[Transcriber's Note: Incorrect page numbers in the list of illustrations have been changed. ] [Illustration: THE MONKEY THAT WOULD NOT KILL by Henry Drummond] THE MONKEY THAT WOULD NOT KILL [Illustration: WITH THE STONE IN HIS ARMS HE WALKED CALMLYTOWARDS THE SHORE] THE MONKEY THAT WOULD NOT KILL BY HENRY DRUMMOND With Sixteen Full-page Illustrations BY LOUIS WAIN NEW YORK DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY 1915 _Copyright, 1897, _ By Dodd, Mead and Company. PREFACE A few years ago, the readers of "Wee Willie Winkie" detected a new veinrunning through the Editorial Notes and announcements which prefaced themonthly collection of juvenile literary efforts, which made up theirlittle Magazine. There was an originality and a humour which they had not noticed before, and Competitions were suggested to them of a type for a repetition ofwhich they clamoured. And then presently a new serial story began, and the hairbreadth escapesof that immortal Monkey which it recorded were breathlessly followed byWee Willie Winkie's army of bairns all over the world; and when it wasconcluded, so numerous were the entreaties for a sequel, that compulsionhad to be resorted to in order to secure the revelation of the laterlife of the hero under a new name. And now at last the Editors who were responsible for the periodicalreferred to have to make a confession. Once upon a time they both, mother and daughter, forsook their officeand went away to Canada for several months in 1891, and during that timetheir joint editorial chair was occupied by no other than ProfessorHenry Drummond. And now our readers will understand to whom they are indebted for thequaint sayings and funny stories and Competitions betokening someone who"understood" boys--and girls too. And they will be grateful to a certaincontributor who failed to send his copy in time for the monthly issue onone occasion, and so forced the then Editor to sit down and write"something. " It was the first time he had ever tried to write fiction, and as the story grew under his pen, he began to realise the joy ofcreation. And so it was that, in spite of his playful deprecation of"such nonsense" being printed, the adventures of "the Monkey that wouldnot kill" came to be told, and we know that we can do our old friendsand readers no greater kindness than to dedicate these chronicles tothem in permanent form, in memory of one to whom "Wee Willie" and hisbairns were ever a subject of affectionate interest. ISHBEL ABERDEEN, MARJORIE A. H. GORDON, _Editors of_ "_Wee Willie Winkie_. " Government House, Ottawa, _November, 1897_. CONTENTS I PAGE THE MONKEY THAT WOULD NOT KILL 1 II GUM 57 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS WITH THE STONE IN HIS ARMS HE WALKEDCALMLY TOWARDS THE SHORE _Frontispiece_ PAGE TRICKY UPSET EVERYTHING 5 NEXT MORNING TRICKY WAS STILL THERE 13 IT WAS ONLY TRICKY SHAKING THE SALT-WATER OFF 17 HE BEGAN WITH THE PARROT 21 THE SHEPHERD BOLTED LIKE WILDFIRE 25 ALL WAS READY 33 HE TOOK MONKEY AND STONE AND HEAVED THEM OVERTHE CLIFF 43 TRICKY HELD BACK THE BABY 55 THE MONKEY'S RESCUE 63 A MONKEY PERFORMING GYMNASTIC EXERCISES 71 BURIED HIS TEETH IN THE CONDUCTOR'S WRIST 77 THE NUGGET OF GOLD 85 POINTING A LOADED REVOLVER AT HIS HEAD 89 THE CAN OF GUNPOWDER TIED TO HIS TAIL 103 THE MOST PRECIOUS OF ALL IS GUM 113 CHAPTER I There is no such thing as an immortal monkey, but this monkey was asnear it as possible. Talk of a cat's nine lives--this monkey had ninety!A monkey's business in the world is usually to make everybody merry, butthe special mission of this one, I fear, was to make everybody as angryas ever they could be. In wrath-producing power, in fact, this monkeypositively shone. How many escapes the monkey had before the run-away slave presented itto the missionary--from whom I first heard of it--no one knows. Itcertainly had not much hair on when it arrived, and there was an ominousscar on its head, and its ears were not wholly symmetrical. But thechildren were vastly delighted with it, and after much kind treatmentthe creature was restored to rude health, and, I must confess, to quitetoo rude spirits. The children wanted him baptized by the time-honouredtitle of 'Jacko'; but by a series of exploits in which the monkeydistinguished himself at the expense of every member of the household inturn, it became evident that only one name would fit a quadruped of hispeculiar disposition; and that was 'Tricky. ' Tricky, therefore, he wascalled, and as Tricky he lived and--did _not_ die. [Illustration: TRICKY UPSET EVERYTHING] There was no peace in the home after Tricky came. He ate everything, upset everything, broke everything, stole everything, did everythingthat the average monkey ought not to do. If they shut him up in a room, Tricky got out by the chimney. If they put him out of the room, Trickycame in by the chimney. What could you do with such a creature? He couldnot be kept in, and he could not be kept out; so a court-martial washeld, and Tricky was sentenced to be given away. But by this time the whole place knew Tricky, and no one would have him. Such an unusual refusal of a present was never known before. Even therun-away slave smiled sweetly when his old friend was offered to him, and protested that, to his deep regret, he was unable to buy nuts enoughto keep him. The idea of 'wandering' Tricky in the woods, of course, occurred to thegenius of the village, and a detachment of boys set off one Saturday tocarry it into effect. But you might as well have tried to wander acarrier pigeon. Like Mary's little lamb, everywhere these boys went, that monkey went. When they ran, it ran, when they doubled back, itdoubled back; and when they got home, dead tired, it was only to findTricky laughing at them from the church roof. That night the worst happened. When the people assembled for the weeklymeeting, there was not found in that church one whole hymn-book. Someone, apparently, had been pelting the pulpit with them. The cushionswere torn; the blinds were a wreck; two stops in the harmonium werepulled out bodily. After the service the missionary was solemnly waitedon by a deputation. They were closeted for an hour and a half, but noone, except themselves, ever knew what was said or done. The onlycircumstances that one could in any way connect with this mysteriouscouncil was that about midnight a small boat was seen stealthily puttingout to sea. It contained two figures--one, who rowed, was the seniorelder; the other, who sat in the stern, looked like a very small boy. CHAPTER II The day was not yet broken when the 'watch' of the ship _Vulcan_, lyingbecalmed off the ---- coast, was roused by a peculiar noise aft. Goingto the spot he was surprised to find a much-bedraggled monkey rubbingitself on a pile of sail-cloth. The creature had evidently swum ordrifted a long distance, and was now endeavouring to restorecirculation. Jerry, being a humane man, got it some biscuit, and asaucer of grog, and waited developments. These were not slow to showthemselves; within twenty-four hours the commander of the ship _Vulcan_, 740 tons register, was a monkey named Tricky. Time would fail me to tell of the life that