The Hope pioneer., 1893-08-04
Aspinwall in . decent rig, but I had no
L. l.. L. "a a.

Aouhcy Ado AC1V NY 1oVO1Nci, hull DIS
soon as / could seize it I fired. He
gave howl of rage and dropped every
thing but my coat. hastily jumped
into my recovered garments and gave
chase. 1t was useless. The thief sour
ried up into the top of tall cocoanut
tree, and in a twinkling of an eye put
on my coat, buttoning it round him,
and then proceeded to hurl cocoanuts
at me with such precision that I was
glad to quickly leap into the saddle and
ride off.
But my troubles had just begun. I
had reconciled myself to the loss of my
coat, as Jackson's money was in an in
side pocket of my waist, but the monkey
showed a disposition to follow me-
After firing at him several times l gave
it up. His tough hide seemed bullet
proof, and there was no chance to kill
him unless shot him in the eye
The declining sun warned me that it
was time to seek shelter for the night,
and I knew that in these tropical soli-
tudes there was no twilight. saw no
cultivated fields, no houses. no signs of
the hacienda of Don Francisco Mendez.
The situation was growing serious.
Occasionally stone weighing pound
or two was hurled at me from some
leafy covert, and then the gigantic
monkey would give horrible laugh
and scamper away. He was a funny
looking chap in my blue flannel coat.
but was too angry to enjoy the comic
aspect of the matter 1t struck me that
if the brute caught me in the dark he
would make an end of me in no time
1t was both horrible and humiliating,
such death in the tangled forests Of
this savage land.
Just then l saw short distance off,
in a clearing, square stone hut. Here
was shelter and protection. was not
disappointed much to find it uninhab-
tied. 1t 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 small apartment dimly lighted
by round holes in the wall, which had
evidently been used by sharpshooters
at some revolutionary period in the his
tory of the country. My mind was
made up in an instant ! went back to
my mustang and picl1eted him about
one hundred and sixty yards from the
hut in the bushes. Then returned to
my fortress just as the darkness closed
in upon me, and sought refuge in the
loft, pulling up the ladder after me.
was safe here, even from the monkeys,
and l lay down feeling sense of per-
feet sec urity.
hoN 1n{r ,t~rl,k
wlsen heard something moving in the
room under me. Looking through the
opening in the floor could see moth.
ing. struck a match, and by the flick
ering flame recognized the monkey.
| The w retch still wore my 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. l was satisfied
that the animal belonged to a species
of mountain apes of great strength and
terrible ferocity. Their cunning. I
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 settled
on this plan, / was about dropping into
doze, when heard voices outside tho
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?" I said to myself with q
chuckle.
~ hear the American moving said
Pedro.
1t was the monkey. The monster
was walking in circle all the time,
and the dead leaves that had drifted
into the hut rlstled under his feet
There was another whispered consulta.
ton, and the Mexicans rushed into the
room below. The outlaws saw 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 Noses" gasped Juan.
"Knife him!''
| The robbers made another rush.
"Ah! ah!" yelled Pedro. "Where are
you, Juan? This hog of an American
has me by the throat and have lost
my knife
''He is a demon!'' groaned Juan.
HE Is pounding my head against the
wall!''
A volley of yells followed and then a
chorus of groans Through it all ]
heard an ominous dull thud. At length
silence prevailed and then I 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. 1t was a
ghastly sight that met my gaze. The
two Mexicans lay on the floor quite
dead. Their heads had been smashed to
jelly against the bare walls and their
throats bore dark blue marks.
Sitting in the corner was the monkey.
He was bleeding profuse1y and was
evidently seriously hurt. At first !
thought l would spare him. He
saved my life and was crate.
tful. But when I fixed the ladder
and descended the untamable beast
prepared for a spring, and there
was such evident malice in his eyes
that l aimed at his eye and fired. One
shot did the work. He rolled over dead
1t was no place for me after such ar
adventure, and 1 at once went in searci
OF my mustang. To my great joy he
was all right, and l was soon in the