Ouha, King of the Apes

by Félicien Champsaur

  But the scientist thought that the best thing to do for now was the most urgent—which is to say, to continue his search. With that objective he went to the back of the cave, going down a steep slope.

  At one point, two enormous heaps of sand had been piled up, as if throw to the right and left of a hole. The doctor jumped into it, and then, with the aid of half a coconut-shell, began to dig vigorously in the soil.

  Abraham Goldry was a first-rate geologist; so, as soon as he arrived in the lodgings imposed on him by Ouha, he had made a rapid study of the cave’s construction, and easily understood its origin. This entire region was composed of limestone mingled with quartz and sandy clay. Under the action of the rain, the soil, easily disaggregated, had given birth to a number of excavations, and the water filling them had ended up clearing a passage. Now, the grotto inhabited by the doctor had its slope on the side opposite the river; thus, it was easy to deduce that the waters had found an outlet here to another valley, or, after a sequence of numerous curves, flowed into the same course but much further downriver. The path followed by the rainwater was indicated by the sand it had deposited, and which, marked its track in the rocky or calcareous soil. It was there, at the lowest point, where the sand had accumulated to the greatest extent, that the ancient exit, now obstructed, must be located.

  The scientist had been working for about an hour when the sand in front of him collapsed. Another few coconut-shell spadefuls to clear away and the path was open. Carefully, he slid into the opening. After a few meters, he was able to stand up and walk upright. The flow must still be continuing, for the sand was very damp and even, in some of the hollows, completely saturated. He advanced as far as the light filtering from the cave permitted, but, fearing that he might fall into a hole if he went on, he decided to retrace his steps. In any case, a sepulchral silence reigned under these vaults, and the cool air caused the naked explorer to shiver. Suddenly, he stopped, and lay down on the ground, listening.

  From the depths, a noise had just reached his ears. He listened, making an ear-trumpet of his hand, and perceived a distant voice.

  “Let’s go back. There’s no way out.”

  That voice was not unknown to him—but it was implausible. At the risk of breaking is neck, he risked going further forward into the subterranean tunnel.

  Another voice said: “What if we camp here? We’re safe, and the route’s difficult enough for us to get a little rest.”

  “You’re right. Let’s light the fire, then, and settle in.”

  Goldry was still groping his way through the darkness. Soon, a bright light appeared a hundred meters away. Hastening his effort, he reached a gash through which he looked down on the most unexpected spectacle.

  XLVIII. Major Bennett’s Widow

  In order to explain what follows, let us return to Riddle-Temple and White House.

  Before setting out on a new expedition, it was necessary to settle up with the survivors of the first. After having paid them generously, Harry Smith, on Gorden’s advice, drafted a brief report, in order to regularize matters with respect to Dutch law, the situation of the widows and orphans created by the white men’s defeat, and, at the same time, to inform the government of the danger that colonists might be in of overly frequent attacks by the great apes.

  Archibald, for his part, was given the delicate mission of informing Mrs. Bennett of the major’s death and inviting her to come and take up residence at Riddle-Temple with her children. Harry Smith offered, in addition, to by White House in order that the widow and her children would have nothing to worry about.

  Mrs. Bennett listened to the billionaire’s envoy in silence, and when he had finished she showed him the door. Laconically, she said: “Scram!”

  Archibald, nonplussed, tried to insist, but the Irishwoman did not give him the time.

  “Peace! Peace! I’m all right here and I’ll stay here. Do you think that imbecile William was useful for anything, and that it was him who kept the colony going? A good-for-nothing, ready to run off on adventures with anyone. I told him that billionaire would cause him nothing but trouble…and he has the nerve to offer me shelter in his home! Does he take me for a beggar? A Sulten can always earn a living. Go away, and tell those people that I’d rather die of starvation than owe them for a crust of bread. God bless you—and go to Hell!”

  Having said that, Meg had closed the door in Archibald’s face—but, returning precipitately to her room, she fell to her knees in front of the major’s portrait and burst into tears.

