Out into the forests and among the palm groves, therefore, they went, calling to the inhabitants of the trees and vines to come down, and sending their summons into the tangled thickets of the swamps. And the apes left their cocoanuts and cinnamon branches, and came up out of their fisheries, (abandoning their sports with parrots, and their fights with owls,) and hurried to the country of the Lali and the seat of war.
The Apes were far more numerous than the men, the latter being only one colony in the whole world, who were now all collected on one field of battle, whereas the Apes, though differing from one another, (being of many species besides the Man-apes,) were practically without limit (taking in all the country and all the varieties of Apes,) so that it was only a question of how wide a territory they should scour for allies, in order to bring any number to battle.
These apes, moreover, could be easily united on almost any project, as there were yet no conflicting interests to dissuade them; so that in a short time an innumerable host was assembled at the seat of war—great, small, tailless, speechless and everything from the big gorilla to the common monkey.
To add to the good fortune of the Lali, there had come also, along with the migrating cattle, several large herds of apes from the north. These, which at another time would have met the hostility of the Lali, and perhaps been slain as enemies, or as competitors for their food, were now welcomed and enlisted as allies against the Ammi.
But the Apes, though countless, were not so closely confederated as the Men. They did not live together in large numbers, and the few groups that did exist were not accustomed to act long together. In fact the Apes hardly knew one another, so that they were unconscious alike of their power and their weakness.
The forces of the two armies were, therefore, woefully unequal. On one side was a host as countless as the Myrmidons, composed, indeed, of motley groups, which might prove unmanageable in war, but which had to fight in order to cohere at all, and to fight soon. On the other side was a small, but skilled and disciplined body, more homogeneous and capable of keeping to a fixed purpose. It was obvious, therefore, that if the Apes should make a sudden attack they would overwhelm and extirpate the Ammi; for then, all the hosts would take part, and, being impulsive, would fight vigorously before having time to fall to pieces as a body.
It became as important, therefore, for the Ammi to now have a delay of hostilities as it was before for the Lali. This fact, however, was not known to the Ammi themselves, who, on account of the distance between the two forces, were not aware of the reinforcements of the Lali.
“Let us proceed at once against the enemy,” said Koree, innocently inviting his own destruction. “They have retreated so far that it may take some time to find them.”
“That’s right,” said Pounder, “we should begin early so that Night may not again overtake us before victory.”