with stones in their hands, muzzles turned in the direction of the wind, outstretched necks, hair standing on end, and ears pricked up, the apes tried to realize what philip himself would have been only too well pleased to understand.
there could be no question but that a vessel was near, yet there were many chances that philip’s first explanation of the reason of the cannonading was not the true one.
in the cavern it was impossible to say that a tempest might not be raging, and the ship, having struck a reef, was signaling for assistance. or, again, the malay pirates were perhaps attacking some vessels close under the lee of the land. in fact, there were very many ways of explaining the reasons for this discharge of ordnance without attributing it to the return of the colonists, and philip’s first flush of joy was immediately turned to anxiety.
half an hour passed, during which the besiegers remained like statues, gazing toward the sea; and then, to philip’s intense relief and almost overwhelming happiness, came the sound of human voices.
[245]
the apes appeared to be more and more astonished. the greater number looked frightened, and were already seeking with furtive glances favorable openings for immediate flight. goliah alone remained firm; but it was possible to tell from the expression of his face that he shared very sensibly in the alarm of his subjects.
five minutes more passed, and philip fancied he could hear the tramp of many feet in the distance, when goliah gave vent to a shrill, piercing whistle, and in an instant every one of the besiegers disappeared. not a single ape remained in front of the grotto, and only for a few seconds could philip see their vanishing tails as they sought refuge in the thicket.
now, instead of trying to fill up the tunnel, those in the subterranean chamber began tearing away at the rocks with feverish energy; and five minutes later philip, followed by the two chimpanzees, emerged from the grotto into one of the broad roads built under his supervision as king, down which could be seen a large body of men, in the immediate vicinity of the village.
to run forward at the swiftest possible pace was the most natural thing for philip to do, and in a few moments he was standing before captain seaworth, muttering incoherent words expressive of his deep joy, while the two chimpanzees followed close behind him, looking as if they also were relieved in mind by the coming of human beings.
the appearance of philip, covered as he was with[246] the fragments of an ape’s skin, caused the most profound astonishment among those who had just landed.
they looked upon him as if believing that he was a veritable wild man, and not a few gave way at his approach, fearing he might inflict some injury upon them.
although captain seaworth and several of his officers were well acquainted with philip garland, the animal-trainer, they failed to recognize in this forlorn-looking specimen of humanity the once prosperous merchant, and after gazing at him several moments in undisguised astonishment the captain asked, sternly:
“who are you?”
“a shipwrecked youth, whose life has been in danger during the past three months.”
“one would say you were more ape than human,” the captain replied with a smile.
“and so i have been; but now the time has come when i can assume my proper place among human beings. this hide is not mine.”
“which is lucky for you,” one of the officers added, and several laughed heartily, “otherwise we might think it a deed of charity to finish skinning you.”
then captain seaworth, looking at the chimpanzees as if he recognized them, asked:
“how comes it that you have adopted two of my former pets as your servants?”
“these are animals which i once owned and[247] trained, and afterward sold to you, captain,” philip said laughingly; and the gentleman, looking up quickly, repeated:
“you sold them to me?”
“yes. i am, or at least i was, philip garland, dealer in wild animals, and sold you these chimpanzees, together with a baboon which i wish had been killed years ago.”
it is needless to describe the astonishment caused by these words. in this youth, only partially covered with the tattered skin of an ape, and with matted and disheveled hair, the officers of the reynard began to distinguish some familiar features, and a moment later philip was overwhelmed with questions.
to tell his story would require no slight amount of time, and he proposed that it be delayed until a more fitting moment, for he, in turn, was eager to learn the reasons of the colonists’ sudden departure; therefore he said:
“inasmuch as your leaving the island has caused me no slight amount of uneasiness and mystification, and can be told more quickly than my story, suppose you first explain. this evening you shall learn the particulars of my reign, for during at least half of my stay here i have been king of the apes.”
“it will require but a few words to clear up what has seemed a mystery if, as i presume, you have already seen the log-book.”
“i have, and the last page in it contained an account of the pirates’ warning which was found on the beach.”
[248]
“exactly,” the captain replied. “in regard to that, mr. clark evidently overlooked the weapon on the previous day, for before nightfall we saw the malay fleet in the offing. it was composed of so many proas that to give battle would have been the height of foolishness, and in the least possible time we embarked on the reynard, slipping her cables and standing out to sea. it was better to lose our property than run the risk of losing our lives.
“the people were making preparations for a ball, and no work was being done on the plantation, therefore it was possible to embark in less than an hour from the time of the first alarm; but to save any of the household goods was out of the question. the papers relating to the settlement of the island i intended to take with me; but in the hurried departure they, like a great many other things, were forgotten until it was so late that to return for them would have been the height of imprudence, and we abandoned everything with the faint hope of recovering the property on our return.
“a running fight could be made provided we succeeded in preventing the pirates from boarding us; and with a ten-knot breeze we dashed through the fleet without receiving any injury. they opened fire as a matter of course; but those scoundrels do not count upon a fight at long range, because their weapons are not calculated to do much execution from a distance.
“we were not idle. every gun of the six we had on board was trained with good effect, and before[249] they could crawl out of range we sank three proas. two more of the crafts were disabled, and one was so splintered about the hull that before we were out of sight her crew took to the boats. it was a lesson which i fancy they will not forget for some time; and now that we are to have such an increase of numbers, it will be a very long while before the pirates, either from sooloo or magindinao, dare to pay us a visit.
“we made batavia in due course of time, took on more colonists, and arranged for a large number to follow. they will be here in a few days, and i have returned to complete our work; but i fancy quite as much has been destroyed by the apes as would have been had the pirates landed, although i am surprised at seeing these magnificent thoroughfares, which must have cost no small amount of time and labor.”
“as king of the apes i have been able to do the colony some good,” philip replied. “these roads were laid out by my subjects, and as far as possible i have endeavored to repair the buildings which they destroyed during the first battle; but of this i shall tell you later.”
then captain seaworth and his officers, eager to hear philip’s story, proposed that all go on board the reynard, where the unfortunate man could procure suitable garments; and while the colonists were engaged in ascertaining the amount of damage done the dwellings the little party went to the coast, the chimpanzees following philip very closely, as if only in his presence could they hope for protection from the vengeful goliah.
[250]
the remainder of that day was spent as far as captain seaworth and his officers were concerned, in listening to philip’s adventures, and when night came one can well fancy the happy sense of relief and security which the animal-trainer experienced on being able to lie down once more in a bed with no fear of an attack from the apes.
it was decided that the chimpanzees should be allowed to go whithersoever they pleased; but after the first visit to the ship no amount of persuasion could induce them to go on shore again. they appeared to realize that only there were they safe, and having been given quarters in a shanty which the carpenter built on deck, they were apparently the most contented of all the ship’s company.
not until the following day, while the workmen were engaged in restoring the buildings and otherwise putting the settlement into the same shape as it had been at the time of their departure, did philip tell captain seaworth of the discovery he had made in the subterranean chamber. had he related this portion of his adventures in public the work of establishing the plantation would have been speedily abandoned, for once the fever for gold attacks man all industries languish, and the idea of gaining wealth from the bed of the under-ground stream would have been more disastrous to the colony than many visits from the pirates.
even captain seaworth was undecided as to what should be done. he fully realized the danger attending his enterprise should this discovery be[251] made known, and after much thought he said to philip:
“we will let this remain a secret between you and me for the present. you can at different times convey the gold which has been gathered to my house, or to the ship, without letting any of the colonists know what you are doing. only in the event of our failing to make of this island a fruitful plantation will we acquaint even my most trusty officers with this new source of wealth.”
