ff I went in pursuit of the animal,
which, leaping from branch to branch, seemed to set us at defiance.
Suddenly it uttered a guttural cry, and was answered by twenty more. I
hid behind a tree, and told Lucien to keep silent. Two or three times
the active creatures moved farther away, but at last they came so close
that I could fire safely. I never, I think, took more pains with my aim;
the gun went off, and the band scattered in every direction in a most
precipitous flight. The monkey I had aimed at seemed only wounded, when,
as I was going to fire a second time, it slid down and fell dead at our
feet; its young one, which we had not at first perceived, was sitting
upon a limb about ten feet from the ground, uttering low, and almost
inaudible, plaintive cries.

In a quarter of an hour the animal was skinned and hung in front of a
large fire. While I was superintending the cookery, the young one moaned
incessantly, and my companion tried every persuasion to coax it down.
Urged by Lucien, I ascended the tree, and tried to catch hold of the
motherless little creature. No doubt it was paralyzed by fear, for it
only showed its teeth, and allowed me to place it on my shoulder. It
clung to my hair and wound its tail round my neck, as I descended, and I
was in fear every moment of feeling one of my ears bitten. Nothing of
the sort happened, for the poor brute's teeth chattered with fear; I
placed it close to the fire, where it immediately resumed its
lamentations. Then, by means of a flexible creeper, I secured it round
the middle of the body and tied it to a bush.

When we had satisfied our appetite on the dark and tough monkey's flesh,
I proposed to Lucien a fresh start.

"Shall we take our little captive with us?" he asked.

"Yes, certainly. It will be a resource for our supper, in case we do not
fall in with our friends."

"Oh no," cried the boy; "let us at least put off killing it till
to-morrow."

I hastened my pace, carrying on my shoulder our new companion, whom we
at once dubbed "Master Job."

I examined more carefully than ever the ground and the bark of the
trees, seeking for any thing which might direct our course. With a
sickly feeling at my heart, I saw the sun approach the horizon. The
boy, quite broken down with fatigue, looked at me, with his eyes full of
tears. At last I halted, and the dear little fellow stretched himself
beside me and fell asleep.

While listening with ear and eye alike on the wat