monkey led them all on boardthe _Vulcan_. After the first week only two things lay between him anddeath at any moment. One was his inventiveness. Tricky's wickedness wasnothing, if not original. Every day he was at some new villainy; andanything _new_ on board ship is sacred. There is no _Punch_ published onboard ship; but Tricky was all the comic papers rolled into one. Butthat was not the main reason. There is a good deal of quiet quarrellingon board ship. The mate spared Tricky because he thought he would someday give the Captain a 'turn'; the Captain let him live, hoping he woulddo something dreadful to the mate. Everybody waited to see Tricky dosomething to somebody else. So he rose to the highest rank in themerchant-marine, and was respected almost to idolatry by all on boardthe _Vulcan_. One day Tricky was hanged--formally, deliberately, and judiciallyhanged. What had he done? He had killed the ship cat. It was adeliberate murder, with no extenuating circumstances, and a rope, with anoose, was swung over the yard-arm, and Tricky run up in the presence ofall the crew. This happened about eight bells, and at dusk Tricky wasstill hanging there, very quiet and motionless. Next morning Tricky wasstill there--as live as you are. Tricky was not hanged, he was onlyhanging; and, as everybody knows, monkeys rather like hanging. In fact, though Tricky was still up there, he had got his hands well round therope, and was on the whole fairly at home. The rope round a neck likeTricky's was a mere boa. [Illustration: NEXT MORNING TRICKY WAS STILL THERE] The executioners were rather ashamed of themselves when they saw howmatters stood; but instead of softening them, this dangling mockery of adead monkey still further roused their wrath, and the boatswain was toldoff to end the drama by tossing Tricky into the sea. The boatswain wasup the shrouds in a moment, and loosening the rope with one hand, andcatching the monkey by the tail with the other, he swung poor Tricky agood yard over the ship's side into the Atlantic. When the boatswain descended upon the deck he was greeted with a suddendeluge of rain. It was only Tricky shaking the salt-water off. Themonkey had climbed up the stern rope, and reached the deck before him. What would have happened next is hard to predict, but at this point theCaptain, attracted by the scream of laughter which greeted the drenchingof the boatswain, came up and was told the sequel to the hanging. Nowthe Captain was a blunt, good-natured man, and he avowed that neitherman nor monkey who had ever been hanged on board his ship should ever beput to death again. This was the law on shore, he said, and he would seefair-play. So Tricky received another lease of life, and thus the ship_Vulcan_ was kept in hot water for two months more. [Illustration: IT WAS ONLY TRICKY SHAKING THE SALT-WATER OFF] About the end of that period there came a crisis. The ship was nearingport, and a heavy cleaning was in progress. Among other things theship's boats had to be painted. In an evil hour one of the men wentbelow to dinner, and left his paint-pot standing on the deck. If Trickyhad lost such a chance he would not have been a monkey at all. Needlessto say he rose to the occasion. That his supreme hour was come was quiteevident from the way he set to work at once. He began with the parrot, which he painted vermilion; then he passed the brush gaily along thenewly varnished wood-work--daubed the masts and shrouds all over, obliterated the name on the life-buoys, and wound up a somewhatsuccessful performance by emptying the pot over the Captain's best coat, which was laid in the sun to get the creases out. I draw a veil over what happened on the _Vulcan_ during the next quarterof an hour. There was never such a muster of the crew since they leftport: Everybody seemed to have business on deck. When the Captain cameup you could have heard a pin drop. I shall not repeat his language, nortry to compare with anything earthly the voice with which he orderedevery man below. All I will record is--and it is to his everlastinghonour--that in that awful hour the Captain was true to his vow. 'Do yousee land?' he roared to the steersman. 'Aye, aye, sir, ' said the man, 'land on the larboard bow. ' 'Then, ' said the Captain, 'put her head toit. ' [Illustration: HE BEGAN WITH THE PARROT] That night, late, the ship stood close in to a small island on the northcoast of Scotland, and a boat was solemnly sent ashore, and after thatTricky was no more seen by any of the crew of the _Vulcan_. CHAPTER III The island on which the Captain of the _Vulcan_ exiled Tricky was markedon the chart 'uninhabited. ' But the chart was wrong. Ten years before, ashepherd had come there, and now lived with his wife and family near thetop of the great sea-cliff. You may judge of the sensation when a reallive monkey appeared in the early morning in this remote and lonelyspot. The shepherd was watching his sheep when the apparition rose, asit were, from the ground. He had never seen a monkey before, any morethan the sheep; and sheep and shepherd bolted like wildfire. Tricky, ofcourse, followed the biped, for he had always been accustomed to humansociety; and, as the shepherd fled towards the hut, he saw the monkeyclose at his heels. So he made a rush at the open door, and pulled itafter him with a bang which almost brought down the house. [Illustration: THE SHEPHERD BOLTED LIKE WILDFIRE] The fugitive had just got inside when, in a moment, he felt himselfseized from behind. It seemed as if a powerful hand was dragging himbackward, and he threw himself down on the ground, and roared with fear. What had happened was that the flying end of his plaid had got jammed inthe door, but he felt sure the evil spirit was holding him in itsclutches, and it was some time before his startled wife could convincehim that there was nothing there. The good woman gathered him up, andsoothed him; and as soon as he could speak he told her in a shiveringvoice about the awful monster which had come to slay them all. He hadscarcely got out the word 'monster, ' when there was a scurrying in thechimney, and the monster presented himself before them, and calmly satdown on the meal-barrel. 'It's just a puggy!' cried the shepherd's wife(she had been to Inverness), and began to stroke Tricky on the back. Asshe did so, she noticed that the creature had a strand of an old ship'srope round its neck, and to this was attached a small piece of paper. She opened it and read four words, scrawled in a hasty hand:-- 'Won't Hang. Won't Drown. ' The shepherd seemed more frightened than ever at this revelation. 'Won'thang, won't drown, ' he muttered. 