en he recollected the water, and
immediately came to the conclusion that there must be a spring or pond
of some sort inside the cave to which the animals of the neighbourhood
were accustomed to resort in order to quench their thirst. Yes, of
course, that would be it, he told himself; and it would account in a
perfectly natural manner for the many footprints which he had seen in
the mud at the entrance. And, if that were the case, of course it would
not be the den of a panther or other carnivorous animal at all; for
monkeys, pigs, and antelopes would not frequent a spring in a cave which
one or more of their most deadly enemies had made their lair. And yet--
what about that abominable stench which issued from the cave; how was
that to be accounted for? It was a difficult question to answer, and
Stukely felt that there was but one way of getting at the truth, namely,
by thoroughly examining the interior of the cavern. So, forgetting for
the moment that he was out after game, and was not engaged upon an
exploring expedition, he passed out through the parted scrub and headed
straight for the mouth of the cave.

He had traversed about half the width of the glade when the sound of a
sudden, loud splashing of water reached his ears, immediately followed
by an outburst of the most appalling shrieks and yells; and a couple of
seconds later out dashed the ape at a speed of which Stukely would never
have believed the creature capable, had he not beheld it with his own
eyes. The ape cleared the mouth of the cave as though he had been shot
out of it, and came straight across the glade toward Phil. For an
instant the latter thought that the simian had caught sight of him and,
transported with rage, intended to attack him; so he halted, dropped his
branches and tinder, and prepared to fit an arrow to his bow to repel
the attack; but a second glance assured him that he was mistaken, for
the monkey was not coming directly toward him, but would pass him at a
distance of about a dozen paces. Moreover, it was more than likely that
the creature did not even see him, for Phil could now see that the poor
brute, as it dashed toward him in great, headlong bounds, with its long,
hairy arms and hands stretched out before it, its eyes turned back in
its head, and the most hideous shrieks issuing from its foaming jaws,
was frantic with terror! In the drawing of half a dozen breaths the
terrified beast had come up level with, dashed past him