l8 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



grown kitten, and had got separated from his parent 

 when hunted from tree to tree. The boys had dimbed 

 after him to a topmost bough, whence Jacko had dropped 

 in sheer terror to the ground, to be surrounded and seized 

 when half stunned by the falL His httle wrinkled face 

 was the picture of misery, and he struggled and cried 

 piteously. The leaders of the monkey troop came round 

 as near as they dared to recover him from the boys, who 

 were armed with bamboos and stones, but the boys had 

 succeeded in carrying off their prize. Poor Jacko, when 

 sold, like Joseph to the cruel Egyptians, had soon found 

 that he was not going to be eaten, and clung to his new 

 master's breast as tightly as he could, his little head occa- 

 sionally peeping out to see if his black and rude persecutors 

 had departed. Friendly relations being thus established, 

 he remained there for hours, occasionally getting a nice 

 drink of warm milk, which he soon learnt to take out of 

 a cup ; and ever after he would fly to his warm place for 

 safety if frightened by strange objects. At night, when 

 his little eyes closed in sleep, he was transferred to the 

 breast of Ruby, the spaniel dog, who lay curled up under 

 his master's bed, and made no objection to perform the 

 duties of nursery-maid to little Jacko. Monkeys do not 

 grow big in a few months like puppies or kittens. They 

 grow up slowly like children, and take several years to 

 become boy monkeys, half -grown. A full-grown monkey 

 is probably ten to twenty years old. When Jacko was 

 eventually carried off by a leopard, four or five years later, 

 he was not nearly of half-grown size. Jacko was an 

 amusing fellow, and learnt many tricks from the mehtar 

 who fed him — such as to salaam, and stand on his head, 

 and ' shoulder arms ' with a toy gun ; but he became too 

 mischievous to remain at large. He would put to flight 

 any native women and children that came near the camp, 