'Then, we'll see if it won't _shoot_, 'and he reached over the fireplace for the gun which he killed therabbits with. As he loaded it it seemed to the shepherd's wife as if allthe powder and shot in the house was being poured into the barrel. Shepleaded with her husband to spare Tricky's life, and it almost looked asif she had succeeded, for the shepherd lowered the gun from his shoulderand stood for a moment as if in doubt. But it was not because of hiswife he stopped. It was partly because he was quite too shaky to aimstraight; and partly because he was too much of a sportsman to shootoffhand a thing which was sitting quiet and still on his ownmeal-barrel; but the main reason was that he was afraid to shoot thebaby, whose crib was just beside it. So he gave the meal-barrel a kickwith his foot to dislodge the monkey. He thought it would make for thedoor, and there, in the open air, he would shoot it fair and square. But the monkey had other views. What it wanted was something to eat; andthe children's porridge being handy, it put its paw in and beganbreakfast. The shepherd was too much petrified to interfere, and it wasonly when Tricky next spilt the milk-jug over the baby that he rousedhimself to do his duty to his family. He raised the gun once more, and, watching his chance when Tricky was exactly opposite the door, aimedstraight at its heart, and pulled the trigger. Now, the next moment thatmonkey ought to have been scattered all over the hillside inmultitudinous fragments. On the contrary, it was up on the table, imitating the click of the gun with a spoon. Not that the shepherdmissed. For the first time in its life the rusty lock had 'struck, ' andthe dazed shepherd was more than ever confirmed in his belief that themonkey was a witch. 'Won't shoot, ' he muttered to himself, 'won't hang, won't drown. I havetried the first; I'll prove the next. ' So, as he was too superstitiousto try to shoot it again, he went out to hang the monkey. But there was no tree on the island. All day the shepherd searched for aplace to hang Tricky, but in vain. That night he lay thinking, hourafter hour, where he would hang it, and in the early morning aninspiration came to him--he would try the pump! So he rose softly andfixed the handle of the pump high in the air, so that it stuck out likea gallows, and tied a rope with a noose to the end of it. Then he gotTricky to perch on the top of the pump, tied the rope round his neck, and all was ready. The shepherd had heard that the object of hanging wasto break the neck of the criminal by a sudden 'drop, ' but as he couldnot give Tricky a long enough drop he determined to make up for it inanother way. So he gathered all his strength, and with a tremendoussweep of his arms sent Tricky flying into space. Of course you know whathappened. The rope--it was quite rotten--broke, and Tricky landed on hisfour paws, and stood grinning at his executioner, as if he would like itall over again. [Illustration: ALL WAS READY] That whole day the sheep and lambs on the Island of ---- were neglected. All day long you might have seen the shepherd sitting by the marsh-sideplaiting something with his fingers. Round him, the ground was strewnwith rushes, some loose, and some in bundles, but for every one theworkman chose he threw away a hundred, because it was not tough andstrong. And as he plaited, and twisted, and knotted, and tested, therewas fire in the shepherd's eye, and thunder all over his face. At daybreak next morning the shepherd and the monkey once more formed inprocession and wended their way to the old pump. The new rope could hangan elephant. It was thick as a boa-constrictor, and the shepherd took afull hour to adjust the noose and get the gallows into working order. Then the fatal moment came. With a mightier shove than before the monkeywas launched into the air, and the rope stiffened and held like a ship'shawser. But the executioner had not calculated everything. The rope andthe 'drop' were all right, but when the gallows felt the shock, thepump-handle cracked off like a match, and the old moss-covered tube gavetwo rocks and reeled from its moorings, and lay split in pieces on theground. Jagged and needlelike splinters at the same moment scraped andpierced and gouged at the shepherd's shins, and tore his nethergarments, and made him dance with pain and rage. If anything could haveadded more agony to the next few minutes it was the sight of Tricky. That ever gay animal was careering down the hill straight towards thefeeding sheep. The pump-handle was still tied to its neck, and itclattered over the stones with a noise weird enough to drive the wholeflock into the sea. The shepherd knew there must be a catastrophe, buthe was powerless to avert it. He was too sore to follow, so he slowlylimped towards the hut, to nurse his wrath and his wounds. CHAPTER IV For three days after the monkey had been 'hanged' it did not come nearthe shepherd or his house. A monkey has feelings. To be nearly hanged isbad enough, but to have a boa-constrictor and a pump-handle tied to yourneck is more than any self-respecting animal would stand. So Trickydevoted himself exclusively to the sheep. For the space of three days, with the invaluable aid of the pump-handle, Tricky shepherded thatflock. Not a blade of grass was nibbled during this period; oneprolonged stampede was kept up night and day. The lambs dropped withhunger. The old sheep tottered with fatigue. The whole flock wasdemoralised. In fact, when the 'Reign of Terror' closed there was not apound of sound mutton left on the island. Why did not the shepherd interfere? Because, as we shall see, for thesethree days he had more urgent work to do. When the shepherd's wife wentout to the pump that morning for water to make the porridge with, shefound it a heap of ruins. She came back and broke the tidings to theshepherd, and said she believed it had been struck with lightning. Theshepherd discreetly said nothing, but presently stole sullenly out toinspect the damage once more. It was worse than he thought. A pump musthold in both air and water; this pump was rent and split in a dozenplaces. There was no water either to drink or make the porridge with, till the tube was mended. So all that day the shepherd was splicing, andhammering, and gluing, and bandaging. All the next day he was doing thesame. He got nothing to eat or drink; nobody got anything to eat ordrink. The poor children were kept alive on a single bowlful, whichhappened to be in the house, but this was now finished, and they werecrying out from want. Positively, if this drought and famine had beenkept up for a few days more the island would certainly have beenrestored to the condition described on the chart--'uninhabited. ' On the morning of the fourth day the pump stood erect, and wind andwater-tight once more. Only one thing was wanting--there was no handle. The only thing left was to try to catch Tricky, for there was nothingelse on the island which would make a handle. But just then Trickyrequired no catching. At that moment he was sitting on the doorstepcontemplating the group round the pump. Everybody being out, he hadseized the opportunity to have a good breakfast--consisting of everyparticle of meal in the barrel--and was now enjoying a period of reposebefore recommencing hostilities. The shepherd made a rush at him, but, alas, what he wanted was no longer there. A piece of frayed rope dangledon its neck, but the pump-handle was gone. It took two days more to find it. Every inch of the island was patientlyexamined. Even the child next the baby had to join in the search. Nightand day they were all at it; and at last it was found by the shepherd'swife--stuck