I
didn't care to do that, needing his services.
Evelyn Grey had come up to join us; there was a brief silence; we
all stood looking at Grue; and he looked back at us out of his pale,
washed-out, and unblinking eyes.
"Grue," I said, "I haven't yet explained to you the object of this
expedition to Black Bayou. Now, I'll tell you what I want. But first let
me ask you a question or two. You know the Black Bayou forests, don't
you?"
"Yes."
"Did you ever see anything unusual in these forests?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
The man stared at us, one after another. Then he said:
"What are you looking for in Black Bayou?"
"Something very curious, very strange, very unusual. So strange and
unusual, in fact, that the great Zooelogical Society of the Bronx in New
York has sent me down here at the head of this expedition to search the
forests of Black Bayou."
"For what?" he demanded, in a dull, accentless voice.
"For a totally new species of human being, Grue. I wish to catch one and
take it back to New York in that folding cage."
His green eyes had grown narrow as though sun-dazzled. Kemper had stepped
behind us into the woods and was now busy setting up the folding cage.
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