We had
imagined that our pursuers, the
ape-men, knew nothing of our
brush-wood hiding-place, but
we were soon to find out our
mistake. There was no sound in
the woods--not a leaf moved upon
the trees, and all was peace
around us--but we should have
been warned by our first experience
how cunningly and how patiently
these creatures can watch and
wait until their chance comes.
Whatever fate may be mine through
life, I am very sure that I shall
never be nearer death than I
was that morning. But I will
tell you the thing in its due
order.
We all awoke exhausted after
the terrific emotions and scanty
food of yesterday. Summerlee
was still so weak that it was
an effort for him to stand; but
the old man was full of a sort
of surly courage which would
never admit defeat. A council
was held, and it was agreed that
we should wait quietly for an
hour or two where we were, have
our much-needed breakfast, and
then make our way across the
plateau and round the central
lake to the caves where my observations
had shown that the Indians lived.
We relied upon the fact that
we could count upon the good
word of those whom we had rescued
to ensure a warm welcome from
their fellows. Then, with our
mission accomplished and possessing
a fuller knowledge of the secrets
of Maple White Land, we should
turn our whole thoughts to the
vital problem of our escape and
return. Even Challenger was ready
to admit that we should then
have done all for which we had
come, and that our first duty
from that time onwards was to
carry back to civilization the
amazing discoveries we had made.
We
were able now
to take a more
leisurely view
of the Indians
whom we had rescued. They were
small men, wiry, active, and
well-built, with lank black hair
tied up in a bunch behind their
heads with a leathern thong,
and leathern also were their
loin-clothes. Their faces were
hairless, well formed, and good-humored.
The lobes of their ears, hanging
ragged and bloody, showed that
they had been pierced for some
ornaments which their captors
had torn out. Their speech, though
unintelligible to us, was fluent
among themselves, and as they
pointed to each other and uttered
the word "Accala" many times
over, we gathered that this was
the name of the nation. Occasionally,
with faces which were convulsed
with fear and hatred, they shook
their clenched hands at the woods
round and cried: "Doda! Doda!" which
was surely their term for their
enemies.
What
do you make
of them, Challenger?" asked
Lord John. "One thing is very
clear to me, and that is that
the little chap with the front
of his head shaved is a chief
among them."
It
was indeed
evident that
this man stood apart from the
others, and that they never ventured
to address him without every
sign of deep respect. He seemed
to be the youngest of them all,
and yet, so proud and high was
his spirit that, upon Challenger
laying his great hand upon his
head, he started like a spurred
horse and, with a quick flash
of his dark eyes, moved further
away from the Professor. Then,
placing his hand upon his breast
and holding himself with great
dignity, he uttered the word "Maretas" several
times. The Professor, unabashed,
seized the nearest Indian by
the shoulder and proceeded to
lecture upon him as if he were
a potted specimen in a class-room.
"The type of these people," said
he in his sonorous fashion, "whether
judged by cranial capacity, facial
angle, or any other test, cannot
be regarded as a low one; on
the contrary, we must place it
as considerably higher in the
scale than many South American
tribes which I can mention. On
no possible supposition can we
explain the evolution of such
a race in this place. For that
matter, so great a gap separates
these ape-men from the primitive
animals which have survived upon
this plateau, that it is inadmissible
to think that they could have
developed where we find them."
"Then where the dooce did they
drop from?" asked Lord John.
"A question which will, no
doubt, be eagerly discussed in
every scientific society in Europe
and America," the Professor answered. "My
own reading of the situation
for what it is worth--" he inflated
his chest enormously and looked
insolently around him at the
words-- "is that evolution has
advanced under the peculiar conditions
of this country up to the vertebrate
stage, the old types surviving
and living on in company with
the newer ones. Thus we find
such modern creatures as the
tapir--an animal with quite a
respectable length of pedigree--the
great deer, and the ant-eater
in the companionship of reptilian
forms of jurassic type. So much
is clear. And now come the ape-men
and the Indian. What is the scientific
mind to think of their presence?
I can only account for it by
an invasion from outside. It
is probable that there existed
an anthropoid ape in South America,
who in past ages found his way
to this place, and that he developed
into the creatures we have seen,
some of which"--here he looked
hard at me--"were of an appearance
and shape which, if it had been
accompanied by corresponding
intelligence, would, I do not
hesitate to say, have reflected
credit upon any living race.
