Part 44 (1/2)

Many of the pupunha pal, but not the tallest ones These were farther out There were some, however, whose tufted crowns reached within a few yards of the lower limbs of the mimosa

Theup the za ones went--the rest re below

From the earnestness of their looks it was evident they felt a lively interest in the result So, too, did the party of travellers; for these watched so closely, that the pot was in danger of boiling over

Theclimbed the trunk, ran out upon the lowermost limbs, until they were directly above the pal down by their tails But, although, with their fore-ar nearly five feet frohest fronds of the palms, much less the fruit-clusters that were ten or twelve feet farther down Theythemselves over the very tallest palms, but all to no purpose

One would have supposed they would have given it up as a bad job So thought Dona Isidora, Leon, and the little Leona Don Pablo knew better by his reading, and Guapo by his experience When they saw that no one of theether on one of the branches After aat his full length Another ran down the body of this one, and taking a turn of his tail round his neck and fore-ar head doards A third joined himself on to the second in a similar manner, and then a fourth The fore-arms of the fourth rested upon the fruit-cluster of the pupunha!

The chain was now long enough for the purpose In a few minutes the last monkey on the chain, with his teeth and hands, had separated the footstalk of the spathes, and the great clusters--two of them there were--fell heavily to the bottoround ran forward; and, in the an to pull off the ”peaches” and devour them

But the monkeys above did not cease their labours There were ing their position, they, by s, threw thesoon seized upon another pupunha, and also detached its fruit In this way they continued, until they had stripped every tree within their reach; when, judging they had got enough, the lowermost monkey _climbed back upon himself_, then up his companions to the branch, and in the same style was followed by the other three in succession As soon as they were clear of one another, the whole party caround, and joined their comrades below in the luxurious repast

CHAPTER xxxVI

THE MONKEY MOTHER

Now you will, perhaps, i all this scene, had no desire for a bit of roast-monkey to supper In that fancy, then, you would be quite astray fro_ desire to eat roast ht; and, had he not been held back by Don Pablo, he would never have allowed thean isolated tree, it would have afforded hiun had been causing his fingers to itch all the time; and as soon as Don Pablo and the rest were satisfied with observing the un, in hand, followed by Leon

There was no cover by which he roup; and, therefore, no course was left for him but to run up as quickly forward as possible, and take his chance of getting a shot as they made off

This course he pursued; but, before he ithin anything like fair range, thetheir shrill screaround, rove, from which they had approached the spot

Guapo followed at a slashi+ng pace, and was soon under the trees, Leon at his heels Here they were met by a shower of sticks, pieces of bark, half-eaten ”peaches,” and so that was far less pleasant to their olfactory nerves! All these came from the tops of the trees--the very tallest ones--to which thethe llianas and leaves

You may fancy that it is easy to pursue a troop of monkeys in a forest

But it is not easy--in led underwood below puts a stop to the chase at once, as the h the branches aboveplants below

The pursuit would have been all up with Guapo, for the rove; but just as he was turning to sulk back, his keen Indian eye caught sight of one that was far behind the rest--so far, indeed, that it see than by flight It had got under cover of a bunch of leaves, and there it lay quiet, uttering neither sound nor syllable Guapo could just see a little bit of its side, and at this in an instant the gravatana was pointed Guapo's chest and cheeks were seen to swell out to their fullest extent, and off went the arrow A shriek followed--the monkey was hit--beyond a doubt Guapo coolly waited the result

Athe leaves; the mari fro the twigs, and fell to the ground Theupon the branches, and its wild death-screams was answered by the voices of the others farther off

At length its body was seen ht of conceal the limb; and the next h It had no design of gratifying its cruel destroyer to that extent No; it merely dropped to the end of its tail, which, lapped over the branch, held it suspended A few convulsive vibrations followed, and it hung down dead!

Guapo was thinking in ay he et it down, for he knew that unless he could reach it by so there until the weather rotted it off, or until soht of his axe--the tree was not a very thick one, and it was a soft-wood tree It would be worth the labour of cutting it down

He was about turning away to get the axe, when his eye was attracted by the motion of some object near the h, another,--a little tiny-creature,--ran out fro the leaves, and climbed down the tail and body of the one already shot, threw it ar one--Guapo had shot the rief; but Guapo knew nothing of these sentiravatana, and was raising his tube to bend it, when, all at once, there was a loud rustling aeout upon the branch--he was the husband and father!

He did not pause a ht hi one

He threw his long tail down, and grasped the little creature in its fir it on his back, bore it off a the branches!