The Empire of the Ants by H.G. Wells
Section [1 | 2]
the empire of_the Ants

by H .G .Wells

when captain Gerilleau received instructions to_take his new gunboat, the _Benjamin constant, to Badama on_the Batemo arm of_the Guaramadema and there assist the inhabitants against a plague of ants, he suspected the authorities of mockery . his promotion had_been romantic and irregular, the affections of a prominent Brazilian lady and_the captain's liquid eyes had played a part in_the process, and_the Diario and O Futuro had_been lamentably disrespectful in their comments . he_felt he_was to_give further occasion for disrespect .

he_was a creole, his conceptions of etiquette and discipline were pure- blooded Portuguese, and it_was only to Holroyd, the Lancashire engineer who had come over with_the boat, and as an exercise in_the use of English-- his "th" sounds were very uncertain-- that he opened his heart .

" it_is in effect," he_said, " to_make me absurd ! what can a man do against ants ? Dey come, dey go ."

" they say," said Holroyd, " that_these don't go . that chap you said was aSambo----"

"Zambo;-- it_is a sort of mixture of blood ."

"Sambo . he_said the people are going ! "

the captain smoked fretfully for a time ."Dese tings 'ave to happen," he_said at last ." what_is it ? Plagues of ants and suchlike as god wills .Dere was a plague in Trinidad-- the little ants that carry leaves .Orl der orange-trees, all der mangoes ! what does it matter ? Sometimes ant armies come into your houses--fighting ants; a different sort . you go and_they clean the house . then you come back again;-- the house is clean, like new ! no cockroaches, no fleas, no jiggers in_the floor ."

" that Sambo chap," said Holroyd, " says these are a different sort of ant ."

the captain shrugged his shoulders, fumed, and gave his attention to a cigarette .

Afterwards he reopened the subject ." my dear 'Olroyd, what am I to_do about dese infernal ants ? "

the captain reflected ." it_is ridiculous," he_said . but in_the afternoon he put on_his full uniform and went ashore, and jars and boxes came back to_the ship and subsequently he_did . and Holroyd sat on deck in_the evening coolness and smoked profoundly and marvelled at Brazil . they were six days up the Amazon, some hundreds of miles from_the ocean, and east and west of him there_was a horizon like the sea, and to_the south nothing but a sand- bank island with some tufts of scrub . the water was always running like a sluice, thick with dirt, animated with crocodiles and hovering birds, and fed by some inexhaustible source of tree trunks; and_the waste of it, the headlong waste of it, filled his soul . the town of Alemquer, with its meagre church, its thatched sheds for houses, its discoloured ruins of ampler days, seemed a little thing lost in_this wilderness of nature, asixpence dropped on Sahara . he_was a young man, this_was his first sight of_the tropics, he_came straight from England, where nature is hedged, ditched, and drained, into_the perfection of submission, and he had suddenly discovered the insignificance of man . for six days they had_been steaming up from_the sea by unfrequented channels; and man had_been as rare as a rare butterfly . one saw one day a canoe, another day a distant station, the next no men at all . he began to perceive that man is indeed a rare animal, having but a precarious hold upon_this land .

he perceived it more clearly as_the days passed, and he_made his devious way to_the Batemo, in_the company of_this remarkable commander, who ruled over one big gun, and was forbidden to waste his ammunition .Holroyd was learning Spanish industriously, but he_was still in_the present tense and substantive stage of speech, and_the only other person who had any words of English was a Negro stoker, who had them all wrong . the second in command was a Portuguese, DA Cunha, who spoke French, but it_was a different sort of French from_the French Holroyd had learnt in Southport, and their intercourse was confined to politenesses and simple propositions about_the weather . and_the weather, like everything else in_this amazing new world, the weather had no human aspect, and was hot by night and hot by day, and_the air steam, even the wind was hot steam, smelling of vegetation in decay: and_the alligators and_the strange birds, the flies of many sorts and sizes, the beetles, the ants, the snakes and monkeys seemed to wonder what man was doing in an atmosphere that had no gladness in its sunshine and no coolness in its night . to wear clothing was intolerable, but to cast it aside was to scorch by day, and expose an ampler area to_the mosquitoes by night; to_go on deck by day was to_be blinded by glare and to stay below was to suffocate . and in_the daytime came certain flies, extremely clever and noxious about one's wrist and ankle . captain Gerilleau, who was Holroyd's sole distraction from_these physical distresses, developed into a formidable bore, telling the simple story of_his heart's affections day by day, a string of anonymous women, as_if he_was telling beads .Sometimes he suggested sport, and_they shot at alligators, and at rare intervals they came to human aggregations in_the waste of trees, and stayed for a day or so, and drank and sat about, and, one night, danced with creole girls, who found Holroyd's poor elements of Spanish, without either past tense or future, amply sufficient for their purposes . but these were mere luminous chinks in_the long grey passage of_the streaming river, up which the throbbing engines beat .a certain liberal heathen deity, in_the shape of ademi-john, held seductive court aft, and, it_is probable, forward .

but Gerilleau learnt things about_the ants, more things and more, at_this stopping- place and_that, and became interested in_his mission .

