anthropoids had turned to
bay, and sold his life dearly. Always in front of us we heard the
yelling and roaring which showed the direction of the pursuit. The
ape-men had been driven back to their city, they had made a last stand
there, once again they had been broken, and now we were in time to see
the final fearful scene of all. Some eighty or a hundred males, the
last survivors, had been driven across that same little clearing which
led to the edge of the cliff, the scene of our own exploit two days
before. As we arrived the Indians, a semicircle of spearmen, had
closed in on them, and in a minute it was over, Thirty or forty died
where they stood. The others, screaming and clawing, were thrust over
the precipice, and went hurtling down, as their prisoners had of old,
on to the sharp bamboos six hundred feet below. It was as Challenger
had said, and the reign of man was assured forever in Maple White Land.
The males were exterminated, Ape Town was destroyed, the females and
young were driven away to live in bondage, and the long rivalry of
untold centuries had reached its bloody end.

For us the victory brought much advantage. Once again we were able to
visit our camp and get at our stores. Once more also we were able to
communicate with Zambo, who had been terrified by the spectacle from
afar of an avalanche of apes falling from the edge of the cliff.

"Come away, Massas, come away!" he cried, his eyes starting from his
head. "The debbil get you sure if you stay up there."

"It is the voice of sanity!" said Summerlee with conviction. "We have
had adventures enough and they are neither suitable to our character or
our position. I hold you to your word, Challenger. From now onwards
you devote your energies to getting us out of this horrible country and
back once more to civilization."

CHAPTER XV

"Our Eyes have seen Great Wonders"

I write this from day to day, but I trust that before I come to the end
of it, I may be able to say that the light shines, at last, through our
clouds. We are held here with no clear means of making our escape, and
bitterly we chafe against it. Yet, I can well imagine that the day may
come when we may be glad that we were kept, against our will, to see
something more of the wonders of this singular place, and of the
creatures who inhabit it.

The victory of the Indians and the annihilation of the ape-men, marked
the t