so as to have it ready at hand when he had finished his meal.
Imagine his surprise when, having filled his pipe, he found the flask had been upset and the guava had disappeared!
I am afraid the captain made use of some very strong language, but there was nothing for it but to make the best of the biscuit, the sole relic of his feast. As he munched it he warily turned his head from side to side, watching for the thief, when all of a sudden something fell upon his head. The captain put up his hand and found—the skin of his guava. Then he raised his eyes and saw a monkey dancing for joy at his own pranks in the tree just above him.
As I have already shown the captain was an excellent shot. Without stirring from his seat, he took up his gun and with a shot snapped the end of the branch on which his persecutor was sitting.
Down came branch and monkey, and the captain at once captured the latter before it had time to recover from the surprise of its rapid fall.
He was small and quite young, only half grown, but of a rather rare kind, as the captain, who had an ever-ready eye to the main chance, at once perceived.
'Ah ha!' said he, 'this little fellow will be worth fifty francs if he's worth a farthing by the time we get back to Marseilles.'
So saying he popped the monkey into his game-bag and buttoned it carefully up. Then, feeling that a piece of biscuit was not quite a sufficient lunch after the fatigues of his morning's sports, he retraced his steps and returned to his ship in company with his monkey, whom he named 'Jacko.'
Before leaving Loando the captain, who was fond of pets, bought a beautiful white cockatoo with a saffron crest and jet black beak. 'Cataqua ' (that was his harmonious name) was indeed a lovely creature and extremely
