He merely accomplishes each lesson as a task to be rid of as quickly as possible and I am sure that no lesson ever again enters his mind until the hours of study and recitation once more arrive. His sole interests seem to be feats of physical prowess and the reading of everything that he can get hold of relative to savage beasts and the lives and customs of uncivilized peoples; but particularly do stories of animals appeal to him. He will sit for hours together poring over the work of some African explorer, and upon two occasions I have found him setting up in bed at night reading Carl Hagenbeck's book on men and beasts.”

The boy's mother tapped her foot nervously upon the hearth rug.

“You discourage this, of course?” she ventured.

Mr. Moore shuffled embarrassedly.

“I—ah—essayed to take the book from him,” he replied, a slight flush mounting his sallow cheek; “but—ah—your son is quite muscular for one so young.”

“He wouldn't let you take it?” asked the mother.

“He would not,” confessed the tutor. “He was perfectly good natured about it; but he insisted upon pretending that he was a gorilla and that I was a chimpanzee attempting to steal food from him. He leaped upon me with the most savage growls I ever heard, lifted me completely above his head, hurled me upon his bed, and after going through a pantomime indicative of choking me to death he stood upon my prostrate form and gave voice to a most fearsome shriek, which he explained was the victory cry of a bull ape. Then he carried me to the door, shoved me out into the hall and locked me from his room.”

For several minutes neither spoke again. It was the boy's mother who finally broke the silence.

“It is very necessary, Mr. Moore,” she said, “that you do everything in your power to discourage this tendency in Jack, he—“; but she got no further. A loud “Whoop!” from the direction of the window brought them both to their feet.