The Zoo at the Edge of the World (8 page)

14.

“Y
our friends ran away, tiny man,” a familiar voice said in my ear. “What are they doing, leaving you here by yourself?”

I raised my head and spit. There was gritty dirt on my teeth and gums. I felt a fuzzy hand on my neck and craned it to see Trébone, orange and black in the moonlight, smiling at me. Nearly a dozen chimps surrounded us.

“No melons today, Marlin?” one laughed.

“This doesn't look like sugarcane,” said Screecher, picking up the rod and lasso. He tossed it over my head to another chimp, and they made a game of keeping it in the air above me.

“Each of us was snared with this,” said Trébone, “and once is enough.”

The chimpanzees shook with laughter, slapping their chests and hopping up and down.

“Maybe we catch you, huh?” Blue Boy snatched the rod from the air and lassoed me around the neck. He leaped over my back and pulled me up to my knees. “That how you do it?”

“Easy now,” Trébone said, reaching to take the rod away.

Blue Boy slapped the orangutan's hand. “That's how they did me!”

I dug my fingers at my neck, trying to get between the wire and my skin. “Huuuhh!” I gasped for air. The chimps tittered. I felt my face swell with blood.

“That's enough,” Trébone ordered. “Loosen it up!”

The folds of his face bunched up near his eyes, and he glared at Blue Boy.

The wire slacked and I could feel the blood in my head and chest reconnect.

“I was just playing with him,” Blue Boy murmured. But he didn't remove the noose from my neck.

Trébone leaned close to me.

“I hear you went to the jaguar like I told you,” he said. “Was he the one who made you talk?”

“He was,” I said.

“That jaguar is funny.” Screecher laughed heartily. “A boy who talks!”

“Too bad he can't make you smart!” said Blue Boy.

“We caught a talking boy!” Screecher hooted, and many of the apes joined in. “Let's make him do some tricks!”

“Did he tell you why?” Trébone asked, leaning closer and whispering so the other apes couldn't hear.

“He didn't. But I fell and cut myself and he licked the cut and healed me.” I held out the palm of my right hand, which was untanned and plump, the lines of a palm just starting to settle in.

Trébone leaped back. “That's powerful magic!” he cried out. The apes around him seemed surprised at his reaction, and he tried to compose himself.

“It feels weird,” I said of the new skin. “Like, I can feel my heartbeat in it all the time. And it's a little warmer than my other hand.”

“Very strange,” Trébone mused. “I've heard of this but never seen it with my eyes.”

“I've never even heard,” said Blue Boy, who still had the noose around my neck. “And I say it's unnatural.” Some apes murmured in agreement. “I say we kill him!”

Several more cheered. The noose jerked tighter.

“We do no such thing,” Trébone growled to the crowd. “The jaguar chose this boy. We don't mess with one like him.” The other apes shrank at the sound of his voice, but Blue Boy was unconvinced.

“Then what?” the chimp snarled. “He's in our home with catchers. You want this around your neck, Trébone?”

The orang considered for a moment. I sensed the crowd wavering between the two.

“I'm sorry I'm in your place,” I spoke up. “I really didn't want to come here. It was my father who ordered us in.”

“His father,” Blue Boy said, “the catcher man.”

“He's doing a special show tomorrow, in another part of the zoo. He wanted us to take three of you,” I said, looking around at the angry faces. “We were just going to keep you in mobiles for the night, you know, those little cages that can move. It would be a quick show, the guests would look at you, and then we'd drop you off back here. No harm done. Maybe extra treats?”

“Well, it looks like the show's over.” Trébone smiled. “We've chased your friends out.”

“Now they see who's strongest.” Blue Boy beat his chest, and the other chimps followed suit.

“Yes, I see that,” I said very cautiously, “but I'm afraid they'll come back. And more of them.”

“Then we'll fight again!” Blue Boy hollered.

The apes beat their chests and hooted.

“You won't be able to,” I said. “They'll bring nets and guns and drag you away from here. They might kill you.”

The chimps went quiet at that. They must have seen guns when they were captured in Africa.

