side.

In the exuberance of his joy he slapped his companion roughly on the
side of the head. Half in anger, half in play the anthropoid turned
upon him, his fangs bared and glistening. Long, hairy arms reached out
to seize him, and, as they had done a thousand times before, the two
clinched in mimic battle, rolling upon the sward, striking, growling
and biting, though never closing their teeth in more than a rough
pinch. It was wondrous practice for them both. The boy brought into
play wrestling tricks that he had learned at school, and many of these
Akut learned to use and to foil. And from the ape the boy learned the
methods that had been handed down to Akut from some common ancestor of
them both, who had roamed the teeming earth when ferns were trees and
crocodiles were birds.

But there was one art the boy possessed which Akut could not master,
though he did achieve fair proficiency in it for an ape--boxing. To
have his bull-like charges stopped and crumpled with a suddenly planted
fist upon the end of his snout, or a painful jolt in the short ribs,
always surprised Akut. It angered him too, and at such times his
mighty jaws came nearer to closing in the soft flesh of his friend than
at any other, for he was still an ape, with an ape's short temper and
brutal instincts; but the difficulty was in catching his tormentor
while his rage lasted, for when he lost his head and rushed madly into
close quarters with the boy he discovered that the stinging hail of
blows released upon him always found their mark and effectually stopped
him--effectually and painfully. Then he would withdraw growling
viciously, backing away with grinning jaws distended, to sulk for an
hour or so.

Tonight they did not box. Just for a moment or two they wrestled
playfully, until the scent of Sheeta, the panther, brought them to
their feet, alert and wary. The great cat was passing through the
jungle in front of them. For a moment it paused, listening. The boy
and the ape growled menacingly in chorus and the carnivore moved on.

Then the two took up their journey toward the sound of the Dum-Dum.
Louder and louder came the beating of the drum. Now, at last, they
could hear the growling of the dancing apes, and strong to their
nostrils came the scent of their kind. The lad trembled with
excitement. The hair down Akut's spine stiffened--the symptoms of
happiness and anger are often similar.

Silently they crept through the jungl