White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1916-07-23

too, but no power OF scent. so far as /
could judge. so | don't think they can
sniff US out. Where have you been,
young fellah? You were well out
of It,"
In a few sentences | whispered what
| had daoe,
Then he told what had happened in
my absence.
1T was in the early mornin'. Our
learned friends were just stirrin'.
Hadn't even begun to argue yet. Sud-
denly it rained apes. They came down
as thick as apples out of a tree. They
had been assemblin' in the dark, l sup
pose, until that great tree over u
heads was heavy with them. I shot
one of them through the belly, but be-
fore we knew where we were they had
us spread eagled on our backs. l call
them apes, but they carried sticks and
stones in their hands and jabbered talk
to each other and ended up by tyin'
our hands with creepers, so they are
ahead Of any beast that | have seen in
my wanderin's. Ape men-that's what
they are-missin' links. and I wish
they had stayed missln'. They carried
OF their wounded comrade-he was
bleedin' like a pig-and then they sat
around us. and II ever | saw frozen
murder it was in their faces. They
were big fellows, as big as a man and
a deal stronger. Curious glossy gray
eyes they have. under red tufts, and
they just sat and gloated and gloated.
Challenger is no chicken, but ever he
was cowed. He managed to struggle
to his feet, and yelled out at them to
have done with 1t and get 1t over. I
think he had gone a bit off his head at
the suddenness Of 1t. for he ragged and
cursed at them like a lunatic. If they
had been a row OF his favorite press
men he could not have slanged them
worse"
II thought 1t was the end Of us, but
instead OF that 1t started them on a
new line. They all jabbered and chat
tered together. Then n of them stood
out beside challenger. You'll smile.
young fellah, but pom my word they
might have been kinsmen. / couldn't
have believed 1t II I hadn't seen 1t with
my own eyes. This old ape man-he
was their chief-was a sort Of red
Challenger, with every one Of u
friends beauty points. only Just a trifie
more SO. He had the short body, the
big shoulders. the round chest, no neck.
a great rudy frill of a beard. the tuft-
ed eyebrows. the What do you want,
hang your look about the eyes and
the whole catalogue. When the ape
man stood by Challenger and put his
paw on his shoulder the thing was
complete. Summerlee was a bit hys-
~terical. and he laughed till he cried.
The ape men laughed, too, or at least
they put up the devil Of a cacklin', and
they set to work to drag us Off through
the forest. They wouldn't touch the
guns and things-thought them danger
Gus, l expect-but they carried away
all our loose food. Summerlee and
/ got some rough handlin' on the way
there's my skin and my clothes to
prove it--for they took us a bee line
through the brambles, and their own
hides are like leather. But Challenger
was all right. Four Of them carried
him shoulder high, and he went like .
Roman emperor"
"They got us soon to this town OF
theirs. about a thousand huts OF
branches and leaves in a great grove
Of trees near the edge Of the cliff. It's
three OF four miles from here. The
filthy beasts fingered me all over. and
I feel as II I should never be clean
again. They tied III up-the fellow
who handled me could tie like a bo'sun
and there we lay with our toes up
beneath a tree while q great brute
stood guard v z US with a club in his
hand. When l say we ! mean Sum-
merlee and myself. Old Challenger
was up a tree eatin' pines and havtn'