IN AFRICAN FOREST AND JUNGLE 



covered that they were in our camp. What were 

 they doing there ? They were evidently after Ndova. 

 They had come to pay him a visit. He had mani- 

 festly called them. I walked carefully, and after as- 

 cending the ladder I raised my head above the fence. 



The most extraordinary sight was before me. The 

 monkeys had taken possession of our camp. They 

 were everywhere, and wandering around in every 

 direction. They all belonged to the ndova species. 

 I counted seventeen of them. They had clearly 

 arrived just a little before me. A number sur- 

 rounded Ndova's cage. Some were on the sides, 

 some on the top. They were talking to Ndova, 

 who answered them. They were trying to break 

 the cage. The most eager amongst them was the 

 leader of the troop, a very big fellow. 



It was a sight indeed ! I was very glad we had 

 made Ndova*s house so strong. The leader wanted 

 badly to reach Ndova. He would bite the creepers 

 that tied the poles together, then stop and talk to 

 Ndova, then go to work again. 



Unfortunately I could not see what Ndova was do- 

 ing inside ; was he also trying to break his cage and 

 go to the monkeys ? I watched silently ; but I 

 began to fear that the cage would gradually be broken 

 by the big monkey. So I gave a heavy cough. At 