“If you come with me,” I said, taking a deep breath, “I can promise you won't get shot.”

Blue Boy started to laugh, but Trébone raised his hand to him.

“I only need three of you,” I went on. “We'll go out together. You'll spend the night in the mobiles, and I'll make sure you have extra food. But we have to go now, because they'll be coming soon with nets and guns.”

Trébone looked around the circle at his apes. “Can we trust you, boy?” he asked, turning back to me.

“I give you my word.”

That cracked him up. “Your word!” Trébone laughed.

I smiled awkwardly, and the chimps didn't look convinced.

“I swear to you,” I said. “On my honor. You'll be safe.”

“Men have no honor,” Blue Boy said.

“But they have guns,” Trébone answered. “They don't need honor.”

With that he snatched the rod from Blue Boy's hand and lifted the noose up and away from my neck, then swung it around and latched it onto Blue Boy's wrist.

“What's this?” Blue Boy shouted.

Trébone picked a second rod off the ground and tightened the noose around his and Screecher's arms, binding them together.

“You said ‘never trust a man,'” Blue Boy growled.

“I don't!” Trébone answered. “But this is just a boy, and one who can talk. And I don't know about you, but I don't want to get shot.”

The orang turned to me and extended the rod. “We're in your hands, boy.”

 

Father was at the gate of the Monkey Maze with Tim and a dozen men. They had nets and knives and rifles. They were here to rescue me.

Imagine their surprise when I walked out from the trees with two chimps and an orang in my lassos, all ambling behind me docilely.

The astonished looks on their faces told me that, for once, I didn't need words.

15.

I
entered the Ruby Palace that night and nearly screamed. The Jaguar was not in his cage.

Instead, I found him in the middle of the observation area, several feet in the air, as though in midleap.

I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst. But I felt nothing. He didn't devour me.

I saw a vertical glimmer in front of the Jaguar's face and turned up the oil flow in my lamp. The Ruby Palace was illuminated with its usual brilliance. And I saw that the Jaguar was in the middle of the room and several feet in the air, but not because he was pouncing on me. He stood there in a mobile carrier, a cage within a cage.

“Are you in the circus tomorrow?” I said, as much to myself as to the Jaguar.

“I never know my own fate anymore,” the Jaguar said.

“You must be,” I said. “That's why you're in the carrier. Why didn't Father mention it?”

“He's not nearly as talkative with me as you are,” the Jaguar said dryly.

“Didn't mention it to me, I mean.” I pulled the Paw out of my pocket. “Look what he gave me.”

The Jaguar eyed it stone-faced. “If I'd known you were such a fan of dead hands, I would have brought some for you.”

“You don't understand,” I said. “It's something between my brother and me. You get the Paw for doing something good.”

“And you've done something good?” the Jaguar asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “I got the monkeys to agree to be caged for the night. Otherwise Father would have had to go in with nets and guns. He said I'd probably saved a chimp's life.”

“Ahh,” the Jaguar purred. “So it's something good according to him.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, offended.

The Jaguar only laughed.

“What's so special about this Paw? Is it enchanted?”

“No,” I answered. “It just means you've done something clever or brave.”

“So he saves all the good charms for himself.”

“What are you talking about?” I said. “There are no enchantments here.”

“Don't lie to me. I saw him throw open these bars like he was snapping a twig. I tried them in every spot, and they are unbreakable. What magic keeps me here?”

It surprised me to realize that, even with all his strange power, the Jaguar was still an animal.

“What is keeping you in there,” I said, “is called a lock. And it isn't magic, it's a machine. Do you know what that is?”

The Jaguar thought for a moment.

“It's a curse?”

“A machine isn't magic,” I repeated. “It's a thing. Something that people make out of . . . well, other things.” I lifted my oil lamp in the air. “Like this, for example.”

“Ah,” said the Jaguar, “a piece of moonlight you've captured in a jar. Very clever.”

“No.” I said, “It isn't moonlight. It's an oil lamp. You see, we take the fat from a humpback whale,”—the Jaguar cocked his head—“which is a kind of . . . a giant fish, I suppose, that lives in the ocean. We take the fat from its body and smash it up and put it in a little clear jar like this one. And then we spin a special rock called flint that makes a spark, and it sets the whale fat on fire. And that's how we make the light!”

