His Monkey Wife, or Married to a Chimp by John Collier

Author:John Collier
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: love triangle, 1920's, South Africa, satire, chimp, schoolmaster, London, social criticism
ISBN: 9781618865014
Publisher: eNet Press Inc.; Lake Oswego OR 97034 USA; www.enetpress.com
Published: 2012-04-20T16:00:00+00:00

“Good afternoon,” said Emily, in the tongue of her kind, which, if it contains but few syllables, is rich in nuances of expression.

“Good heavens!” cried Sally. “What are you doing out there, walking about like the rest of the people? Have you escaped or something?”

“Oh, no,” said Emily. “I’m living nearby in a little maisonette, as a sort of companion to an Englishwoman, and, hearing that you were here, I thought I’d come in and look you up.”

“Living with an Englishwoman, indeed!” exclaimed Sally, in tones in which surprise, envy, and scorn were pretty evenly mingled. “Well, there’s no accounting for tastes. Some of the younger set have gone native to a certain extent and take thé anglais with one of the stewards every afternoon. I don’t myself. Perhaps I’m old-fashioned. When in Rome, they say. . . . Of course, I’ve heard of chimpanzees taking up life among the inhabitants, but I must say I’ve never seen one before. Still — if you like it. . . . But that dress — is it silk? And the bonnet, really — very attractive. I feel it’s the sort of thing that might suit me. Would you care to pass it through the bars for me to try on?”

“Please excuse me,” said Emily, “but if anyone happened to come along, I’d have a crowd about me in no time. You know what people are.”

“Well, as you like,” replied Sally, good-naturedly. “Living in the public eye myself, I can’t say crowds bother me much. If it wasn’t for this threatening weather, I expect they’d be two or three deep about the place now. They generally come to see me first. I must admit I didn’t intend to give the bonnet back to you, as probably you guessed.”

Emily shrugged her shoulders with a friendly twinkle.

“I wouldn’t take anyone’s banana,” resumed Sally. “But one doesn’t often get a new hat. If there’s a drawback to this place, that’s what it is. The clothes they offer one are very second-rate. I happened to be taking a sunbath just as you came along, and I’m not sorry either, my dear, for my wardrobe,” said she, jerking a thumb to the inner apartment, where in truth nothing but the back sheet of a newspaper and a child’s glove were stored, “my wardrobe being what it is, I should have looked a positive frump beside you.”

“Well, clothes aren’t everything,” said Emily spontaneously. “Life’s not all honey outside, I can tell you. I expect you have chosen the better part.”

“I don’t know about that,” replied Sally. “It’s pretty dreary, being cramped in this drafty hole with a pack of fools pointing and laughing all day long. And as for choosing — I was caught by bird lime myself, and that’s that.”

“But at least you’ve got company, haven’t you?” asked Emily. “Isn’t there someone living in the apartment behind?”

“Oh, there’s a poor mad fellow come to live there now,” said Sally. “One who got mauled by a leopard and now thinks he’s dead and in hell for his misdeeds.

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