The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-04-04

| ~N'''A n "
Then he raised my rite and discharged
the ttCO barrels at me.
powers. But still the moon flower was
at stake. and l wouldn't desert it /
was go horribly frightened that don't
believe wife or child or fatherland or
freedom would have induced me to stay
one moment alone in such dire ex-
tremities. But when it comes to orchids
well, say no mere than that am.
above all things, scientific explorer
Each of us has his weakness. and mine
is flower That touches my heart
For that alone can be wrought up to
tho utmost pitch of daring conceiva BILE
or possible for me.
So looked at the hugh brute, and
l looked at the moon flower Slowly
and cautiously. gazing down all the
time as went to watch the creatures
face crept along the branch. took my
knife from my pocket and began to
loosen the bark all round the spot
where the glorious parasite was all
a-growing and a-blowing. The gorilla
from below stood watching me and
roaring. His roar seemed like an in
vitation to come down and fight. /
never in my life heard anything go
awfully human in its deep bass roll
1t reminded me Of the lowest notes of
the stage villain in the Italian operas,
magnified. 80 to speak. 900 diameters.
Presently. as / went on cutting away
the bark. as il for dear life. and loosen
ing the precious tuber my gorilla.
who still remained motionless by his
mossclad bowlder. left off his roaring
and appeared to grow interested in the
| process of the operation A change
came o 'er the spirit of his dream. He
looked up and wondered. with vague
brute curiosity. not unmixed with a
certain strange air of low cunning and
intelligence. 1t was as clear to me as
mud that he was saying to himself in
wardly
"Why doesn't the fellow cut and run
for his lifeY Does he think l don t
know how to climb a tree2 Does he
imagine couldn't be up thers in a
jiffy If liked-to choke him or scrag
himf What the dickens does he go on
hacking away at the bark go quietly
like that for. when he ought to be all
agog to save his own bacon3"
| despaired Of explaining to 60 rude
q creature the imperative nature of
sci ific need. So. with one eye on the
orcL and one on the brute. at the
risk Of contracting permanent squint
for life. / continued to egg out that
magnificent moon flower root and
branch and tuber
The longer I went on the closer and
the more attentively did tho gorilla
take stock of all my acts and move
ments.
"Well. declare. could see him
say to himself in the gorilla tongue,
opening wide his huge eyes and elevat-
ing in surprise his shaggy brown eye.
brOws. "suCh an animal as this never
yet did come across. He isn't ore bit
afraid apparently of me. the redoubt-
able and redoubted king of the great
Gaboon forest.
But was most cOnsumedly for all
that, though l pretended not to be
Nothing but the presence before my
eyes of that magnificent plant would
have induced me for one moment to
face or confront the unspeakable brute
there.
At last had finished and held my
specimen in my hands entire. The next
question now was what to do with it.
walked slowly and cautiously along
the branch of the tree. The gorilla.
with his eyes now fixed curiously on
the moon flower. put forth one hairy
leg in front OF another and. grinning
with sort of diabolical. british good
humor. walked step for step en- the
ground just as cautiously beneath me.
came to the end of the bough and
reached the point where interlacing
branches enabled me to get on to an
other tree. did so somewhat clumsily,
for was handicapped by the moon
flower. The gorilla. still grinning.
looked mp and remarked in his own
tongue. II could do that lot. can tell
yOu. jolly sight better than you do. :"
AS 3 Niled those words had lost
my ace. and cinging still to my
moonnower in my last chance for life,
lowered myself slowly hand over hand
to the ground in front of him.
With frightful roar the creature
sprang upon me and made wild grab
at my precious moon flower That was
more than scientific human nature