in a rabbit-hole. All this time no one had leisure to killTricky. But on the seventh day the shepherd rose with murder written onhis brow. The monkey would not shoot, and he would not hang; it remainedto try what drowning would do. So he tied a large stone round themonkey's neck, and led him forth to the edge of the great sea-cliff. [Illustration: HE TOOK MONKEY AND STONE AND HEAVED THEM OVER THE CLIFF] A hundred feet below, the sea lay like a mirror; and the shepherd, as helooked over for a deep place, saw the great fronds of the sea-weeds andthe jelly-fish and the anemones lying motionless in the crystal waters. Then he took the monkey and the stone in his great hands, examined theknots hastily, and, with one sudden swing, heaved them over the cliff. The shepherd would much rather at this point have retired from thescene. But he dared not. He could not trust that monkey. An actualcertificate of death was due to himself and to his family. So he peeredover the cliff and saw the splash in the sea, and watched the ripplesclearing off till the sea-bottom stood out again with every shelldistinct. And there, sure enough, was Tricky, down among the star-fish, safely moored to his gravestone, and the yard of good rope holding likea chain-cable. The shepherd rose for the first time since that monkeyset foot upon the island and breathed freely. Then he slowly went backto the house and told the tale of the end of Tricky. It was not till midnight that Tricky came back. Of course you knewTricky would come back. You knew the rope would slip over the stone, orbreak, or be eaten through by a great fish, or something, and, thoughnone of these things happened, it is certainly true that that night atmidnight Tricky did turn up. Perhaps I should say turn down, for he camein, as usual, by the chimney. But the exact way in which this singularcreature escaped from its watery grave must be reserved for anotherchapter. CHAPTER V If the shepherd had stood looking over the cliff for one moment longerhe would have witnessed a curious scene. Every schoolboy knows that astone is lighter in water than in air. How the monkey knew this, orwhether he did or did not, it is impossible to say, but his actions werecertainly those of a philosopher. For, instead of resigning himself tohis fate, he bent down and grasped the stone which held him to hiswatery grave, picked it up in his arms, and walked calmly along thebottom towards the shore. With a supreme effort he next got the stoneedged on to a half-submerged ledge; but now that it was half out of thewater it was once more too heavy to lift, and Tricky lay in greatperplexity in the shallow water, wondering how ever he was to get out ofthis fresh dilemma. There appeared nothing for it but to attack the ropewith his teeth, and for an hour Tricky worked at the tough strands, butwithout almost any success. After another hour's work the monkey made anappalling discovery. When he began work, the water was only up to hisknees; and to his consternation, it now covered him up to his middle. Ina short time more it came up to his neck, and it was clear to Trickythat if the ledge went on sinking at this rate he was a dead monkey. Tricky thought he knew all about the sea, but in the foreign sea, wherehe had lived with the missionary, there were no tides, and this creepingin of the water greatly disturbed his peace of mind. To his great joy, however, he found that the stone, now wholly covered with water, wasonce more light enough to lift, and he trundled it along the ledge tillthe water became too shallow to move it further. Just above this pointwas another ledge, high and dry above tide-mark, and the yard of ropewas just long enough to allow the monkey to take up his position there, and shake himself dry in the sun. Now, this shaking process suggested an idea to Tricky--a very obviousone to you or me, but a real inspiration to a monkey. Tricky noticedthat the very part of the rope where he had been gnawing rested againstthe sharp edge of the rocky ledge, and that one frayed strand hadsuddenly parted while he was shaking himself. The rock-edge, in fact, was a regular knife, and after much and hard rubbing, and many rests, Tricky found himself within three or four strands of freedom. It was allbut midnight when the last strand parted, and in a few minutes more thegallant monkey crawled up the cliff and stood once more at the door ofhis executioner's house. I am afraid you will be as much surprised as Tricky was at the startlingdiscovery he made when he got there. The cottage was on fire! For days, you will remember, there had been no food in the shepherd's home. Butthat day the family had celebrated the mending of the pump by a greatbanquet and a washing. Such a fire was lit as had not blazed on thehearth for years, and when it grew dark the red sparks flew into the airand fell in dangerous showers upon the dry thatched roof. The wind, too, rose about nightfall, and fanned one smouldering square of turf intolife; and when Tricky reached the spot at least half the roof wasalready in a blaze. But Tricky was hungry after his day's adventures, and the chimney end of the roof being still untouched by the fire, hejumped on to the roof and down into the kitchen with a bound. The baby'scradle lay, as usual, close to the side of the fire, and the monkey, inpassing, must have swished it with his tail, for the infant broke into asudden yell, which rang through the room, and woke the shepherd with astart. The good man was awake not a moment too soon. Had the monkeyarrived five minutes later the whole family must have perished; thesmoke had already filled the other room, and was pouring in, in rollingclouds, below the kitchen door. With one thunderstruck glare at thenight-watchman who had wakened him so opportunely--and who now occupiedhis usual throne on the meal-barrel, violently sneezing out smoke, andwondering whether it was not better to be drowned--the shepherd rushedtowards the door to save the two elder children who lay locked inslumber in the burning room beyond. Seizing them in his arms, he borethem safely to the open air, and then returned for his wife and theother children. Tricky followed at their heels; and the next moment therescued family stood in a shivering group, helplessly watching theflames. The roof soon fell in, and in the morning all that remained ofthe shepherd's house was a few charred rafters. * * * * * On the spot where the shepherd's cottage was burned now stands a noblelighthouse. It was put up a few months after the fire, and one of thethree lighthouse-keepers is the shepherd. The second is a man who isfond of telling tales of the sea, and how he was once mate of a shipcalled the _Vulcan_. The third keeper of the lighthouse is a quadrupedcalled Tricky. The affection between him and the ex-shepherd ispeculiar. Other people think there is some history connected with it, but the shepherd never says much. When asked if it is really true thatthe monkey cannot be killed, he always replies, 'Yes; but that is notwhy it is alive. ' Only on one occasion was the shepherd known to addanything to that remark. It was one night when Tricky had held back