It was plain that, having thus far committed himself to the necessity of artificial light, he must retain possession of it, and he made great show of holding it carefully in both hands—a movement which was at once imitated by the others, but not so cleverly as would have been the case under other circumstances.
The result of this precaution was that at least one ape out of every three burned his paws, while the other two singed their nearest neighbors until the odor of burning hair was almost stifling.
Now the room resounded with cries of pain, and those who had been burned belabored the party next to them, regardless of whether they had inflicted the injuries or not, until the entire throng were flogging each other with these tiny flames, scattering wicks and tallow in every direction, while the blazing of hair added to the general illumination.
Philip realized that something must be done immediately, and he forced his way out through the drunken crowd to the court-yard, going from there to the sitting-room with the intention of gaining the street.
The door to this last apartment was fastened, however, and in order to push back the bolts he placed his candle on the window-sill.
Before five seconds had elapsed every portion of the room was decorated with lighted candles, and for the time being all danger of a conflagration was averted, while the apes themselves gave evidence of being in some familiar place.
It was probable that Captain Seaworth had given a party, or sanctioned a gathering of his officers and the colonists, when the room had been illuminated after this same fashion, and equally probable that the apes were spectators, at some time in the past, of the scene from the outside.
They exchanged glances with each other, chattered noisily, and gesticulated vigorously, while Philip stood gazing at them in amazement, wondering what new phase of danger he was about to encounter.
An instant later four or five, whose memory was better than their companions’, seized upon the musical instruments which hung on the wall and began striking the strings with both hands and feet, while the others, each with a partner, whirled, leaped and shouted as they went through with the movements of a dance. One couple would dart up and down the room, taking about four strides to cover the entire distance; another set circled around and around within a circumscribed space; and yet more stood bowing and scraping, until, had the scene been presented on the stage of a theater, it would have called forth the most generous applause.
Every detail of a ball-room was here depicted after a certain apish fashion, and the fact that at least half the company wore some portion of clothing lent a decided air of realism to the scene.