# Prologue explained — Pellucidar

> Chapter companion for Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

The narrator receives a letter from Cogdon Nestor, who discovered a buried telegraph instrument in the Sahara that appears to be connected to David Innes's inner world of Pellucidar. The narrator rushes to Algiers, meets Nestor, and together with a telegraph operator they unearth the instrument and establish communication with David Innes, who recounts his adventures.

## Themes in this chapter

### Exploration and Discovery

The discovery of the buried telegraph instrument and the subsequent communication with Pellucidar drive the narrative forward.

### Deception and Betrayal

The narrator fears that Hooja the Sly One may have succeeded in his schemes against Dian.

## Character check-ins

### David Innes

The protagonist who is communicating from Pellucidar via the buried telegraph instrument.

### Cogdon Nestor

The wanderer who discovered the telegraph instrument in the Sahara and contacted the narrator.

### Frank Downes

The English telegraph operator who helps establish and translate communication with David Innes.

### Dian the Beautiful

David Innes's mate, whose fate is a source of anxiety for the narrator.

### Abner Perry

The inventor and paleontologist whose well-being is questioned by the narrator.

### Hooja the Sly One

Mentioned as a potential threat to Dian the Beautiful.

## Key lines

> Ten minutes after reading this letter I had cabled Mr. Nestor as follows: Story true. Await me Algiers.

Within ten minutes of finishing the letter, I sent a cable to Nestor confirming the story's truth and telling him to wait for me in Algiers.

_The narrator's immediate and decisive response to Nestor's letter._

> The finding of the telegraph-instrument practically assured me that David Innes had driven Perry's iron mole back through the earth's crust to the buried world of Pellucidar;

Discovering the telegraph instrument convinced me that David Innes had used Perry's iron mole to return to the inner world of Pellucidar.

_The narrator's deduction linking the instrument to Innes's journey._

> I must admit that I was in a state bordering upon nervous prostration when I entered the ⸻ and ⸻ Club, in Algiers, and inquired for Mr. Nestor.

I confess I was nearly overwhelmed with anxiety when I arrived at the club in Algiers to meet Nestor.

_The narrator's emotional state upon arriving in Algiers._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pellucidar_se/chapters/prologue
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pellucidar_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/pellucidar_se/chapters