as a matter of course, philip was enabled to resume his proper habiliments as soon as he stepped on board the reynard, captain seaworth supplying him with a full outfit, and it was with no slight degree of satisfaction that he surveyed himself in the mirror.
his long and peculiar residence on the island rendered him a valuable adviser to captain seaworth, and it was decided that during such time as he would be obliged to remain, owing to the limited means of transportation, he was to act as a member of the board of directors.
the first labor the colonists engaged in was the repairing of the houses which had been injured during the last siege. then every dwelling was fortified, as far as possible, for it was not to be supposed that such a large body of apes, having once had possession of the settlement, would remain very long at a respectful distance.
philip’s advice to captain seaworth was that before anything was done toward restoring the plantations to their former condition some means be devised for ridding the island of the mischievous and vindictive animals. to plant anew would be only to[253] provide something for the apes to destroy, and it was by no means safe for the male colonists to go into the fields, leaving the cottages unprotected, since goliah might lead his forces to an attack at any moment; therefore if the scheme of transforming the island into a garden was to be carried out, the first and all-important task was the destruction or subjugation of the apes.
no one knew better than philip how difficult would be such a task. at the very lowest computation there were two thousand of these long-tailed brutes against whom war must be waged, and, as has already been shown, they were no mean antagonists. one such as goliah would be more than a match for three unarmed men, and the strictest orders were issued that the colonists should only go from one point to another when in large numbers, and with sufficient weapons to repel any onslaught which might be made.
this order was promulgated on the afternoon of the same day the reynard entered the little cove, and before twelve hours had elapsed those of the colonists who thought such a precaution foolish were fully convinced of its wisdom.
the boatswain of the ship, whose constant boast it was that he could overcome, single-handed, any three men who might be opposed to him, laughed at the idea of banding together to resist an attack by monkeys, and openly declared that he was not afraid of all the apes in the malay archipelago. he even went so far as to intimate that philip was[254] little less than a chicken-hearted fellow to allow himself to be made a prisoner by such animals, and to do their bidding like a slave. in fact, he did not hesitate to say he doubted mr. garland’s story very seriously, and otherwise made so much sport of the “munchausen tales,” as he called them, that many of the colonists were disposed to share in his incredulity.
at about four o’clock in the afternoon captain seaworth decided to have one of the small cannon brought from the reynard for the better defense of the village, and instructed the boatswain to proceed to the ship with a sufficient number of men for mutual protection.
“i am going alone,” the old sailor said when he emerged from the captain’s temporary dwelling, speaking to a number of his comrades with whom he had previously been discussing the alleged facts of philip’s story. “i’ll make it my business to walk half-around the island just to show how much truth there is in the yarn of this monkey-trainer, who has been scared out of his senses by two or three tame baboons.”
of course this would be a total disregard of the captain’s express commands; but the boatswain flattered himself that his disobedience would not be known save to those in whose eyes he wished to appear as a hero, and away he started, armed only with a stout cudgel, which he declared was enough to frighten all the apes on the island into convulsions.
[255]
three hours later, the piece of ordnance not having arrived, captain seaworth sent half a dozen colonists to the ship, and in due time they returned with the information that the boatswain had not arrived at the coast. the foolhardy man had been absent from the settlement sufficiently long to have made four or five trips to the tiny harbor, and, believing his desire to show contempt for the apes had resulted in a catastrophe, those who heard his boasts laid the matter before the captain and philip.
it was then too late to make any search for the unfortunate man, since night, which comes on so suddenly in the tropics, was already close at hand, and it would be worse than reckless to venture into the thicket where the animals could so readily conceal themselves.
that goliah and his forces had taken the boatswain prisoner, even if they had not murdered him, philip felt certain; but nothing could be done until morning, and immediately after sunrise fifty well-armed men set out, following as nearly as possible the supposed direction in which he had gone.
the search was not of long duration. when the party arrived within a hundred yards of the terminus of the road leading to the south they saw that which caused the stoutest-hearted to draw back with a shudder.
hanging to the lower limb of a mangrove-tree, exactly as philip had seen the skeleton of the mandrill suspended, was the unfortunate boatswain. the rope for the execution of the deed had been formed[256] from strips of his clothing, and a party of western lynchers could not have done the deed more thoroughly.
from such slight evidence as could be seen among the underbrush or foliage, it was not probable the sailor had had an opportunity to defend himself more than a few seconds. most likely goliah’s forces leaped upon him so quickly, and in such numbers, that before he could strike many blows he was over-powered; but that he was alive when suspended from the tree could be readily seen.
after the unfortunate man was given a christian burial there was not one among the colonists who questioned any detail of philip’s story, however improbable it may have seemed. now that there could be no question as to the dangers which menaced, captain seaworth resolved to rid the island of the brutes, if possible; and to this end, acting under philip’s advice, he went to work systematically.
the buildings were left in charge of forty well-armed men, and the strictest orders issued against the women venturing out of doors under any pretense. then all save a force necessary to guard the ship were set at work cutting paths through the thicket at different angles from the settlement, in order that there should be no opportunity of concealment for the apes within reach of the house.
this task required no small amount of labor, and three days elapsed before the colonists were in condition to open the battle.
during this time they had every evidence that[257] goliah’s forces were watching them intently, for more than once could be heard shrill cries in the thicket as if spies were reporting to their commander the progress made, and on several occasions the workmen saw dark forms flitting by, but at such a pace as to render it impossible to shoot with any accuracy of aim.
it was on the night previous to the day set for the general attack that the vessel from batavia arrived with reinforcements, and then captain seaworth had quite an army under his command.
had the colonists been going forth to meet a regularly organized force of men they could not have proceeded more carefully. the new-comers, who were well aware of the fighting qualities of apes, were by no means disposed to make light of the intended engagement, but at the same time no one seemed disposed to shirk his duty.
divided into squads of twenty, each man carrying fifty rounds of ammunition, the detachments started from the village, marching through the paths and down the roads, and diverging as do the spokes of a wheel from its hub.
philip, who commanded the party which proceeded toward the south, had tried to induce the chimpanzees to accompany him, believing they could give timely warning of the approach of the enemy; but these intelligent animals were far too wise to put their precious bodies in such jeopardy. they probably understood what the result would be in case of capture, and all the inducements held out by[258] their master were insufficient to persuade them even to step over the ship’s rail.
during the first half hour after the forces began to advance, those in the village heard no sound. then came a few scattering shots, followed by another time of silence, until finally the rattle of regular and rapid firing from the road down which philip had passed told the anxious listeners that the battle was in progress.
