Putnam patriot., 1910-08-12

-s-'s.s' r -s-s -
 ax tse Yfang rounded tie tieatfia nd
 nafite-d them of to the starboard
 ,vn aulSs. red with rust. awash under
 tbe branches of the big trees that grew
 In il dense forest far out into the shal-
 low water of the agoon. One steamer
 wss wedged in between great boIes,
 tbe tops of it's masts showing oddly
 abose fhe overhanging greenery. The
 other lay well over upon it's side. like
 some portly marine monster that had
 uken shelter there from the tropic
 sun. How any person not a positive
 idiot could have blundered into such a place passed my comprehension.
 Tue repeated blasts from our whistle
 had reused the owner of the cocoa nut groye that WAS to furnish us our car
 60. and presently the white drill suit and pith helmet which we always asso- ciare with the white man in the trop- tcs appeared in the stern of a boat which giided out from under the trees. Before our gangpIank was fairly low cred tall. rawboned young English mat. distinctly of the gentleman" type. came over the ships side and introduced himself as Shackieford. the man with whom l had contracted to carry a load of nuts 10 Liverpool.
 No. l haven't a black on the place." be explained in response to an inquiry of mine as we took our places in his fiat b0ttomed boat. manned wholly by Chinameu. and started for his bunga- low. whose corrugated roof blazed in the intense sunlight through a rift in the eocoanut grove. '.lt costs three tines as much for Chinese labor. but for some reason l can't get a nigger to come near the plantation"
 That's strange"
 Wait ill tonight and you'll hear as horrible row as you ever heard. Then you'll know. The mountains back there are alive with apes That is why l put up a twenty-five foot high barbed wire fence"
 That evening we were sitting in the bungalow. sipping whisky and soda and swapping yarns about Penang, when q volley of barks. sharp as the rattle of musketry, made me spring up in alarm.
 Shackleford put down his glass and haw- hawed.Z Its only those blasted apes, he explained when he had man. aged to control his mirth. Take down that rife and come along"
 Armed with nchesters. we made our way to the edge of the grove near- est the spur of the mountain. As we approached a chorus of snarls greeted us. and in the clear starlight 1 saw host of infuriated apes hurling them- selves against the barbed wire fence.
 For time the brutes paid little heed to our fusillade. Then. under the lead ership of huge gray ape. they broke and made for cover
 Tbe great grizzled brute was the last to retire. and at the edge of the jungle il turned and gibbered at us in a way NA-+iN A6ttN@t my bCSn AtttPs IL Scthitu te Voice the fathomless hatred of the whole jungle world for the usurper man.
 The next morning on our way back 10 the steamer l asked Shackleford about the two wrecks
 "oh. fancy the fool captains could not steer straight" he replied lightly. Longstrefh-that's the chap l bought the grove from-said that both ships were loaded with cocoanuts. He would not talk much about it. though-too sour to talk about anything.
 Later. 10 satisfy my curiosity, I rowed over and had look at the hulks. and as l examined them noted two facts that kept me speculating for days. Before either steamer went into hastily slashed away. and there wasn't a single cocoanut 10 be seen in either hold
 That night I spent ashore again with and when I returned to my ship the following morning found It in an ominous state of excitement. Usually the Chinese portion of it oc- eunied the forward part of the main deck, eating and sleeping in the cor nerS among the steam winches. The lasears had always claimed the fore castle head. where their tall. gaunt bodies and swathed heads seemed an part of the ship. Now. how ever. raee and caste were forgotten. and tHrhans and pigtails mingled pro- in groups that whispered eagerly in dozen corners
 Al sight of me they quickly dis fersed but with those two rusty hulks looming up wonder as object lessons look prompt measures to forestali possible mutiny. Summoning the first mate-a half caste from Calcutta that had picked up in Penang when died of cholera-l locked the door behind him. left my revolver on The table. where he could mediate upon it's use as we talked. and then asked him few pointed questions He turned whi>e under his dinky skin. but soon pulled himself together and began to lie to me. l knew ft by the way his eyelids dickered- The bay was too hot for even a Chinaman 10 lire on: the lagoon was full of sharks; the typhoon season was coming on these and a dozen other reasons for les ring at once slipped from his oily tongue and left me more puzzled than ever
 After that experience ] spent no iaore nights ashore. but watched cos tinuslly for Che slightest hint or re eeliion- Early the next morning wnen the cocoanu,s began 10 arrive on the A... .s-ifh q grin