Part 7 (1/2)

”Well, be careful,” warned Jack. ”This is no place for such jokes as you used to play on Pompey.”

”Oh, nothing like that,” Noddy a.s.sured him as he hurried off.

”Just the same I'm afraid of Noddy when he starts getting humorous,”

thought Jack.

He would have been still more afraid if he could have seen Noddy make his way to the hotel kitchen and bribe a kitchen maid to get him three large sugar cakes. Then he made his way to the dining-room, and boring tiny holes in the buns filled each of them with red pepper from the casters.

”Now for some fun,” he chuckled.

”I just know that boy is up to some mischief by the look on his face,”

remarked an old lady as he hurried by.

Quite a big crowd was round the Italian when Noddy got back. Almost as soon as he arrived the man began pa.s.sing the hat, and taking advantage of this, Noddy proffered his buns to the animals. They accepted them greedily.

”Peep! Peep!” chattered the monkeys.

”You mean 'pep,' 'pep',” chuckled Noddy to himself.

Both bear and monkeys tore into their buns as if they were half starved.

In their hunger they got a few mouthfuls down without appearing to notice that anything was wrong. Then suddenly one of the monkeys hurled his bun at the bear and the other leaped on the big hairy creature's head. Apparently they thought the innocent bear had something to do with the trick that had been played on them.

”Da monk! da monk!” howled the Italian, ”da monk go a da craz'.”

”He says they are mad,” exclaimed an old gentleman, and hurried away.

Just as he did so, the bear discovered something was wrong. He set up a roar of rage and broke loose from his keeper. The monkeys leaped away from the angry beast and sought refuge. One jumped on the head of an elderly damsel who was very much excited. The other made a dive for a fas.h.i.+onably dressed youth who was none other than Donald Judson.

”Help!” screamed the old maid. ”Help! Will no one help me?”

”I will, madam,” volunteered an old gentleman, coming forward. He seized the monkey and tugged at its hind legs, but it only clung the tighter to the elderly damsel's hair.

Suddenly there came a piercing scream.

”Gracious, her hair's come off!” cried a woman.

”She's been scalped, poor creature!” declared another.

”Oh, you wretch, how dare you!” shrieked the monkey's victim, rus.h.i.+ng at the gallant old gentleman. She raised her parasol and brought it down on his head with a resounding crack. In the meantime the Italian was howling to ”Garibaldi,” as he called the monkey, to come to him.

But this the monkey had no intention of doing. Clutching the old maid's wig in its hands, it leaped away in bounds and joined its brother on the person of Donald Judson.

”Ouch, take them off. They'll bite me!” Donald was yelling.

The monkeys tore off his straw hat with its fancy ribbon and tore it to bits and flung them in the faces of the crowd. Then, suddenly, they both darted swiftly off and climbed a tree, where they sat chattering.

It was at that moment that the confused throng recollected the bear, which had not remained in the vicinity but had gone charging off across the lawn looking for water to drown the burning sensation within him.