THE RETREAT.
By the time the wounded had been removed from the building at least half
a dozen more men were in need of the surgeon’s skill, for since the
flames had illuminated the scene so brilliantly the apes were able to
aim with more accuracy, and Captain Seaworth soon began to realize that
his entire force might be killed or disabled if any further attempt at
fighting fire was made.
Philip was so deeply engaged in directing the movements of those at the
cannon that he paid no attention to what was taking place outside his
own sphere of action. Knowing perfectly well the manners of the apes,
he understood that if the volleys of grape should cease even for a few
moments Goliah’s forces would charge in overwhelming numbers, believing
the colonists were growing weaker. Therefore, as rapidly as four men
could clean and load each piece, it was discharged point-blank at that
portion of the thicket in which the enemy appeared to be concealed in
greatest force.
The range was too short to permit of the grape-shot doing as much
execution as it would have done at five or six times the distance, and
after seven or eight rounds had been fired Philip discarded the iron
balls entirely, loading the cannon heavily with pebbles and fragments of
rock, which, flying in every direction, would spread over a much larger
space than round shot.
It was while he was most active in this work, and when the two cottages
immediately adjoining the central dwelling had caught fire, that Captain
Seaworth approached the chief of artillery looking troubled and pale.
“That a body of men should be routed by apes seems ridiculous,” he said;
“but at this moment I confess I see no chance of success in this unequal
battle. What is your opinion?”
Philip delayed answering only long enough to discharge one cannon at
the thicket of mimosas south of the burning village, and then, after
directing the gunners to clean and reload the piece in the shortest
possible time, he replied, gravely:
“I am ready to obey your orders, captain, whatever they may be, and
however much they vary from my own ideas; but I am convinced that a
continuation of this fight will result in the disablement of all your
forces. Already the natives are growing alarmed in the presence of an
unseen enemy who, without fire-arms, can do so much execution, and if
they should become panic-stricken the white members of the party will be
left to the mercy of the apes.”
“Then you propose——”
“I propose nothing, captain. I have simply given my opinion because you
asked it, and not with any desire to influence your movement.”
Then Philip rushed forward to another cannon which had been loaded, and
after discharging it returned to Captain Seaworth, who said:
“I am convinced you are correct. With the limited amount of water at our
command it will be impossible to stay the progress of the flames, and
we must leave the village to its destruction. Withdraw your guns one by
one after I have sent the wounded to the ship. It will be necessary for
you to cover the retreat with the cannon, because we have so many in the
hospital that nearly the entire working-force are required to transport
them.”
“Then it is to be a retreat?”
“If we were fighting against men I should feel warranted in a complete
surrender to prevent further slaughter; but since that is impossible it
must be as you say—a retreat. I will send those who are fighting the
flames to assist you in the more rapid discharge of the cannon while we
are carrying the wounded to the ship. Messengers must be dispatched to
Mr. Clark, with instructions for him to forward all aboard the Reynard to
aid us on the way.”
Philip wasted no time in reply. He realized fully how important it was
that a more vigorous defense should be made just at this moment, and he
urged the men to renewed exertions, if indeed that was possible when
every one battled for life itself.
Then began what has probably never had an equal in warfare—the retreat of
a large body of armed men before a party of apes.
As Captain Seaworth had said, it required the greater portion of his
force to convey the wounded, and so few remained to work the heavy guns,
drawing them back a few paces toward the sea-coast after each discharge,
that the commander himself was forced to assist Philip.
It was fully a quarter of an hour before the last wounded man left the
building which had been converted into a temporary hospital, and then,
foot by foot, the little party of artillerists literally fought their way
backward, while the rapid discharge of fire-arms from those in advance
told that the apes had already circled around the retreating army. As a
cannon was discharged it would be drawn twenty or thirty paces to the
rear, the men reloading even while it was moving, and the showers of
stones came thicker and more frequent.
Before half the necessary distance was traversed Philip’s left shoulder
had been so severely cut with a fragment of rock as to render the arm
useless, while blood streamed down the captain’s face from many minor
wounds. Hardly a man among those who were protecting the rear was
uninjured, and just when Philip began to fear that what had commenced as
an orderly march would end in a complete rout, reinforcements from the
ships arrived.
This party of thirty fresh men, each with a plentiful supply of
ammunition, checked the closely-pursuing apes, and it became possible to
move the cannon forty or fifty yards after each discharge.
Finally, to the intense relief of all, the beach was gained, and here it
was necessary to form in regular line of battle while the wounded were
being conveyed to the ships in small boats.
It seemed as if the apes understood that this was their last opportunity,
for they immediately redoubled their efforts. But now, however, being
so near a place of safety, the men fought even more courageously than
before, and huge sheets of flame burst from the weapons as the missiles
went hurtling through the branches, causing great slaughter, as could be
told by the shrieks of the wounded and dying animals.
Then the cannon were abandoned on the sea-shore when the boats from both
vessels were drawn up ready to receive the defenders at the same moment,
and, still discharging their muskets rapidly, the men were at last
conveyed to a place of comparative safety.
The deck of the Reynard looked not unlike that of a line-of-battle
ship after a terrific naval engagement. Hammocks were slung in every
direction; improvised cots were placed fore and aft; and the surgeon,
with all the women, was fully occupied in dressing the wounds until the
sun once more sent down his pitiless glare over the island and the sea.
Looking shoreward, along the road Philip had caused to be made while he
was king of the apes, nothing could be seen of the picturesque little
village save a heap of blackened, smoking ruins. The flames had done
their work thoroughly, and not a single building remained standing. That
the scheme of colonizing the island must be abandoned for the time being,
at least, Philip understood, since even if Goliah and his forces could
have been exterminated immediately a return to the United States was
necessary in order to replenish the stores, as well as to provide new
buildings for the laborers.
When the wounded had been made as comfortable as was possible under the
circumstances, Philip thought for the first time of the two chimpanzees,
and not seeing them anywhere around, he feared, through some mischance,
they had gone ashore in one of the boats, in which case their doom was
certainly sealed.
In this, however, he was mistaken. Half an hour later, while assisting
the crew to rig up temporary berths in the hold, he found the two animals
cowering in the forward portion of the ship, behind some spare cables,
and it was many moments before he could induce either to come on deck.
Toward noon, when the intense heat rendered it almost impossible for
the crew to continue the work of converting the ship into a temporary
hospital, Captain Seaworth held another consultation, and this time it
had no reference to how the apes might be exterminated, but was simply a
question of when it would be possible to set sail.
There were yet a sufficient number of men to work the ships as far as
Batavia, unless they were attacked by the pirates; and after deciding
that it would be better to run the chances of a fight at sea than be
caught at anchor by the Malays, Captain Seaworth reported the fact of
Philip’s having found a vast amount of treasure in the subterranean
chambers.
Never yet did blood outweigh gold, and every member of the council was
eager to become possessed of the precious metal, even at the risk of
another encounter with the animals. There was but little discussion
necessary in order to arrive at the opinion of the majority, which was
that they should defer sailing until at least one journey could be made
to the grotto, and a certain amount of the wealth be brought away.