be successful, and that
they were strengthening their attacking forces accordingly, with the
evident determination to succeed ultimately at whatever cost. I was
greatly vexed to hear this, for it was evident that the existence of
such formidable beasts in the group constituted a growing menace to the
human life in it; and I was wondering how this menace was to be fought,
when Bowata and his people, without consulting me, made an attempt to
solve the problem, which, for a short time at least, seemed to be
crowned with success.

It was the height of summer, and there had been a spell of some six
weeks of very hot, dry weather, when on a certain morning, as Billy and
I, with some natives, were at work upon the cutter, the lad directed my
attention to a thin cloud of light brownish-blue smoke rising in the air
beyond Cliff Island. There was a gentle easterly breeze blowing at the
time, sweeping the smoke away in the direction of West Island, and, as
we watched, the cloud rapidly increased in density, its colour darkened,
and, somewhat to my astonishment, it seemed to spread in an easterly
direction, or against the wind. It soon became clear that it was the
forest on Apes' Island that had caught fire; and it was equally evident
that, thanks to the long dry spell, and to the fanning of the easterly
breeze, the fire was spreading with great rapidity; for within twenty
minutes of the appearance of the first light film of smoke we were able
to see, over the eastern extremity of Cliff Island, the flames speeding
up the hill-side, toward the conical summit of the island, preceded by
so vast a volume of smoke that it completely veiled the hills of West
Island from our sight. While Billy and I stood watching the rapid march
of the flames, one of the natives, noticing our interest in the
spectacle, approached and informed us that Bowata and one of his sons,
determined to drive the apes off Apes' Island, had that morning crossed
Apes' Channel in the punt which I had given them, with the avowed
intention of setting the entire island on fire, beginning at its
northern extremity--in order to drive the apes away from that part of
the island from whence they were wont to start to swim the channel--and
thence working round the shore to the eastern extremity of the island,
hoping thus to drive the anthropoids in a westerly and southerly
direction, right away from Cliff Island. As Apes' Island was everywhere
densely covered with forest