CHAPTER XIII.
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.
THE RESCUE OF ORLEE.
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 andSosee 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 notso 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.