The Black Phantom

s in the

consolate since the loss of her own baby, stolen from her lap by a pitiless eagle and borne away in the

ly safe; she even stopped occasionally to look in triumph at the outraged mother fuming and threatening so far belo

e did this the cub's forepaws shot out, inflicting parallel rows of deep, painful scratches in her cheeks. The monkey bounded upward and nearly lost her footing as she screeched in surprise and resentment; then she drew back her free hand as if to give him a cuff but instead, quickly stooped and gav

indifferent manner in those rare intervals when he did not violently resent them. Myla was in a quandary. Should she restore him to his mother by taking him back to the windfall? Should she desert him in the treetops, or should she cast him to the ground and thus be rid of him quickly and without trouble? No! She had l

lutched him so closely he could scarcely breathe. He struggled, bluffed, clawed and bit his captor but she was

gh the branches; and at the hundred other new and terrifying things. When night came he was more frightened than ever. He wanted his mother. Why did she not come with the

could not penetrate Warruk was truly grateful for the warmth and shelter and promptly fell asleep. Once during the hours of darkness he awoke with a start; from below had come the sound of a familiar voice, faint but unmistakable. Myla too had been awakened and stirre

to her body. When he whimpered or struggled she quieted him by

of-like palm-leaves overhead. Even then she did not leave from choice. Grim necessity drove her from her snug retreat-the necessity of procuring food. And as for Warruk, he was so hungry he could think of no

oof, clinging lightly to the trunk of some tall, sturdy tree. As it climbed, stealthily, like a viper stealing upon its victim, it sent out slender tendrils that completely encircled its support; and when its crown reached the bright sunlight high

lycatchers. Reaching the feeding place, the monkey climbed nimbly into the branches, venturing as far as she dared; then s

down a branch very low and waited for him to eat. But the food was unknown to him so he ignore

dpecker's abode led into a spacious cavity on the bottom of which reposed two fat, ugly fledgelings. As yet their bodies were naked excepting only

s. Free of his captor the cub crouched low and greedily devoured the prize while Myla hopped up and down excitedly and screeched and chattered her opinion of the unexpected sight. The parent birds, feeding in a nearby tree, heard the commotion and surmised that it spelled disaster for their brood. They stopped plucking fruits with their long beaks and tossing them into their throats and flew heavily t

ir black bodies as they hurtled after the fleeing monkey, easily keeping pace with her and nipping her ears and back and tail. At each pinch Myla emitted a scream and increased her speed until she seemed to fly through the branches handicapped though she was by the cub securel

from the trunk a distance of six inches effectively discouraged her from climbing to the rescue. Her loud demonstrations of rage and grief had given way to a strategy of watchfulness f

d a barrier that most of the ground-inhabiting animals could not cross; also, the broad, open space between the wall of trees on each side was impassable

great trees met overhead forming bridges that were utilized on occasions by the kinka

ugh to strip even the most prolific of the fruit-bearers. Most destructive of all were the flocks of parrots; they wasted more than they ate. They plucked the choicest morsels, took one bite and dropped them or, snipping the stems with their

after it had been exhausted in the foothills. And, all unconscious of the fact that the wrathful Suma was shadowing h

es' domicile which was plastered, like a huge knob, on one of the high branches. And, when night came, tired and drowsy from overeating she forgot her usual caution and made he

ed up the columnar trunk. Warruk whimpered and Myla cooed low and stroked his back to quiet him; then she peered up and down and to both sides befo

upward journey while Myla slumbered on in blissf

ajous, beautiful creatures of the weasel family, with glossy brown fur and long, prehensile tails.

after in a twittering, nervous band, snatched thei

flapped heavily from branch to branch and emitted low, groaning calls. Myla heard their coming and trembled as with an ague. It was not her first experience with the curassows but previously she had paid scant attention to them from the security of her perch in the spiny palm tr

Warruk, hearing his mother's voice, replied with a wail of despair. As for Myla, the realization of her narrow escape had the same effect upon her that an explodin

ust time enough to crouch on the thick butt of a limb that overhung the passageway when the rustling of the leaves announced the arrival of Myla. A dark form emerged from the wall of trees opposite her and ran nimbly onto the swaying bridge. Suma waited with bated breath and blazing eyes as her claws crept out of th

h bated breath

was upon her-not to continue the assault but to rescue the whining Warruk who lay on the bed of leaves several feet away. Sh

