218 KEES THE BABOON 



all over, would creep between the legs of one of the men. 

 After such a shock it was a long while before he was 

 himself again. Being an ape, Kees was of course a 

 terrible thief, and very clever he'was at stealing. It was 

 difficult to know how to keep things out of his way, and 

 punishment only made him more cunning. As for hanging 

 up a basket containing milk or any kind of food for which 

 Master Kees had a fancy, it was no good at all ! One 

 day, his master had boiled some beans for dinner, and 

 had just put them on his plate, when his attention was 

 attracted by the note of a strange bird just outside his 

 tent. Le Vaillant jumped up, seized his gun and rushed 

 off in search of the bird, which he secured in a few 

 minutes. When he came back to his dinner neither 

 beans nor Kees were to be seen. Of course, Le Vaillant 

 knew what had become of both ; but he expected that 

 Kees would appear at tea-time, as he always did when he 

 had been stealing, and seat himself in his usual place 

 with the most innocent face in the world. However, this 

 particular evening nothing was heard of him, and when 

 another whole day passed and no Kees, his master grew 

 very anxious. At last, on the third day, a man, who had 

 been sent to fetch water from the river, reported that he 

 had caught a glimpse of Kees, but that directly the 

 baboon had seen him he had hidden himself in the bushes. 

 On this Le Vaillant called his dogs and went straight to 

 the place where the truant had been hiding, but for a 

 long while could find no trace of the creature. At length 

 he heard a cry — just the sound of reproach that Kees 

 always made when he had been left behind on a hunting 

 expedition, but the animal himself was not visible. His 

 master, in despair, was almost giving up the search, when 

 he suddenly spied the baboon sitting overhead among 

 the thick branches of a tree. Le Vaillant called to him 

 in his friendliest tones, but Kees thought it was only a 

 trap, and would not stir, though he made no attempt to 

 move when his master chmbed up after him and coaxed 



