38 
ALMOST HUMAN 
washed for antiseptic purposes. To the chagrin of the staff, the two 
licked the whole of the lime off. Nemesis had a severe punishment for 
such knavery, and presently two fiery red mouths were constantly opened to 
the cooling winds. In the dilemma, recourse was made to borated vase- 
line, and the two burnt mouths were as carefully covered as the stone 
walls had been a day or two before. The moment the suffering 
creatures felt the healing balm of the soothing ointment they threw 
open their mouths a little wider — if that were possible — and they stood 
like statues while the remedy was applied. It took a pint of the oint- 
ment to dress the two great caverns each time. For days afterwards 
their favorite occupation was standing at the gate of their compounds 
with mouths outstretched waiting for that pot of ointment. They 
allowed Mr. Wilkie to put his hand right down their parched throats, 
and he states that the operation was like washing a floor or painting a 
ceiling. 
INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH. 
No one ever suspected William of being capable of guile. Like a 
fat, good-natured, humorous old man, he was credited with being as 
harmless as a dove, and willing to see everybody around him having a 
really good time. But he showed himself quite prepared for mischief 
when the opportunity presented itself, and then his bubble reputation 
was pricked for ever. Next door to his home is a large pond where 
numerous water-fowl live and thrive. But as in all communities, there 
were two or three birds that chafed at restricted environment, and 
sought incessantly for wider scope. One day a great Muscovy duck 
waddled into William’s compartment in search of adventure, and took a 
voyage of discovery around the pond. It teemed with life of a descrip- 
tion that had long since disappeared from his home waters, and after 
an hour or two, he had that well-fed feeling that insensibly mellows all 
one’s philosophy of life. A maned goose followed him on one of his 
subsequent visits to his happy hunting, or fishing, grounds, and the two 
got some fine meals between meals in this way. But this was done 
when William was happily playing with Kosamond in her pool. It was 
quite another matter when William was floundering about in his own 
private bath. He watched the duck enter his preserves with a mistrust 
that soon turned to fierce anger, and as he had strong conscientious 
objections to poaching, and suffered quite enough from a confusion of 
“mine and thine” at meal times, he determined to have his revenge upon 
the stranger. The keepers, who knew that William was a strict vege- 
tarian, thought no possible harm could come to the duck from the pro- 
