Chapter Eleven: Into the Volcano
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Having escaped the jungle, and after being picked up by a longboat from the zeppelin, they got the full scope on the native invasion. Well over fifty canoes were out on the slow swell of the ocean. At first, they swarmed the site where the planes where moored, but apparently satisfied no one was there, they continued towards the mysterious last island in the chain. The center canoe was huge and canopied, and under the canopy rode a huge, fat king and some white men! Patch, Jocko and Summoning had all been captured!
"Well, at least they're not in the stew yet. I guess we'll have to take a long look at that last island" Rex brooded as they stealthily rowed back to their aeroplanes.
The natives had made some attempts to up the aircraft with their spears, but only succeeded in making pockmarks. It was decided that Rebel should scout the native camp, and she saw a huge platform being built on the tip of the lazily smoking volcano. In the center was a throne, where a huge king was entertaining his prisoners. The guards and serving-girls ran screaming as her Fury roared in over the clearing, but the chief and the prisoners stood their ground as the net rocket swooped down and grabbed them all. Narrowly escaping the nearby escarpment, Rebel returned to base and unceremoniously dumped her passengers in the sea nearby.
It turned out they had not been treated badly at all. The native chief spoke some English and dutch, and had tried to convince the white men to enter the volcano to stop "the bad city" from rising.
"It's taboo to us, but white men go there many years ago to stop rising city. You must go there, stop rising! We ask Big Ape to help, too"
It turned out the locals had a big Red Ape as a "guest" in their camp, and held all apes in great respect as ancestors and mentors.