arrangement　of　epidermal　cells。　You'll　notice　the　density　of　chromatophores；　or　pigment…bearing　cells。　In　the　cut　section　you　see　the　difference　between　melanophores　here；　and　allophores；　here。　The　overall　pattern　is　suggestive　of　a　lacerta　or　amblythynchtis。〃
　　　　〃You　mean　a　lizard？〃　Malcolm　said。
　　　　〃Yes；〃　she　said。　〃It　looks　like　a　lizard…though　the　Picture　is　not　entirely　consistent。〃　She　tapped　the　left　side　of　the　screen。　〃You　see　this　one　cell　here；　which　has　this　slight　rim；　in　section？　We　believe　that's　muscle。　The　chromatophore　could　open　and　close。　Meaning　that　this　animal　could　change　color；　like　a　chameleon。　And　over　here　you　see　this　large　oval　shape；　with　a　pale　center？　That's　the　pore　of　a　femoral　scent　gland。　There　is　a　waxy　substance　in　the　center　which　we　are　still　analyzing。　But　our　presumption　is　that　this　animal　was　male；　since　only　male　lizards　have　femoral　glands。〃
　　　　〃I　see；〃　Malcolm　said。
　　　　She　changed　the　slide；　Malcolm　saw　what　looked　like　a　close…up　of　a　sponge。　〃Going　deeper。　Here　we　see　the　Structure　of　the　subcutaneous　layers。　Highly　distorted；　because　of　gas　bubbles　from　the　clostridia　infection　that　bloated　the　animal。　But　you　can　get　a　sense　of　the　vessels　…　see　one　here　…　and　another　here　…　which　are　surrounded　by　smooth　muscle　fibers。　This　is　not　characteristic　of　lizards；　In　fact；　the　whole　appearance　of　this　slide　is　wrong　for　lizards；　or　reptiles　of　any　sort。〃
　　　　〃You　mean　it　looks　warm…blooded。〃
　　　　〃Right；〃　Gelman　said。　〃Not　really　mammalian；　but　perhaps　avian。　This　could　be；　oh；　I　don't　know；　a　dead　pelican。　Something　like　that。〃
　　　　〃Uh…huh。〃
　　　　〃Except　no　pelican　has　a　skin　like　that。〃
　　　　〃I　see；〃　Malcolm　said。
　　　　〃And　there　s　no　feathers。〃
　　　　〃Uh…huh。〃
　　　　〃Now；〃　Gelman　said；　〃we　were　able　to　extract　a　minute　quantity　of　blood　from　the　intra…arterial　spaces。　Not　much；　but　enough　to　conduct　a