"What's that, have you seen him, then?" demanded Mr. Jenks, eagerly.
"Oh! he's hanging out somewhere near by, and we've had a couple of experiences with the sly rascal," Steve continued. "First time he stole half a ham, and when we were looking around in the night he flung it at my head, and nearly knocked my brains out, only I was saved by not having it hit me."
"Well, that's interesting—not the fact of your having brains, my son, but what you tell me about Link's scandalous conduct. He's a slick one, I assure you," the circus man went on to say, his face beaming with satisfaction at thus striking a warm clue so early in the hunt.
"Yes," broke out Toby, anxious to get in the spotlight as well as Steve; "and right this very morning, after I'd f-f-fished for f-f-frogs over at the p-p-pond a half mile away, and left my h-b-basket full of saddles under a tree, would you believe m-m-me, that old m-m-monk slipped up and run away with the s-s-same? C-c-course we found it again, 'cause m-m-monkeys don't f-f-fancy f-f-fish; and we saw tracks as p-p-plain as anything that looked like a b-b-baby'd been there, which was his m-m-marks, you know."
"I wouldn't be a bit surprised, now!" declared Mr. Jenks, "but what you boys will be after me to claim that two hundred yet. Link seems to have taken a fancy to you in some way, and is hanging around your camp. Now, my time is nearly up, and unless I gather him in this afternoon I'm afraid I'll have to leave here. I'm meaning to let you write down where the show'll be every day for two weeks; and you can reach me there if you do happen to take the monkey in."
He looked meaningly at Toby when saying this. Somehow Mr. Jenks seemed to have an idea that the boy who loved to collect wild animals must be the leader of the little group of campers. This arose partly through his having had former dealings with Toby Jucklin, whom he had at least found to be fairly shrewd at making a bargain.
It quite tickled Toby to have this honor thrust upon him for once in his life; and as Max could see no harm in the mistake he allowed it to go on. After all it mattered very little, since they were all chums; and what was one's business was the concern of all. And Toby seemed to be enjoying the sensation so much that his face was fairly flushed.
"We'll t-t-try to d-d-do our best, sir," Toby went on to say, feeling that it was up to him to act as spokesman, when his relations with Mr. Jenks made him so pronounced a factor in the deal.
"He's so tricky, though," observed Steve, "that you mustn't count on our being able to bring him to terms. Monkeys can bite and scratch terrible, if they once get mad, can't they, Mr. Jenks?"
The two men were sitting down alongside, and each enjoying the contents of a pannikin placed before them, containing a fair supply of all that the boys had had for their meal, as well as a brimming cup of coffee with all the "fixings."