I could think of no reliable method save the very one which was taboo--a steady aim, the right moment, a sudden explosion, and the deadly bullet. What could Gran'pa's plan be? I gave it up. Neither my brains (nor my glands) were equal to the solution of such a problem, and so I cast about for something of more immediate interest--and had lunch. After that, I felt much quieter, and the African jungle temporarily receded to its proper position in suburban life. The afternoon was still before me, but I felt too much like a truant schoolboy to venture home--Molly would have been so inquisitive and Nanny so curious. Strange it was, especially at such a time as this, that I should be afraid of two mere women; but even big game hunters are human. . . . I went across Petersham Common and back along the river side. Then I picked up my suit-case at the tobacconist's, got a 'bus to the station and proceeded to town. Gran'pa and Stringer met me, as arranged. They were very excited and the hypnotist was bristling with animation. "Most interesting, George!" exclaimed Gran'pa. "But I shan't be satisfied until we've been to the menagerie at Bristol." My brain suddenly cleared. "I can half guess!" I said. "Has it only just dawned on you?" he cried. I bowed my head, ashamed of my previous dulness. "You're going to hypnotize them!" I gasped. Gran'pa was in excellent form and as merry as a youth of twenty. It was absurd to think that he was nearly a hundred. "In common parlance, George, we intend putting the 'fluence' on 'em. Calling them, staring them into submission, and then suddenly _commanding_ them. It's the old story of the lion-tamer and the lions, with this difference. Instead of having to deal with the lower and less intelligent order of animals, we have the great advantage of applying the same method to brutes which are second only to men. What the politician does to the crowd, the tub-thumper to the mob, the religious revivalist to the sinner--_we_ shall do to the apes. Man-mind against monkey-mind. It's _brains_ that count, my boy! Brains! . . ." "Did it work at the Zoo?" I asked. "Partly. But what can one expect there? The poor wretches are half stupefied. There isn't a really wild, alert animal in the place. Their minds are drugged with captivity and monotony and unnatural food. A test like this is of little value until we try it under normal conditions." We had dinner and, at Gran'pa's instigation, Stringer gave the order. It was astounding to see the masterful way he glanced round the room, beckoned the appropriate waiter to our table and sent him rushing away again. A few minutes later, the first course was before us--as if by magic! Never have I had such a quick, well-served dinner, or encountered such a courteous, electrified waiter. The man's soul was not his own. It was simply a pawn in the hand of a skilful player. "The ball no question makes of ayes or noes, But right or left, as strikes the player, goes."