The Wilmington morning star., 1947-01-22
No pLACEM
Copyright DM Tom Ct i'll E1ZH1 hH TAN -
Distributed bmg kHrs nMut ~ INV WILL

He stood up. Lets CO.
The acrid odor of animals came
to him even before he saw the
huge semicircle of cages by the
river. Most of them were flimsily
made of bamboo, bound together
with vines, but two were of sturdy
steel, with heavily bolted doors.
and in one of them a pair OF
ocelots paced restlessly. The other
was empty.
Don't get too near those box
es," Lilli cautioned. Uncle Wade
keeps his bushmasters there
whats he do with all these ami
mals?" Cliff asked.
Sells them to ZOOS. Twice a
year the boat comes up to take
them away"
There were beasts all about
them. A dozen monkeys scolded
from a nearby cage. a pair of
coati-mundi ran toward them, Ut
tering small. friendly noises, hop
ing for food, then close beside
Cliff a low snarl made him Whirl
lips drawn back, a full-grown
jaguar was looking up with lethal,
greenish eyes.
Lilli leaned down. You do like
to scare people, don't you, Plato?"
She kneeled before the cage, and
the snarling ceased; slowly the
anger drained from the green, ma
lignant eyes, and nov Lilli raised
her arm, reaching between the
bars, scratched the jaguar's head.
while Cliff watched, fascinated,
hardly breathing.
She laughed up at him eff you
tried that, you'd lose an arm"
1t made a memorable picture in
the soft, dappled sunlight the
girl, slender as a willow, with
bare feet and braided hair, her
arm about the great cat that stood
with lowered head and sleepy,
placid eyes. 1t seemed to Cliff that
Lilli herself belonged to this world
of jungle no less than the jaguar,
and again he was conscious of the
mobile delicacy in the modelling of
her face and body he saw the
girl drop her eyes, and knew he
had been staring %.overlong.
Still fondling the jaguar's Shout
der, she began speaking to the
animal, while the monkeys ceased
their scolding, then suddenly both
Girl and jaguar turned their heads,
md a growl rose in the big cats
throat. They were listening to
something Cliff could not hear.
and not until a moment later did
he catch the sound of hoofs COM
ing from the jungle behind him.
Cliff turned. There in the trail
a rider sat a great black horse.
Never in Bogard's life had he
seen a nan SO huge. He must
have been six feet tall at least.
but height was no real measure
of his bulk. for the body itself
was bearlike. The face was
dark, almost swarthy, with we'll
nodded lips, high-arched nose,
and taWny eyes. A strange. I'M
equal face that just missed be-
ing handsome.
Throughout a silent moment the
rider looked down, then, dismount-
ing, walked forward until Cliff
saw with surprise that tall as he
himself was, this man lowered
over him.
Even then he did not speak. but
S God watching Cliff, studying
MN. There was something vague
ly menacing in that leisurely APP
praisal, and as if Lilli sensed it
too, she moved to Bogard's side.
Hello, VIM" she said in a half
whisper, and Cliff knew he stood
face to face with the one man
Wade had wanted him to avoid.
At S of Lilli's voice,
Vicente looked toward her, then
he spoke her name, and a brief
warmth softened his tawny eyes,
but when he turned back 10 Cliff
the eyes had gone fliaty again.
"You r Cliff Bogard?" It was
more an accusation than a o11ec-