That evening while the supper was cooking, with the addition of some turtle steaks and fish which had been caught during the afternoon by Dick, they were startled at a crashing and scrambling in one of the tree tops not far off.
Grasping their rifles, the boys started off in pursuit of the animal that was causing the disturbance. They soon arrived under the tree in which it was concealed, but owing to the dense foliage could see nothing but the shaking of leaves and branches as some heavy body moved about.
“Maybe it’s a leopard!” exclaimed Dick. “The captain says there are lots of ‘em about here and we heard some howling last night.”
“No, it’s making too much noise for a leopard,” declared Jack; “besides, I don’t believe that they ever go so high up.”
“Maybe it’s a monkey of some kind,” suggested Tom.
“That’s a heap more likely,” agreed Jack.
“Hullo! It’s moving again!” cried Tom.
“It’s swinging into the next tree. Look!” cried Dick excitedly.
“If you saw it, why didn’t you shoot?” demanded Tom.
“Got buck fever, I guess. Say, fellows, by the meandering monkeys of Moravia, that was the funniest looking thing I ever saw.”