“By George!” he whispered, “here they come!”

From where we lay we could look down a brown aisle, arched with green, formed by the trunks and branches.  Along this a party of the ape-men were passing.  They went in single file, with bent legs and rounded backs, their hands occasionally touching the ground, their heads turning to left and right as they trotted along.  Their crouching gait took away from their height, but I should put them at five feet or so, with long arms and enormous chests.  Many of them carried sticks, and at the distance they looked like a line of very hairy and deformed human beings.  For a moment I caught this clear glimpse of them.  Then they were lost among the bushes.

“Not this time,” said Lord John, who had caught up his rifle.  “Our best chance is to lie quiet until they have given up the search.  Then we shall see whether we can’t get back to their town and hit ’em where it hurts most.  Give ’em an hour and we’ll march.”

We filled in the time by opening one of our food tins and making sure of our breakfast.  Lord Roxton had had nothing but some fruit since the morning before and ate like a starving man.  Then, at last, our pockets bulging with cartridges and a rifle in each hand, we started off upon our mission of rescue.  Before leaving it we carefully marked our little hiding-place among the brush-wood and its bearing to Fort Challenger, that we might find it again if we needed it.  We slunk through the bushes in silence until we came to the very edge of the cliff, close to the old camp.  There we halted, and Lord John gave me some idea of his plans.

“So long as we are among the thick trees these swine are our masters,” said he.  “They can see us and we cannot see them.  But in the open it is different.  There we can move faster than they.  So we must stick to the open all we can.  The edge of the plateau has fewer large trees than further inland.  So that’s our line of advance.  Go slowly, keep your eyes open and your rifle ready.  Above all, never let them get you prisoner while there is a cartridge left—­that’s my last word to you, young fellah.”

When we reached the edge of the cliff I looked over and saw our good old black Zambo sitting smoking on a rock below us.  I would have given a great deal to have hailed him and told him how we were placed, but it was too dangerous, lest we should be heard.  The woods seemed to be full of the ape-men; again and again we heard their curious clicking chatter.  At such times we plunged into the nearest clump of bushes and lay still until the sound had passed away.  Our advance, therefore, was very slow, and two hours at least must have passed before I saw by Lord John’s cautious movements that we must be close to our destination.  He motioned to me to lie still, and he crawled forward himself.  In a minute he was back again, his face quivering with eagerness.

“Come!” said he.  “Come quick!  I hope to the Lord we are not too late already!”