Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1915-09-10

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sight of his feet; a bloody bandage on
one had worked up to his ankle, and
the manned foot lacked two toes.
A quick motion from beside the
huddled form made Poe spin around
just in time to evade the snap of
ferocious teeth. Babo. the ape, con-
fronted him. struggling toward him
weakly. evidently injured.
Poe leaped upon the ape, caught him
fairly about his hairy throat, and strug
gled for a violent half-minute with
him. Then the monkeys steel-grip-
ping hands relaxed their hold. Poe
jumped to his feet, turned hastily to-
ward a mass of frenzied men bursting
from the front door of the lodging.
house, and, gathering up the dead
weight OF the powerful monkey,
clutched it close. and managed with
difficulty to stagger down the winding
alley to the water, turning but once
to find that the group had stopped at
the insensible form of the black man.
He jumped into the waiting skiff.
threw his heavy burden in the bottom,
and pushed off, telling the man to row
like the devil back to Haggerup wharf.
During the trip Poe wound rope about
the orang-outang's muscular limbs, and
noted with relief that the animal was
still alive and beginning to struggle
again.
The member of the firm was wait
ing for him within the big Haggerup
warehouse, in which order had now
been restored.
Poe gave Babo to the keepers, and
not stopping for explanations, grasped
the astounded member of the firm by
the arm and rushed him into the
street.
They found cab some blocks away
and drove at once to the hospital near
est Hell's Quarter.
In answer to the Germans breath
less demands for an explanation, Poe
sketched the following briefly during
the ride:
That black man your assistant
keeper described and called Jock
pulled off the trick. l thought 1t from
the first, when found he had moved
the glass tank into the sun.
That's why asked you to wait be-
fore sending out news of Babo's es.
cape; didn't want the thief to take
alarm too quickly. The natives Of
Borneo are shrewd; they made fire
with the suns rays through glass crys-
tails. He saw the power of that tank
and figured out the inevitable result.
Providing himself with hood and a
shawl, he went alone in rowboat this
afternoon to the end of your ware
house, where he climbed to the mar
row ledge around it, and worked at the
window-bars while he was waiting for
the fire to start in the straw he had
attended to placing where it would
catch the suns rays and surely ignite;
possibly he put some matches there to
hurry matters.
when he saw the fire finally fame
up, he jerked of the remaining bars,
and when your surprised keepers
dashed from their quarters through
the smoke and confusion Jock jumped
in at the back window, barefooted for
quickness. as he always worked
aboard ship. carrying one of the bars
with him to break of the lock of
Babo's cage. In his haste and eager
ness he accidentally stumbled into the
crocodile pen; one of the aroused rep
tiles nipped of two of his toes. He
promptly killed the beast with the
pointed steel window-rod, rushed t.
Babo's cage, and released his pet, who
probably chung to him, though, o.
course, he was very heavy That
species OF ape, as you know, is very
faithful to a chosen master, and only
dangerous with strangers. Jock thel
broke open the big common monkey
cage with the bar, to insure the elapse
OF greater space of time before Bah,
should be missed, If the fire were con
trolled. He calculated we'll. Then hi
probably pushed Babo first through
the window himself. l heard tn.
splash. Then he must have helped
Babo into the boat, crawled In him
self, disguised his frightened pet IL
the hood and shawl, and rowed alons
the more deserted and smaller wharvef
back to the foreign quarter, where h
had rented the boat. Then he ex
planned to the boatman, suspicious OF
his bundle. that 1t was his sick daugh
ter, and told the same story to the
clearinghouse woman, making some ex
PLANTATION for his sore foot. which he
stopped to bandage in burlap anew at
the waterman's."
BY this time they had arrived at the
hospital, and, as Poe expected, found
Jock, who had Just been brought in by
the astonished sailors, who had no
wish to have the man die on their
hands.
Poe and the member Of the Hagger.
up firm sat with the black fellow until
he became conscious. Then Poe easily
possessed himself of all the facts. His
story sketch had been correct in all