chapter 4 philip collects a pet
soon the days began to slip by quickly. after lisbon lucy-ann and dinah lost count of them. theydidn't even know if the day was monday, tuesday or any other. they knew sunday becauseeveryone went into the big lounge then and listened to the captain conducting a short church service.
for days they saw no land. philip grew very excited when a shoal of flying-fish flew out of the seaand kept up in the air for some time. they were lovely little things.
"what makes them do that?" wondered lucy-ann.
"just being chased by some hungry big fish," said philip. "wouldn't you leap out of the water and tryand fly through the air if an enormous fish was after you, lucy-ann? gosh, i wish one of the fishwould fly on deck. i'd just love to see it close to.""well, you couldn't possibly make it a pet, thank goodness, because it would die in your pocket," saiddinah. "it seems queer for you to be without any pets at all, philip. very nice!"but she spoke too soon, because philip collected a pet two days later! they had called at madeira,left that island, and gone on to french morocco. it was there that philip collected his queer little pet.
the children liked french morocco. they especially liked the native bazaars, although the smell wasso terrible that mrs. mannering said she could only bear it if she walked along with smelling-saltspressed to her nose. the children soon got used to the smell, though kiki didn't, judging by thenumber of "poohs" she said. "pooh! gah! pooh!"dinah tried out her french on the black-eyed natives, and was pleased when they understood. shebought a tiny brooch, and lucy-ann bought a blue vase.
"don't you see anything you like?" she asked philip. he shook his head.
"i don't want things like that. now if i could see something really exciting — say an old dagger — or,i tell you what! something i've always wanted and never had.""what's that?" asked lucy-ann, determined to buy it for him if only she could see it.
"you'll laugh — but i've always wanted a ship in a bottle," said philip.
"i've never even seen one," said lucy-ann, astonished. "a ship inside a bottle, do you mean? what apeculiar thing? how is it put there?"
"i don't know," said philip. "it's daft of me to want it, really — it's just one of those ideas you get,you know."
"i'll be sure to look out for one for you, wherever we go," promised lucy-ann. "oh do look at kiki.
she's taking sweets from those little brown children. she'll make herself sick again!"mrs. mannering insisted that they should all stay close to her, and keep with the ship's party. the fourchildren wished they could explore by themselves, for they liked the natives and their strange dark,narrow little shops.
"certainly not," said mrs. mannering. "why, didn't you hear what happened to the man at the nexttable to ours on the ship? he and his wife went off by themselves in a taxi to visit some place or other— and the driver took them to a deserted hill, and wouldn't take them back to the ship till they hadgiven him all the money they had!"
"gracious," said lucy-ann, alarmed.
"he brought them back just as the gangway was being drawn up," went on mrs. mannering, "so theyhad no time to make any complaint. now you know why i want you to keep with the ship's party. nomore adventures for you, if i can help it! it would be just like you all to disappear somewhere, getinto awful danger and put a few more grey hairs into my head!""you haven't really got very many," said lucy-ann. "just about one for each of our adventures, that'sall! i will keep near to you, aunt allie. i don't want an adventure either."the next day there was to be a trip by motor-coach to a famous place inland — an old town on theedge of the desert. "the motor-coaches will be here on the quay at half-past ten," mrs. manneringtold the four. "be sure to wear your sun-hats. it will be terribly hot."it was on that trip that philip collected his new pet. the motor-coaches duly arrived and everyonecrowded into them, looking extremely hot. off they went at top speed down a sandy road that for atime seemed to run through what looked like a bare desert. queer cactus-plants grew by the roadside.
lucy-ann thought they looked ugly and spiteful with their numerous prickles and fat bulging bodies.
in two hours' time they came to the old town. its queer arches and towers seemed to spring upsuddenly out of the sand. little dark-brown children, with hardly anything on, ran to meet them, theirhands held out.
"penn-ee, penn-ee," they said, and kiki echoed them at once. "penn-ee, penn-ee!"they all went into the narrow street of the old town. the guide took them to an ancient building andbegan to drone its history. then one by one the party climbed steep winding steps up an enormoustower.
half-way up philip looked out of a great stone window. it had no glass, of course. the wall was sothick that he could sit on the window-sill with his legs stretched right out. he hung on to the side ofthe window and slid forward to look down.
far below he could see a little crowd of half- naked children. they were pointing upwards andchattering. some of them were throwing stones.
