ptain Berselius had no need for masks; it was a
mysterious and unaccountable thing that was there.

"You know M. Thenard intimately?" said Captain Berselius, turning suddenly
from some remarks he was making on the United States.

"Oh, no," said Adams. "I have attended his clinics; beyond that----"

"Just so," said the other. "Are you a good shot?"

"Fair, with the rifle."

"You have had to do with big game?"

"I have shot bear."

"These are some of my trophies," said the Captain, rising to his feet. He
took his stand before the great ape and contemplated it for a moment. "I
shot him near M'Bassa on the West Coast two years ago. The natives at the
village where we were camping said there was a big monkey in a tree near
by. They seemed very much frightened, but they led me to the tree. He knew
what a gun was; he knew what a man was, too. He knew that his hour of
death had arrived, and he came roaring out of the tree to meet me. But
when he was on the ground, with the muzzle of my Mannlicher two yards from
his head, all his rage vanished. He saw death, and to shut out the sight
he put his big hands before his face----"

"And you?"

"I shot him through the heart. This room does not represent all my work.
The billiard room and the hall contain many of my trophies; they are
interesting to me, for each has a history. That tiger skin there in front
of the fireplace once covered a thing very much alive. He was a full-sized
brute, and I met him in a rice field near Benares. I had not even time to
raise my gun when he charged. Then I was on my back and he was on top of
me. He had overshot the mark a bit--I was not even scratched. I lay
looking up at his whiskers; they seemed thick as quills, and I counted
them. I was dead to all intents and purposes, so I felt no fear. That was
the lesson this gentleman taught me; it is as natural to be dead as to be
alive. I have never been afraid of death since. Well, something must have
distracted his attention and frightened him, for he lifted himself, passed
over me like a cloud, and was gone. Well, so much for the tiger. And now
for business. Are you prepared to act as medical attendant to my new
expedition?"

"Well," said Adams, "I would like a little time to consider----"

"Certainly," said Captain Berselius, taking out his watch. "I will give
you five minutes, as a matter of form. Thenard, in a note to me this
morning, informs me he has given you all details as to salary."