Read Online Forest of the Pygmies by Isabel Allende - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Isabel Allende
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machete and a long stick. Angie carried the revolver and the rifle. Borobá led them straight to the trap, but when the gorilla saw herself surrounded by human faces she became frantic.
âThis is a time when Mushahaâs tranquilizer gun would come in very handy,â Angie observed.
âSheâs terribly afraid. Iâll try to get near her; you wait back there,â Nadia directed.
Everyone stepped back several feet and crouched down among the ferns as Nadia and Alexander moved forward inch by inch, pausing, waiting, creeping a little closer. Nadia kept up a constant, soothing monologue, which seemed to calm the poor trapped animal, because after several minutes, the grunting stopped.
âJaguar, look up there,â Nadia whispered into her friendâs ear.
Alexander looked up and high in the treetop saw a black, shiny face with close-set eyes and flattened nose observing them attentively.
âItâs another gorilla. And itâs much bigger than this one!â Alexander replied, also in a murmur.
âDonât look it in the eye. Thatâs a threat to them; it might get angry,â she counseled.
The other members of the group also saw the great ape, but no one moved. Joelâs hands were tickling to focus his camera, but Kate dissuaded him with a sharp glance. The opportunity to be at such close proximity to these large creatures was so rare that they couldnât ruin it with a false move. A half hour passed and nothing happened; the gorilla in the tree did not move from its observation post, and the figure entangled in the net below was silent. Only her agitated breathing and the way she was holding her baby close betrayed her anguish.
Nadia began to crawl toward the trap, watched by the terrified female from the pit and by the male overhead. Alexander followed with the knife in his teeth, feeling vaguely ridiculous, as if he were in some Tarzan movie. When Nadia reached out to touch the netted animal, the tree branches where the larger gorilla sat swayed ominously.
âIf he attacks my grandson, kill him right where he sits,â Kate breathed to Angie.
Angie didnât respond. She was afraid that even if the animal were only three feet away she wouldnât be able to shoot it: The rifle was trembling in her hands.
The female never took her eyes off Nadia and Alexander as they crawled toward her, but she seemed a little more calm, as if she had understood the reassurances that Nadia repeated over and over that those humans were not the same ones who had set the trap.
âEasy, easy, weâre going to get you out,â Nadia kept murmuring, like a litany.
Finally the girlâs hand touched the black pelt of the gorilla, which shrank away from the contact and showed her teeth. Nadia, however, did not remove her hand, and gradually the animal relaxed. At a sign from Nadia, Alexander began cautiously to drag himself toward her on his elbows. Very slowly, so as not to startle the frightened creature, he, too, began to stroke the gorillaâs back, until she was comfortable with his presence. He filled his lungs with a deep breath, rubbed the amulet on his chest to give himself courage, and gripped the knife to cut some of the rope. The animalâs reaction when she felt the metal blade so close to her hide was to draw up into a ball, protecting the baby with her body. Nadiaâs voice came from somewhere far away, penetrating her terrified mind, calming her; at her back she felt the friction of the knife and the tugging at the net. Cutting the rope turned out to take longer than expected, but finally Alexander succeeded in opening a hole large enough to free the prisoner. He signaled Nadia, and they both scooted back a few feet.
âOut! You can get out now!â she ordered.
Brother Fernando squirmed close to Alexander and handed him his stick, which the youth used to delicately prod the huddled form beneath the net. That had the desired effect. The
âThis is a time when Mushahaâs tranquilizer gun would come in very handy,â Angie observed.
âSheâs terribly afraid. Iâll try to get near her; you wait back there,â Nadia directed.
Everyone stepped back several feet and crouched down among the ferns as Nadia and Alexander moved forward inch by inch, pausing, waiting, creeping a little closer. Nadia kept up a constant, soothing monologue, which seemed to calm the poor trapped animal, because after several minutes, the grunting stopped.
âJaguar, look up there,â Nadia whispered into her friendâs ear.
Alexander looked up and high in the treetop saw a black, shiny face with close-set eyes and flattened nose observing them attentively.
âItâs another gorilla. And itâs much bigger than this one!â Alexander replied, also in a murmur.
âDonât look it in the eye. Thatâs a threat to them; it might get angry,â she counseled.
The other members of the group also saw the great ape, but no one moved. Joelâs hands were tickling to focus his camera, but Kate dissuaded him with a sharp glance. The opportunity to be at such close proximity to these large creatures was so rare that they couldnât ruin it with a false move. A half hour passed and nothing happened; the gorilla in the tree did not move from its observation post, and the figure entangled in the net below was silent. Only her agitated breathing and the way she was holding her baby close betrayed her anguish.
Nadia began to crawl toward the trap, watched by the terrified female from the pit and by the male overhead. Alexander followed with the knife in his teeth, feeling vaguely ridiculous, as if he were in some Tarzan movie. When Nadia reached out to touch the netted animal, the tree branches where the larger gorilla sat swayed ominously.
âIf he attacks my grandson, kill him right where he sits,â Kate breathed to Angie.
Angie didnât respond. She was afraid that even if the animal were only three feet away she wouldnât be able to shoot it: The rifle was trembling in her hands.
The female never took her eyes off Nadia and Alexander as they crawled toward her, but she seemed a little more calm, as if she had understood the reassurances that Nadia repeated over and over that those humans were not the same ones who had set the trap.
âEasy, easy, weâre going to get you out,â Nadia kept murmuring, like a litany.
Finally the girlâs hand touched the black pelt of the gorilla, which shrank away from the contact and showed her teeth. Nadia, however, did not remove her hand, and gradually the animal relaxed. At a sign from Nadia, Alexander began cautiously to drag himself toward her on his elbows. Very slowly, so as not to startle the frightened creature, he, too, began to stroke the gorillaâs back, until she was comfortable with his presence. He filled his lungs with a deep breath, rubbed the amulet on his chest to give himself courage, and gripped the knife to cut some of the rope. The animalâs reaction when she felt the metal blade so close to her hide was to draw up into a ball, protecting the baby with her body. Nadiaâs voice came from somewhere far away, penetrating her terrified mind, calming her; at her back she felt the friction of the knife and the tugging at the net. Cutting the rope turned out to take longer than expected, but finally Alexander succeeded in opening a hole large enough to free the prisoner. He signaled Nadia, and they both scooted back a few feet.
âOut! You can get out now!â she ordered.
Brother Fernando squirmed close to Alexander and handed him his stick, which the youth used to delicately prod the huddled form beneath the net. That had the desired effect. The
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