"By the Lord," cried Mr. Hume, who was the first to see the enemy, "drop!"
He shinned down on top of Compton, who in turn descended on Venning, and the whole three of them reached the ground together in a jumble. The gorilla lighted on all fours a few feet away, then, instead of springing on his helpless victims, he slowly raised himself to an erect position, and so standing on short bow-legs, emitted a tremendous roar, beginning with low mutterings, increasing to the deep-throated bark, and then dying away in hoarse grumblings. A terrible object he was truly, with his fierce grey eyes, formidable dog-teeth projecting from his powerful jaws, which rested without the interval of anything like a neck on the curve of a chest that swept out vast on the well-founded ribs, wrought in strength to support the weight of the protruding stomach.
One arm was raised with the palm of the hand on the chest, the other hung down, a truly fearful weapon, reaching to the crooked knee, and ending in great flattened fingers, that were bent inwards. After the roar the fierce creature lowered itself on to the knuckles of its arms, and seemed as if in another instant it would spring on its foes, still scrambling for a footing, when a piece of mould struck it on the cheek. It made a side-spring at the sooty guide, who nimbly jumped out of reach, and, when it turned, Mr. Hume was on his feet swinging his rifle-strap over his head. Quick as a trained boxer the long black arm shot out and sent the rifle flying through the air, but as its fierce eyes followed the whirling flight of the weapon, the hunter, putting forth all his great strength, smote the animal full on the ear, a blow that would have felled the strongest man. Then he leapt back, just in time to escape a terrific sweep of a hooked hand that would have disembowelled him, as the monster, after a shake of the head, delivered its favourite blow at the abdomen of its adversary. Going down on its knuckles again, it leapt high into the air, and as it descended thrust a long black arm round a tree to seize Mr. Hume, who all the time was calling out for a weapon. The flat fingers hooked under the leather belt, and with a fierce grunt the gorilla put forth its strength to draw the white man closer, while the latter, with his feet braced against the tree, resisted. Then Compton and Venning, who had unslung their rifles, but who had been confused by the rapid movements of the great ape, found their opportunity and fired. Both bullets took effect, and the gorilla, loosening his hold, turned with a roar upon his new foes. His aspect as he faced them was truly ferocious, and his strength was apparently unimpaired, for the thin pencil-like bullets had merely bored two little holes through a fleshy part. A moment his terrible eyes glared at them, and then with a mighty bound he leapt towards them. They fired hastily, and then in stepping back the one stumbled against the other, so that they both fell. They were at the gorilla's mercy! One step forward and he would have struck the life out of them with a couple of blows, but fortunately habit was too strong for him, and he raised himself erect to give out his defiant challenge. A little man tugged at Mr. Hume, who stood transfixed with horror. Looking down, the hunter saw the haft of his Ghoorka knife. He acted at once. Seizing it, he ran forward, and raising himself up, brought the heavy blade down on the monster's skull just as the last guttural bark was emitted. The boys, with their hands lifted in a despairing effort to ward off the danger, saw the gleam of metal, heard the rushing swish and the dull sound as the keen blade bit through skin and bone; and then they saw the monstrous black form suddenly sink to the ground. The next second they were snatched up and tossed aside out of reach, and as they regained their feet they heard the report of a rifle as Mr. Hume fired into '' the hairy body. With its last effort the dying ape seized the hunter by the leg and hurled him to the ground, his fall being luckily broken by a decaying branch, which was crushed under his weight. Bruised and shaken, the three travellers stood by the carcase, over which the little men were singing a song of triumph, as if they had been the chief actors instead of intensely interested spectators. One of them was tugging at the knife to free it from the skull, and as he could not move it, the second, and then the third, had a try, all laughing with much merriment.
"It's fun for them," said Venning, rubbing a bruised arm.
"I believe," said Mr. Hume, sourly, "they contrived the whole thing as a gladiatorial spectacle for their amusement. I don't think I was ever so near death;" and he shook hands gravely. "If you had not fired when you did, he would have had me."
"And what about us?" said Compton. "I never saw anything so awful, and never felt so helpless, as when it stood over us."
"A good job for us he did stand," said Venning, taking out his tape. "I should like to have his measurements. Just straighten him out." He passed the tape over. "Length, 6 ft. 2 in.; round the chest, 55 in.; round the abdomen, 60 in.; length of arm, 44 in.; biceps, 14 in.—not so very huge; forearm, 15 in.; calf, 13 in. His power is in the muscles of the shoulders, chest, and back."
"And jaw," said Compton. "Look at the sweep of the jaw-bone. He would crack a man's thigh with ease."
"And just think," said Venning, "that he has practically four hands, that he can spring like a lion, climb like a leopard, walk like a man, swing like a monkey, bite like a hyaena, and strike like a battering-ram. I guess I've had enough of gorillas."
When Mr. Hume signalled to the guides to continue, they expressed by signs their astonishment that the white men did not sit down to make a meal off the gorilla; and when they really did gather that the feast was to be abandoned, one remained behind, and another disappeared into the trees, while the third resumed the journey with backward looks of regret. About an hour later they met the entire pigmy tribe on the way to the feast, and as they swarmed over the tree in passing, the little people greeted Mr. Hume with much honour as the "father of all the gorillas."