tight. The collar was choking it, and the grip on the 

 stomach the baboon's own favourite and most success- 

 ful device was fatal. 



I set my teeth, and thought of the poor helpless dogs 

 that had been decoyed in and treated the same way. 

 Jim danced about, the white seam of froth on his lips, 

 hoarse gusts of encouragement bursting from him 

 as he leant over Jock, and his whole body vibrating like 

 an over-heated boiler. And Jock hung on in grim 

 earnest, the silence on his side broken only by grunting 

 efforts as the deadly tug tug tug went on. Each 

 pull caused his feet to slip a little on the smooth worn 

 ground ; but each time he set them back again, and 

 the grunting tugs went on. 



* * * * * 



It was not justice to call Jock off ; but I did it. 

 The cruel brute deserved killing, but the human look 

 and cries and behaviour of the baboon were too 

 sickening ; and Seedling went into his hut without 

 even a look at his stricken champion. 



Jock stood off, with his mouth open from ear to ear 

 and his red tongue dangling, blood-stained and pant- 

 ing, but with eager feet ever on the move shifting 

 from spot to spot, ears going back and forward, and 

 eyes now on the baboon and now on me pleading 

 for the sign to go in again. 



Before evening the baboon was dead. 



***** 



The day's excitement was too much for Jim. After 

 singing and dancing himself into a frenzy round Jock, 

 after shouting the whole story of the fight in violent 

 401 2c 



