Page:Rover Boys on Land and Sea.djvu/165

Rh "Go slow there," cautioned Captain Blossom, coming up. "We don't want to run into unnecessary danger."

"What did it sound like, Tom?"

"I can't describe it. Something like a snarl, I guess."

"Perhaps it was only a monkey."

All stopped to listen, but no sound reached their ears but the hum of insects and the chirping of some distant birds.

"I reckon I had best go first," said Captain Blossom, but he did not seem to relish the task.

Gun in hand, the captain advanced very cautiously. The boys came close behind him, each with his pistol ready for use.

Of a sudden there was a snarl with a strange "yow-yowing," and a great beast leaped up on all-fours directly in their path and darted through the bushes. The captain raised his gun and the boys their pistols, but before they could fire the beast had disappeared.

"What was it?" asked Sam, trembling with excitement.

"I give it up, unless it was a bear," said Tom.

"I think I know what it was," said the captain. "A big baboon or a gorilla."

"I guess you are right, captain," answered