My cousin,Alexander,was like me an
only child.so when we were not at school we often used to stay with each other we were more like brothers than cousins.
My uncle,Charles,Alexander`s father
was a professor of biology at Oxford university.He did brilliant,original research or so my parents said.Once I asked
him what sort of research it was.He muttered something about the mutations of species and biological engineeering. I could`nt
understand him and he obviously did`nt want to explain,so I did`nt ask him again.Alexander told me that he had visited his
father`s laboratories at the university,and he`d been surprised to see,in addition to usual rats and rabbits you`d expect
to see in a biology laboratory,a young gorilla.
Then suddenly alexander`s father lost
his job.I was`nt told why they had sacked him and my parent`s never talked about it...... at least not in front of me.That
was at the beginning of the summer.At the end of summer it was my turn to stay with Alexander.
I was surpriesd when he did`nt
meet me at the station,as we`d arranged.But it was`nt a long walk to his home.I knocked at the front door.After I`d waited
for more than a minute.my aunt came to the door.Instead of welcoming ,she just stood there, wringing her hands.
"Oh it`s you,Richard."she finally
said. "Of course its me.I`ve come to stay,remember?"
"Oh dear did`nt you get my letter?"
" What letter?"
:It was about your cousin Alexander.
You see he`s had an accident....a...terrible accident."
"Oh no!What sort of accident?Is he
in the hospital?"
"Well no,not exactly.It`s just
that something went wrong....horribly wrong,and...."
Just then I caught sight of a face
looking down at me from an upstairs window."I do`nt believe it!!" I blurted out.
It was a weird face ,half man, half
ape.But it`s eyes were what I noticed most.beneath the low,sloping forehead, jutting eyebrows of a gorilla I coul see
that those eyes were unmistakenably those of.........you know who."Ale....."
