Stan Lynn Part 19

It was no time for being nice. Obeying the natural craving, Stan sank upon his knees, raised the pot with both hands, and the next minute he was drinking deeply of the cool, grateful fluid, which trickled down with a sensation that was delightful, and he had drunk long and deeply before the questioning thought came:

"Is it clean?"

He set the pot down again close to the wall, and shuddered slightly, for the dank, cool morning air was distinctly tainted with a horrible odour which he believed came from the yard.

Putting all suggestive thoughts from him, he turned his attention to the other pot, and saw that a couple of sticks rose above one side; and to test whether his surmise was correct, he took them both in hand, raised them towards the faint light, and found that he had judged rightly, for he brought up a lump of boiled rice adhering to the chopsticks, which he dropped suddenly on hearing a faint noise to his left.

There was no doubt about the cause; for there, looking more weird and strange than at first, was the limb which had first startled him, with the long, thin hand outstretched, and the fingers twitching in a most unmistakable fas.h.i.+on.

A sense of relief came over Stan now, for he saw at once that this was not the half-mummified hand of some starving prisoner, but that of a large ape; and without hesitation the lad stooped down again, seized the chopsticks, and scooping up with them as much of the wet rice as would stay on, he stepped across to the extended hand, which closed round the food on the instant and disappeared between the bars.

_Tchack_! came in a low, quick utterance, followed by other sounds which plainly indicated what was becoming of the rice.

"I can't eat that stuff," thought Stan; and visions of one of his customary breakfasts floated before his eyes, in company with wondering ideas about how long it would be before any one came and he would have an opportunity to appeal or order the man to put him in communication with some one in authority.

"It's out of ignorance," he said to himself. "They dare not keep me here."

_Tchack_! came again, this time in quite a cheerful tone, and Stan's thoughts were again diverted. His face crinkled into a smile, for he felt that this was a fellow-prisoner with whom he could make friends at once; and without hesitation he dug out some more rice with the chopsticks, and dabbed the lump into the once more extended hand.

"Is it good, old chap?" he said in a friendly tone; and for response came:

_Tchacker_!

"Monkey pidgin--eh?" said Stan as the hand disappeared, leaving some wet grains sticking to the bamboo bars, a fact which resulted in another hand appearing on the prisoner's side and the attenuated fingers cleaning off every grain with wonderful celerity before it disappeared.

"Let's see what you're like," said Stan, putting his face to the bars, to find that there was light enough now to show him a similar division to his own, with a dumpy, solidly built monkey squatting down on the far side, nursing the handful of rice against its broad chest, and picking it up rapidly grain by grain.

As Stan looked through, the creature raised its head, which seemed joined without neck to its chest, and displayed a pair of keen-looking, very human eyes, peering at him from beneath their straight, overhanging brows; and as they twinkled brightly, there was a third flash from a double set of very white teeth, which were displayed in a grin.

Then the eating went on as if there were not a moment to lose, till Stan fell back half-startled, for as the last white grain disappeared behind the thin, tightly drawn lips, the animal rose upon a pair of short, crooked legs, sprang at the bars, to hold on with its feet, and once more a long, thin, spidery arm and hand came through.

"Hungry--eh?" said Stan, half-annoyed with himself for his display of dread.

_Tchack_! was the reply, and the fingers curved upward in so suggestive a way that Stan raised the pot and poured into the palm as much as it would hold.

In went the hand again, and Stan stood holding the pot against his breast, listening to the sound made by the monkey eating.

The natural result was that the odour given off by the wet rice rose to the prisoner's nostrils; and it was not enticing, for it was not unlike that of wet clay. But the holder knew that it was rice, and that it was eatable, though unappetising, and it awakened in him a feeling of longing consequent upon its being many hours since he had touched food; so, taking up some of the sticky grains on one of the chopsticks, he raised it to his lips, with the result that they curled slightly in disgust.

But nature was hungry, and not to be disappointed from any fastidiousness displayed by a pair of lips, nor yet by the disgust of a tongue. It was only the first step that cost, and after making an attempt to eat, Stan went on, to find that the mess, though anything but nice, was satisfying; and he was busy at the second suggestion of a mouthful when he had to draw back sharply, for like a flash the weird hand darted out, grabbed the edge of the pot, and tugged it towards the bars.

But Stan's arm was round the vessel, and his withdrawal carried it away out of the animal's reach.

