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

4 II. w VI Y ~ \
Then nc raised my rife o',s3 discharged
the taco barrels at me.
powers. But still the moon flower was
at stake, and l wouldn't desert it l
was so 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, a scientific explorer
Each of rs has his weakness. and mine
is flower That touches my heart.
For that alone can | be wrought up to
the utmost pitch Of daring conceivable
or possible for me.
So looked at the hugh brute, and
| looked at the n on flower Slowly
and cautiously. g., ng 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 l
never in my life heard anything so
awfully human in its deep bass roll.
It reminded me Of the lowest notes Of
| the stage villain in the Italian operas,
magnifed, so to speak. 200 diameters.
Presently, as went on cutting away
the bark. as if 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 er the spirit of his dream. He
looked up and wondered, with vague
brute curiosity, not unmixed with
certain strange air Of low cunning and
intelligence. 1t was as clear to me as
mud that be was saying to himself in
wardly
'.Whv dcesn t the fellow cut and run
for his life? Does be think | dor
know how to climb tree? Does BE
imagine l couldn't be up there in a
jiffy if l liled-to choke him or scrag
himy What tie dickens does he go on
hacking away at the bark SO quietly
like that for. when he ought to be all
agog to save his own bacon?
despaired Of explaining to so rude
a creature the Imperative nature of
scientific need So, with one eye on the
orchid 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 went on the closer and
the more attentively did the gorilla
take stock Of all my acts and move
ments.
We'll, declare, could see him
say to himself in the gorilla tongue,
opening wide his huge eyes and elevat-
ins in surprise his shaggy brown eye
| hrows. such an animal as this l never
vet did come across. He ism t ore bit
afraid apparently Of me. the redonbt-
allie and redoubted king of the great
! Gaboon forest.
But | was most consumedly for all
that though I 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 unspealla ble brute
there.
At last | had finished and held my
specimen IL my hands entire The next
question now was what to do with 1t.
l walked slowly and cautiously along
the branch of the tree. The gorilla,
! with his eyes now fixed curiously on
the neon flower. put forth one hairy
lee in front OF another and, grinning
with a sort of diabolical. british good
humor, walked step for step on the
ground just as cautiously beneath me.
l came to the end Of the bough and
reached the point where l1terlacln9
branches enabled me to get on to an
other tree | did so somewhat clumsily.
for l was handicapped by the moon
flower. The gorilla. still grinning,
looked up and remarked in his own
tongue. 81 could do that lot. 1 can tell
you, jolly sight better than You do.
AS be smiled those words ! had lost
my balance. and, clinsing still to my
moon flower in my last chance for life.
lowered myself slowly hand over hand
to the ground in front of him.
With a frightfuil roar the creature
sprang upon me and made a wild grab
at my precious moon flower That was
more than scientific human nature