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Show EXCITING EXPERIENCE OF SQUINKIE, AFRICAN MONKEY A great many, many years ago there lived in one of the river regions of Central Africa a monkey mon-key by the name of Squinkle. He was the eldest son of old Mrs. Monk, and helped her to find the finest cocoanuts. the freshest berries and lh young-et young-et of carrots for the family larder. In fact. Squinkle Squin-kle was the mainstay of the family after his father's fath-er's death, which occurred in a most tragic, man-iier. man-iier. But as this story is to be fold about Squinkle. p.; d not about his parents, we shall not go into detail de-tail about the sad ending of Squinkle's papa. Suffice Suf-fice it to tay that Squinkle had been obliged to tfike his father's place as chief fighter and provider for the family, which consisted of the mother, Squinkle. a sister and a brother. One day, while in the depths of the forest a place so dense with interwoven vines and under-k under-k brush, and so crowded by great tree whose branches intermingled so thickly that the light of jS' sun could scarcely penetrate Squinkle pricked his ears at a most unusual sound. Now there v. not a beast, nor a reptile, nor a bird in all 'hat 1 ;";rt of Africa with whom Squinkle was nor ac- 'tinted. I don't mean that he was on speaking t'ms with his fellow-creatures that belonged to ;i -pecies differing from his own; but he knew them sound. He could tell the instant a rhinoceros -Hpped into the jungle. He knew the soft glide ot ili" snake. lie understood the approach of the lion. y the leopard, thougli he did not see the form of tiie creature who made the noise of approach. But r-n this day Squinkle heard a new sound a strange, rattling of leaves find underbrush, a noise. never made by any of the creatures he was accustomed to bearing. So he pricked up his ears and listened intently, a feeling of mingled fear and curiosity talcng possession of him. Then, peering through the jungle. Squinkle saw. a sight that made his deepest eyes open very, very wide. A black creature, walking on two very long, straight legs. And beside him, another creature a white one walking on two very long, straight legs. And the limbs that grew out from their shoulders were u.ed for, carrying things, the same as he, Squinkle. often used his front legs to carry things. But never had Squinkle stood so upright just like a tree, with his front legs folded up and carrying strange weapons. Often Squinkle had carried a 2-rcat stick picked up from the ground with which to beat another monkey who might interfere with his affairs in the way of getting what food he desired. But these creatures were the strangest be had ever seen, and did not belong to Squinkle's forest. Squinkle. knowing that self-preservation meant hiding in 1lie free branches, hurriedly swung him-) him-) e!f far above the place where he knew these strange creatures would soon pass, for they were tearing vines and branches away so that they might pass through.. Just beyond this dense spot was a more I open space, where one could get about without so r much trouble. And it seemed that these creatures were making for that spot. But to Squinkle s surprise sur-prise there popped into sight another and another, and still another black being, and all were walking upright on long, straight legs, and all were carrying carry-ing in ihcir short front legs (they had arms, but Souinkle thought of them as large) weapons And si ill more and more of the black creatures, follow' :'i;g the first black one and the tall white one. x "ITere'fl the place we'll find the monkeys, said I t he leader of the band of t all beings But of course Squinkle did not understand ft single word of what was said. And neither would you have under- . vtood,for the creature did not speak our language. ; r.,it in his ov.n tongue a very peculiar one it was j K- ! he told the tall white creature that they were now in the place t. find the monkeys. I don't want any of them shot.' sp..ke the j white creature in the same peculiar tonrue employed em-ployed by the black leader or guide. 4il want them taken without a wound, for as I have told you. they are to be used for show purposes. They will be put m cages and curried all over the world.'' Although the black guide did not seem to quite understand what a show or a cage or "all over the world'' meant, he did understand that monkeys were the object of the hunt through the forest, and that-they that-they the monkeys must not be injured in any way. "We'll get "em with our traps." explained the guide. So the white man (for of course you have .understood that the tall creatures walking on long, straight legs were men) said that was jut what he wanted. Then the group of black men with one white man in their midst stood directly underneath the tree in whose branches Squinkle was hiding. And Squinkle. being a warrior bold, looked about for some dead bits of branches that he might break off easily to bo thrown on the heads of his enemies should (hey look up and behold him there. As he was securing a stick for one was close at hand he saw one of the black men look up into the very branches where he was perched. Then such a shout went up from the whole band of black creatures crea-tures and they began to climb the tree surrounding Squinkle. going up them with the agility of monkeys mon-keys themselves. Squinkle understood his danger, but never lost his head. lie grasped the loose, dead limb, and tearing it from its place, hurled it into the very center of the group of long-legged beings below. A howl of rajre and pain went up from the man who was hit. It was the white one. and the stick thrown with such vehemence had struck hini across the eyes and had broken the bridge of his nose. Of course the blacks had to minister to their injured in-jured leader, the mighty White Hunter who h;id learned their tongue in order to enslave them and to make them work for him. The guide bound up the White "Hunter's injured face and they turned about to retrace their steps to the Black Men's village, vil-lage, where the white man would procure herbs and dressing for his wound. ''We'll come here in a few days and get that very fellow that hurled the stick at me," declared the White Hunter, his anger at boiling heat. "And when we get him. we'll kill him. that's the way we'll put a stop to his fighting with jagged sticks which break men's noses and almost put out their eyes." But Squinkle did hot hear the White Hunter's threat against him, for he was making all possible speed through the forest, leaping from branch to branch, from tree to tree, with the rapidity of n bird on the wing, and before the White Hunter's face had been wrappd in a bandage torn from his own garments. Squinkle was far, far out of sight of the place where the evil enemies had seen him. And when, half an hour later, Squinkle entered the confines of bis own particular wood where a jrreat many monkeys dwelt he went with all possible possi-ble speed to his mother and told her the story of his experience. Of course, his language was not a very extensive one and he had much difficulty in describing the tall creatures who had walked on the ground, their bodies so straight just like certain frees, and who had displayed a notion to entrap him. But lie made her understand that there was great j danger threatening Monkeytown. and she was not long in arousing all the monkeys, telling them that they must flee, and flee at once, to some more secluded se-cluded place. And that night, while the White Hunter rolled and tossed on his pallet of pain in the Black Men's village. Squinkle and all his family and friends and neighbors and acquaintances were moving to the southward with all speed, and when the morning dawned they had come into a beautiful place surrounded sur-rounded by a swamp where it would be almost impossible im-possible for the foot of man to tread, for the jungle that lay between the swamp and outer world was s dense that even a snake had difficulty in creeping through. And to this day the natives of the Black Men's village tell of the time, long, long ago when a great White Hunter came among them, and learned theii tongue in so short a time, and gave them many trinkets of shining things to adorn themselves; a nd j that all he wanted was their assistance in catching the monkeys that lived in the forest near to the vil- I lage. But. they shake their heads when they conic ! to that part of the story where one monkey hit the great White Hunter across the nose and broke U and how the injured man died of his wounds within a few days and was buried there at the outskiits of the village, and how no native of that village c:m ever be tempted to try to take into captivity the , monkeys. And that is why in one part of Africa Squinkle and those of his own band were safe dm- j iug their lives, and even their descendants arc safe ; from intrusion to this day. |