Page:The land of enchantment (1907, Cassell).djvu/94

 “Says the captain, ‘There’s the oil right enough, likewise the troubled waters; but as I can’t leave the wheel and you can’t do the job alone, it ain’t no manner of use, my lad.’

“That set me a-thinking. ‘Sir,’ says I, ‘they say as how apes are wonderful clever; let’s get them to Jend a hand, and the thing’s done.’

“‘Ben,’ says the skipper, ‘I admire your figure-head, so tip us your flipper; and as to this monkey business, do as you think best.’

“Well, I went below, picked out a score of intelligent apes, stove in the head of the oil cask, took a big can, and showed the monkeys what I wanted done. Don’t tell me, Master Charles, dumb animals have got no reason. Those poor brutes grasped the idea instanter,



and formed a line, lashing themselves taut with their tails. The first monkey dipped the can into the oil and passed it to the next, and him to the next, and so on up to yours truly, a-squatting on the bowsprit waiting for the seventh wave.”

“Why the seventh?” asked Charlie.

“Because the seventh is always the biggest, but why I can’t rightly