“I got a job of transferring them from a ship that’s just in from South America, to a dock up near Seabright way,” answered the man.
“How’d they get loose?” Frank wanted to know.
“Hanged if I know,” was the reply. “I was sailing along easy like, when all of a sudden I felt something on my leg. It was sort of squeezin’ me, and when I looked down I saw a big snake crawling up. I gave one yell and scudded across the deck. Then I saw a monkey making faces at me from the hatchway. The long tailed beasts must have broken out of their cages, and then the monkeys let the snakes loose. I climbed up here, and here I am.”
“Are they savage?” asked Andy.
“Say, for the love of lobsters don’t ask so many questions!” begged the man. “Get aboard here and drive the critters away so I can come down. One of the monkeys cast off the main sheet and spilled the wind out of the sail.”
“It’s a good thing he did, or we couldn’t have come up to you,” called Frank. “We’ll see what we can do. Where are the cages?”
“Down in the hold. The steamer captain, when I took the beasts, told me to keep ’em below, and I did, but I didn’t think they’d get loose so I didn’t have the hatch covers on.”
“Well, it’s easier than I thought,” went on Frank. “Wait a minute and we’ll be back.”
He started to row their boat toward the Gull.
“Oh, don’t leave me!” wailed the man.