er comment for a few days. Lord Greystoke read of it, and while taking special precautions not to permit his

ute for which they had seen him safely ensconced in a railway carriage. Even then the father did not connect the disappearance of his son with the mystery surrounding the whereabouts of the ape. Nor was it until a month later that careful investigation revealed the fact t

er the boy or the ape from that instant-at least no one who still lived. The proprietor of the house identified the picture of the lad as that of one who had been a frequent visi

dmother, boarded a steamer at Dover. The old lady was heavily veiled, and so weakened

the last that was seen of the old lady by the ship's company until the pair disembarked. The boy even insisted upon doing the work of their cabin ste

e mingled with his fellow passengers, became a prime favorite with the officers, and struck up numerous friendships among the common sailors. He was gener

of bank notes. From then on Condon cultivated the youthful Briton. He learned, easily, that the boy was traveling alone with his invalid grandmother, and that their destination was a small port on the west coast of Africa, a little below the equator; that their name

not interested, and the black looks of several of the other men passengers decided t

the fair face of nature proclaimed the fact that civilization had set its heel. Straggling upon the outskirts were the thatched huts of natives, picturesque i

self gazing into the loving eyes of his mother and the strong face of the father which mirrored, beneath its masculine strength, a love no less than the mother's eyes proclaimed. He felt himself weaken

eamer for England touc

cer. "I figgered we'd find her here," and he went on with his bello

ttom of the craft that was to bear them shoreward her grandson dropped catlike after her. So interested was he in seeing her comfortably disposed that he failed to notice the little package that

bargaining with its owner finally lowered his baggage and himself aboard. Once ashore he kept out of sight of the two-story atrocity that bore the lege

to make it plain to the old lady that she might remain in Africa if she wished but that for his part his conscience demanded that he return to his father and mother, who doubtless were even now suffer

ed his eyes in sleep it was to dream of a happy reunion with those at home. And as he dreamed, Fate, cruel and inexorable, crept ste

guarded other men's property, Condon turned the key and the knob simultaneously. Gentle pressure upon the door swung it slowly inward upon its hinges. The man entered the room, closing the door behind him. The moon was temporarily overcast by heavy clouds. The interior of the apartment was shrouded in gloom. C

ew notes. Doubtless they were beneath the pillows of the bed. He stepped closer toward the sleeper; his hand was already half way beneath the pillow when the thick cloud that had obscured the moon rolled aside and the room was flooded with light. At the same instant the boy opened his eyes and looked straight int

yes swept the room in a single all-inclusive glance. His eyes bulged in horror at the realization of the truth which that glance revealed. In the power of what creatures of hideous mystery had he placed himself! Frantically he fought to beat off the lad that he might turn upon the fearsome thing at his back. Freeing one hand he struck a savage blow at the lad's face. His act seemed to unloose a thousand devils in the

hat the penalty of murder was death. He even knew that an accomplice might suffer the death penalty with the principal. Who was there who would plead for them? All would be against them. It was little more than a half-civilized community, and the chances were that the

t last frantically he searched through the remaining pockets of his clothing. Then he dropped upon his hands and knees and examined the floor. Lighting the lamp he moved the bed to one side and, inch by inch, he felt over the entire floor. Beside the body of Condon he hesitated, but at last he nerved himself to touch it. Rolling it over he sought beneath it

a little boy-a frightened, homesick little boy-reasoning faultily from the meager experience of childhood. He could think of but a single glaring fact-they had killed a fel

must ha

piece, and, piece by piece, he examined each garment minutely. Even to the shoes he searched with painstaking care, and when the last article had been removed and scrutinized h

rom the floor below. Springing quickly to his feet he blew out the lamp, and crossin

ever return to them. The blood of a fellow man was upon his hands-in his morbid reflections he had long since ceased to attribute the death of Condon to the ape. The hys

have been able to account for its disappearance, for he had been entirely unconscious of the falling of the little pa

"Come!" he said, in the l

lad sprang to its bole, clinging cat-like for an instant before he clambered quietly to the ground below. Close behind him came the great ape. Two hundred yards away a spur of the jungle ran close to

too, pounded vigorously upon the door. Receiving no reply he bent to the key hole in an attempt to look through into the room beyond. In so doing, being portly, he lost his balance, which necessitated putting a palm to the floor to maintain his equilibrium. As he did so he felt something soft and thick and wet beneath his fingers. He raised his open palm before his eyes in the dim ligh

e jugular severed as by the fangs of a wild beast. The body was entirely naked, the clothing being strewn about the corpse. The old lady a

e small room. He noticed that the bed was pulled well away from the wall-why? He looked beneath it again for the third or fourth time. The two were go

dson, had entered a room on the second floor of his hostelry the day before. They had had their evening meal served in their room-that was the last that had been seen of them. At nine the following morning the corpse of a strange man had been the sole occupant of that room. No boat had left the harbor in the meantime-there was not a railroad within hundreds of miles-there was no other white settlement that the two could reach under several days of arduous marching accompanied by

ry to Herr Skopf-and