As to the Indians I cannot doubt
that they are more recent immigrants
from below. Under the stress
of famine or of conquest they
have made their way up here.
Faced by ferocious creatures
which they had never before seen,
they took refuge in the caves
which our young friend has described,
but they have no doubt had a
bitter fight to hold their own
against wild beasts, and especially
against the ape-men who would
regard them as intruders, and
wage a merciless war upon them
with a cunning which the larger
beasts would lack. Hence the
fact that their numbers appear
to be limited. Well, gentlemen,
have I read you the riddle aright,
or is there any point which you
would query?"
Professor Summerlee for once
was too depressed to argue, though
he shook his head violently as
a token of general disagreement.
Lord John merely scratched his
scanty locks with the remark
that he couldn't put up a fight
as he wasn't in the same weight
or class. For my own part I performed
my usual role of bringing things
down to a strictly prosaic and
practical level by the remark
that one of the Indians was missing.
"He has gone to fetch some
water," said Lord Roxton. "We
fitted him up with an empty beef
tin and he is off."
"To the old camp?" I
asked.
"No,
to the brook.
It's among
the trees there.
It can't be
more than a couple of hundred
yards. But the beggar is certainly
taking his time."
"I'll go and look after him," said
I. I picked up my rifle and strolled
in the direction of the brook,
leaving my friends to lay out
the scanty breakfast. It may
seem to you rash that even for
so short a distance I should
quit the shelter of our friendly
thicket, but you will remember
that we were many miles from
Ape-town, that so far as we knew
the creatures had not discovered
our retreat, and that in any
case with a rifle in my hands
I had no fear of them. I had
not yet learned their cunning
or their strength.
I could hear the murmur of
our brook somewhere ahead of
me, but there was a tangle of
trees and brushwood between me
and it. I was making my way through
this at a point which was just
out of sight of my companions,
when, under one of the trees,
I noticed something red huddled
among the bushes. As I approached
it, I was shocked to see that
it was the dead body of the missing
Indian. He lay upon his side,
his limbs drawn up, and his head
screwed round at a most unnatural
angle, so that he seemed to be
looking straight over his own
shoulder. I gave a cry to warn
my friends that something was
amiss, and running forwards I
stooped over the body. Surely
my guardian angel was very near
me then, for some instinct of
fear, or it may have been some
faint rustle of leaves, made
me glance upwards. Out of the
thick green foliage which hung
low over my head, two long muscular
arms covered with reddish hair
were slowly descending. Another
instant and the great stealthy
hands would have been round my
throat. I sprang backwards, but
quick as I was, those hands were
quicker still. Through my sudden
spring they missed a fatal grip,
but one of them caught the back
of my neck and the other one
my face. I threw my hands up
to protect my throat, and the
next moment the huge paw had
slid down my face and closed
over them. I was lifted lightly
from the ground, and I felt an
intolerable pressure forcing
my head back and back until the
strain upon the cervical spine
was more than I could bear. My
senses swam, but I still tore
at the hand and forced it out
from my chin. Looking up I saw
a frightful face with cold inexorable
light blue eyes looking down
into mine. There was something
hypnotic in those terrible eyes.
I could struggle no longer. As
the creature felt me grow limp
in his grasp, two white canines
gleamed for a moment at each
side of the vile mouth, and the
grip tightened still more upon
my chin, forcing it always upwards
and back. A thin, oval-tinted
mist formed before my eyes and
little silvery bells tinkled
in my ears. Dully and far off
I heard the crack of a rifle
and was feebly aware of the shock
as I was dropped to the earth,
where I lay without sense or
motion.
I awoke to find myself on my
back upon the grass in our lair
within the thicket. Someone had
brought the water from the brook,
and Lord John was sprinkling
my head with it, while Challenger
and Summerlee were propping me
up, with concern in their faces.
For a moment I had a glimpse
of the human spirits behind their
scientific masks. It was really
shock, rather than any injury,
which had prostrated me, and
in half-an-hour, in spite of
aching head and stiff neck, I
was sitting up and ready for
anything.