thebaby--it had just learned to creep--from tumbling over the cliff. Thenthe shepherd smiled as he threw Tricky a whole bagful of nuts, and said, 'That monkey won't kill--nor let anybody else kill. ' [Illustration: TRICKY HELD BACK THE BABY] GUM CHAPTER I I suppose you thought the monkey I told you about before was dead. Butmy opinion is that he is still alive. At least, I am pretty sure it isthe same monkey that I have now to tell you about, though I cannot bequite sure. In the first place this new monkey was very like Tricky, andin the second place it was a monkey that _would not kill_. Now, I neverheard before of any monkey that would not kill except one, and that wasTricky. Another thing that makes me think it is the same monkey, is that Trickydisappeared from the island where we saw him last. No one knows how ithappened, but there was a coincidence about the time which I mustrelate. One morning a boat's crew landed on the island where Trickylived with the lighthouse-keeper, to fill their water-kegs. Thelighthouse-keeper was kind to them, for they were foreigners, and showedthem all over the lighthouse, and when they got to the very top theyfound the monkey dusting the lamps just like a human being. The sailorswere much astonished, and one of them, who could speak a little English, wanted to buy Tricky for two pounds. When the lighthouse-keeper heardthis he was very angry, and ordered them all down the ladder. This madethe men angry in turn, for they did not know the reason why thelighthouse-keeper loved the monkey, and they told him they would notforget the way he had insulted them. Of course he had not insulted themat all, but foreign sailors are sometimes quick-tempered, and these mencame from a country where slights are easily felt. The sailors spent thewhole day on shore, as the wind was unfavourable for getting out to sea, but no one saw them enter the lighthouse again. Next morning, all thatthe lighthouse-keeper saw of the sailors and their ship was the tips oftheir top-gallants dipping over the horizon edge. And all that he saw ofthe monkey that--would--not--kill, after searching night and day for aweek was--nothing. CHAPTER II Mr. Donald MacAlsh, gold-miner from Silver Creek, California, happeningto be in San Francisco, read one morning the following paragraph in the_San Francisco Herald_:-- 'Curious Tale of The Sea. --Captain J. E. Dawkins of the _Mermaid_, which has just arrived in this port from Liverpool, reports a singular occurrence. About ten days' out from home the look-out observed what he took to be a great sea-serpent, but which, on further inspection, turned out to be a quantity of wreckage. On approaching the spot the figure of a boy was distinctly observed clinging to the broken portion of a mast, and obviously still alive. A small boat was instantly lowered, the ship's crew meantime making signals to the boy to inform him that he was being rescued. After a suspense of some half-hour the boat returned with the extraordinary intelligence that the figure seen was not that of a boy, but of a monkey. Search among the wreckage for human remains proved unavailing, and it is feared that a serious catastrophe has occurred. The only clue to the nationality of the vessel, which, it is only too plain, has met with a disastrous fate, are the letters "vorni" on a portion of what had evidently formed the bow of one of the life-boats. Possibly these letters are part of "Livorni, " the Italian word for Leghorn, and the list of recent sailings from that port is now being scrutinised with some anxiety. ' [Illustration: THE MONKEY'S RESCUE] Now what interested Donald--'Big Donald, ' he was always called--in thisstory was not the monkey, but the arrival of the _Mermaid_. For theCaptain was a friend of his, and was bringing him some tools from homein this very ship. Though 'Big Donald' was now a gold-miner, he came outfrom Scotland when quite a lad. His father was a small farmer in Skye, and, dying early, the family emigrated to America. As it was to getthese tools that Donald came in to San Francisco he soon found his wayto the harbour, and, finding out the _Mermaid_, walked on board. No onewas visible on deck, so Donald sat down on a coil of rope to wait. Hehad not been there three minutes when a matted head and two verybrilliant eyes suddenly shot up the companion, and a full-grown monkeysprang in front of him and stared into his face. Donald, much startledby this apparition, called out in a loud voice for the creature to goaway; but the moment the words were spoken the monkey sprang on his backand clasped its long hairy arms about his neck. The miner shook it offin terror and tried to run ashore, but the monkey followed, frisking andgambolling round him, and chasing him all over the quay. Donald soondiscovered, however, that the monkey meant no harm, and a few days lateran explanation of this sudden outburst of interest in a stranger--theCaptain told Donald that the monkey had never been known to behave likethis before--broke in upon the miner's mind. He remembered that when hesuddenly spoke to the monkey he had called to it _in Gaelic_. Under theimpulse of a sudden fear, I suppose, the language of his boyhood hadstarted to his lips, and the words came out unconsciously '_Imich airfalbh_, ' which means 'Go away. ' What made Donald remember thecircumstance was this, that whenever afterwards he used the Highlandtongue the monkey manifested peculiar signs of joy. The only way theminer could account for this singular fact was to suppose that somehowor other this monkey had once belonged to some one who used the Gaeliclanguage--a suggestion, however, which people generally laughed at. Theminer always maintained, nevertheless, that the monkey really knewGaelic, and he seldom spoke to it in any other language. Of course, people said this was simply to show off that he knew two languages. I do not know whether the miner bought the monkey, or whether theCaptain gave it to him, or whether it ran away, but it is certain thatfrom this hour it belonged to Donald. When he left the ship with histools, the monkey followed, trotting after him like a dog all the waytill he reached his lodgings. The miner then went into the house andshut the door, leaving the monkey outside. In ten minutes it seemed asif all the boys in San Francisco had gathered in that street. Theyformed a crowd round the door which almost stopped the traffic; and whenthe policeman shortly appeared he was rather disgusted to find that itwas only a monkey performing gymnastic exercises on a door-knocker. Roughly ringing the bell, he ordered Donald to take in his monkey. Donald replied meekly that he was not responsible for the monkey, butthe officer said he would be summoned for 'obstructing the thoroughfareand causing a breach of the peace' if he did not take in his guest atonce. So Donald had to submit, for he saw there would be no rest in SanFrancisco till this wayward creature had its will and was safe inside. That night Donald had a serious talk with the monkey as it sat uprightin its chair at supper. He told it that if it would behave itself hewould take it up to the Rocky Mountains to the gold diggings. The