Fifty yards upstream, he stopped and stared. A column of black ants was pouring out of the bushes — apparently retreating from the conflict. When he looked more closely he understood the reason. They were marching three abreast and the ants in the centre column were carrying the larvae in their front legs. They were evacuating the nursery area.
He glanced downstream. Only a few strides away, the red ants were overwhelming the black defenders. It seemed astonishing that none of them should notice the column fleeing from the scene of battle.
Gently parting the bushes, he saw that the ants had opened up a rear entrance. The underground burrow must have been enbrmous — an ant city with a population of hundreds of thousands. One of the black soldier ants scented him and made a menacing motion towards him; Niall hastily retreated into the water. Clearly, the ants were taking no risks where the precious larvae were concerned.
But where were they taking them to? Some other stronghold? Or did they intend to excavate another nest in some remote spot?
By now, the last of the retreating column had left the nest. Niall caught Veig’s attention and beckoned to him. Veig and Hrolf had been so absorbed in the battle that they had not noticed the ants in retreat; now they splashed upstream to observe this new development. A mass of soldiers had formed a tight defence formation around the exit from the nest. As they watched, the first of the red invaders appeared at the exit and was instantly attacked. But, just as Niall had expected, red ants who were pouring into the entrance, fifty yards away, suddenly changed direction and surged towards the exit; the signal to change tactics must have been instantaneous. Some of them surrounded the phalanx of black soldier ants and attacked them; others hurried on the trail of the retreating column. Niall ran along the far bank of the stream to see whether the column would sense the pursuit and increase its pace. What happened astonished him. The column of ants turned towards the stream; without hesitation, the leaders waded into the water. Only the ants carrying the larvae held back. Since the ants were less than a foot high, they were soon submerged; the leaders were swept away by the current. But they continued to pour into the stream, struggling over the backs of their drowning comrades. In less than a minute, there was a solid bridge of ant bodies across the stream, wide enough to resist the increased force of the rising water. Then, as if at a signal, the larvae-carrying ants poured across the bridge. The soldiers massed on the bank to resist the onslaught of the pursuers.
Keeping their distance, the three of them walked parallel to the escaping ants. These were moving fast, but not as fast as they were capable of moving. It was an orderly retreat. Few soldiers now guarded the column; most of them had remained behind on the far bank of the stream to hold back the pursuers. The last of the larvae-carriers had crossed the bridge. It looked as if they were now safe; the mass of black soldier ants defending the bridge was dense enough to hold back the attackers for the rest of the day.
But the red ants had other plans. Their pursuing column also swerved towards the water. It was now shallower, since the bodies of the black ants formed a dam a few yards upstream. Another bridge of corpses was created; within minutes, the red ants were closing in on the retreating column. As soon as they approached the rearguard, the black ants who were defending the bridge suddenly hastened in pursuit; again, it was as if someone had blown a bugle to give them new orders. The three human beings now realised with alarm that they were caught between the two armies, with red ants sweeping towards them. But as far as the ants were concerned, they might have been invisible. For a moment, they were in the middle of the sea of red ants, armour-plated bodies blundering against their legs. They lost no time in withdrawing to a safe distance.
Now there was chaos. Larvae-carrying ants were attacked, sometimes by as many as six at a time, and forced to lay down their burden to defend themselves. Instantly, a red ant would seize the larvae and retreat with it back towards the stream. Here they encountered some of the black soldiers, and there was a further struggle, which sometimes ended in the black ants recovering the larvae.
Niall looked at Veig, and knew what he was thinking.
Many of the larvae lay abandoned while the ants struggled. They were white grubs, each about three inches long.
Their eyes met. Here, in this moment of crisis, Veig was asking his brother’s advice: shall I risk it? And from Niall’s face, he knew the answer was yes.
Veig darted forward among the struggling ants; within seconds he had gathered up half a dozen of the larvae. Niall was carrying his woven shoulder bag, which contained dates and a few other fruit. These he emptied out onto the ground as Veig returned with the larvae.
Veig said: “Let’s go.”
But a few yards away, a black ant was being attacked by several red ants and had abandoned the larvae to defend itself. One of the red ants instantly snatched up the grub and darted towards them. It was too much for Veig, who leaned over and snatched the grub with a single movement.
Then, for the first time, the ant seemed to notice their presence. Without hesitation it rushed at Veig’s leg; Veig twisted aside as the powerful mandibles were about to close on his calf. He kicked out, and the ant was lifted into the air and landed six feet away in the midst of the fighting.
“Run!” Veig yelled.
There would have been no point in running back towards the stream; the whole area that lay between was a battleground. For the time being at least, safety lay in the wilderness.
As they ran towards it, Niall looked back. What he saw confirmed his fears. A column of red ants had peeled off from the main body and was moving towards them. He tapped Veig on the arm and pointed. Veig cursed with dismay.
“Shall I get rid of the grubs?” Niall asked.
The stubborn look crossed Veig’s face. “No. They can’t catch us.”
It was true that the ants were not moving fast. But they were unmistakably marching towards the human beings, and there was something frighteningly purposeful in their motion.
They emerged from the bushes at the edge of the wilderness. The ants were for a moment out of sight. Veig pointed to a big rock twenty yards to their left and they ran towards it. A few moments later, the column of ants emerged from the undergrowth. Without hesitation, they turned towards the rock. They were following the smell of the ant larvae.
Hrolf said: “I don’t want to run far over those stones. Why don’t we try and get back to the stream?”
But even as they began to run back towards the bushes, more red ants appeared; dozens of them were advancing in a line from the undergrowth. Suddenly, Niall began to experience panic. There were ants in front of them and ants to their right. If they were not careful, they would find themselves surrounded. They turned and ran back towards the wilderness. Soon the hard, round stones were underfoot. With the bag containing the larvae bouncing up and down against his back, the coil of rope round his shoulders and his spear in his right hand, Niall found it difficult to keep his balance on the slippery stones, which moved under his feet; he almost fell on his knees and used the spear to recover his balance. The ants seemed to experience no difficulty negotiating the stones.
Hrolf, who was about ten yards in front of him, suddenly swerved. He had almost run into the pit of a crater insect. They had to run around its edge, and the change of direction cost them precious seconds; the nearest ants were within fifty yards.
Veig noticed Niall’s distress and snatched the bag from his shoulders. “I”ll take that.” He flung it over his own back and ran on.
A few yards farther on, they encountered another crater. Niall and Hrolf swerved to the left; Veig turned right. The foremost ants changed direction and followed Veig. One of them was not fast enough, and ran over the edge of the crater. Niall glanced back, and saw, to his relief, that all the ants were now pursuing Veig. He also noticed that the ant in the crater was having difficulties struggling back to the top.
Suddenly as if someone had whispered in his ear, Niall saw the answer. The insight seemed to give him new strength and he ran after Veig with relaxed, easy strides. It was not difficult to catch up. Veig was deliberately pacing himself, holding the bag against his side to prevent it from bouncing up and down. But he was beginning to look worried.