Arthur and I had dashed for the door and now rushed down the veranda with hearts thumping madly. One of the dogs was writhing in agony on the floor. It had been flung against the house with terrific force and now lay with broken ribs and backbone, dying. The gorilla had vanished.
Evan appeared with his rifle ready, out of breath. "What's up?" he demanded. "The beast again?"
Arthur swore hysterically. "The damned beast is here!" he cried. "It's here! It's hiding somewhere about!"
We were all thoroughly reckless by now. We went after the huge ape with the temerity that would have made the blood of any of us run cold in a sober moment. We penetrated every corner of the house. We went over every bit of the grounds. We clambered upon the roof and searched there in foolhardy indifference to the danger we might be in if we only located the animal.
"I think it was hiding in the servants' quarters," said Evan grimly. "I saw signs of its having been there. It must have grown shy when I explored the place and it probably slipped off toward the house to escape me. I don't see why it didn't make for the woods, though."
None of us understood, but we went about our search as before. We found absolutely nothing. At last we stopped and stared at one another.
"We would have killed it in another moment," said Arthur despairingly, "but the dog saw it and yelped. Then it ran."
"Could it have made the woods before we got outside?"
"Heaven only knows," said Arthur wearily. "I begin to believe the natives have bewitched the thing to kill us all."
"How many dogs have we left?" asked Evan suddenly.