monkeyseemed to understand, for it put down a lump of cheese it was about toeat, skipped off its chair, and nestled against Big Donald's side. Onlyone other thing happened that night: Donald gave the monkey its name. Hecalled it 'Gum'--because it stuck to him. [Illustration: A MONKEY PERFORMING GYMNASTIC EXERCISES] CHAPTER III Next morning Donald and Gum started from San Francisco by an early trainon their way to Silver Creek. The appearance of the monkey in therailway carriage created much amusement among the passengers, and Donaldhad to stand a running-fire of questions as to whether it belonged tohis great-grandfather or to a barrel-organ. The fun was stopped in alittle while by the entrance of the conductor, who demanded Gum'sticket. Gum not having a ticket, an angry discussion arose on thesubject of fare; but Donald said he would only pay when the conductorshowed him the correct price for a monkey printed in black and white inthe official books. There being no special mention in these volumes ofmonkeys on tour, Donald declined to pay a cent, and the conductordeparted, vowing he would put Gum out of the train at the next station. When the next station came, however, Donald and the monkey wereentrenched in a corner, the latter tightly grasped in the miner's greatarms, and the conductor, after a glance at the situation, decided towait for a more convenient season. In America the conductor, instead ofentering the carriages only when the train stops, moves about all thetime from one carriage to another, so that as the station for SilverCreek was still eleven hours' distant, he had little doubt his chancewould come. [Illustration: BURIED HIS TEETH IN THE CONDUCTOR'S WRIST] And come it did. It was a piping hot day, even for California, and latein the afternoon Donald fell asleep. His arms were still clasped roundthe monkey, and the conductor would never have succeeded in his objectbut for an accident. It happened that about that time the train wasapproaching an important junction, and part of every ticket had to begiven up at that point. In America a railway ticket is sometimes half ayard in length, and pieces have to be torn off from point to point. Toavoid the disturbance caused by this operation, miners, cowboys, andothers are in the habit of wearing their tickets slipped into the bandof their great wide-awake hats, and Donald was in this inviting positionwhen the conductor came round. He snatched it out of the hat to tear offthe necessary piece, when the monkey, thinking a theft was meant, sprangat the man and buried his teeth in his wrist. Roaring with pain, theconductor seized his assailant by the throat, and, before Donald couldcome to the rescue, tossed him out of the window. The train was dashinground a curve at thirty miles an hour, and when Donald stretched out hisneck to find out whether Gum was killed, it was with small hope of everseeing him more. For two minutes the miner gazed at the recedingdistance, then, without uttering a word, turned round and felled theconductor to the floor. CHAPTER IV When the train rolled into the junction, about an hour after, Donaldwent into the refreshment room to quiet his nerves with a cup of cocoa. He was about to take his seat again in the carriage when he observed acrowd on the platform opposite the brake-van at the rear end of thetrain. Making his way to the spot and looking over the heads of thecrowd, what was his amazement to see Gum seated on the couplingapparatus, and looking about him with perfect serenity. One hand held aniron rod, and with the other he scratched his head; and, but for a greatsplash of brown earth on one side, the monkey seemed wholly untouched byhis adventure. A single word in Gaelic from Donald made the monkeyspring from its perch, and over the heads of the people into his arms, and in a few minutes the strange friends were pursuing their journeyagain, as if nothing had happened. A new conductor was now on the train, and Donald made friends with him by reciting the whole adventure, sothat they were allowed to end the day in peace. About midnight the twogot out at a roadside station, where they spent the night, and in thegrey of the morning set out by coach for Silver Creek. From Silver CreekDonald's cabin was still thirty miles' walk over the mountains, andafter another day's hard toiling they reached the spot. CHAPTER V After a long journey over the mountains Donald reached his log cabin onthe Silver Creek. The monkey, however, did not find quite so immediate awelcome as himself from Donald's wife. The only pet her children hadever seen before was a baby puma, which the miner had picked out of thestream one day in a half-drowned state. Donald had mistaken it for akitten of some new brand, and it was not until some weeks later, when itsprang upon his little girl and buried his claws in her neck, that herealised what sort of plaything--the puma is the lion of the RockyMountains--he had introduced into his family. So Donald's wife wassuspicious of pets, and when she saw the monkey she was sure it wasanother lion, and would not allow it to enter the door. But Gum hadother ways of entering houses than by doors, and finally he was receivedas a lawful member of the family, for the simple reason that he couldnot be kept out. The new guest gave little trouble. Most of the day themonkey spent with Donald at the mine. He went off with him when he wentto work in the morning, and gambolled round him till he came home forsupper. And very soon an incident happened which more than reconciledDonald's wife to her strange visitor. Donald's gold-mine was a poor one. He had to work very hard to get enough of the precious dust to keep hisfamily in food, but his spirits were kept up by the constant hope thathe would strike a richer bed and make his fortune. The way he got thegold was to take the sand and gravel from the banks of the river andwash it about in a pan till all the lighter particles passed off withthe water, leaving the little spangles of gold at the bottom. Sometimesa week would pass without the miner getting more than a thimbleful, butoccasionally he would find a few lumps as big as a pea. One day, however, just as Donald was getting discouraged, a piece of greatgood-luck befell him. He had been particularly depressed that day, forno gold at all had rewarded his search for a week, and the family werealready in debt for flour and clothes. But, thanks to the monkey, he wasable to go home to his wife with the largest gold nugget that had beenseen in that valley for many years. Gum had been skirmishing about asusual on the gravel heaps, when some loose pebbles were dislodged by hispaws, and, as they rolled down, he must have been attracted by theyellow glitter in one large lump, for the next moment he had picked upthe nugget and laid it, with a wag of his tail, at Donald's feet. Theminer almost wept for gladness, and, taking Gum up in his arms as if hewere a child, hurried home to proclaim his fortune. That night thefamily had a great feast, and Gum's health was drunk in the strongesttea the mining camp could furnish. Perhaps if they had known what wasshortly to happen they would not have slept quite so