Devils Lake world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1914-1915, 1914-10-22
lair, and Kerchak had made


He wanted to feel his teeth sink
into the neck II the queer animal that
he had learned to hate and fear, and
because Of this he came often with his
tribe to reconnoiter, waiting for a time
when the white ape should be off his
guard.
Of late they had quit attacking or
v showing themselves, for every
time they had done so in the past the
little stick had roared out the terrible
message of death to some member Of
the tribe.
Today there was no sign of the man
about, and from where they watched
they could see that the cabin door was
open. Slowly, cautiously and noise
lessly they crept through the jungle to-
ward the little cabin.
On they came until Kerchak him
self skunk stealthily to the very door
and peered within. Behind him were
two males and then Kala, closely
straining the little dead form to her
breast.
Inside the den they saw the strange
white ape lying half across a table, his
head buried in his arms, and on the
bed lay a figure covered by Il sailcloth,
while from a tiny rustic cradle came
the plaintive wailing of a babe.
Noiselessly Kerchak entered, crouch.
ing for the charge, and then John Clay
ton rose with Il sudden start and faced
them.
The sight that met his eyes v:5"::
have frozen him with horror. 10: -. 'H,
within the door, stood three greet Is
apes, while behind them crowded :.i'.a
more; how many he never kn~%. :
his revolvcrs were hanging on l.. g..
wall beside his rife and Kertl!N!:
charging.
When Kerchak released tie !.
form which had been John C~ia%i"I
Lord Greystokc, he turned his ~;;,tt4
ton toward the little cradle, ~:
Kala was there before him, ana W. -
he would have graspeu the c!:iIa -2r
snatched it herself, and before J ,'t .
intercept her she had holtm! tl.' ~!
the door and taken refuge III Il -;
tree.
AS she took up the little live baby OF
Alice Clayton she dropped the dead
body Of her own into the empty cradle.
The wall Of the living had answered
the call Of universal motherhood with
in her wild breast which the dead could
not still.
High up among the branches of a
mighty tree she Rugged the shrieking
infant to her bosom, and soon the in
stinct that was as dominant in this
fierce female as it had been in the
breast Of his tender and beautiful
mother-the instinct Of mother love
reached out to the tiny man-child's
half formed understanding, and he be-
came quiet.
Then hunger closed the gap between
them, and the son of an English lord
and an English lady nursed at the
breast of Kala, the great ape.
Once satisfied that Clayton was dead,
Kerchak turned his attention to the
thing which lay upon the bed. covered
by a piece Of sailcloth.
A moment he let his fingers sink
deep into the cold flesh, and then, real.
izfng that she was already dead, he
turned from her to examine the con.
tents Of the room, nor did he again
modest the body Of either Lady Alice
or Sir John.
The rife hanging upon the wall
caught his first attention. It was fol-
this strange, death dealing thunder
stick that he had yearned for months
but, now that it was within his grasp
he scarcely had the temerity to seize it
Finally the rifle was torn from Its
hook and lay in the grasp of the great
brute. Finding that it harmed him
not, Kerchak began to examine II
closely.
During all these operations the apes
who had entered sat huddled near the
door watching their chief, while those
outside strained and crowded to catch
a glimpse of what transpired within.
Suddenly Kerchak's finger closed
upon the trigger, there was a deafen.
ing roa in the little-room, and the
apes at and beyond the door fell ovel
one another in their wild anxiety tt
escape.
Kerchak was equally frightened-se
frightened. in fact, that he quite for
got to throw aside the author Of thai
fearful noise, but bolted for the dool
with it tightly clutched in one hand.
AS he passed through the opening
the front sight of the rifle caught upo1
the edge of the inswung door with suf
fcient force to close 1t tightly after the
fleeing ape.
When Kerchak came to a halt q short
distance from the cabin and discov
cred that he still held the rife he drop
ped it as though 1t had burned him
nor did he again essay to recover 1t
The noise had been too much for his
brute nerves, but he was now quit,
convinced that the terrible stick was
quite harmless by itself if left alone.
The cleverly constructed latch which
Clayton had made for the door ha6
sprung as Kerchak passed out, no
could the apes find mean of ingress
through the heavily barred windows.
Kala had not once come to eartl
with her little adopted babe, but nov