Chapter 17

“Since it seemed fairly certain that the objective of these mysterious crimes was the Tomb of the Black Ape, I now made my way round to the enclosure. The door was locked, but I managed to find a spot where I could climb up the fencing and look over. I stared down into the pit and listened intently. In that silence, any movement below must have been clearly audible. But I could not hear a sound. “I was mystified—utterly mystified. I began to wonder if poor Barton had been mistaken in his own symptoms. I began to th…