"now what are those little beggars throwing stones at?" thought philip. "if it's something alive i'llknock their heads together!"
he slid down from the enormous window-sill and ran down the great winding stairs. a stone flewthrough a window-opening not far from the bottom, and he stopped.
he heard a little whimpering noise, and, hidden in a corner of the window-opening, he saw a littleheap of brown fur. he went over to it. what could it be?
click! a stone flew near him. blow those kids! he stepped to the window and looked down sternly.
"you stop that!" he shouted. "do you hear me? stop it!"the small children looked in consternation at this sudden apparition. they disappeared in a hurry.
philip reached over to the brown bundle. a small wizened face peeped out at him, with mournfulbrown eyes. then it was covered by tiny hands.
"why — it's a monkey — a tiny monkey!" thought philip. he knew how scared the little creatureswere, and he was afraid of frightening this poor little stoned animal. he had seen plenty of monkeysin that part of the country already, but not near — they always kept well out of the way.
philip spoke to the little creature in what lucy-ann called his "special animal-voice." it uncovered itsqueer little face again, and then, with one bound, was cuddling into the boy's shoulder, nestlingagainst his neck, trembling. he put up a cautious hand and rubbed its soft fur.
no animal had ever been able to resist philip's magic. horses, dogs, cats, snakes, insects, birds —they came to him at once trustfully and confidingly. not one could resist him. it was a gift thateveryone marvelled at and envied him for.
philip sat down on the broad window-sill and talked to the scared and miserable little monkey. itchattered back in a queer high little voice. it looked at him shyly out of child-like brown eyes. its tinybrown fingers wound themselves round one of his. it was philip's devoted slave from that moment.
when the others came pattering down the stairs in front of the rest of the party, they were astonishedto see the little monkey cuddled up to philip.
"there — i knew he'd get hold of something sooner or later!" said dinah. "ugh! a nasty, dirty,smelly little monkey, full of fleas too, i expect.""well, it is dirty and smelly, and i'm sure it's got fleas," said philip. "but it isn't nasty. it's been stonedby those wretched little children down below. both its back legs are hurt.""poor little thing," said lucy-ann, almost in tears. jack stroked the tiny thing's head, but that onlymade it shrink closer to philip.
"you're not to take it back to the ship with you," began dinah. "i shall tell mother if you do. i won'thave a monkey in our party."
"he's coming with me," said philip sternly.
dinah began to lose her temper. "then i shall tell mother i won't have it. i shall . . .""dinah, it's so small, and it's hurt," said lucy-ann, in a shaky voice. "don't talk like that. it's sounkind."
dinah flushed and turned away. she was cross, and horrified at the thought of having a monkey"tagging along" with them, as she put it — but she didn't want to go against all three of the others.
she said no more, though she sulked for the rest of the day.
how philip hid the monkey till he got back to the ship only he knew. the fact is that no-one evennoticed it. philip and lucy-ann helped him valiantly by standing in front of him whenever theythought anyone might see the monkey. dinah would not help, but on the other hand she did nothingto give the secret away.
back in the cabin, the three children pored over the tiny creature. "it's not even a grown monkey,"said philip. "how those children could stone a little thing like this beats me. but i suppose in everycountry there are cruel and unkind people — after all, we've seen boys in our country throwing stonesat a cat! look — its legs are bruised and cut, but they're not broken. i can soon get those right. iwonder if it would let me wash it — it's so dirty."the little thing would let philip do anything in the world he wanted to. the children spent two hourswashing and drying it gently. jack brought a little shoe-brush to brush its fluffy fur. it let philip putiodine on its cuts with only a tiny whimper.
"there!" said the boy. "you look fine. what's your name?"the monkey chattered something, and the children listened. "it sounds as if he's saying 'micky-micky-mick,' " said lucy-ann.
"right. if he thinks his name is micky, micky it is," said philip. "i wonder what kiki will think ofhim."
