fever
affect a sufferer, and he shook so with fear, and his heart beat so
loudly, that he thought Mr. Lord must know where he was by the sound.
Seeing, however, that his employer did not come directly toward him, the
thought flashed upon his mind that now would be a good chance to run
away, and he acted upon it at once. He rolled himself over in the mud
until he reached a low growth of fir-trees that skirted the road, and
when beneath their friendly shade he arose to his feet and walked
swiftly toward the woods, following the direction the monkeys had
taken.

He no longer felt dizzy and sick: the fear of Mr. Lord had dispelled all
that, and he felt strong and active again.

He had walked rapidly for some distance, and was nearly beyond the sound
of the voices in the road, when he was startled by seeing quite a
procession of figures emerge from the trees and come directly toward
him.

He could not understand the meaning of this strange company, and it so
frightened him that he attempted to hide behind a tree, in the hope that
they might pass without seeing him. But no sooner had he secreted
himself than a strange, shrill chattering came from the foremost of the
group, and in an instant Toby emerged from his place of concealment.

He had recognized the peculiar sound as that of the old monkey who had
left him a few moments before, and he knew now what he did not know
then, owing to the darkness. The new-comers were the monkeys that had
escaped from the cage, and had been overtaken and compelled to come back
by the old monkey, who seemed to have the most perfect control over
them.

The old fellow was leading the band, and all were linked "hand-in-hand"
with each other, which gave the whole crowd a most comical appearance as
they came up to Toby, half hopping, half walking upright, and all
chattering and screaming, like a crowd of children out for a holiday.

Toby stepped toward the noisy crowd, held out his hand gravely to the
old monkey, and said, in tones of heart-felt sorrow,

"I felt awful bad because I thought you had gone off an' left me, when
you only went off to find the other fellows. You're awful good, Mr.
Stubbs; an' now, instead of runnin' away, as I was goin' to do, we'll
all go back together."

The old monkey grasped Toby's extended hand with his disengaged paw,
and, clinging firmly to it, the whole crowd followed in unbroken line,
chattering and scolding at the most furious rate, while every now an