"If he doesn't," said the grocer, "I'll call a policeman and——"
But just then Jack acted for himself. With a shrill chatter he broke loose from the string that was tied to the collar about his neck. There had been no cord on him when he was eating a banana in the yard of the Curlytops, and the hand-organ man must have tied it there after he took the children's pet. Once free, Jack made one leap and landed safe in Teddy's arms.
| JACK MADE ONE LEAP AND LANDED SAFELY IN TEDDY'S ARMS. | |
| "The Curlytops and Their Pets" | Page 174 |
Now, Jack was rather a large monkey, and, jumping from a distance, as Jack did, he knocked Teddy over. Flat down on the sidewalk sat Teddy, the monkey clinging with its hairy arms about the little boy's neck.
"Oh! Oh!" exclaimed Janet, and then she stopped, for she did not know what else to say.
"Look out!" cried Mr. Anderson. "Maybe that's a savage monkey, and he'll bite you!"
"This is Jack all right," declared Teddy. "I know him and he knows me. He didn't hurt me. I—I just sat down, that's all," and the little Curlytop boy laughed.
Jack chattered, clung tighter to his master, and then the crowd that had gathered also laughed. For it looked so odd to see Teddy sitting on the sidewalk, with a monkey, quite a large one, clinging to his neck.