74 THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS. 



In the following experiment this sound was 

 used with great effect. Nellie's cage occupied 

 a place in my study near my desk. She would 

 stay awake at night as long as the light was kept 

 burning* ^nd as I have always kept late hours, 

 I did not violate the rule of my life in order to 

 give her a good night's rest. About two o'clock 

 one morning, when I was about to retire, I found 

 Nellie wide awake. I drew my chair up to her 

 cage, and sat watching her pranks as she tried 

 to entertain me with bells and toys. I tied a 

 long thread to a glove, which I placed in the 

 corner of the room at a distance of several feet 

 from me, but without letting her see it. I held 

 one end of the string in my hand and drew the 

 glove obliquely across the floor toward the cage. 

 When I first tightened the string, which I had 

 drawn across one knee and under the other, the 

 glove moved very slightly, and this her quick 

 eye caught at the first motion. Standing almost \ 

 on tip-toe, her mouth half-open, she would peep 

 cautiously at the glove, and then in a low whis- 

 per would say "e-c-g-k!" and every second or 

 so would repeat it, at the same time watching 

 me to see whether I was aware of the approach 

 of this goblin. Her actions were almost human, 