"Dey are a new sort of ant," he_said ." we_have got to_be-- what do_you call it ? --entomologie ? big .Five centimetres ! some bigger ! it_is ridiculous . we_are like the monkeys---sent to pick insects .. . but dey are eating up the country ."

he burst out indignantly ." suppose-- suddenly, there_are complications with Europe . here am I-- soon we_shall_be above the Rio Negro-- and my gun, useless ! "

he nursed his knee and mused .

" dose people who were dere at de dancing place, dey 'ave come down .Dey 'ave lost all they got .De ants come to deir house one afternoon . everyone run out . you_know when de ants come one must-- everyone runs out and_they go over the house . if_you stayed they'd eat you . see ? well, presently dey go back; dey say, ' the ants 'ave gone .' .. .De ants 'aven't gone .Dey try to_go in--de son, 'e goes in .De ants fight ."

" swarm over him ? "

" bite ' im . presently he comes out again--screaming and running . he runs past them to_the river . see ? he gets into de water and drowns de ants-- yes ." Gerilleau paused, brought his liquid eyes close to Holroyd's face, tapped Holroyd's knee with_his knuckle ." that night he dies, just as_if he_was stung by a snake ."

" poisoned-- by_the ants ? "

" who knows ? " Gerilleau shrugged his shoulders ." perhaps they bit him badly .. . when I joined dis service I joined to fight men .Dese things, dese ants, dey come and go . it_is no business for men ."

after_that he talked frequently of_the ants to Holroyd, and whenever they chanced to drift against any speck of humanity in_that waste of water and sunshine and distant trees, Holroyd's improving knowledge of_the language enabled him to recognise the ascendant word Saba_, more and more completely dominating the whole .

he perceived the ants were becoming interesting, and_the nearer he drew to_them the more interesting they became .Gerilleau abandoned his old themes almost suddenly, and_the Portuguese lieutenant became a conversational figure; he_knew something about_the leaf-cutting ant, and expanded his knowledge .Gerilleau sometimes rendered what he had to_tell to Holroyd . he_told of_the little workers that swarm and fight, and_the big workers that command and rule, and how these latter always crawled to_the neck and how their bites drew blood . he_told how they cut leaves and made fungus beds, and how their nests in Caracas are sometimes a hundred yards across . two days the three men spent disputing whether ants have eyes . the discussion grew dangerously heated on_the second afternoon, and Holroyd saved the situation by going ashore in a boat to catch ants and_see . he captured various specimens and returned, and some had eyes and some hadn't . also, they argued, do ants bite or sting ?

"Dese ants," said Gerilleau, after collecting information at a rancho, " have big eyes . they don't run about blind-- not as most ants do . no ! Dey get in corners and watch what you_do ."

" and_they sting ? " asked Holroyd .

" yes .Dey sting .Dere is poison in_the sting ." he meditated ." I_do_not_see what men can do against ants .Dey come and go ."

" but these don't go ."

" they_will," said Gerilleau .

past Tamandu there_is a long low coast of eighty miles without any population, and then one comes to_the confluence of_the main river and_the Batemo arm like a great lake, and then the forest came nearer, came at last intimately near . the character of_the channel changes, snags abound, and_the Benjamin constant moored by a cable that night, under the very shadow of dark trees . for_the first time for many days came a spell of coolness, and Holroyd and Gerilleau sat late, smoking cigars and enjoying this delicious sensation .Gerilleau's mind was full of ants and what they_could do . he decided to sleep at last, and lay down on a mattress on deck, a man hopelessly perplexed, his last words, when he already seemed asleep, were to ask, with a flourish of despair, " what can one do with ants ? .. .De whole thing is absurd ."

Holroyd was left to scratch his bitten wrists, and meditate alone .

he sat on_the bulwark and listened to_the little changes in Gerilleau's breathing until he_was fast asleep, and then the ripple and lap of_the stream took his mind, and brought back that sense of immensity that had_been growing upon him since first he had left Para and come up the river . the monitor showed but one small light, and there_was first a little talking forward and then stillness . his eyes went from_the dim black outlines of_the middle works of_the gunboat towards the bank, to_the black overwhelming mysteries of forest, lit now_and_then by a fire- fly, and never still from_the murmur of alien and mysterious activities .. .

it was_the inhuman immensity of_this land that astonished and oppressed him . he_knew the skies were empty of men, the stars were specks in an incredible vastness of space; he_knew the ocean was enormous and untamable, but in England he had come to_think of_the land as man's . in England it_is indeed man's, the wild things live by sufferance, grow on lease, everywhere the roads, the fences, and absolute security runs . in an atlas, too, the land is man's, and all coloured to show his claim to_it-- in vivid contrast to_the universal independent blueness of_the sea . he had taken it for granted that a day would come when everywhere about_the earth, plough and culture, light tramways and good roads, an ordered security, would prevail . but now, he doubted .

