made sail for Cliff
Island.

As we approached the northern extremity of Apes' Island, from which
point the brutes usually started on their swim across the channel to
Cliff Island, my telescope revealed numerous apes clustered together
upon the beach, while many others could be seen wending their way toward
the same spot; but I could see none in the water, so concluded that the
threatened raid had not yet started. I inquired of Bowata how many of
his people were now armed with bows and arrows, and was gratified to
learn that every male above the age of fifteen had been so armed. This
meant that there were more than a hundred archers to defend the island;
learning which I came to the conclusion that the best form of defence
was attack, and made my plans accordingly.

Landing Bowata and his son to conduct the defence of their island, I
took aboard the boat seven natives, who, the chief assured me, were
among his most expert bowmen, and headed across the channel toward Apes'
Island, my plan being to cruise to and fro opposite the spot where the
apes were mustering, and to pick off as many of the brutes as possible
while passing.

At this point the channel was only about a mile wide; ten minutes,
therefore, sufficed us to accomplish the passage and to round to at a
distance of twenty yards from the beach, where some fifty or sixty of
the gigantic brutes were now assembled, most of them squatting upon
their haunches, as though awaiting a signal of some sort, while others
were joining them at the rate of two or three per minute. As the boat
approached, the monsters eyed her malignantly, while several rose to
their feet as though preparing to repel an attack. This suited our
purpose well, and as the boat, under Billy's skilful handling, rounding
to into the wind, with her sails a-shiver, glided slowly past the spot
where the apes were congregated, we each deliberately selected our
target and, drawing our bows to the full length of our arrows, let fly
with deadly effect. Every arrow went home, many of them finding the
heart, and with screams of mingled pain and rage eight of the apes
crashed to the ground, a few of them writhing convulsively in their
death-agony but most of them dead. There was time for a second
discharge before the boat drifted too far away, and three more of the
brutes went down, while five of their comrades, screaming and bellowing
with pain and rage, wrenched the arrows from their wounds, some of t