"To think that we should hae to run like that, frae—frae monkeys!" snorted Stewart indignantly as we halted. "It's fair disgracefu'."
The Captain slowly opened his eyes, and looked at me reproachfully.
"That chimpanzee that we didn't shoot," said he feebly, "is one of the same family, for the brute must have given the alarm——"
"There he is noo!" cried Mac. "Gie me ma gun, Stewart, an' A'll obleeterate him, nae matter wha's grandfaither he is."
I caught a glimpse of the huge ape swinging backwards into the thicket, then Mac's vengeful weapon spoke, and the Sakis' strange scout came tumbling to the ground. A yell of rage issued from the forest, and instantly a number of our late pursuers appeared and dragged the orang-outang back whence they came.
"I haven't had much opportunity of studying the beggars," said Phil, "but I'm not growling. They are the most apish people I could ever have imagined."
"Instead of gold," commented Skelton grimly, "we've all got a fair-sized dose of malaria——"
"And various other trifles," added Mac, as he extracted the darts from the more fleshy portions of his anatomy.
"We'll leave the gold alone this time, boys," I climaxed; "but we'll have another try when we can get a stronger party together. Meanwhile, we had better make tracks for the coast, and recuperate our energies."