ach the thief before she swung gracefully into the branches and made
for the denser growth of the interior. Mad with hate and fury she raced
along the ground roaring and whining in turn while Myla bounded through
the leafy canopy high overhead; and in chorus with the cries of anguish
from below, and the triumphant chatter of the monkey, came the screams
of Warruk terror-striken and helpless, rushing headlong to certain doom.

CHAPTER IV

AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING

In stealing Warruk, the Jaguar cub, the howling monkey acted on the spur
of the moment. She had been disconsolate since the loss of her own baby,
stolen from her lap by a pitiless eagle and borne away in the sharp
talons as the marauder skimmed the level expanse of treetops to its
nest on the bleak mountainside.

But not until she was leaping through the tops of the tall trees did she
regain her normal senses and feel reasonably safe; she even stopped
occasionally to look in triumph at the outraged mother fuming and
threatening so far below. When she reached the heavier growth covering
the foothills she stopped to examine the little creature in her arms.

Myla's heart beat with ecstasy as she surveyed her small captive. She
held him at arm's length, turned him around slowly and felt of his ears
and feet, for by this time Warruk had stopped struggling but continued
his plaintive whining. Then she drew closer and peered into his face;
but the moment she did this the cub's forepaws shot out, inflicting
parallel rows of deep, painful scratches in her cheeks. The monkey
bounded upward and nearly lost her footing as she screeched in surprise
and resentment; then she drew back her free hand as if to give him a
cuff but instead, quickly stooped and gave him a sharp nip in the back
of the neck. But remorse overcame her immediately so she placed the
little form across her lap and gently stroked his fur. This was soothing
indeed to the terrified and exhausted Warruk and soon he stopped whining
and lay helplessly gazing at his unfamiliar surroundings.

It did not take Myla long to discover that the possession of her
foster-child did not bring her the joy she had anticipated for he was
most unlike her own unfortunate offspring. He ignored the choice fruits
and buds she picked for him, repaid her caresses with scratches,
screams and snarls or received them in the most indifferent manner in
those rare intervals when he did not violently resent them. Myla was in