nk it was only a chimpanzee, after all!" cried Giant.

"'Only' is good!" exclaimed Shep. "He's had enough for anybody,
I'm thinking!"

As they came closer to their camp they heard Tommy talking in a
loud voice to somebody. Wags was barking gaily.

"Now you sit still and behave yourself," the circus boy was saying.
"Then you'll get a fine lump of sugar."

"Talking to the dog, I suppose," said Whopper. "He thinks Wags-----No,
he isn't, either. Well, I never! If this doesn't beat anything
I ever saw!"

All came into the clearing and gazed in amazement at the sight
presented. Chained to a tree was Abe, the chimpanzee, smiling and
chattering, and in front of him were Tommy and the dog, the former
with some sugar in his hand.

"Hullo!" cried Snap. "Did you catch him?"

"I certainly did!" answered the circus boy. "But I had the time
of my life doing it. He ran up a tree, and he wouldn't come down
until I offered him a handful of those nuts I found yesterday. They
were too much of a temptation, and while I fed him nuts with one
hand I took the kettle chain and tied him up as you see."

"Good for you!" said Whopper. "He must have known you, or I guess
he would have run away."

"Yes, he started to run away, but I whistled like his keeper used
to whistle, and that made him sit still."

"You want to make sure of that chain," said the doctor's son. "I see
he has Snap's belt on," he added with a grin.

"I'll tie him with a rope," answered Tommy, and later the chimpanzee
was firmly secured, so that escape was out of the question. As
the young hunters fed him well, he seemed quite content.

"Tommy, this is an important capture for you," said Shep. "It's
money in your pocket. The circus proprietor has offered five
hundred dollars reward for the capture of this chimpanzee."

"Five hundred dollars!" gasped the little fellow. "But they won't
pay it to me!" he added, as his face fell.

"We'll make them pay---if they want the animal," answered Snap.

"But I don't want them to see me," insisted Tommy.

"See here, Tommy, you leave this matter to us," said the doctor's
son. "I don't think they can compel you to go with the circus.
We'll take you to Fairview, and you can remain with us until we
hear from your sister."

"All right; but if they take me I'll run away again," answered
the boy.

A little later the Spink crowd came into camp and were astonished
to learn of the capture of the chimpanzee. They w