aches the age of ten or eleven years old,
the truth at once flashed upon Frank that the baboons were carrying off
a native baby, which had probably been set down by its mother while she
worked in the plantation. Instantly he drew his pistol, leaped into the
road, and fired at the retreating ape. It gave a cry, dropped the baby
and turned to attack its aggressor.

Frank waited till it was within six feet, and then shot it through the
head. He sprang forward and seized the baby, but in a moment he was
attacked by the whole party of baboons, who, barking like dogs, and
uttering angry cries, rushed at him. Frank stood his ground, and
discharged the four remaining barrels of his revolver at the foremost
animals. Two of these dropped, but the others who were only wounded
sprang upon him. Frank struck out with the butt end of his pistol, but
in a minute he was overpowered.

One monkey seized him by the leg with his teeth, while another bit his
arm. Others struck and scratched at him, and he was at once thrown down.
He tried to defend his face with his arms, kicking and struggling to
the best of his power. With one hand he drew the long knife for skinning
animals, which he wore at his belt, and struck out fiercely, but a
baboon seized his wrist in its teeth, and Frank felt that all was over,
when suddenly his assailants left him, and the instant afterwards he was
lifted to his feet by some negroes.

He had, when attacked by the apes, thrown the baby into a clump of ferns
close by, in order to have the use of both his hands, and when he looked
round he found that a negress had already picked it up, and was crying
and fondling it. The negroes appeared intensely astonished at Frank's
color, and he judged by their exclamations of surprise that, not only
had they not seen a white man before, but that they had not heard of one
being in the neighborhood.

Frank had been too severely bitten and mauled by the baboons to be able
to walk, and the negroes, seeing this, raised him, and four of them
carried him to their village, which was but a quarter of a mile distant.
Here he was taken to the principal hut, and laid on a bed. His wounds
were dressed with poultices formed of bruised leaves of some plant, the
natives evincing the utmost astonishment as Frank removed his clothes to
enable these operations to be performed.

By pointing to his lips he indicated that he was hungry and thirsty.
Water was brought to him, and cakes made from