Soon they came upon some straggling apes, but as these differed somewhat from the Lali they paid little attention to them, thinking they were chance hunters in the thickets.
These apes, however, were soon met so frequently, and finally became so numerous, that Koree remarked:
“I wonder if they are not some of the new comers of which Sosee spoke.”
Presently he climbed a tree, from which he looked beyond the confines of the Swamp, where he saw an innumerable swarm of apes, filling all the country about the habitations of the Lali. So many animals he had never before seen together. His worst suspicions were, therefore, confirmed.
“Sosee has, indeed, reported the truth,” he said; “such a multitude would have overwhelmed the Ammi in one attack, and left nothing remaining of the human race.”
Hurrying down, therefore, from the tree, he called on his comrades to turn back to the Ammi.
“Let us return and take precautions for our safety,” he said; “soon those apes will scatter, or kill one another off; no country can long support such a number.”
“But what about Sosee?” asked his companions.
“We cannot find her in this Swamp,” replied Koree; “and, as her story of the reinforcements of the Apes is true, the rest is not incredible, so that her return to them may be necessary for our safety.”