"Certainly not, son, and I mean to leave some of the material with you to use, if you get the chance. Like as not Link will keep on hanging out near your camp; and if I could remain up here longer I'd just stay here, and take my chances. You see the little bag Kline carries? Well, that contains nuts, and dried bread. I've got a bottle of strong liquor along, and we expected to follow the tactics of nearly all wild animal catchers who go out after monkeys."

"I think I know what you mean, sir," said Max; "but perhaps you'll explain a little further?"

"They know the confiding nature of the climbers," continued the circus proprietor, promptly, "and when they reach a place in the woods where they know they are apt to strike a colony of monkeys, they take a number of gourd calabashes and place a certain amount of nuts and bread, soaked in the whiskey, in each, then hide near by to watch results.

"Pretty soon the troop of monkeys come along, and scenting something good to eat, proceed to fill up on the dosed stuff. It seems pretty hard to take advantage of a weakness that they appear to have in common with the other branch of the two-legged family, don't it? But every time they get so stupid that they stagger all around, and seem to lose all fear of mankind. Then one of the watchers will step out, take hold of a monkey's hand, and lead a whole string of them away, each trying to support the others. And so they walk into cages, and upon recovering from their spree find themselves shut up for life."

"If men only had to pay as dear for their first offense, there'd be a heap less of drinking done, you hear me," remarked the farmer, who had evidently heard the description before, and yet still marveled at its ingenuity, as well as thought it pretty hard on the poor monkeys.

"You can leave the stuff with us, Mr. Jenks," said Max, and now the other realized he was dealing with the real leader of the camping party; "but I won't promise to use it unless we really have to. Somehow I don't exactly like the idea, though I suppose it's all right for those animal catchers to do anything at all in order to make their trip pay, because with them it's a business. But that isn't true with us boys.

Perhaps we may find another way to get Link; it'll give us something to think about, and if we succeed it ought to be a feather in our caps."

"And two hundred dollars in your pockets, don't forget that, son," the circus man said, impressively. "Seems like the more I get to thinking about that monkey the less I want to lose him. It took a long time to teach him what tricks he knows, and he's always been a big drawing card to my show. I certainly hope we manage to corral him in some way. And so far as I'm concerned I'd as soon get him soaked as not, so long as I lay hands on him. It wouldn't be the first time either that he knew what strong drink is, because I'm sorry to say the man I hired to look after Link especially, used to be very fond of his bottle, and he must have taught the monkey to like the vile stuff. He's the silliest thing, when on a jag, you ever saw, and does act too comical for anything."

"I can see from that it would be an easy thing to tempt poor old Link with some of the stuff, sir," Max went on to say; "and if we fail in every other way we'll just have to come down to what you suggest; because the animal would die in the winter if left at large in this cold country. Either emigration or captivity is the only thing to save him."

"Sensible talk, son," the circus man told Max. "And to tell the truth I'm so sure you boys will be successful that I'm tempted to turn right back, and get an early train for Greenburg, so as to be with my show to-night. Things go wrong when the old man is away. It's a one-man concern at best. n.o.body knows what to do in an emergency but me. Yes, Kline, after we're done eating take me back to your house, and then to the station again for the first train. I'll gladly pay you what I promised, and then wait to hear from these bright lads."

Of course this sort of talk gave the four chums more than a few pleasant thrills because everybody likes to know that they are appreciated at their true worth.

"That would m-m-mean another f-f-fifty for me, wouldn't it?" Toby was heard to say, reflectively, as though the prospect might seem quite pleasing, and he wondered whether he might not be able to save up, and after a little while augment the number of animals in his collection, after he had removed it from the back yard of the family residence out to the Jucklin farm.

While the two guests were finishing their meal there was more or less further talk, all bearing upon the different ways in which men who make it their business in life to trap wild animals, go about it out in the jungles and dark forests of the countries where such may still be found in profitable numbers to pay them to go to such enormous expense.

The boys listened, and learned considerable that was deeply interesting about the habits of these bold adventurers. Since the moving picture enterprise came into its own there have been many faithful pictures shown of how these beasts of prey live in their native lands; and the boys had even had the privilege of seeing some very fine flashlight pictures that showed all manner of untamed animals at large, so that this talk with an old traveler like Mr. Jenks was unusually interesting.

Finally the two men announced themselves ready to go back to the Kline farmhouse.

"Remember, now, boys," said Mr. Jenks, as he went around shaking every fellow heartily by the hand, "you're going to wire as soon as you get back to town, and tell me what luck you've had. I'll be ready to jump on the next train and come back to Carson, bringing that two hundred with me; because I know you're going to turn the trick on the Missing Link.

Be good to yourselves, now, and here's wishing you the best of luck,"

and with that he pa.s.sed from their sight.

CHAPTER XV

THE BATTLE OF WITS

After that Toby seemed to have but one object in life, which was to hatch up a clever scheme whereby the educated monkey could be trapped.

He wandered around in the near vicinity of the camp, with his eyes constantly searching the branches of the trees in the vague hope that he might discover the runaway snugly squatted in some crotch and fast asleep.

"I believe Toby's got an idea he's able to jabber monkey talk," said Steve, after the day was fairly well spent, and they could hardly coax Toby to come in to his midday meal, much less do his share of cooking; "and that he expects, if only he, might find where that slick old Link holds out, he could pan-handle him, and get him to come into camp with us."

