Page:The Surakarta (1913).djvu/68

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52
THE SURAKARTA

the glass case with the Gila specimen—the least vociferous members of Max' household, remained to occupy his morning attention; and it was seldom, as Max became better known, that there was not also some ailing dog or cat, or a parrot under the weather, confided to his temporary care by its owner.

A Chinese boy picked up at Canton, and therefore illegally smuggled into Chicago, served him as animal-keeper as well as cook and houseboy. Even with this aid Max, who in the jungle had been accustomed to breakfast at four o'clock, in the city often did not breakfast until ten. Gradually, with only occasional lapses, he had taught himself to read the newspapers each morning instead of saving them up for weeks and getting all the news at once, as it always had come to him before; and he had even attained such