"Hi! give me my hat!" roared Giles Frozzler, and put his hand into the cage to get the article in question.
The monkeys thought he had more peanuts and, being half starved, they grabbed his hand and pulled it this way and that, while one gave the man a severe nip.
"Oh! oh!" screamed the circus man. "Let go my hand, you pesky rascal!"
"Hullo, dat monkey am got a limb dat don't belong to no tree," sang out
Aleck.
"You shut your mouth!" growled Frozzler "Hi! give me my hat!" he went on to the monkeys. But the animals paid no attention to him. They ate up the peanuts as fast as they could and then one began an investigation by pulling the band from the hat.
The head covering was a new one, purchased but two days before, and to see it being destroyed made Giles Frozzler frantic.
"Give me that, you rascals!" he roared, and began to poke at the monkeys with a sharp stick. But two of them caught the stick and, watching their chance, jerked it away from him.
"Hurrah! score one for the monks!" sang out Tom, and this made the crowd laugh.
"If you don't shut up I'll have you put out," came angrily from Giles
Frozzler.
"Why don't you buy hats for the pool' dear monkeys?" went on Tom. "Then they wouldn't want yours."