Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-05-23

their fangs and barked at any OF the trio
when they passed near them
After the construction Of the shelter the
activities of the three became localized
They ranged less widely for there was al
ways the necessity Of returning to their
own tree at nightfall.
A river flowed near by. Game and fruit
were plentiful. as were fish also. Existence
had settled down to the daily humdrum OF
the wild-the search for food and the sleep
Ing upon full bellies. They looked no fur
ther ahead than today.
IL the youth thought Of his past and OF
those who longed for him In the distant
metropolis, II was In a detached and i'm
personal sort of way. as though that other
life belonged TO another creature than him
self
He had given up hope OF returning tc
civilization, for, since his various rebufs
at the hands of those to whom he had
looked for friendship, he had wanderd SO
far inland as to realize that he was com
pletely lost In the mazes of the jungle.
Then too. since the coming of Meriem
he had found in her that one thing which he
had most missed before in his savage jungle
life-human companonshp. In his friend
ship for her there was appreciable no trace
OF sex influence of which he was cognizant
They we're friends-companions was
all.
Both might have been boys. except for
the half tender and always masterful mani
festation of the protective instinct which
was apparent In Koraks attitude,
The little girl idolized him. as she might
have idolised an indulgept brother had she
had one Love was a thing unknown to
either but as the youth neared manhood II
was inevitable that II should come to him
as 1t did to every other savage jungle male
As Meriem became proficient in their
common language the pleasures of their
companionship grew correspondingly; for
now they could converse, and. aided by the
mental powers of their human heritage they
amplified the restricted vocabulary Of the
apes until talking was transformed from a
task into an enjoyable pastime.
When Korak hunted Meriem usually ac-
companied him, for she had learned the fine
art of silence when silence was desirable
She could pass through the branches of the
great trees now with all the agility and
stealth of the Killer himself Great heights
no longer appalled, her. She swung from
limb to limb or she raced through the
mighty branches, ure-footed 1.-THE and
fearless. Korak was very proud of her
and even old Akut grunted in approval
where he had growled in contempt
distant village OF blacks had furnished
her with n mantle of fur and feathers, with
copper ornaments and weapons for Kor-
ak would not permit her to go unarmed or
unversed in the use of the weapons he stole
for her. A leather thong over one shoulder
supported the ever-present Geeka. who was
still the recipient of her most sacred con-
fidences. A light spear and long knife
were her weapons of oftense or defense
Her body, rounding into the fullness of
an early maturity, followed the lines of a
Greek goddess, but there the similarity
ceased, for her face was beautiful.
As she grew more accustomed to the
jungle and the ways OF it's wild denizens fear
left her. AS time wore on she even hunted
alone when Korak and Akut were prowl-
ing at a great distance, as they were some
times forced to do when game was scarce in
their immediate vicinity. Upon these oc-
casions she usually confined her endeavors
to the smaller animals. though sometimes
she brought down a deer. and once even
Horta, the boar-a great tusker that might
have made even Sheeta think twice before
attacking him.
In their own stamping grounds in the
jungle the three were familiar figures. The
little monkeys knew them well, often COM
ing close to chatter and frolic about them.
When Akut was by the small folk kept
their distance, but with Korak they were
less shy; and when both the males were