"Manners!" cried Stan; and he was at once attacked by what seemed to be meant for a volley of reproaches, in tones which somehow seemed familiar and connected with the troubles of the past night, especially as they were accompanied by sounds caused by the animal bounding backwards and forwards, hurling itself from the division bars to those which faced the yard, till _bang! bang! bang_! came a tremendous beating against the door, followed by one angry roar of Chinese adjurations.

_Wow_! came in a piteous tone from beyond the bars, as the noise outside ceased; and directly after the hand was thrust out, palm upwards, and the fingers twitching.

Stan paid no heed for a few moments, but stood waiting for the door to be opened, ready to attack his jailer, whoever he might be, with such Chinese as he knew; but all remained silent, and a feeling of angry indignation swept over the lad, enraged now as the knowledge of his position flashed through him.

"Insolent brutes!" he said half-aloud. "I'm a foreign devil, am I? And I'm to be shut up in the next cage to a great monkey, am I? What do you mean? To make a show of me? Oh, it's unbearable!"

_Tchack_!

"You think so too, do you?" cried Stan aloud.

_Tchacker_!

"You think it's worse? Well done. You're a wiser monkey than I thought, then. There, old chap--fellow-prisoner--you shan't find me a bad friend. Here, peg away!" And half-laughing the while--a laugh full of mocking indignation--Stan thrust the pot down close to the bars. In an instant one long arm was holding it tight against them like a band of bone and muscle, and the other was working to and from it like an animated spoon.

"Poor brute!" said Stan softly, and he raised one hand with extended index-finger to touch the hook-like arm.

_Ur-r-r-r-r_! came in a savage, malicious snarl, and the free hand came down spang upon his wrist, seizing it with startling violence, and s.n.a.t.c.hing it towards the bars, against which it struck heavily.

There was a momentary struggle, during which in imagination the lad saw his fingers being crushed between two trap-like jaws, and then he was free.

"Why, you savage beast!" he cried fiercely.

_Tchack_! said the monkey; and the hand was going and coming calmly enough now, and almost without a sound.

"Humph!" grunted Stan. "My fault, I suppose. Thought I was going to take away its food;" and he stood rubbing his wrist gently where it had been bruised against the bamboo bar, and watched the monkey's hands till the last grain had been cleared out of the pot, which was released and allowed to fall over upon its side.

"Finished?" said Stan, good-humouredly now, for the pain had pa.s.sed away.

_Tchack_!

The sound--cry, e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n, whatever it may be called--was evidently a reply, and as it was uttered the hand came out towards the prisoner once more.

"Why, you hungry brute!" said Stan. "No more. All gone," he cried; and he stooped down to take away the pot.

It was incautiously done, and in an instant the animal's fingers had closed round his hand tightly. For the moment Stan was about to obey his natural instinct and tear his hand away, but it struck him that the grasp was not meant inimically, and that even if it were he must be the stronger of the two, and could prevent his strange adversary from dragging his arm sufficiently through the bars to make use of its teeth.

So he stood fast, and found that, in place of tearing hard and trying to drag the hand it had secured through the bars, it was contenting itself with pressing the hand firmly and nestling its own fingers within his grasp, as if the sensation were satisfactory and it enjoyed the proximity of a companion.

"Want to be friends?" said the lad quietly.

_Snar-r-r-r-r_! went the animal savagely, s.n.a.t.c.hing its hand away, and with one bound leaping to the other side of its cage.

The reason was made plain the next moment. Its hearing was the keener, and it first heard approaching footsteps.

The next minute great bars were being rattled down from the door, which was thrown open, and three rough-looking Chinese soldiers entered; the first going straight to the barred division and drawing the shaft of his spear cleverly along the bamboos before thrusting the b.u.t.t through and making prods and savage thrusts with it at the wretched monkey, which shrieked and chattered and bounded about, with noise and turmoil which brought back vividly now the strange sounds Stan seemed to have dreamed in the confused and feverish wanderings of the night.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

"I WISH YOU WERE A DOG."

While one of the soldiers teased and brutally ill-used the monkey, which fought savagely with its aggressor, ending by getting hold of the spear-shaft with teeth and all four hands, and displaying an amount of strength that was wonderful in so small a creature, the other two looked on and laughed till their comrade was tired and merely held on to his spear. Then they condescended to turn their attention to their new prisoner, examining and giving him credit for the empty rice-pot; and after a glance at the other pot, which was half-full of water, one of them, watching for an opportunity, threw its contents all over the monkey, with the result that the poor brute uttered a shriek, loosened its hold of the spear-shaft, and contented itself with dodging the thrusts made at it by its aggressor.

He too now turned to Stan, and made a thrust at him with the spear-b.u.t.t, and then stared with astonishment at the result.