And come it did. As the wheels of the aeroplane struck the
earth and Frank threw in the brakes sharply crashing into a rocky
wall, with a howl of defiance the whole horde of man-like brutes
rushed down on the air-craft with wicked rage in their spiteful
little red eyes.
The leader of them, a huge "old man" gorilla, brandished an immense
stone which he hurled with vicious energy at the new arrivals.
Luckily it fell short of the air-ship or it would have crashed
through the plane covers and have seriously crippled, if not ruined,
the air-ship.
The boys' rifles cracked simultaneously and two of the attackers
rolled over, with horrible human-like cries, but the leader, the bad
"old man," was still in the field. As he saw his fellows fall he
gave a mighty yell of rage and hatred that seemed to come from the
depths of his hairy chest, and beating rapidly on it, as if it were
a war-drum he rushed straight at the aeroplane.
"Don't let 'em get near the engines," was all Frank had time to
shout before the avalanche of hairy, ill-smelling brutes was upon
them. Some of them had armed themselves with rocks which they
hurled with ferocious force. Others used nothing but their bare
hands. Some of them, wounded as they were, fought with added
fierceness.
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