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

often they would come racing through the
trees to her side to announce the near
presence Of antelope or giraffe, or with ex-
cited warnings Of the proximity Of Sheeta or
Numa.
Luscious sun-klssed fruits which hung
far out upon the frail boughs of the jun.
gles waving crest were brought to her by
those tiny. nimbe allies. Sometimes they
played tricks upon her but she was always
kind and gentle with them, and in their wild,
half-human way they were kind 20 her and
affectlonate. Their language being similar
to that of the great apes, Meriem could
converse with them though the poverty of
their vocabulary rendered these exchanges
anything but feasts OF reason.
For familiar objects they had names as
we'll as for those conditions which induced
pain or pleasure, Joy, sorrow or rage. These
root words were so similar to those in use
among the great anthropoids as to suggest
that the language OF the Manus was the
mother tongue
At best 1t lent itself to but material and
sordld exchange Dreams, aspirations.
hopes the past. the future held no place
in the conversation of Manu-, the monkey.
All was Of the present-partlcularly Of fill
ing his belly and catching lice.
Poor food this to nourish the mental APP
petite of a little girl just upon the brink
of womanhood. And Sc, finding Manu- only
amusing as an occasional playfellow or pet.
MeTlem poured out ner sweetest soul
thoughts into the deaf ears of Geeka's ivory
head. To Geeka she spoke in Arabic, know
ing that Geeka, being but a doll, could not
understand the language OF Korak and
Akut and that the language of lSorak and
Akut, being that of male apes, contained
nothing OF interest to an Arab doll
Geeka had undergone transformation
since her little mother had left the village
Of the sheik. Her garmenture now re-
hected in miniature that of Merem A tiny
bit of leopard skin covered her ratskin torso
from shoulder TO splinter knee A band
of braided grasses about her brow held in
place few Kaudy feathers from the parra-
keet while other bits Of grass were fash
ioned into limitations of arm and leg orna-
ments of metal. Geeka was a perfect little
savage; but at heart she was unchanged.
being the same omnivorus listener as of
yore.
An excellent trait In Geeka was that she
never interrupted in order to talk about
herself. Today was no exception. She had
been listening attentively to Meriem for an
hour, propped against the boe of n tree
while her 1.-THE young mistress stretched
catlike and luxurious along a swaying
branch before her.
Little Geeka," said Meriem. our Korak
has been gone for a long time today We
miss him, little Geeka. do we not? 1t is
dull and lonesome in the great jungle when
our Korak Is away. What will he bring
us this time, eh? Another shining band
of metal for Merems ankle--or n soft doe
skin loin cloth from the body of black
she7
"He tells me that II Is harder to get the
possessions of the shes. for he will not kill
them as he does the males. and they fight
savagely when he leaps upon them to wrest
their ornaments from them. Then come the
males with spears and arrows and Korak
takes to the trees. Sometimes he takes the
uba Nviti nd iph tha hiram hos
dvests her of the things he wishes to bring
home to Meriem.
"He says that the blacks fear him now,
and at the first sight of him the women
and children run, shriekng, TO their huts
but he follows them within. and II is not
often that he returns without arrows for
himself and present for Merem Korak is
mighty among the jungle peope-our Kor-
ak. Geeka-no. my Korak -
Meriem's conversation was interrupted by
the sudden plunge of an excited little mon
key that landed upon her shoulders in a
flying leap from n neighboring tree
Climb !" he cried. Climb The Mangani
are coming !" ..
Meriem glanced lazily over her shoulder
at the excited dsturber of her peace,
Climb yourself little Manu." she said.
THE only Mangani in our jungle are Korak
and Akut II is they you have seen re-
turning from the hunt. Some day you will
see your own shadow, little Manu-, and then
you VIII be frightened TO deatn.
But the monkey only screamed his warn
ing more Justify before he raced upward
toward the safety of the high terrace where
Mangani, the great ape, could not follow.
Presently Merem heard the sound of
approaching bodies swinging through the
trees. She listened attentlvely. There were
two and they were great apes-Korak and
AlSut To her Korak was an ape-a Man
gani for as such the three always described
themselves. Man was an enemy, so they
did not think themselves as belonging longer
To the same genus,
Tarmangani, or great white ape, which
described the white man in their Ian
guage, did not fit them all. Gomangani-
great black ape, or negro-descrbed none
of them. So they called themselves plain
Mangani.
Merlem decided that she would fegn
slumber and play joke on Korak. So
she lay very still with eyes tightly closed.
She heard the two approaching closer and
closer. They were in the adjoining tree
now and must have discovered her, for they
had halted.
Why were they so quiet2 Why did not
Korak call out his customary greeting?
The quletness was ominous. II was fol-
lowed presently by very stealthy sound
one of them was creeping upon her. Was
Korak planning joke upon his own ac-
count? Well, she would fool him.
Cautiously she opened her eyes the tiniest
bit, and as she did so her heart stood still
Creeping silently toward her was a huge
bull ape that she never before had seen
Behind him was another like him!
With the agility OF a squirrel. Merlem
was upon her feet, and at the same instant
the great bull lunged for her. Leaping
from limb to limb, the girl fed through
the jungle, while close behind her came
the two great apes. Above them raced a
bevy of screaming. chattering monkeys,
hurling taunts and insults at the Mangani
and encouragement and advice TO the girl
From tree to tree swung Meriem, working
ever upward toward the smaller branches
which would not bear the weight of her
pursuers Faster and faster came the bull
apes after her. The cutching fingers of
the foremost were almost upon her again
and again. but she eluded them by sudden
bursts of speed or reckless chances as she
threw herself across dizzy spaces.
Slowly she was gaining 10 the greater
heights where safety lay, when. after a
daring leap, the swaying branch
she gFasped bent low beneath her weight
nor whipped upward again as 1t should
have done. Even before the rending sound
which followed. Meriem knew that she had
nisjudged the strength OF the limb.