Free 06 African Adventure by Willard Price Page B

straining to clutch the canteen, tried to free itself from its mother’s grip. It had the curiosity of any child, the desire to get hold of a strange new thing and play with it.
    It began a loud whimpering. The mother, losing patience, turned her brat upside-down and whacked its little red bottom. She tried again to escape, but now she was completely walled in.
    Hal had only a few feet more to go. He went down on one knee. Now he did not look quite so terrifying.
    Little by little he inched forward. His heart was beating wildly. He was quite aware that this was a dangerous experiment. Perhaps this strong, bitter coffee would counteract the poison. On the other hand, perhaps it would kill the patient. If it did, the ‘doctor’ would promptly be ripped up into small pieces by three hundred sets of savage teeth.
    Suspiciously the baboons watched. How could they be sure that the stuff in this thing was not more poison? But Hal’s manner and voice quieted their fears,
    Like all animals, they respected courage. If Hal had bolted, they would have been on him in a minute. His easy, steady advance had them puzzled and almost convinced
    One last, long reach and the baby had clutched the canteen. Hal did not allow it to be drawn from his hand. He shuffled forward a little closer to his patient in spite of the angry muttering around him. He removed the cap from the canteen.
    Then very slowly, he raised the canteen, tipped it, and let a little of the contents drip out.
    The baby instinctively opened its mouth to catch the dripping liquid. Hal poured the coffee down its throat The baby choked and sputtered, then opened its mouth to get more. The rest of the coffee went down the hatch.
    Would it kill or cure? The young baboon closed its eyes, then began to twist and cry. The mother was making threatening sounds, other baboons were snarling, and Hal, looking about, could see nothing but row upon row of great yellow teeth crowding in on him.
    Hal laid down the canteen. The small baboon suddenly squirmed out of its mother’s arms and lay face down on the ground, panting and wheezing. Hal watched every move in an agony of suspense. If the little beast died, he would die too.
    Spasms shook the small body, at first in rapid order, then farther and farther apart. Finally the baby lay without movement.
    Hal reached beneath and squeezed the baby’s belly, hard. Greenish-yellow curds came in a flood from the youngster’s mouth. Hal squeezed again and again, until nothing more came out.
    Now, still on his knees, he waited. He had done all he knew how to do. It was not a hot day, but he found himself sweating at every pore. The strain had been greater than he realized.
    The barking about him had risen to a steady roar. The mother took up her apparently dead baby and began to wail over it.
    Suddenly there was a tightening of the small muscles and the little round eyes flickered open.
    The barking of the baboons was suddenly hushed. Then there was low chattering, but there was no longer any anger in it. The apes began to amble off into the woods.
    Hal, his heart bursting with relief, picked up his canteen and screwed on the top. For another ten minutes he waited as his small patient steadily recovered its strength. Now there were no baboons left in sight except these two, mother and child.
    Hal rose slowly to his feet. The mother’s yellow-brown eyes looked up at him with an expression of gratitude that would warm the heart of any doctor. The baby was chattering and stretching out its small brown hand for the canteen.
    Hal turned and started towards camp. The youngster raised its shrill voice, struggled out of its mother’s arms, and pursued the dangling canteen. Its mother gave it a good scolding, ordered it to come back, but when it did not she ambled slowly after it.
    So it was that Hal walked into camp with two prize trophies captured only by love and a canteen.

Chapter 10
Apes are smart
    The big baboon stopped when she saw the men. Hal took