The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1900-06-14

Ihen ne raised my 4Tte and discharged
the t1UO barrels at me.
powers But still the moon flower was
at stake, and 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, l 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
the utmost pitch of daring conceivable
or possible for me-
So looked at the hugh brute, and
I looked at the moon flower Slowly
and cautiously. gazing down all the
time as went to watch the creatures
face. I 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 ALLOWING. 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 any thing so
awfully human in it's deep bass roll.
It reminded me of the lowest notes Of
the stage villain in the Italian operas,
magnifed, so to speak, 900 diameters
Presently, as I 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 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 It 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 life? Does he think I don't
know how to climb a tree? Does he
imagine couldn't be up there in a
jiffy if liked-to choke him or scrag
him2 What the 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?''
Idespaired of explaining to'so rude
creature the imperative nature OF
scientific need. So, with one eye on the
orchid and one on the brute, at the
risk of contracting a 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 the 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, ttsuch an animal as this never
yet did, come across. He isn't one Bit
afraid apparently Of me, the redoubt
able and redoubted king of the great
Gaboon forest.
But I was most consumedly for al
that, though I pretended not to be-
Nothing but the presence before my
eyes Of that magnificent plant woulG
have induced me for one moment tc
face or confront the unspeakable brute
there
At last I had finished and held my
specimen in my hands entire. The next
question now was what to do with it.
I walked slowly and cautiously along
the branch of the tree. The gorilla
with his eyes now fixed curiously OF
the moon flower, put forth one hair,
leg in front Of another and, grinnine
with sort of diabolical, british goot
humor, walked step for step on tn
ground just as cautiously beneath me
| 1came to the end of the bough AM
reached the point where interlacint
branches enabled me to get on to an
other tree. did so somewhat clumsily
for was handicapped by the moor
flower. The gorilla, still grinning
looked up and remarked in his ow!
tongue, IT could do that lot, can tel