Leonie of the Jungle | Page 8

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after blank page.
"Strange," he muttered. "There is nothing written down after to-day,
not a single engagement. I must have entered them in some other book;
very careless of me."
CHAPTER VI
"And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate
homes."--The Bible.
"Gawd!"
Mrs. Henry Higgins called upon the Almighty in the vernacular of
Seven Dials, sought gropingly for the members of her progeny who
clutched her skirt, and fortunately kept her head.
"'Enery James--no! Gertrude Ellen--you've gotter better headpiece, jest
yer slip along to the keeper an' tell _'im_ to look slippy and come along
quick _h'and_ quiet!"
Gertrude Ellen, puffed up with pride at the pull she had had over her
brother, slipped off, as her mother continued in a raucous whisper,
"Now if that young miss don't deserve a thorough good 'iding! I'd take
the skin off yer if any of yer did such a fing, strite I would. Drat yer,
keep stilt cawn't yer--you'll rouse the brute!"
She shook her skirts so that the half-dozen clinging children rattled like
a bunch of keys, pushed her jet bonnet back from the shiny wrinkled
forehead, and waited, her motherly heart aquake in spite of her drastic
language.
Jan Cuxson was standing in front of the lions' cage at one end of the
lion-house, talking to his old friend the keeper, under the impression
that Leonie was close beside him; but she, having taken advantage of
their conversation and a practically empty house, had slipped quietly
away, climbed the barrier near the far window, and was also holding
conversation--with a tiger from Bengal.

The animal lay outstretched with his wonderful head close to the bars,
and his unblinking opalescent gold-flecked eyes staring straight into the
opalescent gold-flecked eyes of the child as she stood on tip-toe so that
her face was almost on a level with that of the animal.
"Poor tiger!" she was saying. "I'm vewwy sowwy for you--I'm sure
you're not so vewy, vewy wicked, an' if you will bend your head I will
stwoke you behind the ear same as I did Kitty."
Mrs. Henry Higgins gasped.
Holding on to one bar tightly just near the tiger's mouth so as to steady
herself, Leonie stretched, and thrusting her hand inside began to rub the
tiger's head quite forcibly behind the ear.
"Nice?" she inquired as the animal closed its eyes under the unexpected
and unexperienced caress, then opening them lifted the beautiful head
and yawned to the full capacity of the huge mouth, affording Leonie a
front row view of the splendid ivories and pale pink tongue.
"Oh--h--h!" said she admiringly, standing flat and patting the nearest
paw. "I do like you though you do fwighten me when you walk so
softly in my dweams--oh--h--h!"
She shivered with ecstasy as the tiger rolled on its back, displaying its
soft white belly as it bit its hind foot with the abandon of a baby, then
turned on its side, and leaping sideways to its feet, slunk off to the far
corner of the miserable den, which is all a civilised country gives a wild
animal in exchange for its jungle home.
Meanwhile the Higgins brood, like hungry sparrows on a rail, were
sitting open-mouthed on the lower steps provided for the benefit of
those spectators who wish to revel with safety in the degrading sight of
the royal beasts fed with lumps of bleeding meat pushed through the
lower bar on the end of a prong.
Rendered somewhat incoherent by fear, and haste, allied to the ghastly
English she had acquired in the streets and been allowed to retain in the

Council School, Gertrude Ellen had found it somewhat difficult to
arouse the keeper to a realisation of the impending disaster.
But when he did look over his shoulder in the direction her dirty little
hand was pointing he swore a mighty oath and acted promptly.
"Keep still, Sir, for the love of heaven!" he whispered, catching hold of
Jan Cuxson's arm as the latter made a step forward. "Don't let that there
animal see yer, he's the blamedest, cussedest brute I've ever had to do
with. Never had a civil growl from him since he came here over three
years ago."
Whilst speaking the man had hurriedly discarded his boots and climbed
inside the barrier, whilst Cuxson held the child quiet by her thin little
shoulders.
"Damn that woman," went on the keeper, "why can't she keep still.
Sure as blazes if that there tiger sees her, which don't mean if he's
looking at her, he'll go nasty and have that missy's 'and off."
Mrs. Higgins, having clumped her brood into silence, was making
frantic and what she imagined to be surreptitious signals of distress
with her left arm, keeping her eyes