[Illustration]
All now depended on whether Koree and Sosee with the child could reach
the Swamp in time to conceal themselves before the Lali should arrive.
For so dense was the under-growth in the Swamp that it was next to
impossible to discover man or beast that should attempt to hide there.
Sosee could easily have gained the Swamp in time for safety, but Koree,
who was encumbered with the child, and so could not run as fast as she,
was in danger of capture by Oboo, who was fast gaining upon him. Sosee,
indeed, had already reached the Swamp, and was about to plunge into its
thickets and out of danger, when she turned to see if Koree and the child
were making their escape.
She was horrified to perceive that the pursuers were close upon them; and
so, instead of saving herself, she turned on them, and made a desperate
effort to rescue her companions. Before she could reach them, however,
Koree was overtaken by Oboo, when, releasing the child, he dealt Oboo a
powerful blow, which stunned him, and, at the same time, avenged the blow
received by Koree from the same ape some days before. Sosee now came up,
and, flying at the ape with screams and scratches, dealt him another blow
scarcely less severe than that administered by Koree. These two blows
compelled the ape to loose his hold for the moment.
[Illustration: THE RESCUE OF ORLEE.]
Released in this way from his pursuers, Koree picked up the child and
again started for the woods, while the ape, recovering from his blows,
again started in pursuit. He was gaining on Koree a second time, and
would have overtaken him again, had not the course of Koree and Sosee
now begun to diverge; for in their anxiety to escape neither had noticed
the direction taken by the other in their new start, and so they became
separated.
Oboo, observing the beauty and agility of Sosee, felt a desire to possess
her which outweighed his anxiety for the child. “She is prettier than the
old woman,” he said to himself, “and I will go for her.” Oboo always had
time, even in a fight or a race, to observe an attractive female, and
his head was invariably turned by the sight, no matter at what business
he was engaged. He accordingly turned from the pursuit of Koree and
Orlee, and started after the girl. The scratches and pounding which he
had received from her were no warning to him, but rather increased his
infatuation by testifying to her spirit. Love at first sight is greater
among Apes than among Men, and overcomes more obstacles. Accustomed to
fight for their females, and often to take them by overcoming them in
fight, the love of our primitive ancestors was often “love at first
fight.” Oboo, therefore, forgot his heroism in his passion, and,
abandoning all that he had set out to accomplish, started in pursuit of
his pleasure before he was yet out of his pain, and thought of enjoying
the caresses of a lover, while still smarting under her blows. The battle
of Mars thus turned into the battle of Cupid, and the warrior, turned
lover, continued the pursuit without much changing his method.
While Oboo was thus pursuing Sosee, Koree with the child in his arms had
reached the thicket, and was safe. Other apes came up, indeed, to the
edge of the swamp, and penetrated its depths; but, as it was getting
dark, they soon turned back, discontinuing the pursuit. While there were
many things to be found in the Swamp, their experience had taught them
that nothing was ever found there which was sought for. They might get
other apes or other game, but any particular thing that had escaped in
that tangled waste was deemed irretrievably lost.
In the mean time the pursuit of Sosee continued. Love added its
inspiration to that of prowess in the breast of her pursuer. Oboo ran for
both pleasure and glory. He must have the girl both because he wanted
her, and because he dared not return without her. Hence he ran as one
who had everything at stake; and so did she. Like Camilla, scouring the
plain, she put the Ape-land far behind her, while the distant forest
seemed, like Birnam Wood, to be fast approaching her.
Like the timid hare pursued by the hunter, which darts straight for the
shelter of the thick brush or dense cedars, her ears laid back upon her
shoulders, and her feet in the air, gliding with a billowy motion to a
place of safety, so the swift Sosee ran, measuring off the rapid miles
under her feet, while her panting warrior-lover, hotly pursuing, sought
to take her ere she should find a refuge in the dense groves beyond.
Sosee at last gained the swamp, and was secure from the determined Oboo,
who saw her disappear at once out of his sight and out of his hope. The
other apes, moreover, which had pursued from a distance, abandoned the
chase when they saw her enter the jungle, as a dog ceases to pursue a
bird which has flown into the air.
But while she thus escaped her pursuers, she did not so easily escape
those who awaited her. Scarcely had she entered the forest when she was
met by several apes who were returning from the pursuit of Koree. These,
seeing Sosee approach the forest, ran along its border (still keeping
behind the foliage), with a view of heading her off. These now sprang
suddenly upon her, and, after a short struggle, made her a prisoner.