Chumley's arrival at his hilltop hut left the author considerably shaken. He had expected to find a young chimp. Instead,
fully grown and with the strength of a powerful man, the
Chimpanzee stood upto the author's chest. Although Chumley was not especially handsome (he had problem teeth), the author was attracted by the chimpanzee's personality as much as by his evident intelligence.
At one point, Chumley refuses to return the author's intelligence. Although the handkerchief in itself was not important, the author spent at least half an hour pleading with - and convincing - the chimpanzee to return the handkerchief. The author felt that it was important for the chimp to surrender the handerchief, as it would create a bad precedent that would be repeated time and again. The author's analysis proved to be correct; as had no further problem with the chimp with regards to stolen objects.
Chumley had many habits which made him seem almost human:
- His table manners were perfect.
- He could light a cigarette with a match or a lighter, blowing clouds of smoke into the sky.
- He could pour himself a glass of lemonade as well as any professional barman.
- Given a bunch of bananas, he would not hesitate to share one with you.
- He had an intelligent expression upon his face.
Perhaps the most interesting information that one learned from this abstract was that Chumley was never allowed to drink anything stronger than tea or lemonade. On the only occasion that he did so (he was given a bottle of beer to quench his thirst), Chumley enjoyed it thoroughly. But, he also became quite drunk - and made a public nuisance of himself. He hooted with joy, turned sumersaults, clapped his hands, and danced a strange sort of dance. It took several hours for Chumley to turn sober again. Meanwhile, a crowd had gathered to watch his antics, and police had eventually to be called in to disperse the mob.
In spite of his appealing personality (he even became a television star), Chumley suffered from bouts of boredom. Feeling somewhat bored with life, Chumley broke out from the sanitorium where he was staying, and created havoc among the citizens of the town. Unfortunately, their shouts and screams only provoked him to further assault. If only they could have understood that he was not trying to seek publicity, but only trying to liven up his - and their - lives! After some time had passed (on Christmas Eve to be precise), he decided to repeat his little escapade...
Perhaps the most serious offence that Chumley had committed was to repeat his misdemeanor; he thus forfeited the trust of his keepers.