his foot, causing
him to leap off the ground like a grasshopper and utter a yell, compared
to which all his previous shoutings were like soft music. Bunco calmed
his fears, however, and comforted the party by saying that these snakes
were harmless. Nevertheless, they felt a strong sensation of aversion
to the reptiles, which it was not easy to overcome, and Muggins began to
think seriously that being lost in the forest was, after all, a pleasure
mingled considerably with alloy! Not long after the incident of the
snake, strange sounds were heard from time to time in the bushes, and
all the party, except Bunco, began to glance uneasily from side to side,
and grasped their weapons firmly. Suddenly a frightful-looking face was
observed by Larry peeping through the bushes right over Muggins's
unconscious head. The horrified Irishman, who thought it was no other
than a visitant from the world of fiends, was going to utter a shout of
warning, when a long hairy arm was stretched out from the bushes and
Muggins's hat was snatched from his head.

"Och! ye spalpeen," cried Larry, hurling his cudgel at the ugly
creature.

The weapon was truly aimed; it hit the monkey on the back, causing it to
drop the hat and vanish from the spot--shrieking.

"Well done, Larry!" cried Will Osten; "why didn't you warn us to expect
visits from such brutes, Bunco?"

"Why, cause me tink you know all 'bout 'im. Hab larn 'im from Jo
Gruffy."

"From who?"

"From Jo Gruffy. Him as you was say, last night, do tell all 'bout de
countries ob de world, and wot sort of treeses an' hanimals in 'im. Der
be plenty ob dem hanimals--(how you call 'im, mongkees?) in Peroo, big
an leetil."

"Well!" exclaimed our hero with a laugh, "possibly geography may refer
to the fact; if so, I had forgotten it, but I'm sorry to hear that they
are numerous, for they are much too bold to be pleasant companions."

"Dey do us no harm," said Bunco, grinning, "only chok full ob fun!"

"Git along wid ye," cried Larry. "It's my belaif they're yer own
relations, or ye wouldn't stick up for them."

Thus admonished, the native resumed the march, and led them through the
jungle into deeper and darker shades. Here the forest was quite free
from underwood, and the leafy canopy overhead was so dense that the sky
could seldom be seen. Everything appeared to be steeped in a soft
mellow shade of yellowish green, which was delightfully cool and
refreshing in a land lying so