e are entitled to count these."

"I think you are both out in your reckoning," said I, drawing out my
note-book; "the last baby that I shot was our thirty-seventh."

"What!" cried Peterkin, "the one with the desperately black face and the
horrible squint, that nearly tore all the hair out of Jack's head before
he managed to strangle him? That wasn't a baby; it was a big boy, and I
have no doubt a big rascal besides."

"That may be so," I rejoined; "but whatever he was, I have him down as
number thirty-seven in my list."

"Pity we didn't make up the forty," observed Jack.

"Ah! yes indeed," said Peterkin. "But let me see: could we not manage
to make it up to that yet?"

"Impossible," said I. "We are far away from the gorilla land now, I
know; for, in addition to the fact that we have seen no traces of
gorillas for a long time, we have, within the last few days, seen
several lions, which, you are well aware, do not exist in the gorilla
country."

"True; but you mistake me," rejoined Peterkin. "I do not mean to make
up the number to forty by killing three more, but by proving, almost to
demonstration, that we have already been the death of that number, in
addition to those noted down."

"You'll find that rather difficult," said Jack, laughing.

"Not at all," cried Peterkin. "Let me think a minute. You remember
that enormously big, hairy fellow, that looked so like an ugly old man
that Ralph refused point-blank to fire at him, whereupon you fired at
him point-blank and wounded him in the shoulder as he was running away?"

"We treated several big fellows in that way," replied Jack; "which of
them do you allude to?--the one that roared so loud and terrified you so
much that you nearly ran away?"

"No, no; you know well enough which one I mean. The one that ran along
the edge of the stagnant pool into which you tumbled as we were coming
back."

"Oh yes! I remember," said Jack, laughing.

"Well, that fellow flew into such a horrible rage when he was wounded,"
continued Peterkin, "that I am perfectly certain he went straight home
and murdered his wife in a passion; which brings up the number to
thirty-eight. Then there was that old woman-gorilla that I brought down
when we were descending yon hill that was covered with such splendid
vines. You remember? Well, I'm quite certain that the young
man-gorilla beside her, who ran off and escaped, was her son, and that
he went home straightway and died of grie