pointed at Gary and said. "You never invested in nothin' in your life, you didn't even know what L. Ron did, and you still don't know what's goin' on in those hills neither."

"They sure ain't makin' Elk Boys," replied Gary.

A deep voice boomed out behind the three. "I wouldn't bet on that."

A large man wearing a tweed jacket and regimental tie walked over to their table.

"Who are you?" Asked Arnie.

"Some people call me Doc.  Others just call me Harry," replied the large man. "I live up by Beaver Springs."

Arnie's eyes narrowed as he looked at the newcomer. "Are you a medical sawbones?"

"No, I'm a retired School Superintendent."

"Woof," said Gary. "I've never met no School Superintendents before. Pleased to meetcha. Are you tryin' to tell us that there are such things as Elk Boys?"

"There are few things in this world that we can speak about with absolute certainty," replied Doc Harry. "But I do think that that such a thing might be possible."

"Aw come on," slurred Gary. "You're just putt'n us on."

"No, I'm not trying to put you on," replied Doc Harry as he helped himself to the boys beer. "Animal human hybrids are very common in folklore. There have been a lot of strange sightings in this area, with Elk boy being just one. Have you ever heard about the Yankton Monster? There are several books that document sightings of a Giant Ape in the Yankton area. Surely you've read mythological tales of Centaurs, Satyrs, and the Greek Minotaur."

Arnie poured the last of his second pitcher into his glass and motioned for more. "These boys don't read much in the way of books, and we never heard about any sort of Yankton Monster. And what the hell is a Monitor?"

"The Minotaur," continued Doc Harry, "was a creature that lived in the labyrinth beneath the Island of Crete. It was part man and part bull. Some say it had the head of a bull and the body of a man. Others seem to think that it was the other way around."

"Gosh Doc" laughed Gary. "If you weren't a professor or something, I'd say you were full of crap. A giant ape, a monitor, what a crock."

Doc Harry smiled, and helped himself to more of their beer. "Oh I didn't make those stories up, and it was a Minotaur, not monitor. The stories exist. The Yankton Monster is recorded in several books about Bigfoot, and you can read about Centaurs, Satyrs, and the Minotaur in Bulfinch's Mythology.

"Isss that a fact?" slured Richard.

"That sir, is a fact," replied Doc Harry. "Let me tell you something more. A few miles out behind Rainier, there is a place called Apiary. Have you ever been there? It is about seven miles from here as the crow flies. Do you know how that place got its name?"

The boys all poured themselves some more beer. Arnie took a long swallow and then said, "Apiary is just a place. There's nothin' there now, but I think it was given that name 'cause of some people used to raise bees."

"There's nothing there now, nothing that you can readily see," continued Doc Harry. "At one time, there used to be a lot of things going on there. You need to understand that the name has nothing to do with bees."

"It don't?" said Arnie, as he sort of squirms in his chair.

"No it doesn't," replied Doc Harry. "Some years ago, the government used that locality to conduct some top secret experiments. They had a thriving primate center and a lot of government money was invested towards its activities."

"Waz a primate?" slurred Richard.

"It's an ape, dummy!" snapped Gary.

Doc Harry took a sip from his beer. "You're right Gary. Apes are primates. There are actually 235 species of various types of primates. Monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzees, humans and apes all make up what is known as class Anthropoidea. The locality that you call Apiary didn't get its name from beekeepers. It got its name from the primate center. The center was a place where the government used to do all sorts of experiments; experiments on apes.

Arnie looked uncomfortable and said softly, "Aw come on Doc…"

Doc Harry poured himself another beer. "Not only did they do experiments on apes, but