The Oregon daily journal., January 21, 1917, Page 61, Image 61

THE SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, JANUARY 21, 1917
so? Was he afraid that the shot might
attract the girl and cause her tp return?
At last Numa, still roaring angrily,
strode, majestically Into the Jungle. The
hunter crawled from his boma, and half
an hour later was entering a little camp
snugly hidden in the forest. A handful
of black followers greeted his return with
sullen indifference. He was a great
bearded man. a huge, yellow bearded
Slant, when he entered his tent. Half an
hour later he emerged smooth shaven.
His blacks looked at him in astonish
ment. , "Would you know me?" he asked.
"The hyena that bore you would not
know you, Bwana," replied one.
The man aimed a heavy fist at the
black's face; but long experience in dodg
ing similar blows saved the presumptu
ous one.
,
MEItLEM returned slowly toward the
tree In which she had left her skirt,
-shoes and stockings. She was singing
blithely; but her song came to a sudden
top when she came within sight of the
tree, for there, disporting themselves
jWith glee, and pulling and hauling upon
(her belongings, were a number of ba
boons. When they saw her they showed no
signs of terror. Instead, they bared their
; fangs and i growled at her. What was
( there to fear in a single she-Tarmangani?
Nothing, absolutely nothing,
j In the open plain beyond the forest
the hunters were returning from the
day's sport. They were widely separat
j ed, hoping to raise a wandering lion on
the homeward Journey across the plain.
jThe Hon. Mori son Baynes rode closest
to the forest. As his eyes wandered back
and forth across the undulating, shrub
sprinkled ground they fell upon the form
of a creature close beside the thick jun
gle where it terminated abruptly at the
plain's edge.
He reined his mount in the direction
of his discovery. It was yet too far away
for his untrained eyes to recognize it;
but as he came closer he saw that it was
a horse, and was about to resume the
original direction of his way when he
thought that he discerned a saddle upon
the beast's back.
He rode a little closer. Yes. the ani
mal was saddled. The Hon. Morison ap
proached yet nearer, and as he didf so'
his eyes expressed a pleasurable emotion
of anticipation, for they had now recog
nized the pony as the especial favorite of
Meriem.
He galloped to the animal's side. Me
riem must be within the wood!
The man shuddered a little at the
thought of an unprotected girl alone in
the jungle that was still, to him. a fear
ful place of terrors and stealthily stalk
ing death. He dismounted and left his
horse beside Meriem's. On foot he en
tered the jungle. He knew that she was
probably safe enough, and he wished to
surprise her by coming suddenly upon
her.
He had gone but a short distance into
the wood when he heard a great jabber
ing in a near-by tree. Coming closer, he
saw a band of baboons snarling over
something. Looking intently, he saw
that one of them held a woman's riding
skirt, and that others had boots and
stockings.
His heart almost ceased to beat as he
quite naturally placed the most direful
explanation upon the scene. The ba
boons had killed Meriem and stripped
this clothing from her body! Morison
shuddered.
He was about to call aloud in the
hope that after all the girl still lived,
when he saw her in a tree close beside
that occupied by the baboons, and
now he saw that they were snarling
and jabbering at her. To his amaze
ment he saw the girl swing, apelike.
Into the tree below the huge beasts.
He saw her pause upon a branch but
a few feet from the nearest baboon.
"Yon are a Tar
mangani," she
replied. "The
Mangani are
covered with
hair; yon would
call them apes."
He was raising his rifle to put a bullet
through the hideous creature that seemed
about to leap upon her, when he heard
the girl speak. He almost dropped his
rifle from surprise as a strange jabber
ing, identical with that of the apes,
broke from Meriem's lips.
THE baboons stopped their snarling
and listened. It was quite evident
they were as much surprised as the Hon.
Morison Baynes. Slowly, and one by one
they approached the girl. She gave not
the slightest evidence of fear of them.
They quite surrounded her now, so that
Baynes could not have fired without en
dangering the girl's life; but he no long
er desired to fire. He was consumed with
curiosity.
For several minutes the girl carried on
what could be nothing less than a con
versation with the baboons, and then,
with seeming alacrity, every article of
her apparel in their possession was hand
ed over to her. The baboons still crowd
ed eagerly about her as she donned them.
They chattered to her and he chattered
back.
The Hon. Morison Baynes sat down at
the foot of a tree and mopped his
perspiring brow. Then he rose
and made his cautious way back
to his mount.
When Merfem emerged from
orest a few minutes latejj she
found him there, and he eyed her with'
wide eyes in which were both wonder
and a sort of terror.
"I saw your horse here," he explained,
"and thought that I would wait and rids
home with you you do not mind?"
"Of course not," she replied. "It will
be lovely." v
As they made their way stirrup to
stirrup across the plain the Hon. Morison-
caught himself many times watch
ing the girl's regular profile and wonder
ing if his eyes had deceived h'm" or if.
in truth, he really had seen this lovely
creature consorting with grotesque b
boons and conversing with them as fin
ently as she conversed with him.
The thing-was uncanny Impossible;
yet he had seen it with his own eyes!
And as he watched her another
thought persisted in obtruding Itself Into
his mind. She was most beautiful and
very desirable; but what did he know of
her? Was she not altogether impossible?
Was the scene that he had Jurt witnessed
not sufficient proof of her impossibility 7
A woman who climbed tree and con
versed with the baboons of the jungjet
Again the Hon. Morison mopped his