`As by one consent, every beast of the forest seemed to arise from its
den, and utter its wild nocturnal cry. Snorting, snarling and shrieking
filled the woods beneath us.
`From the hills echoed the mournful howl of jackals, answered by Fangs
in the yard, who was backed up by the barking and yelping of his
friends Floss and Bruno. Far away beyond the rocky fastnesses of the
Gap, sounded unearthly hollow snortings and neighings, reminding one of
the strange cry of the hippopotamus; above these, occasional deep
majestic roarings made our hearts quail with the conviction that we
heard the voices of lions and elephants.
`Overawed and silent, we retired to rest, hoping to forget in sleep the
terrors of the midnight forest; but ere long the most fearful cries in
the adjoining woods gave notice that the apes were beginning to suffer
from the poisoned repast prepared for them.
`As our dogs could not remain silent amid the uproar and din, we had
not a wink of sleep until the morning. It was late, therefore, when we
rose, and looked on the awful spectacle presented by the multitude of
dead monkeys and baboons thickly strewn under the trees round the farm.
I shall not tell you how many there were. I can only say I wished I had
not found the poison, and we made all haste to clear away the dead
bodies and the dangerous food, burying some deep in the earth, and,
carrying the rest to the shore, we pitched them over the rocks into the
sea.
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