"But you've had the escape
of your life, young fellah my
lad," said Lord Roxton. "When
I heard your cry and ran forward,
and saw your head twisted half-off
and your stohwassers kickin'
in the air, I thought we were
one short. I missed the beast
in my flurry, but he dropped
you all right and was off like
a streak. By George! I wish I
had fifty men with rifles. I'd
clear out the whole infernal
gang of them and leave this country
a bit cleaner than we found it."
It was clear now that the ape-men
had in some way marked us down,
and that we were watched on every
side. We had not so much to fear
from them during the day, but
they would be very likely to
rush us by night; so the sooner
we got away from their neighborhood
the better. On three sides of
us was absolute forest, and there
we might find ourselves in an
ambush. But on the fourth side--that
which sloped down in the direction
of the lake--there was only low
scrub, with scattered trees and
occasional open glades. It was,
in fact, the route which I had
myself taken in my solitary journey,
and it led us straight for the
Indian caves. This then must
for every reason be our road.
One great regret we had, and
that was to leave our old camp
behind us, not only for the sake
of the stores which remained
there, but even more because
we were losing touch with Zambo,
our link with the outside world.
However, we had a fair supply
of cartridges and all our guns,
so, for a time at least, we could
look after ourselves, and we
hoped soon to have a chance of
returning and restoring our communications
with our negro. He had faithfully
promised to stay where he was,
and we had not a doubt that he
would be as good as his word.
It was in the early afternoon
that we started upon our journey.
The young chief walked at our
head as our guide, but refused
indignantly to carry any burden.
Behind him came the two surviving
Indians with our scanty possessions
upon their backs. We four white
men walked in the rear with rifles
loaded and ready. As we started
there broke from the thick silent
woods behind us a sudden great
ululation of the ape-men, which
may have been a cheer of triumph
at our departure or a jeer of
contempt at our flight. Looking
back we saw only the dense screen
of trees, but that long-drawn
yell told us how many of our
enemies lurked among them. We
saw no sign of pursuit, however,
and soon we had got into more
open country and beyond their
power.
As I tramped along, the rearmost
of the four, I could not help
smiling at the appearance of
my three companions in front.
Was this the luxurious Lord John
Roxton who had sat that evening
in the Albany amidst his Persian
rugs and his pictures in the
pink radiance of the tinted lights?
And was this the imposing Professor
who had swelled behind the great
desk in his massive study at
Enmore Park? And, finally, could
this be the austere and prim
figure which had risen before
the meeting at the Zoological
Institute? No three tramps that
one could have met in a Surrey
lane could have looked more hopeless
and bedraggled. We had, it is
true, been only a week or so
upon the top of the plateau,
but all our spare clothing was
in our camp below, and the one
week had been a severe one upon
us all, though least to me who
had not to endure the handling
of the ape-men. My three friends
had all lost their hats, and
had now bound handkerchiefs round
their heads, their clothes hung
in ribbons about them, and their
unshaven grimy faces were hardly
to be recognized. Both Summerlee
and Challenger were limping heavily,
while I still dragged my feet
from weakness after the shock
of the morning, and my neck was
as stiff as a board from the
murderous grip that held it.
We were indeed a sorry crew,
and I did not wonder to see our
Indian companions glance back
at us occasionally with horror
and amazement on their faces.
In the late afternoon we reached
the margin of the lake, and as
we emerged from the bush and
saw the sheet of water stretching
before us our native friends
set up a shrill cry of joy and
pointed eagerly in front of them.
It was indeed a wonderful sight
which lay before us. Sweeping
over the glassy surface was a
great flotilla of canoes coming
straight for the shore upon which
we stood. They were some miles
out when we first saw them, but
they shot forward with great
swiftness, and were soon so near
that the rowers could distinguish
our persons. Instantly a thunderous
shout of delight burst from them,
and we saw them rise from their
seats, waving their paddles and
spears madly in the air. Then
bending to their work once more,
they flew across the intervening
water, beached their boats upon
the sloping sand, and rushed
up to us, prostrating themselves
with loud cries of greeting before
the young chief. Finally one
of them, an elderly man, with
a necklace and bracelet of great
lustrous glass beads and the
skin of some beautiful mottled
amber-colored animal slung over
his shoulders, ran forward and
embraced most tenderly the youth
whom we had saved. He then looked
at us and asked some questions,
after which he stepped up with
much dignity and embraced us
also each in turn. Then, at his
order, the whole tribe lay down
upon the ground before us in
homage. Personally I felt shy
and uncomfortable at this obsequious
adoration, and I read the same
feeling in the faces of Roxton
and Summerlee, but Challenger
expanded like a flower in the
sun.
