_THE SEVENTH CHAPTER_
THE BRIDGE OF APES
QUEEN ERMINTRUDE had never in her life seen her husband so terrible ashe got that night. He gnashed his teeth with rage. He called everybodya fool. He threw his tooth-brush at the palace cat. He rushed round inhis night-shirt and woke up all his army and sent them into the jungleto catch the Doctor. Then he made all his servants go too—his cooks andhis gardeners and his barber and Prince Bumpo’s tutor—even the Queen,who was tired from dancing in a pair of tight shoes, was packed off tohelp the soldiers in their search.
All this time the Doctor and his animals were running through theforest towards the Land of the Monkeys as fast as they could go.
Gub-Gub, with his short legs, soon got tired; and the Doctor had tocarry him—which made it pretty hard when they had the trunk and thehand-bag with them as well.
The King of the Jolliginki thought it would be easy for his army tofind them, because the Doctor was in a strange land and would not knowhis way. But he was wrong; because the monkey, Chee-Chee, knew all thepaths through the jungle—better even than the King’s men did. And heled the Doctor and his pets to the very thickest part of the forest—aplace where no man had ever been before—and hid them all in a bighollow tree between high rocks.
“We had better wait here,” said Chee-Chee, “till the soldiers have goneback to bed. Then we can go on into the Land of the Monkeys.”
So there they stayed the whole night through.
They often heard the King’s men searching and talking in the jungleround about. But they were quite safe, for no one knew of thathiding-place but Chee-Chee—not even the other monkeys.
At last, when daylight began to come through the thick leaves overhead,they heard Queen Ermintrude saying in a very tired voice that it wasno use looking any more—that they might as well go back and get somesleep.
As soon as the soldiers had all gone home, Chee-Chee brought the Doctorand his animals out of the hiding-place and they set off for the Landof the Monkeys.
It was a long, long way; and they often got very tired—especiallyGub-Gub. But when he cried they gave him milk out of the cocoanuts,which he was very fond of.
They always had plenty to eat and drink; because Chee-Chee andPolynesia knew all the different kinds of fruits and vegetables thatgrow in the jungle, and where to find them—like dates and figs andground-nuts and ginger and yams. They used to make their lemonade outof the juice of wild oranges, sweetened with honey which they got fromthe bees’ nests in hollow trees. No matter what it was they asked for,Chee-Chee and Polynesia always seemed to be able to get it for them—orsomething like it. They even got the Doctor some tobacco one day, whenhe had finished what he had brought with him and wanted to smoke.
At night they slept in tents made of palm-leaves, on thick, soft bedsof dried grass. And after a while they got used to walking such a lotand did not get so tired and enjoyed the life of travel very much.
But they were always glad when the night came and they stopped fortheir resting-time. Then the Doctor used to make a little fire ofsticks; and after they had had their supper, they would sit round itin a ring, listening to Polynesia singing songs about the sea, or toChee-Chee telling stories of the jungle.
And many of the tales that Chee-Chee told were very interesting.Because although the monkeys had no history-books of their own beforeDoctor Dolittle came to write them for them, they remember everythingthat happens by telling stories to their children. And Chee-Chee spokeof many things his grandmother had told him—tales of long, long,long ago, before Noah and the Flood,—of the days when men dressed inbear-skins and lived in holes in the rock and ate their mutton raw,because they did not know what cooking was—having never seen a fire.And he told them of the Great Mammoths and Lizards, as long as a train,that wandered over the mountains in those times, nibbling from thetree-tops. And often they got so interested listening, that when hehad finished they found their fire had gone right out; and they had toscurry round to get more sticks and build a new one.
Now when the King’s army had gone back and told the King that theycouldn’t find the Doctor, the King sent them out again and told themthey must stay in the jungle till they caught him. So all this time,while the Doctor and his animals were going along towards the Land ofthe Monkeys, thinking themselves quite safe, they were still beingfollowed by the King’s men. If Chee-Chee had known this, he would mostlikely have hidden them again. But he didn’t know it.
One day Chee-Chee climbed up a high rock and looked out over thetree-tops. And when he came down he said they were now quite close tothe Land of the Monkeys and would soon be there.
And that same evening, sure enough, they saw Chee-Chee’s cousin and alot of other monkeys, who had not yet got sick, sitting in the trees bythe edge of a swamp, looking and waiting for them. And when they sawthe famous doctor really come, these monkeys made a tremendous noise,cheering and waving leaves and swinging out of the branches to greethim.
They wanted to carry his bag and his trunk and everything he had—andone of the bigger ones even carried Gub-Gub who had got tired again.Then two of them rushed on in front to tell the sick monkeys that thegreat doctor had come at last.
But the King’s men, who were still following, had heard the noise ofthe monkeys cheering; and they at last knew where the Doctor was, andhastened on to catch him.
The big monkey carrying Gub-Gub was coming along behind slowly, and hesaw the Captain of the army sneaking through the trees. So he hurriedafter the Doctor and told him to run.
“Cheering and waving leaves and swinging out of thebranches to greet him”]
Then they all ran harder than they had ever run in their lives; andthe King’s men, coming after them, began to run too; and the Captainran hardest of all.
Then the Doctor tripped over his medicine-bag and fell down in the mud,and the Captain thought he would surely catch him this time.
But the Captain had very long ears—though his hair was very short. Andas he sprang forward to take hold of the Doctor, one of his ears caughtfast in a tree; and the rest of the army had to stop and help him.
By this time the Doctor had picked himself up, and on they went again,running and running. And Chee-Chee shouted,
“It’s all right! We haven’t far to go now!”
But before they could get into the Land of the Monkeys, they came to asteep cliff with a river flowing below. This was the end of the Kingdomof Jolliginki; and the Land of the Monkeys was on the other side—acrossthe river.
And Jip, the dog, looked down over the edge of the steep, steep cliffand said,
“Golly! How are we ever going to get across?”
“Oh, dear!” said Gub-Gub. “The King’s men are quite close now—Look atthem! I am afraid we are going to be taken back to prison again.” Andhe began to weep.
But the big monkey who was carrying the pig dropped him on the groundand cried out to the other monkeys,
“Boys—a bridge! Quick!—Make a bridge! We’ve only a minute to do it.They’ve got the Captain loose, and he’s coming on like a deer. Getlively! A bridge! A bridge!”
The Doctor began to wonder what they were going to make a bridge outof, and he gazed around to see if they had any boards hidden any place.
But when he looked back at the cliff, there, hanging across the river,was a bridge all ready for him—made of living monkeys! For while hisback was turned, the monkeys—quick as a flash—had made themselves intoa bridge, just by holding hands and feet.
And the big one shouted to the Doctor, “Walk over! Walk over—all ofyou—hurry!”
Gub-Gub was a bit scared, walking on such a narrow bridge at that dizzyheight above the river. But he got over all right; and so did all ofthem.
John Dolittle was the last to cross. And just as he was getting to theother side, the King’s men came rushing up to the edge of the cliff.
Then they shook their fists and yelled with rage. For they saw theywere too late. The Doctor and all his animals were safe in the Land ofthe Monkeys and the bridge was pulled across to the other side.
Then Chee-Chee turned to the Doctor and said,
“Many great explorers and gray-bearded naturalists have lain long weekshidden in the jungle waiting to see the monkeys do that trick. But wenever let a white man get a glimpse of it before. You are the first tosee the famous ‘Bridge of Apes.’”
And the Doctor felt very pleased.
“John Dolittle was the last to cross”]