"Good God!" he shouted, "Are you blind, man?"
I peered through the clearing smoke.
"Well, I'm damned!" I said.
[CHAPTER XIII]
THE GORILLA AT HOME
My emotions were mixed. I was angry, and yet at the same time I was very grateful to Stringer and Providence. No man enjoys being the victim of a practical joke; neither does he relish the feeling that only good luck has prevented his committing homicide.
I thrust my revolver back into my hip pocket, and strode over to the gentleman with the club.
"Gran'pa!" I said. "You and your confounded monkey tricks will end in disaster one of these bright days. Why you couldn't have acquainted us of your approach is beyond me. You might have known that we were on the alert—ready to shoot at almost anything."
He removed his gorilla mask, mopped his brow and gave a forced laugh.
"Perhaps it was rather foolish of me," he admitted. "But I'd been watching you all from behind that bush for some minutes, and I couldn't resist a little practical joke. . . . Phew! That was a near thing, George! I thought my last day had come."