The Jaguar considered this. “You set a giant fish on fire with a rock?”

“Well, when you say it like that, it doesn't make much sense—”

“That's how you said it.”

“That's how you made me say it,” I exclaimed, “because you don't know anything! But I assure you, that's how it works. It is a machine, not magic, and it is the same with that lock.”

“Hmm . . . a giant fish.” The Jaguar braced his paw against the door. “That explains the strength. His soul is in the lock, and he obeys the men that put him there.”

“No, no.” I said, “There isn't a whale in the lock. It's a different machine, one made of metal. That's a very pure form of stone.”

“Hardest stone I've encountered.” The Jaguar winced. “Nearly cracked my teeth.”

“Well, you shouldn't bite it.” I wrapped my hands round the bars. “This is the strongest stuff in the world.”

The Jaguar froze. His eyes flickered to my hands.

“Aren't afraid I'll take off your fingers?”

I realized I was inches from his mouth. My hand twitched, but I forced it to stay.

“You had your chance last night,” I said stiffly. “And you didn't take it.”

“I wasn't nearly as hungry last night.”

Slowly, I released my grip and drew my hand toward my chest. “I'm not afraid of you.”

“Not with this lock between us,” the Jaguar said. “If it's so strong, how come that little man can open it?”

“Well, there's a casing here,” I said, gesturing to the lock, “and inside that is a metal latch. A latch is a kind of hook that holds the movable part of the cage, which is called the door, to the immovable part.”

I made a hook with my index finger and pulled it against my thumb. “Like this, you see?”

“Like a tooth . . . ,” he said.

“Right!”

“ . . . in a skull.”

“Uh, yes,” I replied. “A little like that.”

I took another step back from the cage. “Little pins are attached to the hook, and if they're pressed in just the right way, then the hook becomes unlatched from the bars and the door can swing open.”

The Jaguar looked annoyed.

“I swear, that's how it works! It's all inside the case, so you can't see it.”

“But if it's inside the case,” the Jaguar said, “how do you get your fat fingers in there to press the pins?”

“Ah,” I said, fumbling in my pocket. “This is the best part of all . . . a key!” I held my house key aloft so it caught a beam of light. “These little teeth on the key”—I ran my finger down its length—“are just the right size to push the pins in the lock and unhook the latch.”

“Impressive.” The Jaguar bowed his head and stepped away from the door. “I believe a demonstration is in order.”

“Nice try. This is the key to the lock on my house, not your cage. And I wouldn't open your lock even if I did have the key.”

“Oh, I see,” said the Jaguar with mock surprise. “Well, who does have my key? Perhaps I should be speaking to him.”

“My father,” I said, looking him in the eyes. “Why aren't you talking to him, Jaguar? Why me?”

The Jaguar licked his paw, ignoring me. “I must say, I'm not surprised by this thing. A lock and key.” He paced his cage. “A jaguar eats his fill and leaves the rest for scavengers. A man would lock up the world for himself and let it rot.”

“Jaguar, answer my question.” I held the lamp up to his face. “Why did you do this to me?”

He slid his wet nose between the bars. The sinew in his muscled shoulders shifted and shimmered in the light.

“Because I could, young Marlin. I've unlocked you just the same as your father does with his key.” His lips parted in a smile. “Man is different from the animals because he wills himself to be so. Most men's heads are buried in the ground,” he purred. “But for some reason, you only had a speck of dirt in your ears. And all I did was knock it out.”

“But why?” I said.

“For the same reason these foul-smelling creatures come to gawk at me in my cage. Something in you caught my eye, and I wanted to take a closer look.”

He smiled, and a pleasant growl accompanied the parting of his lips. It made me feel ill.

“Perhaps we've both had enough for the night. Tomorrow we'll see what else we can learn from each other.”

He turned to lick his tail, then glanced back at me.

“If what you say about the lock is true,” he purred, “we should have all the time in the world.”