The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-08-26


him unless i shot him in the eve.
The declining sun warned me that il
was time TO seek shelter for the night,
and / knew that IN these tropical soli-
tudes there was no twilight. ! saw no
cultivated fields, no houses, TO signs of
the hacienda of Don Francisco Mendez.
The situation was growing serious.
Occasionally a stone weighing pound
or two was hurled at me from some
leafy covert, and then the gigantic
monkey would give a horrible laugh
and scamper away. He was = funny
looking chap in my blue flannel coat,
but l was too angry TO enjoy the comic
aspect of the matter. 1t struck me that
II the brute caught me in the dark he
would make an end of me in no time.
1t was both horrible and humiliating.
such a death in the tangled forests Of
this savage land.
Just then / saw a short distance of.
in a clearing, a square stone hut
Here was shelter and protection. /
was not disappointed much To find ii
uninhabited. II was strongly built,
with no windows, and one entrance,
from which the door had long since
rotted away. A stepladder led TO the
loft. Ascending, ! found a small apart
ment dimly lighted by round holes in
the wall, which had evidently been used
by sharpshooters at some revolutionary
period in the history of the country.
My mind was made up in an instant.
went back To my mustang and picketed
him about one hundred and sixty yards
from the hut in the bushes Then / re-
turned To my fortress just as darkness
closed in upon me, and sought refuge in
the loft, pulling up the ladder after me.
was safe here, even from the mon
keys. and lay down feeling a sense Of
perfect security
1t must have been late in the night
when / heard something moving in the
room under me. Looking through the
opening in the floor 1 could see moth
ing. / struck a match, and by the flick
ering flame recognized the monkey.
The wretch still wore nv coat, and in
the dim, uncertain light his appearance
WAS more repulsive than ever.
lay down again knowing that the
beast could not get into the loft, and
commenced planning for his destruc-
ton in the morning. ! was satisfied
| that the animal belonged to u species
of mountain apes, of great strength
! and terrible ferocity. Their cunning,
! heard, was almost human, and they did
| not scruple to attack men and rend
them limb from limb. ! concluded,
when the morning light appeared, to
/ draw the brute's attention and shoot
! him in one of his eyes. Having set
! tied on this plan, / was about drop
| ping into a doze. when 1 heard voices
outside the hut. / listened with alert
ears
If. as you say. Pedro. this American
| is inside, we should ambush him and
shoot him when he comes out in the
morning"
Now, by all the saints, Juan" was
the reply of Pedro, you are a coward
| ly fool. The Englishman. like all his
/ countrymen. has his eyes open, and
may get the drop on u.s."
Wonder what they'll do with the
monkey" / said to myself with
| chuckle.
II hear the American moving" said
Pedro.
! 1t was the monkey. The monster
was walking in the circle all the time,
and the dead leaves that had drifted
into the hut rustled under his feet.
There was another whispered consulta-
ton. and the Mexicans rushed into the
room below. The outlaws saw q dark
form and charged with their long, mur-
derous knives.
/ heard two dull thuds, and knew
that Pedro and Juan had been dashed
headlong against the walls
Mother of Mosesr gasped Juan.
knife hirn!'
The robbers made another rush.
''Ah! ah!" yelled Pedro. Where are
you, Juan? This hog of an American
has me Ivy the throat, and have lost
my knife"
He is demonI' groa1ed Juan. HE
is pounding my head against the wsllr'
a volley Of yells followed and then q
chorus of groans. Through it all l
heard an ominous dull thud. At length
silence prevailed. and l knew that all
was over
My last match was gone, but TO my
great delight it was almost morning.
With the first rays of daylight / peered
through the hole in the floor. IL was a
CHASTITY sight that met my gaze. The
two MeXicans lay on the floor quite
dead. Their heads had been smashed TO
Jelly against the walls and their throats
bore dark blue marks.
Sitting in the corner was the monkey.
He was bleeding profusely and was
evidently seriously hurt AT first
thought ] would spare him. He saved
my life and / was grateful. But when
/ fixed the ladder and descended the
untamable beast pre- pared for d spring,
and there was such evident malice in
his eyes that / aimed at his eye and
fired One shot did the work. He rolled
over dead.
II was no place for me after such an
adventure, and / al once went in search
of my mustang. To my great Joy he
was all right, and / was soon in the
saddle and on my way TO Aspinwall.
| Depositing Jackson's money in the
bank when ! arrived, j Immediately
boarded the steamer ] knew that il
would not be prudent to speak of the
two Mexicans, and / had suspicion
that a statement of the part the monkey
had borne in the tragedy would be re-
garded by the authorities as a cock
and-bull story. So ! wisely kept my
mouth shut until ! was again among
friends.
| OF course. have never wasted any
regret on Pedro and Juan. but ] still
hold my horrible friend, the monkey,
in great esteem,-N. Y. Dispatch
Victoria's Throne.
The English throne, used in the cor
onation ceremonies of the kings and
queens of Great Britain. is simply an
OAN- S"'NNii N4Adii VI SuIipuS pattern ana
great antiquity. Ages of use lit is
known Ia have been used in its present
capacity Tor more than seven hundred
years. have made the old frame as hard
and as tough as iron. The magic power
attributed TO the old relic lies in the
seat, which is a large, rough sandstone
Ages before IT was trimmed in yelyets
and gold for the use of the Stuarts and
the Tudors ii served as a seat for the
early kings of Scotland; tradition even
asserts that il is the identical stone
upon which the patriarch Jacob rested
his head the night he had his wonder
ful dream