"Now you're hewing pretty close to the line," commented Bandy-legs, "and I'll let you know why. Toby's got a handful of the nut stuff in his pocket. I saw him get it out of the bag the circus man left with us. And I just bet you he's thinking of tempting Link with it."

Steve jumped up and stepped into the tent; he came out again with a broad grin on his face.

"I was mistaken, glad to say!" he remarked.

"About what?" Max asked him.

"Well, when Bandy-legs here said Toby was running around with a pocket full of the nut meat, it struck me that perhaps he'd scooped that bottle of hard stuff too, which Mr. Jenks said we might use to soak, first the dry bread and then Link. But the country is safe, for he never touched it."

"None of us have seen or heard anything of the monkey since he stole Toby's basket of frog legs this morning," ventured Max; "and it may be he's left us--cleared out in disgust because what he steals here doesn't seem to touch the right spot with him."

"Don't mention that to Toby, or you'll give him the blind staggers,"

said Steve; "because he's set his mind on capturing the monk; and when Toby gets a thing in that head of his he's a mighty unhappy fellow if he can't carry it through."

"What d'ye think," Bandy-legs went on to say, "I heard him grumbling to himself, and seems like he was wondering whether he couldn't keep the old monkey and let the two hundred go glimmering. Actually thinks more about an old rascal of a Simian than a handful of plunks. But we're three to one, and we'll see to it that no such fool deal as that goes through."

"No danger of it," chirped Steve, briskly; "that circus man thinks more than two hundred of Link; and five times that wouldn't tempt him to let the monkey slip through his fingers. Think of him coming away back here in hopes of bagging the slippery old scamp! No, if we do get hold of that Missing Link he's going to keep on amusing the circus public, and not just Toby Jucklin."

When the afternoon came to an end they managed to get the restless Toby to come in near the campfire; but it was impossible for him to talk, or even think of any other subject than capturing the stray monkey.

Max had considered the subject, and arrived at a sensible conclusion.

They had really come out just to break the ice for the new season, and without any definite object in view save to enjoy the open air, and renew some of their pleasures of camp life.

It would be as well for them to spend some of their time in inventing ingenious traps calculated to ensnare the trick monkey. This would be pitting their smartness against that of a suspicious and clever animal; and if they won out why it would be reckoned not only a glorious triumph but at the same time put a nice little sum of good money in their pockets.

He announced this policy as they were finishing their supper, and the others had to smile to see the look of ecstatic joy that spread all over Toby's face.

"Oh! that's just fine of you boys to stand by me like that!" he burst out with, and not tripping even once, strange to say. "I'll never forget it, give you my word I won't. And some time I'll find a chance to pay you back, see if I don't."

"Hear! hear!" cried Steve.

"Bravo!" exclaimed Max.

"Good stuff, Toby," remarked Bandy-legs, "and he never fell all over himself once, you notice, fellers."

"Of course," Max continued, "we don't know whether we'll have another chance to see Link. He may have kicked the dust of these parts off his feet, and started out to find easier picking among the farmers' houses, where he could sneak in and loot the kitchens while the missus was out gathering eggs, or hanging up the wash. But if we can coax him to stay around our camp we'll keep on hoping to get him in the end."

"But, Max," ventured Steve, "if all our smart traps go begging, and he gives us the merry ha! ha! every time, wouldn't you try that monkey-catcher trick the circus man told us about?"

"I've been thinking it over," said Max, "and while I'd much prefer to take Link by some fairer scheme, if he is too sharp for us, why I reckon we'll have to turn to that way. If he isn't captured he could live by stealing through the summer, but when the cold weather came the poor beast would freeze to death, because he's a native of a hot climate, you know."

"G-g-good for you, Max!" exclaimed Toby, beaming with joy; "oh! I know now we'll g-g-get Link in the end. And to coax him to hang out around here r-r-right along I've g-g-gone and b-b-baited the place."

"How?" questioned Bandy-legs.

"I h-h-hunted up some likely p-p-places where I just thought he'd be apt to come and I p-p-put a few kernels of nuts in the crotch, each one closer to the camp. You k-k-know that's the way they ketch wild t-t-turkeys, make a t-t-trap of lathes, and have a road leading into the same, comin' up in the m-m-middle, covered over just inside. Then they strew corn all along and up onto the t-t-trap. Mister T-t-turk he starts pickin' up the g-g-grains, and is so busy that he f-f-follows on till he comes up inside the slats. Then he g-g-gets so excited that he just runs around and around, tryin' to p-p-poke his old head through the bars, and never once rememberin' that he came up in the m-m-middle!"

"Well, now, that wasn't a halfway bad idea of yours, Toby, to bait a line with the nut meat, so's to coax Link to come closer," Steve ventured to say, after listening patiently to Toby's staggering explanation; "but tell us how you expect to trap the monk after you've got him close in? I take it that's goin' to be the job that'll make us think we're up against a stone wall."

"I saw Toby practicing with a piece of old rope this afternoon, throwing a lariat, and I bet you now he's meaning to try and drop a loop over the head of that Link," Bandy-legs a.s.serted.

Max shook his head as though the idea did not find much favor with him.