  When Archibald reported on his mission, Gorden said: “Let’s let time soothe her pan. Mrs. Bennett has a heart of gold under her rather rude exterior. I think she’ll get through it. Anyway, we won’t lose sight of her. Now that’s sorted, let’s get on. Forward march!”

  XLIX. A Moving Road that Carries You

  The new expedition comprised only eight people, to wit, the Europeans Harry Smith, Archibald Wilson, Silven Gorden and Hubert Mamnuth—Hubert, whose name is figuring in the story for the first time, was the leaders of the woodcutters brought by the Muni-Wali brothers—and the colored men To Wang, Rava’s brother Eg Merh, Mag Trih, a Malay half-breed, and Jacob Muni-Wali, whose brother Joshua had perished during the first expedition.

  It had been agreed to commence the second campaign via the part of the forest already cut into by the Muni-Wali brothers’ exploitation. It was a long journey, but the brothers’ prospectors had discovered the zigzag of a river in that direction, whose shiny surface had appeared to them at intervals though the foliage, and which ought to lead, by going upstream, into the vicinity of the realm of the orangutans.

  Two days after having crossed the cleared zone, the little troop was once again in virgin forest. The terrain was more uneven there and marshier. The waters, able to flow freely there, rendered the journey, if not easy, at least les unhealthy and less infested with reptiles. On the other hand, they had continually to scale rocks and cross deep precipices. They had resolved that, whatever difficulties they might encounter, in order not to go astray, they would steer by compass.

  Finally, on the eleventh day of the march, a broad watercourse appeared—doubtless the one identified by the prospectors. What should they do? Follow its numerous meanders upstream or head directed westwards? The latter route, although more direct, was almost impracticable; the forest sometimes bathed in the middle of the current, which it obstructed with plants and aquatic trees like mangroves—the basal roots of whose trunks extended from one bank to the other.

  Having tried to follow the bank, they were forced to give it up. Fortunately, the current, precisely because of all the obstacles, was not very rapid. They set out in quest of a clump of bamboo and constructed a light raft, just large enough to carry the little caravan.

  On the fifth day, the little troop embarked, and, sometimes rowing but more often pushing themselves along with long poles, gliding between the roots and slender columns of the mangroves, began to go up the river, whose bed was extremely uneven. Often, islets of stone blocks almost barred the way, the foaming waves breaking against them violently. It was necessary, on occasion, to go around an obstacle on foot, carrying the raft. Once, they nearly had to abandon it; a barrier of rocks close the route beneath a waterfall several meters high and the two banks were so steep that the orangutan hunters took three days to find a means of getting out of the bottleneck.

  To the fatigues of the voyage were added the dangers posed by wild beasts. Rarely able to protect themselves by means of fire, they had to spend the right in mid-river as often as possible, in an uncovered location. It was, moreover, necessary to spend several hours each day renewing their food supplies—without difficult though, there being no lack of game or wild fruits.

  Finally, two months after their departure, they reached a vast plain lost in the immensity of the virgin forest, unwooded except for a few meager thickets and stunted trees. It was covered by grasses more than a meter tall.

  L. The Camp on the Bank

/>   “If I’m not mistaken,” Gorden said, “We’re now in the zone of the forest that was burned during our ill-fated expedition.”

  “We must be close to the lair of my daughter’s abductors, then” said Harry Smith.

  “Undoubtedly—and now, above all, we must increase our precautions.”

  “So what do we do?” exclaimed Archibald. “You decide, Gorden—our hopes rest on your experience.”

  With a gesture, Gorden summoned the two Malays. They drew nearer, and the three men discussed what to do next.”

  Finally, the Englishman said: “We need to cross over to the other bank, and find a refuge there from which we can scout out the entire region. Don’t forget that our presence here must remain unknown to our enemies. As soon as we’ve located some retreat for ourselves, the two Malays will go out to search. They alone are capable of avoiding the orangutans. We’ll wait until the moment comes to act.