"They may be undeveloped types," said
he, stroking his beard and looking
round at them, "but their deportment
in the presence of their superiors
might be a lesson to some of
our more advanced Europeans.
Strange how correct are the instincts
of the natural man!"
It
was clear that
the natives
had come out upon the war-path,
for every man carried his spear--a
long bamboo tipped with bone--his
bow and arrows, and some sort
of club or stone battle-axe slung
at his side. Their dark, angry
glances at the woods from which
we had come, and the frequent
repetition of the word "Doda," made
it clear enough that this was
a rescue party who had set forth
to save or revenge the old chief's
son, for such we gathered that
the youth must be. A council
was now held by the whole tribe
squatting in a circle, whilst
we sat near on a slab of basalt
and watched their proceedings.
Two or three warriors spoke,
and finally our young friend
made a spirited harangue with
such eloquent features and gestures
that we could understand it all
as clearly as if we had known
his language.
"What is the use of returning?" he
said. "Sooner or later the thing
must be done. Your comrades have
been murdered. What if I have
returned safe? These others have
been done to death. There is
no safety for any of us. We are
assembled now and ready." Then
he pointed to us. "These strange
men are our friends. They are
great fighters, and they hate
the ape-men even as we do. They
command," here he pointed up
to heaven, "the thunder and the
lightning. When shall we have
such a chance again? Let us go
forward, and either die now or
live for the future in safety.
How else shall we go back unashamed
to our women?"
The little red warriors hung
upon the words of the speaker,
and when he had finished they
burst into a roar of applause,
waving their rude weapons in
the air. The old chief stepped
forward to us, and asked us some
questions, pointing at the same
time to the woods. Lord John
made a sign to him that he should
wait for an answer and then he
turned to us.
"Well, it's up to you to say
what you will do," said he; "for
my part I have a score to settle
with these monkey-folk, and if
it ends by wiping them off the
face of the earth I don't see
that the earth need fret about
it. I'm goin' with our little
red pals and I mean to see them
through the scrap. What do you
say, young fellah?"
"Of
course I will
come."
"And
you, Challenger?"
"I
will assuredly
co-operate."
"And
you, Summerlee?"
"We
seem to be
drifting very
far from the object of this expedition,
Lord John. I assure you that
I little thought when I left
my professional chair in London
that it was for the purpose of
heading a raid of savages upon
a colony of anthropoid apes."
"To such base uses do we come," said
Lord John, smiling. "But we are
up against it, so what's the
decision?"
"It seems a most questionable
step," said Summerlee, argumentative
to the last, "but if you are
all going, I hardly see how I
can remain behind."
"Then it is settled," said
Lord John, and turning to the
chief he nodded and slapped his
rifle.
The old fellow clasped our
hands, each in turn, while his
men cheered louder than ever.
It was too late to advance that
night, so the Indians settled
down into a rude bivouac. On
all sides their fires began to
glimmer and smoke. Some of them
who had disappeared into the
jungle came back presently driving
a young iguanodon before them.
Like the others, it had a daub
of asphalt upon its shoulder,
and it was only when we saw one
of the natives step forward with
the air of an owner and give
his consent to the beast's slaughter
that we understood at last that
these great creatures were as
much private property as a herd
of cattle, and that these symbols
which had so perplexed us were
nothing more than the marks of
the owner. Helpless, torpid,
and vegetarian, with great limbs
but a minute brain, they could
be rounded up and driven by a
child. In a few minutes the huge
beast had been cut up and slabs
of him were hanging over a dozen
camp fires, together with great
scaly ganoid fish which had been
speared in the lake.
Summerlee had lain down and
slept upon the sand, but we others
roamed round the edge of the
water, seeking to learn something
more of this strange country.
Twice we found pits of blue clay,
such as we had already seen in
the swamp of the pterodactyls.
