Free Forest of the Pygmies by Isabel Allende Page B

to keep dry, didn’t hear it. She became aware of its presence only when it was so close that she could see the gaping jaws less than three feet from her legs. In that split second, the prophecy of Má Bangesé, the marketplace diviner, flashed through her mind. She thought her time had come, yet didn’t have the presence of mind to use the rifle by her side. Instinct and fright took over; she sprang up and leaped aside, letting out a series of screams that roused her friends. The crocodile hesitated only a few seconds and lunged forward again. Angie started running, tripped, and fell, rolling to one side to avoid the croc.
    The first to answer Angie’s screams was Alexander, who had just crawled out of his sleeping bag to report for his shift. Without stopping to think what he was doing, he grabbed the first thing that came to hand and slammed it down as hard as he could on the beast’s snout. He screamed louder than Angie and blindly kicked and struck at the animal, half the time missing it completely. By then everyone had run out to help, and Angie, recovered from her surprise, began firing her weapon. Even without careful aim, one or two bullets hit the target but failed to penetrate the saurian’s thick hide. Finally all the racket, and Alexander’s blows, changed the crocodile’s mind about dinner, and it headed back toward the river, tail slashing indignantly.
    “Th—that was a crocodile!” exclaimed Alexander, stuttering and trembling, unable to believe that he hadbattled such a monster.
    “Come here, kid, let me give you a kiss; you saved my life,” Angie called, crushing Alex to her ample bosom.
    Alexander felt his ribs creak and was choked by a scent of fear and gardenia perfume as Angie covered him with loud smacks, laughing and crying at once.
    Joel came over to examine the weapon Alexander had used.
    “That’s my camera!” he yipped.
    It was. The black leather case was destroyed, but the heavy German mechanism had withstood the brutal encounter with the crocodile without apparent damage.
    “I’m really sorry, Joel. The next time I’ll use my own,” said Alexander, pulling out his small pocket camera.

    It stopped raining during the morning, and the entire crew seized the opportunity to wash their clothes with the strong lye soap Angie had in her luggage and lay them out to dry in the sun. They had a breakfast of roast meat, crackers, and tea, and were working on the plan Alexander had suggested the first day—to build a raft and float down river to the nearest village—when two canoes came into view. Their relief and joy were so explosive that they ran toward them howling with jubilation, like the castaways they were. At that reception the canoes slowed, turned, and started moving in the opposite direction. There were two men in each canoe, dressed in shorts and T-shirts. Angie hailed them in English and in all the local languages she could remember, pleading with them to come back, stating that they would gladly pay them for help. The men talked among themselves and finally curiosity, or greed, got the upper hand, and they began cautiously to paddle toward shore. They had established that the group consisted of one robust woman, an odd-looking old woman, two teenagers, a skinny man with thick eyeglasses, and another from whom they could see they had nothing to fear. It was, on the whole, quite a ridiculous group. Once they were convinced that the six strangers presented no danger, despite the weapon in the hands of one of the women, the men waved and got out of the canoes.
    The new arrivals introduced themselves as fishermen from a village some miles to the south. They were strong, heavy-bodied—almost square—with very dark skin, and they were armed with machetes. According to Brother Fernando, they belonged to the Bantu peoples.
    Because of colonization, the second language of the region was French. To her grandson’s surprise, it turned out that Kate spoke passable French and so was