Between them and the beasts behind me there was little choice,
but at least there was a doubt as to the reception these grotesque
parodies on humanity would accord me, while there was none as to
the fate which awaited me beneath the grinning fangs of my fierce
pursuers.
And so I raced on toward the trees intending to pass beneath that
which held the man-things and take refuge in another farther on;
but the wolf-dogs were very close behind me--so close that I had
despaired of escaping them, when one of the creatures in the tree
above swung down headforemost, his tail looped about a great limb,
and grasping me beneath my armpits swung me in safety up among his
fellows.
There they fell to examining me with the utmost excitement and
curiosity. They picked at my clothing, my hair, and my flesh. They
turned me about to see if I had a tail, and when they discovered
that I was not so equipped they fell into roars of laughter. Their
teeth were very large and white and even, except for the upper
canines which were a trifle longer than the others--protruding just
a bit when the mouth was closed.
When they had examined me for a few moments one of them discovered
that my clothing was not a part of me, with the result that garment
by garment they tore it from me amidst peals of the wildest laughter.
Apelike, they essayed to don the apparel themselves, but their
ingenuity was not sufficient to the task and so they gave it up.
In the meantime I had been straining my eyes to catch a glimpse
of Perry, but nowhere about could I see him, although the clump of
trees in which he had first taken refuge was in full view.
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