soundly. [Illustration: THE NUGGET OF GOLD] CHAPTER VI Two nights after the wheel of fortune gave an unlooked-for turn. Donald's wife was so proud of the nugget that she could not keep thenews to herself, and, next morning, although Donald had carefully toldher to keep it quiet, confided his good-luck to another miner's wife, who lived a few hundred yards off. This worthy woman told another, andin twenty-four hours the fame of Donald's nugget was spread from end toend of the valley. This would not have mattered in most places, butmining districts are peopled by criminals and adventurers of all kinds, and among these were some lawless characters whose chief business was toget gold in some other way than by working for it. Two of these men, brothers, who lived with their families at the lower end of the valley, determined that they should possess themselves of Donald's nugget. Covering their faces with black masks, and armed with revolvers, theyset off about midnight for the miner's cabin. The family were fastasleep, and the robbers noiselessly pushed up the window, and enteredthe room where Donald slept. Pointing a loaded revolver at his head, oneof the men roughly awoke him, and told him if he moved or cried out hewould blow out his brains and murder every one in the house. Donald wastoo familiar with stories of camp crime to resist an attack so sudden, and, though a loaded revolver was under his own pillow, he saw hisdisadvantage and, for the sake of his wife and children, controlledhimself with a great effort. [Illustration: POINTING A LOADED REVOLVER AT HIS HEAD] 'I want that little bit of metal of yours, ' said the robber. Donald layperfectly quiet. 'Do you hear!' exclaimed the man, 'I want that gold. ' 'Then you won't get it, ' said Donald quietly. 'I believe he has sent it to the bank, ' whispered the other man. 'Killhim if he has. ' 'Look here!' thundered the first, 'do you mean to say that nugget isgone?' Donald made no reply. If he said it was gone, the robbers would havesimply sneaked home, for Donald was known in these parts as a man whonever told a lie. Once more the robber asked him, but Donald remainedsilent. This was enough. If it had really been gone Donald would havecertainly said so. So, while the first man stood with a revolver at hisear, the second proceeded to search the house. Drawers, boxes, andcupboards were opened and ransacked in quick succession; every corner ofthe two rooms was examined; the very dishes on the shelf were turnedupside down, and the sugar-basin smashed to pieces with a blow, in caseit should have been hidden there. 'Let me try, ' said the man with the revolver; 'you watch the old bear, and see if I can't find it. ' Once more the house was ransacked from top to bottom, and the robber wasabout to abandon the search, when a sudden thought occurred to him. Onthe mantel-piece ticked a wooden American clock, about two feet high. The man opened the door in the case, and fumbled about with his finger. Next moment he had drawn out the nugget. He bent over the fire to get abetter look at it, and then proceeded to weigh it in the palm of hishand, to see how much it was worth. The other robber, unable to restrainhis curiosity, moved likewise toward the fire, when the first checkedhim with an angry cry, and sent him back to his victim's side tocontinue his guard. Another moment, and Donald would have had hisrevolver out, and the nugget would have been saved. But there wasanother spectator of this scene on whom the thieves had scarcelyreckoned. In his usual berth, crouched at the side of the fireplace, satGum. The robber was weighing the gold in his hand, turning it round andround, and gloating over it, when the glitter from the precious metalattracted the monkey's eye. It seemed to feel some sense of property inthis gold, for, quick as lightning, one hairy paw brushed the robber'shand, and the next moment the nugget was gone. With a great oath therobber turned on Gum, and dealt it a blow on the head which knocked itsenseless to the other side of the room. But, before that blow fell, twothings happened. With one hand held out to protect itself against thissudden onslaught, the monkey made a grab at its assailant's face, andtore off the black mask, so that Donald instantly recognised the man, inthe glow of the firelight; with the other hand, which held the gold, themonkey swiftly transferred the nugget to its mouth. The robber's eye followed this last movement, however, and he picked upGum roughly, and proceeded to wrench open its jaws. He felt all roundhis mouth, but the nugget was not there. He held the senseless body upby the tail and shook it, but no gold appeared. He took his head betweenhis knees, and sounded all over its throat, but the nugget was not to befound. As a matter of fact it was not there. The blow which had fallenupon the monkey's head had knocked it down its throat. Gum had swallowedthe nugget! What was to be done now? If the robber had had a knife in his pocket, Gum would have been a dead monkey in two seconds. But while he wasunsuccessfully feeling for his knife, Gum suddenly came to, and with oneviolent wriggle shook itself free, and sprang on the highest shelf. Therobber gave chase; then followed the most comical hunt you ever saw. Therobber's face being now exposed (he had no idea that Donald had alreadyrecognised him), he was afraid to turn round, and he had to keep up thehunt without once facing in the direction where Donald lay, with theresult that he was fairly baffled, and after a quarter of an hour's hardwork, gave up the chase. All that remained now was to blind Donald. Roughly approaching the bed, the robber drew the blankets over Donald'sface, and told him he would shoot him if he dared to stir. As an extraprecaution, the miner's revolver was taken out of reach, and then bothmen started, with a piece of rope, to secure the monkey. Clever as Gumwas, he was scarcely a match for two men, who, as noted horse-thieves, were experts in the use of the lasso, and in a short time the monkey wasignominiously driven from his perch on a rafter, tied up in Donald'spillow-case, and swung over the shoulder of one of the men. Then therobbers wished Donald a grim good-night, and marched off with their'purse. ' As they were going out of the door Donald called after them, 'Good-night, ye blackguards, and mark my words, if ye lay a hand on thatmonkey ye'll regret it as long as ye live!' This made the men a littlefrightened, for although they did not like to confess it to one another, there was something about Gum that was 'not canny. ' Anyhow, whether itwas fear of the monkey, or of their own consciences, instead of killingGum as soon as they left the house they carried it all the way home withthem, discussing which of them was to kill it, and how it was to bedone. CHAPTER VII When the thieves reached home, after a hasty breakfast, they continuedthe discussion as to how the purse was to be opened and the nuggetsecured. Unfortunately for them the monkey had struggled out of thepillow-case, as soon as it reached the house, and the robbers' childrenat once seized upon it, and claimed it as their pet. When they were toldit would have