this forest was interminable, it had an air of being invincible, and man seemed at best an infrequent precarious intruder . one travelled for miles, amidst the still, silent struggle of giant trees, of strangulating creepers, of assertive flowers, everywhere the alligator, the turtle, and endless varieties of birds and insects seemed at home, dwelt irreplaceably-- but man, man at most held afooting upon resentful clearings, fought weeds, fought beasts and insects for_the barest foothold, fell a prey to snake and beast, insect and fever, and was presently carried away . in many places down the river he had_been manifestly driven back, this deserted creek or that preserved the name of acasa_, and here and there ruinous white walls and a shattered tower enforced the lesson . the puma, the jaguar, were more the masters here .. .

who were the real masters ?

in a few miles of_this forest there_must_be more ants than there_are men in_the whole world ! this seemed to Holroyd a perfectly new idea . in a few thousand years men had emerged from barbarism to a stage of civilisation that made them feel lords of_the future and masters of_the earth ! but what_was to_prevent the ants evolving also ? such ants as one knew lived in little communities of a few thousand individuals, made no concerted efforts against the greater world . but they had a language, they had an intelligence ! why should things stop at_that any more than men had stopped at_the barbaric stage ? suppose presently the ants began to store knowledge, just as men had done by_means of books and records, use weapons, form great empires, sustain a planned and organised war ?

things came back to him that Gerilleau had gathered about these ants they were approaching . they used a poison like the poison of snakes . they obeyed greater leaders even as_the leaf-cutting ants do . they were carnivorous, and where they came they stayed .. .

the forest was very still . the water lapped incessantly against the side . about_the lantern overhead there eddied a noiseless whirl of phantom moths .

Gerilleau stirred in_the darkness and sighed ." what can one do ? " he murmured, and turned over and was still again .

Holroyd was roused from meditations that were becoming sinister by_the hum of a mosquito .

II .

the next morning Holroyd learnt they were within forty kilometres of Badama, and_his interest in_the banks intensified . he_came up whenever an opportunity offered to examine his surroundings . he could_see no signs of human occupation whatever, save for a weedy ruin of a house and_the green- stained facade of_the long- deserted monastery at Moj, with a forest tree growing out of a vacant window space, and great creepers netted across its vacant portals . several flights of strange yellow butterflies with semi- transparent wings crossed the river that morning, and many alighted on_the monitor and were killed by_the men . it_was towards afternoon that_they came upon_the derelict cuberta .

she did_not at first appear to_be derelict; both her sails were set and hanging slack in_the afternoon calm, and there_was the figure of a man sitting on_the fore planking beside the shipped sweeps . another man appeared to_be sleeping face downwards on_the sort of longitudinal bridge these big canoes have in_the waist . but it_was presently apparent, from_the sway of her rudder and_the way she drifted into_the course of_the gunboat, that something was out of order with her .Gerilleau surveyed her through a field- glass, and became interested in_the queer darkness of_the face of_the sitting man, a red- faced man he_seemed, without a nose-- crouching he_was rather than sitting, and_the longer the captain looked the less he liked to look at him, and_the less able he_was to_take his glasses away .

but he_did so at last, and went a little way to_call up Holroyd . then he went back to hail the cuberta . he ailed her again, and so she drove past him .Santa Rosa stood out clearly as her name .

as she came by and into_the wake of_the monitor, she pitched a little, and suddenly the figure of_the crouching an collapsed as_though all its joints had given way . his hat fell off, his head was not nice to look at, and_his body flopped lax and rolled out of sight behind the bulwarks .

"Caramba ! " cried Gerilleau, and resorted to Holroyd forthwith .

Holroyd was half- way up the companion ." did you_see dat ? " said the captain .

" dead ! " said Holroyd ." yes . you'd better send a boat aboard . there's something wrong ."

" did you-- by any chance-- see his face ? "

" what_was it like ? "

" it_was--ugh ! -- I_have no words ." and_the captain suddenly turned his back on Holroyd and became an active and strident commander .

the gunboat came about, steamed parallel to_the erratic course of_the canoe, and dropped the boat with lieutenant DA Cunha and three sailors to board her . then the curiosity of_the captain made him draw up almost alongside as_the lieutenant got aboard, so that_the whole of_the Santa Rosa_, deck and hold, was visible to Holroyd .

he_saw now clearly that_the sole crew of_the vessel was these two dead men, and though he could_not_see their faces, he_saw by their outstretched hands, which were all of ragged flesh, that_they had_been subjected to some strange exceptional process of decay . for a moment his attention concentrated on those two enigmatical bundles of dirty clothes and laxly flung limbs, and then his eyes went forward to discover the open hold piled high with trunks and cases, and aft, to where the little cabin gaped inexplicably empty . then he became aware

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