Question

from chapter 7
they crept forward, roger lagging a little. jack and ralph turned the shoulder of the mountain together. the glittering lengths of the lagoon lay below them and beyond that a long white smudge that was the reef. roger joined them. jack whispered. “let’s creep forward on hands and knees. maybe it’s asleep.” roger and ralph moved on, this time leaving jack in the rear, for all his brave words. they came to the flat top where the rock was hard to hands and knees. a creature that bulged. ralph put his hand in the cold, soft ashes of the fire and smothered a cry. his hand and shoulder were twitching from the unlooked - for contact. green lights of nausea appeared for a moment and ate into the darkness. roger lay behind him and jack’s mouth was at his ear.
“over there, where there used to be a gap in the rock. a sort of hump—see?”
ashes blew into ralph’s face from the dead fire. he could not see the gap or anything else, because the green lights were opening again and growing, and the top of the mountain was sliding sideways. once more, from a distance, he heard jack’s whisper.
“scared?”
not scared so much as paralyzed; hung up there immovable on the top of a diminishing, moving mountain. jack slid away from him, roger bumped, fumbled with a hiss of breath, and passed onwards.
he heard them whispering.
“can you see anything?”
“there—”
in front of them, only three or four yards away, was a rock - like hump where no rock should be. ralph could hear a tiny chattering noise coming from somewhere—perhaps from his own mouth. he bound himself together with his will, fused his fear and loathing into a hatred, and stood up. he took two leaden steps forward. behind them the silver of moon had drawn clear of the horizon. before them, something like a great ape was sitting asleep with its head between its knees. then the wind roared in the forest, there was confusion in the darkness and the creature lifted its head, holding toward them the ruin of a face.
ralph found himself taking giant strides among the ashes, heard other creatures crying out and leaping and dared the impossible on the dark slope; presently the mountain was deserted, save for the three abandoned sticks and the thing that bowed.
what did the boys think they saw? how did they react?

Explanation:

The text describes the boys' experience on the mountain. They thought they saw a "creature that bulged" and later something like a "great ape" with a ruined face. Ralph was initially paralyzed but then forced himself to move forward. When the "creature" lifted its head, Ralph took giant strides and fled, as did the others. The description of their reactions—paralysis, forced movement, and then flight—shows their fear and the chaotic nature of their response.

Answer:

The boys thought they saw a strange, bulging "creature" (initially) and later something resembling a "great ape" with a ruined face. Ralph was paralyzed at first but then forced himself to move. When the "creature" moved (lifted its head), Ralph and the others fled in panic.