  The others agreed wholeheartedly with this opinion, and they crossed over to the other bank in the dead of night. An excavation between the rocks was their initial shelter there. Prudently, from time to time, when their food-supplies ran low, the adventurers went back downriver to go hunting some distance away, in order that the detonations of their rifles should not attract the orangutans’ attention.

  LI. Ouha Amuses Himself and Mabel Sings

  To Wang and the two Malays roamed incessantly, exploring the entire region. They saw orangutans on many occasions, but without encountering Ouha or his harem. The days went by, however, without any result. Gorden had a great deal of trouble containing his impatience and that of his companions.

  Finally, one evening, they understood from Eg Merh’s radiant expression that he had news. He had been able to follow a group of orangutans without being seen, and had discovered their capital, about three hundred huts. Having returned to get food, he would leave again immediately, for he had found a place in the rocks from which he could see everything without being seen.

  He came back again the next day. This time, Eg Merh had seen Ouha among his wives.

  “Mabel?” cried Harry Smith.

  “Yes, with my sister Rava and Dilou They’re fit and well. Miss Mabel was singing, while the orangutan Ouha danced around her.”

  “My daughter was singing? Get away!”

  “I assure you, Master.”

  “She’s gone mad!” Archibald groaned. “Oh, the poor girl!”

  “If that’s true, damn it, it’s going to be difficult to reach an understanding with her.”

  “What are we going to do?” moaned the unfortunate fiancé. “To think that she’s so close to us!”

  “Oh,” the Malay interrupted, “from here to where the orangutans are it’s four hours’ march.”

  “Let’s gain more ground,” said Gorden. “Let’s set out in quest of lodgings closer to the orangs. I want to see for myself. Afterwards, we’ll assess the situation.”

  It was agreed that everyone would seek that shelter by himself, and that whoever discovered one would come back and summon the others with a rifle-shot.

  LII. The Bats’ Lair

  Archibald was the lucky one. He went upriver, following the bank, as far as possible. After numerous obstacles obstructing his progress, he was surprised to find a beach of fine sand. Wearily, he lay down on it, gripped by a reverie that was not at all cheerful. He thought about Mabel having become the wife of an orangutan, Ouha.

  Gradually, that daydream degenerated into a kind of torpor, and he fell asleep.

  He was woken up by a bizarre sensation; it seemed to him that a fan was being waved over him, refreshing him with a benevolent breeze.

  He woke up fully; a dozen large bats were flying back and forth over his exhausted body in the still-uncertain dusk, their membranous wings bumping into one another. The animals inspired a profound disgust in the young man. He leapt to his feet and whirled his rifle around him to chase the filthy beasts away. They spiraled for a further minute, some distance away, and then disappeared into a crack in the rock at the top of the sandy slope.

  Archibald was about to leave when the bats emerged again and resumed circling. Then he had the idea of climbing the slope in order to cast a glance into the chiropterans’ lair. He freed the entrance of the loose sand obstructing it with a few kicks, and, to his great amazement, saw a broad and profound tunnel extending into the bowels of the mountain.

  What if this tunnel were to bring us nearer to the apes? he said to himself. It would be a veritable windfall.

  The daylight was fading fast. He emerged and went back to the camp, where his friends were very anxious, for the night was already quite advanced when he arrived. As he had only had to follow the river in retracing his steps, however, he had found his way back easily. Immediately, he told his friends about his find. They decided that they would all go there at daybreak.

  LIII. In the Entrails of the Mountain

  After a solid meal, the eight companions set out. When they went into the tunnel, the tropical sun provided enough light through a few crevices, and they were able to advance quite a long way. The ground was covered with fine sand almost everywhere. They covered about two kilometers in that fashion; then the light abruptly ceased.

