The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-09-01
THRILLING ADVENTURE

q AGdSlllR. algIS lLc 1JUutSa CelntS SHN
blazing day in January, Larry ToHland lay
q in, d. hammock under an awning on the deck
of his fathers brig Undine, while his
nephew, Bob, little fellow OF years, and
: full*6f g0od-natured mis- chief as kitten,
climbed. all over him and made a complete
failure Of all attempts at keeping COOL
+. "FII give you 10 the monkey men If you
j don't behave said Larry, rolling the little
rascal of onto the deck; and just as lie
spoke the words the lookout aloft shouted
down: -. j.
- q Native canoes coming off shore to
trade @-... :..-
In an:instant every man on board was on
the jump, some unbending the boat-tackle,
some rushing below for Trade goods, and
the rest preparing TO bring The brig to.
~. In very few minutes a boat was lowered
Z and manned, with Captain Rowland astern
steering, ana Larry in the bow.
After short row they came within hal |
of tie canoe, and soon the two parties lay
shelby side and the trafflcklng began.
Grins and Shouts of delight greeted the
appearance of the little tlu-backed mirrors
and "bright-cOlored beads displayed by the
= sailors, aud in a remarkably shoTtspace OIL
= time. the snowy trinkets were exchanged Tor
lnangos, bread-frint, bananas and lat
chickens; and with every appearance OF
81 0OQ-nullOI ana SallSl Lit CIlOp u4CN
away from the briggs boat and was padded.
rapidly toward the thick belt OF mango
trees that lines the shore OF the strait for.
many miles. +.
As Captain Towland put the boat about
to return to the brig, he observeda number
of daTB-skinned figures dropping from the
fOIe-chalns INTO canoe, when lay along
side and before the men in the boat had
pulled a dozen strokes the canoe was seen
> 10 leave the vessel and make for the shore,
. impelied. by twenty athletic sayages, VINE
pNee their paddles with eager haste
What the matterwlth the brig, father?"
said Larry. They Re letting her fall of the
And, indeed, the vessel, with sheets all
slack, was drifting to leeward, side on.
Lively, uoysl Come n0w!P said the
captain, with an anxious look In his eyes,
and watching the Undlne as she dTlIied
helplessly away.
!: The sails had filled and were beginning
to draw Just as the boat reached the briggs
side, and while the men made fast, the
CAPTAIN and Larry clambered aboard. in
ANXIOUS: haste 10 learn the cause OF the
strange behavior Of the crew. -.
A dreadful sight net their eyes as they
reached the deck. .: e.
The: man at.tne wheel lay dead, with his
litad.crushed by fearful blow, and here
and there about the deck and down the
companion stairs the remainder OF the
watch lay Yeterng in blood; several OF the
- bodies were headleSS.
After the first Mortified glance at The
p ghaslly scene, Larry had seized the ships
glass and eagerly scanned the canoe, now
nearly Gt the tTee-lIned shore.
''FathfrI' he gasped, they are carrying
=. t'Wneie2' asked Captain Towland. Gag
erly.=". 1es, yes, see them now, tile
demons y ...e'..-
= FC0nie, men. go to the gun-room and arm
va - aS IL flUIpE fluipE : Thgf's i'll NON
ihen!"> = -. III:
:. In a. few. moments from the time they
had reached the vessel tile boat was off
again toward the mango ticket ----....-.
81. The men; with white lips and cliuched
teeth, uled away with every ounce of
strength in their bodies. and each heart bent
= on vengeance. ~ +: r. II
As they reached the shore Larry could
Just catch teeting glimpse Of a tawny,
athletic iguTe leaping from bongh to bough
Of the thick growing trees, with the Won
deTful agility and ease that has earned for.
these savages their title of the monkey
men,. - .-...'-
The man was using but one hand and arm
n:his rapid flight inland, and on the other,
sat poor little Bob, nearly dead with terror.
the treesin this region grow far out into
the water, and are so closely set thatno boat
can pass between them; so to follow the
monkey men the sailors must use the same
strange pathway. Larry was the first out of
the boat and up among the branches.
Never waiting to see if be was followed,
e the eager boy, inCumbered with his carbine,
leaped and scrambled from branch to branch,
taking dreadful risks at every step, fora fall
would mean a miserable death in the marshy
depths below. -:
him, shouting and encouraging the men TO
press forward. -".<
Torn, bruised and bleeding, Larry stuck
TO his work like hero, and after nearly an
hours scrambling, came IN sight Of the open
country.
Pearingly cautious shout from the shell
ter of the thicket, he.esped at distanc
group Of monkey men seated in the shade
of tree, among whom little Bob lay, pale
and motiOnless. T. ~
Larry erept as near the edge of the
mango belt as he dared, and waited for the
rest Of the party to come up. III.
Some of the monkey men arose to their
feet and started inland.
As they turned their backs the captain
came in sight, gasping for breath and strug-
Cling forward.
Between his desire to follow little Bob
and his anxiety to speak to his father,
Larry was nearly crazy: but the impulse to
follow the little captive got the better of
every other feeling, and with one shout to
the captain to let him know in what dTec-
lion to come, the boy slipped to the ground
and started off in pursuit of the savages
Taking advantage of every bush and tree
trunk to conceal himself, Larry followed in
the footsteps of the monkey men, keeping
them just in sight most of the time.
AT last the group reached one of those
elevated structures common to that part of
the world - a mere sheltered platform
dashed to the trunks Of palm trees-and
climbed the rude ladder that acted as stair
way.
The fellow who carried little Bob was the
last to ascend, and as he reached the plat
form and held up his prize, he was hailed
with shout of delight such as might greet
the arrival OF fat turkey or big string Of
fish in civilized dwelling.
The poor child, almost fainting and
speeches. with terror, was tied to the hand
rail near the top Of the ladder. o..
Larry could see him plainly from his hid
ing place; and at the further side of the
strange abode Misunderstanding old man
was carefully sharpening his parang, or
sword, and casting expressive gances to-
ward the little captive.
Larry saw that Bob had but few mo-
ments TO live, unless some bold move was
made at once.
His father and the rest were nowhere in
eight as yet, and he must act alone.
Unslinging his carbine he leaned Ii
against tree, and drawing out his sharp
jack-knife took 1t between his teeth and
rushed like panther right across the open
space in full view of the monkey men, up
the ladder like flash, and before the as
tOhleHeu shEdReS COuIu RAISE uduu 10 pre-
vent 1t had cut the cord that bound his lit
tie nephew to the rail with a single slash,
gIasped him firmly around the waist and
dropped 10 the ground with him.
All this had taken but a few seconds, so
well had Larry carried out his attempt.
But as he few back across the open TO
his sheltering tree the monkey men, quick
as their namesakes, grabbed up their
weapons, and the daring boy avoided a
dozen missiles of different sorts as he rap
idly lodged behind the trunk where his car
biDe stood.
Picking up his gun and throwing Bob
upon his shoulder, he dashsd off down the
feotpath toward the seash9re, closely pur-
sued by dozen agile monkey men.
Larry expected every movement to feel
the sharp blade Of parang in the back or
the sting Of a little poisoned dart from a
blow-gun or sumpian, but to his surprise
he heard the savage fellows chuckling and
laughing as they bounded along behind him.
Evidently they were amusing them selves
by running him down at their leisure.
This cool assurance was worse to bear
than savage shouts or threats. but he grasped
little Bob all the tighter, and put on such