These were old volcanic vents,
and for some reason excited the
greatest interest in Lord John.
What attracted Challenger, on
the other hand, was a bubbling,
gurgling mud geyser, where some
strange gas formed great bursting
bubbles upon the surface. He
thrust a hollow reed into it
and cried out with delight like
a schoolboy then he was able,
on touching it with a lighted
match, to cause a sharp explosion
and a blue flame at the far end
of the tube. Still more pleased
was he when, inverting a leathern
pouch over the end of the reed,
and so filling it with the gas,
he was able to send it soaring
up into the air.
"An inflammable gas, and one
markedly lighter than the atmosphere.
I should say beyond doubt that
it contained a considerable proportion
of free hydrogen. The resources
of G. E. C. are not yet exhausted,
my young friend. I may yet show
you how a great mind molds all
Nature to its use." He swelled
with some secret purpose, but
would say no more.
There was nothing which we
could see upon the shore which
seemed to me so wonderful as
the great sheet of water before
us. Our numbers and our noise
had frightened all living creatures
away, and save for a few pterodactyls,
which soared round high above
our heads while they waited for
the carrion, all was still around
the camp. But it was different
out upon the rose-tinted waters
of the central lake. It boiled
and heaved with strange life.
Great slate-colored backs and
high serrated dorsal fins shot
up with a fringe of silver, and
then rolled down into the depths
again. The sand-banks far out
were spotted with uncouth crawling
forms, huge turtles, strange
saurians, and one great flat
creature like a writhing, palpitating
mat of black greasy leather,
which flopped its way slowly
to the lake. Here and there high
serpent heads projected out of
the water, cutting swiftly through
it with a little collar of foam
in front, and a long swirling
wake behind, rising and falling
in graceful, swan-like undulations
as they went. It was not until
one of these creatures wriggled
on to a sand-bank within a few
hundred yards of us, and exposed
a barrel-shaped body and huge
flippers behind the long serpent
neck, that Challenger, and Summerlee,
who had joined us, broke out
into their duet of wonder and
admiration.
"Plesiosaurus! A fresh-water
plesiosaurus!" cried Summerlee. "That
I should have lived to see such
a sight! We are blessed, my dear
Challenger, above all zoologists
since the world began!"
It was not until the night
had fallen, and the fires of
our savage allies glowed red
in the shadows, that our two
men of science could be dragged
away from the fascinations of
that primeval lake. Even in the
darkness as we lay upon the strand,
we heard from time to time the
snort and plunge of the huge
creatures who lived therein.
At earliest dawn our camp was
astir and an hour later we had
started upon our memorable expedition.
Often in my dreams have I thought
that I might live to be a war
correspondent. In what wildest
one could I have conceived the
nature of the campaign which
it should be my lot to report!
Here then is my first despatch
from a field of battle:
Our numbers had been reinforced
during the night by a fresh batch
of natives from the caves, and
we may have been four or five
hundred strong when we made our
advance. A fringe of scouts was
thrown out in front, and behind
them the whole force in a solid
column made their way up the
long slope of the bush country
until we were near the edge of
the forest. Here they spread
out into a long straggling line
of spearmen and bowmen. Roxton
and Summerlee took their position
upon the right flank, while Challenger
and I were on the left. It was
a host of the stone age that
we were accompanying to battle--we
with the last word of the gunsmith's
art from St. James' Street and
the Strand.
We had not long to wait for
our enemy. A wild shrill clamor
rose from the edge of the wood
and suddenly a body of ape-men
rushed out with clubs and stones,
and made for the center of the
Indian line. It was a valiant
move but a foolish one, for the
great bandy-legged creatures
were slow of foot, while their
opponents were as active as cats.
It was horrible to see the fierce
brutes with foaming mouths and
glaring eyes, rushing and grasping,
but forever missing their elusive
enemies, while arrow after arrow
buried itself in their hides.
One great fellow ran past me
roaring with pain, with a dozen
darts sticking from his chest
and ribs. In mercy I put a bullet
through his skull, and he fell
sprawling among the aloes. But
this was the only shot fired,
for the attack had been on the
center of the line, and the Indians
there had needed no help of ours
in repulsing it. Of all the ape-men
who had rushed out into the open,
I do not think that one got back
to cover.