  Until then, the terrain had been gradually rising. All the evidence suggested that they were in ancient tunnels once hollowed out by water in the calcareous regions of the mountains before the river had traced out its present bed. The phenomenon is much less rare than one might think. In France, for example, the gorges of Tarn and Padirac, in the same region, have the same origin. When erosion begins at the surface, it forms immense ravines through which the waters flow impetuously, but it sometimes happens that the upper strata are harder and more resistant; then the waters work underneath and hollow out vast subterrains, which dry out in time, like the one into which the eight adventurers had entered—which sometimes serve as drains during major inundations.

  The eight audacious men were each equipped with an electric lamp capable of providing light for fifteen hours. That added up to a hundred and twenty hours of light, for until then they had scarcely made use of them. Archibald switched on his, and they continued to move forward. The direction was good—they were heading westwards.

  Suddenly, Archibald, preceding his companions, stopped in front of a sheer declivity—a gaping opening at their feet. It might have been four or five meters deep, but its breadth did not permit the other side to be seen.

  “What shall we do?” asked the young man.

  “The situation is rather troubling,” Gorden said. “If the tunnel goes on for several kilometers without emerging anywhere, we’ll have made the entire journey for nothing. My opinion is that only two of us should continue the exploration. In the meantime four can go back to hunt and bring back provisions, and two can wait here.”

  The motion was adopted. The three Malays and Jacob Muni-Wali, the best hunters, went back. Gorden and Hubert Mamnuth went down into the crevice. Harry Smith and Archibald waited up above. It was agreed that, so long as it was possible, the four men would shout to one another at intervals, in order to maintain constant communication.

  Having descended into and crossed the breach, Gorden and Mamnuth saw that the tunnel continued on the other side. They had some difficulty climbing the slope, but they succeeded, and continued along the tunnel. It had the same appearance as it had prior to the pit, save that the slope was a little steeper.

  They marched for about two hours, and suddenly found themselves in an immense cavern of a truly magical appearance.

  LIV. The Marvelous Grotto

  Enormous stalactites hung down from the vault, twenty meters above, connecting up with stalagmites in several places to form majestic colonnades. The soft parts having been carried away by the waters the stripped walls of hard rock and stones were gleaming and scintillating in the light of eight lamps, all lit simultaneously for a moment in order to admire that splendor, launching fire of every color.

  Through the cen
ter of the natural temple of gold and diamonds snaked a stream, the last remnant of the impetuous torrents that had created the marvels. From above, through a kind of vent encumbered by plants growing in fissures in the rock, came a blue-tinted light, as if through a vegetal stained-glass window, which lent fantastic effects to that basilica, a veritable masterpiece of elementary forces.

  “Halt!” ordered Gorden. “Let’s not risk ourselves in that immense crypt. If I’m not mistaken, other centuries-old corridors radiate from this crossroads, and we might get lost in that enchanted geology on the way back.”

  He attached a long thread to a stalagmite and then went on, with his companion, into the cathedral. The precaution was not unnecessary; numerous tunnels originated in that strange and formidable grotto. Compass in hand, Gorden and Mamnuth took the tunnel that led most nearly westwards.

  “Oh, sir—look at that!” said Mamnuth.

  There had been a rockfall. Rubble was heaped up all the way to a verdant belvedere, which one might have thought starred with emeralds, through which daylight was coming. The opening had surely been provoked by the collapse.

  “Ah! This would be perfect if we had an exit up there. I’m going to attempt the climb.”

  Mamnuth launched himself on to the fallen rocks. It was long and difficult; the woodcutter had to go backwards several times, finding himself confronted by insurmountable blacks, but by going around the obstacles he finally reached the verdant lantern and clambered outside with the aid on lianas and roots.

  Down below, Gorden heard a cry of joy.

  From the depths of a valley that sloped down to the river, sparkling in the sunlight, Mamnuth could clearly see the city of the orangutans, whose numerous huts garnished giant trees. Mamnuth could even see a few orangs coming and going in the foliage. He slid into the undergrowth to examine his own location. He was on the summit of a fairly high mountain whose peaks, sheer on all sides, rendered it inaccessible—or at least difficult of attainment—to the apes.