34 



GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEES 



rifle turned towards him, and my hand on the lock. 

 It is a trying moment. If he should spring with 

 such force as to break the frail network that is 

 between us, there could be but one fate for me. 



In the brief space of a few seconds a thousand 

 things run through one s mind. Not prompted by 

 fear, but by suspense. Is it best to fire into the 

 black shadows, or to wait for his attack ? What is 

 his exact pose ? What does he intend ? How big 

 is he ? Can he see me ? And a category of similar 

 questions arise at this critical moment. 



A clash of bushes, and he is gone. Not with the 

 stealthy, cautious steps with which he advanced, but 

 in hot haste. He has taken alarm, abandoned his 

 purpose, and far away I can hear the dry twigs 

 crashing as he hurries to some remote nook. He 

 flees as if he thought he was being pursued. He is 

 gone, and I feel a sense of relief. 



It is ten o'clock, the low rumbling of distant 

 thunder is all that remains of the tornado that swept 

 over me a few hours ago. The stars are shining, 

 but the foliage of the forest is so dense, that I can 

 only see one here and there, peeping through the 

 tangled boughs overhead. I hear some litde waif 

 among the dead leaves, but what it is, or what it 

 wants, can only be surmised. 



Another hour is passed, and I retire to my ham- 

 mock. The sounds of nocturnal birds are fewer 

 now. I hear a strange, tremulous sound up in the 

 boughs of the bushes near the cage. It sonnds like 

 the leaves vibrating. It ceases, and begins again at 



