Chongo Chimp pressed the buzzer on the left corner of his desk, poured himself a shot of whiskey, and leaned back thoughtfully. Moments later Janie came in, looking brisk and efficient the way she always did, her dark hair neatly combed back from her scuptured brow ridges.

Janie was Chongo's latest secretarial assistant, and she was turning out to be a good one. She had come over on the boat from Africa, same as Chongo, but more recently, in '39 just before the big war started up in Europe. She was a forest chimp from Tanzania. Janie was pretty businesslike, but there was a twinkle of warmth lurking in her closeset brown eyes. Chongo figured she'd make some ape a good partner one of these days. Not him, though. His life was too up and down for a stable institution like marriage. Besides, Chongo liked his freedom too much. And he was still tortured by secret visions of long, slender, silky, bare legs in sheer stockings. Human legs. It didn't bear thinking about...

"Janie, I need ya to go out and get me some info. Pick up any book ya can find in the library about...vampires. Yeah, I know, don't look at me like that, I said 'vampires'. Just do it, okay?"

Janie rolled her eyes mockingly. "Sure thing, Chongo. How about werewolves?"

"Awww, fer Kong's sake..." grumbled Chongo, "Just vampires!" He studiously directed his attention to the papers on his desk. They were mostly bills.

"I'm right on it, boss ape," said Janie, saluting humorously. "Count Dracula," she announced dramatically, "your days are numbered!" She shouldered her purse and strode merrily out the door. Chongo glowered at her over his drink wordlessly. He was busy trying to calculate just how far he could stretch that $250 he'd got from Paulsky. Business had been slender lately. Not good looking either. Just slender, period.

"I shoulda become an arms manufacturer," thought Chongo. "I coulda had a great big oak desk, an office on the 25th floor, and a human secretary with 36 inch legs."