The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1924-12-26

I
| high forehead, which denoted more
intelligence than most Of her kind
possesd. So. also. she had a greater
capacity for mother love and mother
sorrow.
But she was still an ape, a huge.
fierce, terrible beast Of a special
closely allied to the gorillal, yet
more intelligent; which. with the
strength of their cousin, made her
kind the most fearsOme OF those
| awe-inspiring progenitors Of man.
/ When the tribe saw that Ker-
| chak's rage had ceased they came
/ slowly down from their arboreaI re-
treats and pursued again the various
! occupations which he had inter.
rupted.
/ The young played and frolicked
! about among the trees and bushes.
Some of the adults lay prone upon
/ the soft mat of dead and decaying
/ vegetation which covered the ground,
| while others turned over pieces Of
fallen branches and clods OF earth
/ in search Of the small bugs and rep
tiles which formed a part c. their
food.
Others. again. searched the sur
rounding trees for fruit, nuts, small
/ birds. and eggs.
They had passed an hour or so
thus when Kerchak called them %
/ gether. and. with a word Of com
mand to them TO follow him, set
off toward the sea-
They Travelled for the most part
! upon the ground, where II was open,
following the path Of the great
elephants whose comings and go
ings break the only roads through
/ those tangled mazes OF bush. vine.
creeper ana tree. When they walked
+ it was with a rolling, awkward mo-
! ton. placing the knuckles Of their
closed hands upon the ground and
swinging their ungainly bodies for
ward.
But when the way was through
the lower trees they moved more
swiftly. swinging from branch TO
branch with the agility Of their
smaller cousins. the monkeys. And
all the way Kala carried her little
dead baby Rugged closely to her
breast.
1t was shortly after noon when
they reached a ridge overlooking the
. beach where below them lay the tiny
cottage which was Kerchak's goal.
He had seen many Of his kind go
TO their deaths before the loud noise
made by the little black stick in the
hands Of the strange white ape who
lived in that wonderful lair. and
Kerchak had made up his brute
mind TO own that death-dcaung con
trivance. ana 10 explore the interior
Of the mysterious den.
He wanted. very, very much. to
feel his teeth sink into the neck Of
the queer animal that he had learned
TO hate and fear. and because Of this.
he came often with his tribe To
reconnoiter, waiting for time when
the white ape should be OFF his
guard.
OF late they had quit attacking. or
even showing themselves; for every
time they had done 50 in the past
the little stick had roared out its
terrible message Of death to some
member of the tribe.
Today there was no sign Of the
man about. and from where they
watched they could see that the
cabin door was open. Slowly. eau
tiously, and nojse!essly they crept
through the jungle toward the little
cabin.
There We're no growls. no fierce
screams Of rage-the little black
stick had taught them to come quiet
~ lest they awaken it.
On, on they came until Kerchak
himself skunk stealthily 10 the very
door and peered within. Behind
him Were two males. and then
kala. closely straining the little
dead form to her breast
Inside the den they saw the
strange white ape lying half across
a table, his head buried in his arms:
and on the bed lay a figure covered
by a sail cloth. while from a tiny
rustic cradle came the plalntive wall
ing Of a babe.
Noiselessly Kerchak entered.
crouching for the charge; and then
John Clayton rose with a sudden
start and faced them.
The sight that met his eyes must
have frozen him with horror, for
there. within the door. stood three
great bull apes, while behind them
crowded many more; how many he
never knew, for his revolvers were
/ hanging on the far wall beside his
rifle. and Kerchak was charging.
When the king ape released the
limp form which had been John
Clayton, Lord Greystoke, he turned
his attention toward the little
cradle; but Kala was there before
him. and when he would have
grasped the child she snatched It
herself. and before he could inter
cept her she had bolted through the
door and taken refuge in a high
tree.
As she tccS up the little live baby
Of Alice Clayt~r she dropped the
dead body Of her own into the empty
cradle; for the wall of the living had
answered the call Of universal moth
erhood within her wild breast which
the dead could not still.
High up among the branches Of a
mighty tree she Rugged the shrek
ing infant to her bosom, and soon
the instinct that was as dominant
In this fierce female as It had been
in the breast Of his tender and beau
tiftII nOthpr-tha instinct Of mot ber
/ love-reached out to the tiny man.
child's halfformed understanding,
and he became quiet.
Then hunger closed the gap be-
tween them. and the son Of an Eng
fish lord and an English lady nursed