to be killed, the youngest child, a little girl so lovelythat even a bad father could not help loving her, burst into tears, and, putting her arms round the robber's neck, prayed and entreated him tospare its life, and let her play with it. Now, wicked as this man was, this child had a mysterious influence over him, and though he wasresolved to kill Gum, and that immediately, he determined that sheshould not see it done, nor even know that he had done it. Besides this, it would never do to let the people in the valley know that they hadkilled the monkey, for Donald would surely go in search of it; so afterconsulting together for some time, the robbers decided on a plan forkilling Gum without anybody being any the wiser. They knew that if theyshot it, or drowned it, or slew it with a knife, the children would beangry, and the story would certainly be told to their playmates andpassed on in time to Donald's family. So a very diabolical scheme washatched. The only way they could think of for killing Gum without anyone seeing, or without either of them being actually present at thedeath, was to _blow it up with gunpowder_. This method had anotheradvantage, which neither of the men liked to confess weighed with them, but in reality it was this more than anything else that made them thinkof the gunpowder. At the bottom of their hearts these men were cowards, and after the strange threat which Donald had uttered as they wereleaving his house, they were secretly afraid 'to lay a hand' upon Gum. Amonkey was a very mysterious creature. They had never had anything to dowith one before. Gum's face had a curious human look, and to murder itin cold blood was almost like murdering a man. So the gunpowder ideaseemed the very solution that was needed, and they set about theirpreparations at once. While one of the men remained at the kitchen firewith the family to allay suspicion, the other, after pocketing a littlecan of miners' blasting-powder, a couple of feet of fuse, and a piece ofstring, strolled out to the wood behind the cabin on the pretence ofgiving the monkey a walk. As soon as a low thicket screened the pairfrom view, the robber tied the monkey to the trunk of a tree. Then helashed the can of gunpowder tightly to the monkey's tail, passed one endof the fuse into it through a small hole, struck a match, and lightedthe other end. As soon as he saw the fuse was fairly lit, and the redfire slowly creeping upwards, he ran back as fast as he could to thehouse. Meantime the other man had got a concertina from the shelf, andwas playing with all his might to drown the sound of the explosion. Whenthe executioner arrived, out of breath though he was, he joined noisilyin the dance which the children had set up the moment the concertinabegan to play, and presently such a stamping and shouting was going onin the cottage that the sound of an earthquake would have been quenched. Suddenly an awful interruption occurred. Through the open door themonkey bounded in, and taking up its place in the midst of the circlejoined in the dance. From its neck dangled a piece of string, burnt atthe point; but what made the children shriek with laughter was a smalltin can tied to its tail, which clattered about with every turn of thebody, and strange to say, had a sort of little tail of its own whichappeared to be on fire, for little puffs of smoke were coming from it, and a red colour glowed at the tip. The moment the robbers caught sightof this apparition there was a yell of fear which paralysed the childreninto rigid statues. The men's faces were livid with terror, and someseconds passed before either had recovered his senses sufficiently toact. Then one man, with a great sweep of his arms, caught up all thechildren into one tumble bunch, and flung them screaming with pain andsurprise under the bed of the adjoining room. The other, who wasdirectly responsible for the mischief, seeing that the only chance tosave his house and himself was to get Gum outside, clutched the smokingmonkey in his arms and rushed to the door. Quick as the movement was, itwas not quick enough. Those inside heard a deafening report; the housewas filled with smoke; the doorway became a heap of fallen timber, andthe blackened body of a man lay groaning among the charred ruins. One ofthe robbers, their wives, and all the children were safe. But when thesmoke cleared away, and the body by the door was examined, life was allbut extinct. For weeks the robber hung between life and death. It formsno part of this story to tell what pains he suffered, or what agonies ofmind he passed through, or how, when months after he was able to crawlfrom his bed and go out into the air it was to see never more thesunlight or the flowers with his sightless eyes. Certainly Donald'swords had come true. When the miner heard that evening what hadhappened, although he had already sent off word to the nearestpolice-station with the names of the guilty men, he took no furtheraction in the matter. God's punishment was quicker than man's. [Illustration: THE CAN OF GUNPOWDER TIED TO HIS TAIL] CHAPTER VIII Late that afternoon the monkey turned up at his old home. Donald foundhim lying at the door, an almost unrecognisable object. Thanks to theway the robber had carried him, one half of his body was untouched, butthe other half was a pitiable spectacle, and the long curly tail, Gum'sgreat ornament and plaything, was blown off by the root. The poorcreature had swooned, but that he had lain there an hour or two in greatpain was plain from the way the gravel was tossed about in alldirections round him. Donald was greatly touched, and lifting him up inhis arms as tenderly as if he were a child, placed him in his own bedand dressed his burns. After a long sleep it awoke, and Donald, who hadsat silently by his side, bent over to allow it to lick his face. Themoment it opened its mouth the miner sprang from his chair as if he hadbeen shot. For there between his teeth the monkey held the nugget! * * * * * Five years have passed. Donald is the richest man in Silver CreekCounty, and his great mines are worked by hundreds of men. He lives in agreat house, sumptuously furnished and full of precious things, which hedelights to show to the many visitors who flock to see his mine. But ofall these precious things, by far the most precious is Gum, the monkeywithout a tail, 'the finder of his first nugget, and the founder of hisfortunes, ' as he says to everybody. Then he tells how Gum found thenugget, and how it was stolen and once more brought back; and how whenGum got better, the two went back to the spot where the big lump wasfound, and searched and searched, and found lump after lump and nuggetafter nugget, until, in a few months, more gold was hidden belowDonald's bed than had come from all the mines put together since theyfirst were opened. Then the good man calls out a word in Gaelic, and themonkey without a tail jumps into his arms to be caressed, and Donaldasks his guests to read the inscription on the golden collar round itsneck:-- TO FAITHFUL GUM FROM HIS GRATEFUL MASTER. Made out of the first nugget--August 2nd, 1888. [Illustration: THE MOST PRECIOUS OF ALL IS GUM]