Evening star., 1934-11-11

shrilly There was a violent crash among the
underbrush and up. out of the green arose q
dark bewhiskered face From this masklike
viSage two little eyes glowed. now green now
red above wide nostrils and thin drawn lips.
The gorilla lunged upward and exposed the
full silhouette of his shaggy 6-foot torso that
mist have weighed almost 500 pounds. He
sared toward us in a half-crouching position.
his short bowed legs supporting with dlhculty
his huge frame. his head crammed forward at
the top of his chest. his arms dangling
The pale lights filtering through the matted
Jungle roof played in ghastly rhythm around
the great ape as he struck his chest repeatedly
with his left fist, while he opened and closed
his cavernous mouth like frantic deaf-mute.
Now for the first time noted the reason the
gorilla had used but one hand in his chest
beating. for in the other he clutched young
tree trunk. holding it clublike. This he had
evidently torn up by the roots after ne had
broken off the top.
marveled at the great force he must have
exerted in this performance. when he suddenly
grasped the ends of the club in each hand.
thrust its middle between his jaws, and with
violent jerk downward broke it in two like
matchwood. With a savage Snarl he cast the
ends away-a menacing gesture that was ac-
centuated as he took a step forward his little
eyes blazing beneath a scruf Of hair that arose
straight and bristling on the back of his skull,
while hollow growl issued from MS haH-open
fan9S
Between me and the gorilla were the loops
and coils Of many tendrilS suspended from the
limbs above. Through these. 1 cuddled the
rifle sights. waited for a play of lightning,
then fired There was an answering roar to
the rifles report as the great man ape sprang
into the thickets. where a Whirl of crashing
underbrush told that the gorilla band was OF
in hight.
When the sound of their retreat died away
In the distance, dispatched my gun boy for
of the truant Batva trackers. Not in the
least to my surprise, they had fed when We
heard the gorilla.
THE potential dangers attending the following
of a wounded animal through dense cover
are obvious This grave issue demanded q
tracker to watch the ground spoor while I
covered the thickets ahead he trailed.
Presently the gun boy returned with the little
old man, whose face bore quaint suggestion OF
the great ape 1 had just fired at. The tracker
immediately found blood spoor, and treadng
softly as if shod with velvet-one eye on the
leafy carpet. the other on the shaded draperies
his shifting gaze now focused one spot. For
a split second he stood rigid. little black devil
looking aloft toward the gnarled elbow of a
tree limb thrust downward through the leafy
roof There was something particularly pam
icky about that attitude, and in his swift
inhalation of fear he darted from my side and
fled
The little Batwas Mortified glance upward
and his sudden flight seemed to transmit to me
its contagon of fear, for the sub b-arbored cham
ber suddenly became sitting with the stale wood
odor; felt imprisoned in cell from which
would like to escape. fought this pestilental
Influence and kept my gaze riveted on that limb
noting the while the dangling tendrils torn
down by something in its passage aloft. burst
of rain set the jungle roaring like reef-tor-