A moment later she was painfully dragging herself up into the branches after which she slowly made her way back toward the foothills, glad to be rid of the surly W

egion infested with the meddlesome monkeys. Also, a mysterious something in the air told her that the time for her journey to the lowlands had arrived. And, when at last the shrieking parrot flocks overhead and the dull, gray light in front of he

some of his plumpness; and he had developed such a strong dislike of

ce of the morning and revelled in the light and warmth; and gave thanks for its deliverance from the clutches of Siluk, the Storm-God. For, the months of rain had

age bedecked with myriads of drops of water that scintillated like the rarest of gems. Their ranks had been augmented during the period of enforced seclusion and numbers of their

g, sparkling leaves; tapirs wandered out into the open places; and the sinuous, scale-covered bodies of snakes glided from their hidi

pen country where life and living were more worth while. They travelled in a leisurely manner either by day or by night, as suited their fancy and rested

o that he might become a successful hunter, learning his lessons step by step. But, when at last they reached the forest's end and the boundless reaches of papyrus marshes, pamp

Warruk was fascinated by the sight of the magnificent animal which seemed to challenge them and expected his mother to hurl herself upon it and bring it down so that he could feel the joy of possessing it and of examining it at closer range. But Suma did nothing of the kind; she stood like an inanimate thing as the moments passed, knowing well that the deer's curiosity would cause it to draw nearer; that wo

d of moving away it advanced a few steps and made an ugly grimace. How dared the impudent thing affect such boldness! The cub was accustomed to seeing much larger animals beat a hasty retreat upon the approach of himself and his mother and somehow he had gained the impression that he might be at least partly the cause of their temerity. But this stranger actually threatened him. In resentment he rushe

sly and swiftly; in fact, Suma urged him to such a course and often watched from some nearby point of vantage while he conducted the stalk and launche

make it interesting. They never lingered long in one place and by gradual stages their journeying took them further and further

rs. As often as not, however, some particular bit of knowledge was acquired at personal risk; and this latter was accentuated by the

usands of miles over sea and land were spending the balmy days chattering and feeding on the abundant supply of seeds or, rising in swarms of thousands took short flights so that their wings might remain fit for the long journey northward when the call should come t

like a shadow, often paused to cast longing glances in their

embling a turkey in size and shape but of gray color with bright red legs, was encountered frequently. But it always disappeared so silently that it seemed more like a shadow until its clear gobbling call rang out a moment later from some distant spot to which it had fled. It was usually

n one of the great creatures squatting on the ground, head and neck straight down, outstretched in a serpentine attitude; nor did it attempt to move until the hunters had approached to within a few yards. Then it ruffled up its feathers, raised its head and hissed and bellowed in a threatening manner; but Suma was not dismayed. She crouched, gave vent to one hoarse roar and then began to advance. The bird

planted one massive paw directly in the midst of the pile with a crash that sent up a shower of white and yellow spray

black color began to make itself felt. He became impatient of his mother's caution and strategy. Something wit

cially when cornered, and on one occasion when a fox, far larger than he, advanced menacingly he charged straight at it with a deep snarl; the fox turned and ran away. So, emboldened by this encounter Warruk was not slow to make use of the new

her failed to respond promptly to his call.

r wayward offspring which she had no difficulty in finding. But the meeting was not as joyous as either had antici

the reunions less and less. And, presently Suma lost all t

e whole world lay before him and he was its ruler by right of heritage but-there were many among the wildfolk who were not willing to acknowledge his supremacy or to ren

ng stomach. A full moon shone upon him but so stealthily did he move that keener eyes than those of man would have been required to detect his presence. Still, at least some one of the creatures concealed in the clump of trees had observed his appr

was trying for well he knew of the abundance so near, still out of reach. Furtive eyes, no doubt, were f

urned toward the black wall of trees. A rustle, ever

astonishment than with savage design. Onward it came across the moonlit strip of grassy plain and the soft light falling upon it rev

arrion was like a soothing incense compared to the stench that assailed his nostrils. He recoiled as if he had been struck a heavy blow. His eyes burned; his breath came in gasps; for a moment he was stunned. The first thing he thought of was his mother; but his call sounded hollow and unnatural and there was no response. He had been out-generaled, vanquished and insulted by a skunk,