"she won't like him much," said jack. "she'll be jealous. good thing we left her in the girl's cabin.
she'd screech the place down if she saw us washing and brushing micky."kiki certainly was most amazed to see micky on philip's shoulder that night. she stared, and then,just as jack had said, she screeched — one of her very best express-train screeches. mrs. manneringput her head in at the cabin door to protest.
she suddenly caught sight of the monkey and stepped forward in surprise, wondering if she had seenaright. "oh, philip! you oughtn't to have brought it back to the ship. what a tiny thing!""mother, some children were stoning it. i had to bring it away," said philip. his mother looked athim. it was just exactly the kind of thing philip's father had done when he was alive. how could shescold him for something that was in his very blood?
"well — i don't know if a fuss will be made if you keep him on the ship," she said, stroking themonkey's head. "what does dinah say about it?""she was cross at first, but she didn't say much," said lucy-ann. "she's still in our cabin, i think.
she'll get over micky. she'll have to."
"micky-kiki-micky-kiki-micky-kiki," said kiki triumphantly, as if she had suddenly discoveredsomething very clever. she loved words that sounded the same. "micky-kiki, micky-kiki . . .""shut up, kiki," said philip. "i say, what a pity he's called micky — we'll never stop kiki sayingthose two words now. but he is micky. we can't alter his name now."so micky he was, and in a day or two he was everyone's friend — yes, even dinah's! he had such aqueer, comical face that it was impossible not to like him when he looked at you out of mournfulbrown eyes.
"he's such a baby and yet he's got such a wise, wizened little face," said lucy-ann. "and i do like histiny black fingers — just like ours! don't you, dinah?""well — he's not as awful as i thought he was at first," admitted dinah. "i can't say i want him sittingon my shoulder all day long, like philip — and i'm sure he's still got fleas — but he's really not bad.""he hasn't got fleas," said philip, annoyed. "don't keep saying that."micky soon recovered his spirits, and from being a gentle, confiding little thing, he became amischievous, chattering little madcap. he leapt about the cabin as lightly as a squirrel, and dinah wasalways scared he would take a flying jump on to her shoulder. but he didn't. he was wise enough notto do that!
kiki was alarmed to see these acrobatics, and when the two were together in the same cabin shealways turned to face micky, so that she could jab him with her beak if he leapt at her. but he left heralone, and took very little notice. she didn't like that at all!
she took to calling his name in philip's voice, which she could imitate perfectly. "micky! micky!"the monkey would look round at once, but would see no philip. "micky!" kiki would say again, andthe monkey would begin to leap all over the place, trying to find philip.
then kiki would cackle with laughter, and micky would go off in disgust and sit on the porthole-sillwith his back to kiki, looking through the thick glass out to sea.
kiki certainly had the best of it because she soon found that she could make noises that terrifiedmicky. if she barked like a dog the little creature went nearly frantic with fright. he was puzzled too.
he watched kiki closely, and soon realized that no dog barked unless kiki was in the cabin. thenwas kiki some kind of bird-dog?
the next time she barked she followed it by a fierce growl. this was too much for micky. he pickedup a tablet of soap from the basin and flung it at the surprised kiki. it hit her full on the beak and shegave a squawk of alarm and nearly fell off her perch.
micky sent a tooth-brush after the soap, and then the tooth-mug. he was a very fine shot, and soonkiki was flying round the cabin trying to find a place to hide from the volley of articles that mickywas sending after her — hair-brushes, combs, a roll of films, anything he could get hold of!
philip stopped the battle when he came in. "micky! pick them all up!" he said sternly. "what did kikido to you to make you lose your temper like that? bad micky!""naughty micky, bad boy!" said kiki at once, and went off into one of her cackles of laughter. mickypicked everything up humbly. then he went to sit on philip's shoulder as usual. kiki was jealous. sheflew to his other shoulder.
the monkey chattered at her. kiki chattered back, in exactly the same monkey-voice as micky used.
he stared in amazement, and chattered back excitedly. philip listened, amused.
"well, i don't really know if you understand one another or not," he said. "but it's just as well youshould. i don't want to find my cabin strewn with all my belongings each time i come into it. so justbe friends? do you hear, kiki and micky?""pooh," said kiki, in a friendly voice, and nibbled at him.
"pooh to you!" said philip. "and kindly stop nibbling my ear!"
