a tame baboon for his amusement. One evening it broke its
chains unknown to him, and in the night it climbed up into the belfry,
and began to play with and ring the bell.

Instantly the whole place was in an uproar; some great danger was
feared. Many thought that the castle was on fire; others, that an enemy
had entered the bay, and the soldiers actually began to turn out, when
it was discovered that the mischievous baboon had caused the
disturbance.

On the following morning a court-martial was held, when Cape justice
decided that whereas the baboon had unnecessarily put the castle into
alarm, its master should receive fifty lashes. The soldier, however,
found someway to evade the punishment.

[Illustration]

XCVII

A CHILD SAVED

A shepherd, in one of his trips to look after his flock, took with him
one of his children, a boy three years old. After crossing his pastures
for some time, followed by his dog, he found it necessary to ascend a
hill at some distance, to obtain a better view of his range. As the
climb was too much for the little child, he left him on a small plain at
the bottom, telling him not to stir from it until his return. Scarcely
had he gained the top of the hill, however, when the sky was darkened by
a thick mist. The anxious father at once hurried back to find his child;
but owing to the unusual darkness, he missed his way. After a fruitless
search of many hours, he discovered that he had reached the bottom of
the valley, and was near his own cottage. To renew the search that night
was both vain and most dangerous; he was, therefore, compelled to go
home, although he had lost both his child and his dog, that had attended
him faithfully for many years. Next morning, by break of day, the
shepherd, with many of his neighbors, set out to look for the child; but
after a day of searching, he returned to his home, disappointed. He
found that the dog which he had lost the day before had been to the
cottage, and after getting a piece of cake, had at once gone away again.
For several days the shepherd kept up the search, and on his return
each evening, he found that the dog had been home, had received his
usual allowance of cake, and then had instantly disappeared. Struck with
this strange behavior on the part of the dog, he remained at home one
day; and when the dog, as usual, left with his piece of cake, he decided
to follow him, and find out the cause of this queer procedure. The dog
led t