philip did not attempt to speculate upon the intelligence displayed by the chimpanzees as he half-followed and was half-dragged along the narrow tunnel by alice.
that these two had recognized in the king of the apes their old master whose life they had previously tried to save there could be no question, for on entering the narrow hiding-place in the house ben bolt had shown no surprise at finding confined there a man instead of an ape; and on her part, alice acted as if recognizing the object of their search.
both these animals must have been aware of the deception practiced upon the other apes and received some inkling of the true state of affairs, otherwise they would not have been so prompt in making this excavation for the purpose of rescuing him.
the labor they had performed was prodigious, as philip understood while creeping along the tunnel; for, although they moved at a reasonably rapid pace, it was fully twenty minutes before the three emerged into a thicket of mimosas directly back of ben bolt’s former prison, and to the fugitive it seemed certain these animals must have commenced[238] their labors on the very night when the first mishap occurred to the skin of royalty.
perhaps goliah had made his suspicions public; or perhaps, again, ben bolt or alice witnessed the first accident, and understanding who had been masquerading under the guise of the king, immediately formed a plan for his liberation. in either case the result of their labors was certainly brought about by reason rather than instinct, and the animal-trainer thought with a certain chagrin of the time when he believed apes could only be taught by example emphasized with severe punishment.
on emerging from the tunnel philip could hear the shouts and cries of the apes who were searching the ruins; but the thicket of mimosas hid him from their view, and after beating down the ground as well as possible to hide any evidence of the existence of the tunnel, ben bolt motioned for philip to follow him.
with alice bringing up the rear, all three pushed forward at the utmost speed until they arrived at the mouth of the grotto in which philip had previously taken refuge.
since goliah was in command of the apes the two chimpanzees were exposed to as much danger as their human comrade, for the huge baboon would undoubtedly make ben bolt a prisoner once more in order to separate him from his mate; and, therefore, philip understood that he was to have the companionship of these beasts during such time as it might be necessary to remain in hiding.
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the grotto was far from being a secure place of retreat, since at any moment a squad of apes might pass that way, and philip now took upon himself the part of conductor, leading the animals directly into the subterranean chambers which he had discovered.
here they could have light to a certain degree, water from the numberless streams, and plenty of food in the shape of fish; therefore their voluntary imprisonment might be monotonous but not painful, however long a time it should continue.
it was probable goliah’s forces would discover these under-ground chambers, and to guard as far as possible against what might prove a dire calamity, philip set about filling the passage leading from the grotto with fragments of limestone, taken from the chamber of statutes.
in this work he was aided by the chimpanzees very materially, and before three hours had passed they were in what appeared to be an impregnable position.
so far as philip had discovered there was no means of entrance to the subterranean chamber save through the grotto, and with the tunnel half-filled by rocks, there was every reason to believe a siege could be sustained indefinitely. the animals appeared to understand quite as well as did their human companion that they were comparatively safe from goliah and his forces, and hand in hand they wandered through the caverns, uttering exclamations of surprise or chattering with each other in[240] a low tone, but returning to philip every moment to make sure he would not again disappear from their view.
a dinner and supper of boiled fish, then a long time of unbroken repose, and another day dawned.
during the hours devoted to slumber philip had resolved that, in order to occupy his mind and provide the needful exercise for all, he would again take up his work of gathering gold, although it might not be possible to carry it away. when breakfast had been cooked in the boiling spring, and eaten, he motioned for the chimpanzees to follow him down the course of the stream.
in order to make them understand what he wished to do, it was only necessary to take from the water a few of the yellow nuggets, compare them with bits of limestone to show the difference in color, and then carry them to the hiding-place behind the statue. one example was sufficient, and without delay the animals set about gathering the treasure, so useless while philip remained on the island, but of such great value if he could succeed in conveying it to any civilized portion of the world.
it was not his intention to make of this treasure-gathering absolute labor, but only to perform so much of it as would give the needed exercise in confinement; and after the chimpanzees had worked industriously three hours he motioned for them to desist.
stretched out on the cool white sand in the cavern nearest the grotto, all three of the fugitives enjoyed[241] a most pleasant siesta. they could contrast the heat outside with the refreshing coolness of the under-ground residence, and philip admitted to himself that to remain shut up here several weeks might not be as unpleasant as would seem at first thought.
thus alternately working and resting, the time passed at a reasonably rapid rate until philip judged that one week of this voluntary imprisonment had elapsed.
during all this time nothing had been heard from the apes, and the chimpanzees no longer acted as if fearing each moment their enemies would find them out. even philip felt reassured on this point, and was beginning to make preparations for sending ben bolt on a reconnoitering expedition, or of going himself, when loud shouts from the outside proclaimed the fact that goliah’s army had at last discovered their hiding-place.
even now philip felt but little alarm, for by barricading the tunnel it would be possible to hold the entire force at bay.
goliah, however, did not propose to let his army expend their energy and time in shrieking. about noon on the eighth day of philip’s voluntary imprisonment the sounds from the grotto proclaimed the fact that the enemy were making preparations for entering the passage.
at the first alarm the chimpanzees were nearly beside themselves with fright; but after observing philip’s calm demeanor they appeared to gain confidence, and in less than an hour both were sufficiently[242] composed to render such aid as their human companion required.
the work of maintaining a defense was not arduous. it consisted simply in breaking the naturally-formed statues into fragments—which was easily done owing to the porous nature of the stone—and packing the pieces into the passage as fast as the wall gave evidence of being weakened by the besiegers.
“they may go on with that sort of work for a month without being able to get at us,” philip said, much as if the chimpanzees needed encouragement and could understand what he said. “we have only to keep on hand a plentiful supply of material, and the advantage will all be on our side.”
before the day came to an end the animals had learned so well what was necessary that their companion had no hesitation about trusting them to continue the defense while he caught and prepared fish for supper.
during the night the enemy remained silent, but at the first break of day the attack was continued—this time so methodically that the forenoon was but half spent when the barricade was so far destroyed that philip could see the besiegers at the further end of the tunnel.
they labored in couples, dragging out the rocks and passing them to those in the rear, who formed a long chain to the outer end of the grotto, where the fragments were thrown down the incline at such a point that the movement of the army would not be impeded.
[243]
in this order of working it was possible for them to gain very materially upon the defenders of the cavern, and for the first time since having taken refuge in this place philip began to fear they might eventually be dragged from what he had believed was a secure retreat, unless it should be possible to change their own plan.
it was while he stood at the mouth of the tunnel trying to devise some means of accelerating the work of defense that he was startled by hearing the report of a cannon in the distance.
his companions immediately rushed to his side, as if understanding that this booming noise meant deliverance for him whom they had labored so hard; and while the three were listening intently a second report was heard.
now the besiegers began to understand that something unusual was occurring on the island, and when the third report rang out on the still air philip shouted, in a loud voice:
“a vessel has come! captain seaworth has returned, and we shall be able to leave this terrible place!”
the besiegers, confounded and uneasy because of the detonations, which were several times repeated by the echoes, came to a decided stand-still, while goliah, who was stationed just inside the grotto, leaned forward, sniffing the air and showing every symptom of uneasiness.
