The sailor was silent for a while. Then he said, ' God help me. I will tell you what I know. You will think it's a very strange story, but it's true. I am innocent, and I must help this other man if i can.'
This was the sailor's story.
I have just come back from the East Indies. While I was there, I visited the island of Boneo. There I found and caught this orang-outang. It is a wild and dangerous animal, and I had a difficult journey home. But at last we arrived back in France, and I took the animal to my house in Paris. I kept it hidden because of the neightbours, and I was planning to sell it as soon as possible for a lot of money.
On the night of the 3rd of June I was out late with some friends. When I got back home, I found the orang-outang in my bedroom, with my razor in its hand. The door to ita own room was broken to pieces.I just didn't know what to do. The animal is dangerous at the best of time, but with a razor in its hands . . . ! On the ship home I always used a whip to keep the animal quiet,so I went to find my whip now. But the minute the orang-outang saw the whip,it ran out of the room, down the stairs,and jumped through an open window into the street.
I was really afraid now. How could I catch it? The animal ran, and I followed. Sometimes it stopped and looked at me,therazor still in its hand. But when Igot near, it ran on again. And so we went on. Luckily, the streets were very quiet because it was nearly three o'clock in the morning.
Then, when we were going down a narrow street at the back of the Rue Morgue, the animal saw a ligth in a window on the fourth floor. Before I could do anything, the animal saw the lightning-rod, quickly climbed up it,took hole of the latticed shutter,and swung itself through the open window. All this took less than a minute. The shutter then swung open again, back against the wall.