Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1915-09-09

kAOh. 10 00auGAAy 6l1ItCA. 4ulOu6At
the head of the animal, just above one
closed eye, was q neat round hole. as
though made by bullet of high cali.
Der: as the American looked close, he |
found that the hole was full Of slow,
sluggish blood, clotted at the top, q l
little of the thinner fluid dripping
down the nose of the reptile and along
the scallops Of his jaws, jammed to-
gether as they were in that character
istic grim grin.
At that moment the keeper who had
rushed to the rear came back with big, i
frightened eyes. and held out q thick
steel window bar, pointed at one end,
where it had fitted through hole in
the iron-reinforced masonry. That end
Of the rod was coated with thick blood
for six inches upward from the point.
"Babo jumped into the water from
the little back window, ripping out
these bars!' he cried In German.
Look! It is blood! He has used 1t to
kill. or has hurt himself with it,
Poe answered smoothly In the same
tongue, as though 1t were his Ian
guage:
But an ape does not swim"
.'He does not swim il he can help 1t!
Ach. Gott! I do not know what to
make of 1t all"
How did the fire START" asked Poe.
THAT do not know. either"
'But what kind of an ape was Ba-
boz" asked Poe, feeling privileged
through his work in assisting with the
recaging of the monkeys.
.Oh, he was bad one,' said the
first keeper. I'VE haven't had him
more than a week He was to be
shipped to America. He was a big
brute, four feet high, an orang-outang;
strong enough to twist of that big
lock to his cage, you will notice.
Weighed one hundred and forty
pounds. Just came from Borneo.
Seemed to be half tame, but vicious;
you never can tell about those orang-
outangs. They bought him from ma
tive. The largest ever caught; worth
| thousand dollars or more. It will
mean our jobs, the losing Of him."
And here's another little loss" an
| swered Poe soberly, taking the rod
from the second keeper and pointing
to tho hole in the crocodile's head.
"Mein Gott!" cried the head keeper,
the second keeper and the assistant In
a commissioning chorus. 1t was easy
| to see how the animal had been killed.
"Ach," cried the head keeper. here
Il - o~c+hnr H,yo hyrAraA daI1orc roma
1t lis rare Asiatic crocodile, lives
only in salt water
Better hoist it out warned Poe, as
the other crocodiles were still flashing
| about, now ard again striking with
their tails the dead carcass, "or the
| hide won't be worth mounting"
The suggestion was acted upon at
| once, and few minutes later, by the
aid of pole or two and some rope
| tackle. the monster lay without the
| enclosure.
| Poe suddenly found himself alone
| beside the ugly form on the floor. The
keepers had been interrupted by po-
licemen and interested agents OF the
company, who had been admitted to
the building. AS he stopped to exam
inc the mouth, he gave sudden start.
Where the scalloped edges Of the jaws
joined he noticed blood, and thought
it came from tho wound. But now he
realized his mistake and, looking
around to make sure that he was not
observed, carefully took the clean end
of the window bar and pried open the
huge mouth. He swayed back at the
astonishing sight that presented its
self. Then, controlling himself in a
second, after passing wavering hand
through his hair, the helmet having
toppled off, he made a quick, covert
motion, took something from between
the ugly jaws CT the monster, wrapped
the object dexterously in two hand
kerchiefs, and slipped it into his coat
pocket, strange, thoughtful express
sion coming into his intense violet
eyes, lips and eyebrows twitching in
| thought.
Then he stood up, the rcptilian jaws
| mashed back to place. and he turned
to talk with one of the members Of the
firm Of Haggerup G. Co, who had been
/ summoned to the scene OF havoc.
/ You were very lucky" said Poe.
| The fire was well controlled"
i "Ah, but the rest is not ever yet
4 The fire did not do much damage, but
think what may happen with Babo
loose in the city! He is a powerful
ape. He may kill dozen men
/ while avoiding recapture. 1t is. not
/ so much the loss of him as the fact
/ that we can't conceal his escape or the
peoples lives win be endangered. We
must tell all, and 1t will give the house
a bad name. 1t will make people
| afraid of u.s..
4 Call your keepers. then. and warn
them to say nothing about 1t. think
/ I can recover your ape before he col
lects any toll of human life, ii you'll
keep the thing secret. Ii it gets out
/ that you know Babo has escaped, you
4 won't have such good chance to get
| him back
/ and who are your" asked the other,
evidently impressed by Poe's manner.
4 Never mind that now. Tell me,
/ have they found how the fire starte3?"
! Yes. II was accidental. The big
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