Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-08-02

TTiE day was perfect. A COO
= breeze tempered the heat Of the
equatorial sun. Peace had reigned
within the tribe for weeks and no
alien enemy had trespassed upon its
preserves from without. To the ape
mind all this was sufficient evidence
that the future would be identical
with the immediate past-that
Utopia would persist.
Even the individuals became less
watchful and alert, so that one
might have thought Numa and Sabor
and Sheets entirely deleted from
the scheme of things. The shes and
The balus roamed unguarded through
the sullen Jungle, while the greedy
males foraged far afeld, and thus it
was that Teeka and Gazan, her balu,
hunted upon the extreme southern
edge of the tribe with no great male
near them.
Still farther south there moved
through the forest a sinister tigure
Ia huge bull ape, maddened by soll-
tude and defeat. A week before he
had contended for the kingship of a
tribe far distant, and now battered,
and still sore, he roamed the wilder
ness an outcast. Later he might
return to his own tribe and submit
to the will of the hairy brute he had
attempted to dethrone; but Tor the
time being he dared not do so, since
he had sought not only the crown
but the wives. as we'll, Of his lord and
master. 1t would require an entire
moon at least to bring forgetfulness
to him he had wrcnGed, and so Ioog
wandered through the Jungle, grim,
terrible, hate-tilled.
It was in this mental state that
Toog came unexpectedly upon a
young she feeding alone in the
iungle-a stranger she, 1.-THE and
strong and beautiful beyond COM
pare. Toog caught his breath and
skunk quickly to one side of the trail
where the dense foliage of the tropi-
cal underbrush concealed him from
Teeka while permitting him to feast
his eyes upon her loveliness.
Toog could see no sign of any ape
other than the strange she and a
young balu playing near by. His
wicked, blood-shot eyes half closed
as they rested upon the charms OF
the former-as for the balu, one
snap Of those great jaws upon the
back of its little neck would prevent
1t from raising any unnecessary
alarm.
Toog, having satisfied himself that
only the she and her balu were in the
immediate vicinity, crept steathily
forward. Teeka's back was toward
him when he finally rushed upon
her; but her senses were at last
awakened to the presence of danger
and she wheeled to face the strange
bull Just before he reached her. Toog
halted few PAGES from her. His
anger had fed before the seductive
feminine charms of the stranger. He
made conciliatory noises-a species
of clucking sound with his broad,
fiat lips-that were, too, not greatly
dissimilar to that which might be
produced in an osculatory solo.
But Teeka only barred her fangs
and growled. Little Gazan started
to run toward his mother, but she
warned him away with a quick
"Kreeg-ah" telling him to run high
into a tall tree. Evidently Teeka
was not favorably impressed by hel
new suitor. Toog realized this anC
altered his methods accordingly. He
swelled his giant chest, beat upon il
with his calloused lcnuckles anc
swaggered to and fro before her.
"I am Toog," he boasted. "Lool
at my fighting fangs. Look at my
great arms and my mighty legs
With one bite can slay your biggest
bull. Alone have l slain Sheeta.
am Toog. Toog wants you" Ther
he waited for the effect, nor did HI
have long to wait. Teeka turned
with a swiftness which belied he
great weight and bolted in the op
posite direction. Toog with an angr!
growl leaped in pursuit; but tn
smaller, lighter female was too flee
for him. He chased her for fey
yards and then, foaming and bark
ing, he halted and beat upon tn
ground with his hard fists.
From the tree above him littl
Gazan looked down and witnesse
the stranger bulls discontinue
z Being young, and thinking himsel
safe above the reach of the heav
male, Gazan screamed an ill-time
insult at their tormentor. Too
looked up. Teeka had halted at
little distance-she would not go fla
from her balu; that Toog quickl
realized and as quickly determine
to take advantage of. He saw tina
the tree in which the young ap
& squatted was isolated and tha
Gazan could not reach another with
out coming to earth. He would oil
tain the mother through her lov
+ for her young.
He swung himself into the lowe
branches of the tree. Little GAIA
ceased to insult him; his expressio