But the matter was more deadly
when we came among the trees.
For an hour or more after we
entered the wood, there was a
desperate struggle in which for
a time we hardly held our own.
Springing out from among the
scrub the ape-men with huge clubs
broke in upon the Indians and
often felled three or four of
them before they could be speared.
Their frightful blows shattered
everything upon which they fell.
One of them knocked Summerlee's
rifle to matchwood and the next
would have crushed his skull
had an Indian not stabbed the
beast to the heart. Other ape-men
in the trees above us hurled
down stones and logs of wood,
occasionally dropping bodily
on to our ranks and fighting
furiously until they were felled.
Once our allies broke under the
pressure, and had it not been
for the execution done by our
rifles they would certainly have
taken to their heels. But they
were gallantly rallied by their
old chief and came on with such
a rush that the ape-men began
in turn to give way. Summerlee
was weaponless, but I was emptying
my magazine as quick as I could
fire, and on the further flank
we heard the continuous cracking
of our companion's rifles.
Then in a moment came the panic
and the collapse. Screaming and
howling, the great creatures
rushed away in all directions
through the brushwood, while
our allies yelled in their savage
delight, following swiftly after
their flying enemies. All the
feuds of countless generations,
all the hatreds and cruelties
of their narrow history, all
the memories of ill-usage and
persecution were to be purged
that day. At last man was to
be supreme and the man-beast
to find forever his allotted
place. Fly as they would the
fugitives were too slow to escape
from the active savages, and
from every side in the tangled
woods we heard the exultant yells,
the twanging of bows, and the
crash and thud as ape-men were
brought down from their hiding-places
in the trees.
I was following the others,
when I found that Lord John and
Challenger had come across to
join us.
"It's over," said Lord John. "I
think we can leave the tidying
up to them. Perhaps the less
we see of it the better we shall
sleep."
Challenger's eyes were shining
with the lust of slaughter.
"We have been privileged," he
cried, strutting about like a
gamecock, "to be present at one
of the typical decisive battles
of history--the battles which
have determined the fate of the
world. What, my friends, is the
conquest of one nation by another?
It is meaningless. Each produces
the same result. But those fierce
fights, when in the dawn of the
ages the cave-dwellers held their
own against the tiger folk, or
the elephants first found that
they had a master, those were
the real conquests--the victories
that count. By this strange turn
of fate we have seen and helped
to decide even such a contest.
Now upon this plateau the future
must ever be for man."
It needed a robust faith in
the end to justify such tragic
means. As we advanced together
through the woods we found the
ape-men lying thick, transfixed
with spears or arrows. Here and
there a little group of shattered
Indians marked where one of the
anthropoids had turned to bay,
and sold his life dearly. Always
in front of us we heard the yelling
and roaring which showed the
direction of the pursuit. The
ape-men had been driven back
to their city, they had made
a last stand there, once again
they had been broken, and now
we were in time to see the final
fearful scene of all. Some eighty
or a hundred males, the last
survivors, had been driven across
that same little clearing which
led to the edge of the cliff,
the scene of our own exploit
two days before. As we arrived
the Indians, a semicircle of
spearmen, had closed in on them,
and in a minute it was over,
Thirty or forty died where they
stood. The others, screaming
and clawing, were thrust over
the precipice, and went hurtling
down, as their prisoners had
of old, on to the sharp bamboos
six hundred feet below. It was
as Challenger had said, and the
reign of man was assured forever
in Maple White Land. The males
were exterminated, Ape Town was
destroyed, the females and young
were driven away to live in bondage,
and the long rivalry of untold
centuries had reached its bloody
end.
For us the victory brought
much advantage. Once again we
were able to visit our camp and
get at our stores. Once more
also we were able to communicate
with Zambo, who had been terrified
by the spectacle from afar of
an avalanche of apes falling
from the edge of the cliff.
"Come away, Massas, come away!" he
cried, his eyes starting from
his head. "The debbil get you
sure if you stay up there."
"It is the voice of sanity!" said
Summerlee with conviction. "We
have had adventures enough and
they are neither suitable to
our character or our position.
I hold you to your word, Challenger.
From now onwards you devote your
energies to getting us out of
this horrible country and back
once more to civilization."
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