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At sight of him the two creatures started to run away, but he called to them

reassuringly and they returned. On closer inspection Bulan saw that both were

covered with terrible wounds, and after questioning them learned that they had

fared almost as badly at the hands of the ourang outangs as had he.

Even the beasts loathe us," exclaimed Number Twelve. "What are we to do?"

Leave the beasts alone, as I told you," replied Bulan.

Human beings hate us also," persisted Number Twelve.

Then let us live by ourselves," suggested Number Three.

We hate each other," retorted the pessimistic Number Twelve. "There is no place

for us in the world, and no companionship. We are but soulless things."

"Stop!" cried Bulan. "I am not a soulless thing. I am a man, and within me is as

fine and pure a soul as any man may own," and to his mind's eye came the vision

of a fair face surmounted by a mass of loosely waving, golden hair; but the

brainless ones could not understand and only shook their heads as they resumed

their feeding and forgot the subject.

When the three had satisfied the cravings of their appetites two of them were for

lying down to sleep until it should be time to feed again, but Bulan, once more

master, would not permit it, and forced them to accompany him in his seemingly

futile search for the girl who had disappeared so mysteriously after he had

rescued her from the ourang outangs.

Both Number Twelve and Number Three had assured him that the beasts had not

recaptured her, for they had seen the entire band flee madly through the jungle

after hearing the report of the single shot which had so terrorized Bulan's

antagonists. Bulan did not know what to make of this occurrence which he had

not himself heard, the shot having come after he had lost consciousness at the

foot of the tree; but from the description of the noise given him by Number Twelve

he felt sure that it must have been the report of a gun, and hoped that it

betokened the presence of Virginia Maxon's friends, and that she was now safe in

their keeping.

Nevertheless he did not relinquish his determination to continue his search for

her, since it was quite possible that the gun had been fired by a native, many of

whom possessed firearms. His first concern was for the girl's welfare, which

spoke eloquently for the chivalry of his character, and though he wished to see

her for the pleasure that it would give him, the hope of serving her was ever the

first consideration in his mind.

107

The Monster Men