Around the World in Ten Days

by Chelsea Curtis Fraser

Suddenly, right out of the black shadows ahead, there sounded on the hushed air of the night three terrific yells, one following immediately after the other. These piercing cries had hardly died out when another, of deeper note, and a veritable roar, filled the forest with its din. The leaves about the boys seemed fairly to quiver under the violent guttural reverberations.

John Ross may well have been excused for shaking as he held up his lantern in his right hand and threw its rays upon the tall undergrowth ahead, while his fingers tightened like bands of steel around the stock of his repeating-rifle.

As he and his companions looked, they saw peeping through the foliage a black, fierce face, one of the ugliest and most ferocious that man could have imagined. It was staring straight at them. The brute's eyes were sunken under a heavy overhanging ridge of dusky skin. His eyes were small and black, and the iris of each shone like a diamond set in carbon. His forehead was low, receding, and covered with short bristling hair. His nose was broad and flat. His great jaw protruded frightfully, with the upper thin lip pressed tight, the lower curving away and displaying a row of long yellow tusks which could have bitten the hand off a man with one crunch.

The animal now opened his cavernous mouth, and uttered yell after yell again, these sounding something like the bark of a dog but being a hundred times louder. They were followed by terrific roars, somewhat similar to those of a lion, though of much greater volume. The cries rang through the forest from hill to hill, and died away in the distance. The woods was filled with the echo of his horrible voice.

Then, very slowly his whole body came in sight. He advanced clumsily and ponderously towards the little party of flyers, walking erect, his plain intent being to kill them. His short legs were hardly strong enough, as sturdy as they were, to support his huge body. All at once he stopped to look at them. How vindictive his eyes were! They seemed to say to the boys: "I will soon finish you!"

Then he beat his chest with his great fists and the noise was like a bandman striking a bass-drum. It was his challenge to combat. How long and muscular were the shaggy arms that directed these blows! How broad was his chest from which the sounds came! The hair stood almost erect on his body, and the hair on his head moved up and down.

This hesitation of the monster proved the salvation of the flyers. It gave them a chance to pull their shattered nerves together and elevate their rifles. As he must keep the light on the creature, which now all recognized as a large gorilla, so that his companions and himself could see to shoot, John had only one arm with which to handle his gun. But he brought the weapon up quickly, and pressed the trigger just as three other shots rang out from the guns of his companions, who had stepped on either side of their leader.

A hoarse yell of rage and pain answered the reports. They saw the gorilla stagger, then drop to all fours, and lunge toward them.

There was no chance to retreat. As quick as a flash John dropped his own rifle, so that he could hold the lantern in both hands and direct its rays better upon the beast, and cried to his comrades to fire again.

No sooner had the words left his lips than the others brought their repeaters once more to their shoulders. On account of the poor light on the barrels of their weapons they were again compelled to take snap shots, shooting with both eyes open; but this time with greater success.