When within two-thirds of the distance to the summit a most extraordinary spectacle greeted him. Instead of human beings it was apes who had kindled the fire, and were most industriously engaged in feeding it.
Two files, composed of over a hundred of these animals, stretched from the top of the hill down the side as far as he could see, a distance of about six feet separating one from the other. This party was passing fragments of wood, branches of trees, and such combustible materials, up the incline to those at the top, who threw the fuel into the flames.
Industrious laborers were they, indeed. Not a sound could be heard, and with the utmost gravity they continued the task as if it was something upon which their lives depended.
Philip now saw that he was upon the crest of a small volcano which had evidently not been in a state of eruption for some time, and the fire was built within the blackened crater, with so much fuel that it more than filled the space, the glowing coals rising several feet above the summit.
Unquestionably it was the reflection of a fire similar to this which he had previously seen; but why these animals, who are supposed to fear anything of the kind, worked so hard to keep the blaze alive was something he could not even imagine. The wood literally flew through the air, so eager were the laborers to see the flames leap and dance in the gray light of the morning; and it was with a certain fascination, similar to that experienced while viewing the proceedings of the court a few days before, that Philip gazed upon the scene.
It could not have been more than five minutes that he remained motionless watching these strange proceedings, and just when he began to realize how necessary it was to leave the place before being discovered the apes caught sight of him.
In an instant, as if by magic, the silence was broken. A dozen of the animals clustered around him, shouting and screaming as if to others in the distance, until the din was almost deafening, and he could hear it echoed and re-echoed far away in the distance. His first thought was to make his escape, by force if necessary; but before he could even so much as raise his hands two gigantic baboons leaped toward him and seized, firmly but not roughly, both his arms.
Either one of the animals could have held him prisoner despite his most violent resistance, and Philip realized full well the uselessness of a struggle in which he would inevitably receive many severe blows, even if he should be so fortunate as to escape death.
During fifteen minutes the screaming and yelling continued, his captors holding him immovable all the while; and then, as if a summons had been received from some one in authority, the two baboons led him down the hill, followed by all those who had been working so energetically to feed the flames.