“How far do we have to go on this cow path?” Melanie asked.
“Only three or four miles,” Kevin said.
“It’s a good thing we have four-wheel drive,” Candace remarked. She was holding on tightly to the overhead strap and still bouncing around. The seat belt wasn’t helping. “The last thing I’d want to do is get stuck out here.” She glanced out the side window at the inky black jungle and shivered. It was eerie. She couldn’t see a thing despite patches of luminous sky above. And then there was the noise. Just during their short visit with Alphonse, the night creatures of the jungle had commenced their loud and monotonous chorus.
“What did you make of the things Alphonse said?” Kevin asked finally.
“I’d say the jury is still out,” Melanie said. “But they’re certainly deliberating.”
“I think his comment about the bonobos being bipedal when they come to get the food is very disturbing,” Kevin said. “The circumstantial evidence is adding up.”
“The suggestion that they are communicating impressed me,” Candace said.
“Yeah, but chimps and gorillas have been taught sign language,” Melanie said. “And we know bonobos are more bipedal than any other apes. What impressed me was the aggressive behavior, although I stand by my idea that it might be from our mistake not to have produced more females to maintain the balance.”
“Can chimps make those sounds that Alphonse imitated?” Candace asked.
“I don’t think so,” Kevin said. “And that’s an important point. It suggests maybe their larynges are different.”
“Do chimps really kill monkeys?” Candace asked.
“They do occasionally,” Melanie said. “But I’ve never heard of a bonobo doing so.”
“Hang on!” Kevin shouted as he braked.
The car lurched over a log strewn across the track.
“Are you okay?” he asked Candace, while glancing up into the rearview mirror.
“No problem,” Candace said, although she’d been severely jolted. Luckily the seat belt had worked, and it had kept her head from hitting the roof.
Kevin slowed considerably for fear of encountering another log. Fifteen minutes later, they entered a clearing which marked the termination of the track. Kevin came to a halt. Directly ahead the headlight beams washed the front of a single-story cinder-block building with an overhead garage door.
“Is this it?” Melanie questioned.
“I guess,” Kevin said. “The building is new to me.”
Kevin switched off the lights and the engine. With the clearing open to the sky the level of illumination was adequate. For a moment no one moved.
“What’s the story?” Kevin asked. “Are we going to check it out or what?”
“Might as well,” Melanie said. “We’ve come this far.” She opened her door and got out. Kevin did the same.
“I think I’ll stay in the car,” Candace said.
Kevin went to the building and tried the door. It was locked. He shrugged. “I can’t imagine what’s in there.” Kevin slapped a mosquito on his forehead.
“How do we get to the island?” Melanie asked.
Kevin pointed to the right. “There’s a track over there. It’s only about fifty yards to the water’s edge.”
Melanie glanced up at the sky. It was a pale lavender. “It’s going to be dark pretty soon. Do you have a flashlight in the car?”
“I think so,” Kevin said. “More important, I have some mosquito spray. We’re going to get eaten alive out here unless we use it.”
They went back to the car. Just as they arrived, Candace climbed out.
“I can’t stay in here by myself,” she said. “It’s too spooky.”
Kevin got the mosquito spray. While the women doused themselves, he searched for the flashlight. He found it in the glove compartment.
After spraying himself, Kevin motioned for the women to follow him. “Stay close,” he said. “The crocodiles and the hippos come out of the water at night.”
“Is he joking?” Candace asked Melanie.
“I don’t think so,” Melanie said.
As soon as they entered the path, the illumination fell considerably although it was still light enough to walk without the flashlight. Kevin led while the two women crowded behind. The closer they got to the water the louder the chorus of insects and frogs became.
“How did I get myself into this?” Candace questioned. “I’m no outdoors person. I can’t even conceive of a crocodile or a hippo outside of a zoo. Hell, any bug bigger than my thumbnail terrifies me, and spiders, forget it.”
All of the sudden, there was a crashing noise off to the left. Candace let out a muffled scream, as she grabbed Melanie who then did likewise. Kevin whimpered and switched on the light. He pointed the beam in the direction of the noise, but it only penetrated a few feet.
“What was that?” Candace demanded when she could find her voice.
“Probably a duiker,” Kevin said. “They’re a small breed of antelope.”
“Antelope or elephant,” Candace said. “It scared me.”
“It scared me, too,” Kevin said. “Maybe we should go back and return in the daytime.”
“We’ve come all this way for crissake,” Melanie said. “We’re there. I can hear the water.”
For a moment no one moved. Sure enough, they could hear water lapping against the shore.
“What happened to all the night creatures?” Candace asked.
“Good question,” Kevin said. “The antelope must have scared them as well.”
“Turn the light off,” Melanie said.
As soon as Kevin did, they all could see the shimmering surface of the water through the vegetation. It looked like liquid silver.
Melanie led the way as the chorus of night creatures recommenced. The path opened up into another clearing at the edge of the river. In the middle of the clearing was a dark object almost the size of the garage back where they’d left the car. Kevin walked up to it. It wasn’t hard to figure out what it was: it was the bridge.
“It’s a telescoping mechanism,” Kevin said. “That’s why Alphonse said that it could grow.”
About thirty feet across the water was Isla Francesca. In the fading light, its dense vegetation appeared midnight-blue. Directly across from the telescoping bridge was a concrete structure that served as the support for the bridge when it was extended. Beyond that was an expansive clearing that extended to the east.
“Try extending the bridge,” Melanie suggested.
Kevin switched on the flashlight. He found the control panel. There were two buttons: one red, the other green. He pushed the red one. When nothing happened, he pushed the green. When there still wasn’t a reaction, he noticed a keyhole with the slot aligned with off.
“You need a key,” he called.
Melanie and Candace had walked over to the water’s edge.
“There’s a bit of current,” Melanie said. Leaves and other debris floated by slowly.
Candace looked up. The top branches of some of the trees that lined either bank almost touched. “Why do the creatures stay on the island?” she asked.
“Apes and monkeys don’t go in the water, particularly deep water,” Melanie explained. “That’s why zoos only need a moat for their primate exhibits.”
“What about crossing in the trees?” Candace asked.
Kevin joined the women at the riverbank. “The bonobos are relatively heavy fellows,” he explained, “particularly ours. Most of them are already over a hundred pounds, and the branches up there aren’t nearly strong enough to support their weight. Back before we put the first animals on the island, there were a couple of questionable places so those trees were cut down. But colobus monkeys still go back and forth.”