The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1924-12-27

the last leg Of their journey. During
are. killed and the Claytons are landed
with their belongings on tropical
sbeT strange Gay'of life keeg Several Fef Months
later Lady Alice is attacked by huge
Is unbalanced. That night little
son is born. a year later Lady Alice
CLAYTON Is killed 6y an infuriated ape
and his companions ha!a motner
ape whose babe had died. seized the
I}tfie son OF Lord and Lady Clayton
and drops her own dead babe IN th7
cradle. of to the woods she goes and
cares Go tpr on Re WITH NTH The Story 'N--
Once satisfied that Clayton was
dead. Kerchak turned his attention
to the thing which lay upon the bed,
covered by a piece Of sailclOth.
Gingerly he lifted one corner of
the shroud. but when he saw the
body of the woman beneath he tore
the cloth roughly from her form and
seized the still, white throat in his
huge, hairy hands.
A moment he let his fingers sink
deep into the cold flesh. and then,
realizing that she was already dead,
he turned from her, to examine the
contents Of the room; nor did he
again modest the body Of either
Lady Alice or Sir John.
The rifle hanging upon the wall
caught his first attention; it was for
this strange, death-dealing thunder
stick that he had yearned for
months: but now that it was within
his grasp he scarcely had the
teInerity to seize It.
Cautiously he approached the
thing, ready to fee precipitately
should Il speak in its deep roaring
tones, as he had heard it speak be-
fore, the last words to those Of his
kind who, through ignorance or
rashness, had attacked the wonder
full white ape that had borne it.
Deep in the beasts intelligence
was something which assured him
that the thunder-stick was only
dangerous when in the hands Of one
who could manipulate it. but yet it
was several minutes ere he could
bring himself to touch it,
Instead. he walked back and forth
along the floor before II. turning
his head so that never once did his
eyes leave the object Of his desire.
Using his long arms as a man
uses crutches, and rolling his huge
carcass from side to side with each
stride. the great king ape paced to
and fro. uttering deep growls.
occasionally punctuated with that
earpiercing scream. than which
there is no terrifying noise in all the
jungle.
Presently he halted before the
rife. Slowly he raised a huge hand
until it almost touched the shining
barrel, only to withdraw it once
more and continue his hurried
pacing.
It was as though the great brute
by this show Of fearlessness. and
through the medium OF his Wild
voice, We're endeavOring to bolster
up his courage to the point which
would permit him to take the rife
in his hand
Again he stopped. and this time
succeeded in forcing his reluctant
hand to the cold steel. only to snatch
it away almost Immediately and re
sumo his restless beat.
Time after time this strange cere-
mony was repeated, but on each oc-
casion with increased confidence. IN
til, finally, the rifle was torn from
it's hook and lay in the grasp OF the
great brute.
Finding that II harmed him not,
Kerchak began to examine it closely
He felt Of it from end to end, peered
h %
Zle, fingered the sights the breech,
the stock, and finally the trigger.
During all these operations the
apes who had entered sat huddled
near the door watching their chief.
while those outside strained and
crowded to catch a glimpse OF what
transpired within.
Suddenly Kerchak's finger closed
upon the trigger. There was
deafening roar in the little room and
the apes at and beyond the door
fell over one another in their wild
anxiety to escape.
Kerchak was equally frightened:
so frightened. in fact, that he quite
forgot to throw aside the author Of
that fearful noise, but bolted for the
door with it tightly clutched in one
hand.
AS he passed through the opening,
the front sight Of the rife caught
upon the edge Of the in-swung door
with sufficient force to close it tight
~ after the fleeing ape.
When Kerchak came to halt a
short distance from the cabin and
discovered that ne still held the rifle.
he dropped It as he might have
dropped a red-hot iron, nor did he
again essay to recover 1.-THE noise
was too much for his brute nerves;
but he was now quite convinced
that the terrible stick was quite
harmless by itself If left alone.
It was an hour before the apes
could again bring themselves to ap-
proach the cabin to continue their
Investigations, and when they finally
did so. they found TO their chagrin
that the door was closed and so Sc
curely fastened that they could not
force il.
The cleverly constructed latch
which Clayton had made for the
door had sprung as Kerchak passed