The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-01-31

tue cocoanuts began TO arrIva on -
DIG bamboo RATS | noted win q -
u satisfaction that al hands SCI -
Work packing them into the hold ,yi.b
an aiacrity which they had never ho
iore manifested In my service
Iaking on cargo occunIad y ~,
ana curing that time never left the
snlps deck farther than the cabin
Inc Following evening we put ON, 70
sea- the men working like demons -
set away before night shut down
shackleford laughing all the wbila .,
.neir eagerness to be rid OF what no
ueciared to be the finest spot cast ~
cue1' bis Chinamen-I shall nevar
forget that last glimpse OF tbem-
squatted upon the empty bamboo RATS
their cues wound about thar 49,
shaved heads, the sweat still stream.
ms down their naked bodies 70 tho
nimsy cotton pantaloons corded ahop,
tnelr waists. and viewed our denartpra
out OF their narrow eyes with feature.
as impassive as those of stone Bud.
una What did they know about tho
TWO rusty hulks. the gray thing thu,
haunted them, and what had they told
! my crew. | wondered Worn our with
a trying week. turned "a.
A shock hurled me from nv berth
ana as CROPPED about IN the darkness
Tor the key OF the door the sound of
| crushing timber and OF branches rail
ing across the cabin window made ma.
guess my surroundings. Sminging on
deck, l turned instlnctlvely TO the
| wheel, and there. bowed over II lIl,.
an old man and ciuich.ng the smokes
with hairy hands. was huge gray
ape-the very monster Shackleford and
had failed 10 bring down the night of
| the raid upon the cocoanut grove!
! AT sight of me 1t reinguished its
| hold upon the wheel and sprang Mt
me, barring its teeth ia sudden rage.
whipping out my pistol l began to tire
and back away ana brought it down
with shot III its gaping mouth Just
as 1t was reaching out its horrible
corded arms to seize me. As IL col
lapsed with gasping shudder at my
very feet sprang backward from sheer
repuision and In doing SO fell into the
lagoon through a hole in the railing
that the thick branch OF tree had
carried away
Not Til then did the full Significance
of what had transpired dawn upon
me. Crew there was none, but apes
from the surrounding trees and the
two rusty hulks that had SO puzzled
ME and that now lay on either side
came swarming upon the steamer
till they covered everything -winches
forecastle head, the empty dayits, the
spare anchors, the very rigging with
gray. writing mass that struggled
and fought and screamed In wild
rush for the coeoanuts, which could
easily he reached through the main
hatch, left open 10 prevent orerheating
Swimming round to the rudder, now
completely out OF water above the mad
~ racing screw, | climbed up beyond
the reach OF sharks md listened to
the appalling pandemonium TIL the
last cocoanut must have been removed
from the hold when the brutes grad
ually dispersed through the forest
Afraid to venture back on deck
at daylight | mounted a piece OF the
round house that had been swept over
board and made my way on the IN
coming tide up the channel which led
TO the plantation. On the edge or the
grove / parsed IN incredu.ous Wohu~'
and then the truth came home to me.
Under q fierce attack of the apes the
wire fence had at last given way
and the cocoanut grove was III rulhs'
Shacklefords bungalow | found IL u
state Of pillage So complete that ohi!
the four upright posts remained, ana
the fimsy huls occupied by inc oH''
nese laborers were scattered about as
II struck by a typhoon.
Not far from the ruins touhu
Sbackleford's beautifully stained meer-
schaum pipe trampled mo the earlh
by a host OF passing feet, ana prolruu'
ing from under tattered eocoahul
leaf was a Chinaman's cue, StreaAeu
with gray, but no Celestial at the se',
cred end. Prepared Cor the worst
was fastening down the newly beaten
path toward the jungle when eroai'
TO nv left attracted my attention anu
rushing over, | found Shackieiord anu
his Cinnamon neatly trapped under Tue
barbed wire fence.
.You See" ShacSleford eAp'aule''
when | had pried N the edge OF 'he
deadly netting. which they were uil
able to raise with their bare hands &c
cause of the inch long barbs' we were
poking the bally brutes OF the leh'e
with sharpened bamboos ana ha, ~ ~,
no end of fun when their Ne'sN'
doubled the whole thing over ana Snu'
us into as fine little fort as a ie''o"
could wish for. Ha ha'
shackleford. followed by score Q.
bedraggled Cinnamon, crawieu 80
stiffly from his involuntary out ,u'A!
Imprisonment and looked ruelul! "
alothaS H'IhPN IT'D