The man's hands were huge, out of proportion to the rest of his rangy
body, they were clearly very powerful and the lean muscles of his
forearms were as tough as rope.
He slouched easily against the pillar and took from his pocket a clasp
knife and a stick of black wind-dried meat, the jerky of North America,
boucan of the Caribbean, or the biltong of Africa, and he cut a slice as
though it were a plug of tobacco, popping it into his mouth.
Like I asked, what can we do for you? he chewed noisily, his teeth
squelching at each bite.
I need nails and paint David climbed out of the Land-Rover.
Heard you did all your buying in Nelspruit Akkers looked him over with a
calculated insolence, studying David's ruined face with attention. David
saw that his deep-set eyes were a muddy green in colour.
I thought there was a law against caging or chaining wild animals.
Akkers had roused David's resentment almost immediately, and the needle
showed in his tone.
Akkers began to grin again easily, still chewing. You a lawyer, are
you? 'Just asking. 'I got a permit, you want to see it? David shook
his head, and turned to speak to Debra in Hebrew. Quickly he described
the man.
I think he can guess why we are here, and he's looking for trouble.
'I'll stay by the car, said Debra. Good. David climbed the steps to
the veranda.
What about the nails and paint? he asked Akkers.
Go on in, he was still grinning. I got a nigger helper behind the
counter. He will look after you. David hesitated and then walked on
into the building.
it smelled of carbolic soap and kerosene and maize meal.
The shelves were loaded with cheap groceries, patent medicines, blankets
and bolts of printed cotton cloth.
From the roof hung bunches of army surplus boots and greatcoats,
axe-beads and storm lanterns. The floor was stacked with tin trunks,
pick handles, bins of flour and maize meal and the hundreds of other
items that traditionally make up the stock of the country dealer.
David found the African assistant and began his purchase.
outside in the sunlight Debra climbed from the Land Rover and leaned
lightly against the door. The labrador scrambled down after her and
began sniffing the concrete pillars of the veranda with interest where
other dogs before him had spurted jets of yellow urine against the
white-washed plaster.
Nice dog, said Akkers.
Thank you. Debra nodded politely.
Akkers glanced quickly across at his pet baboon, and his expression was
suddenly cunning. A flash of understanding passed between man and
animal. The baboon ducked its head again in that nervous gesture, then
it rose from its haunches and drifted back to the pole. With a leap and
bound it shot up the pole and disappeared into the opening of its
kennel.
Akkers grinned and carefully cut another slice of the black biltong.
You like it out at Jabulani? he asked Debra, and at the same time he
offered the scrap of dried meat to the dog.
We are very happy there, Debra replied stiffly, not wanting to be drawn.
Zulu sniffed the proffered titbit, and his tail beat like a metronome.
No dog can resist the concentrated meat smell and taste of biltong. He
gulped it eagerly. Twice more Akkers fed him the scraps, and Zulu's
eyes glistened and his soft silky muzzle was damp with saliva.
The waiting women in the shade of the veranda were watching with lively
interest now. They had seen this happen before with a dog, and they
waited expectantly.
David was in the building, out of sight. Debra stood blind and
unsuspecting.
Akkers cut a larger piece of the dried meat and offered it to Zulu, but
when he reached for it he pulled his hand away, teasing the dog. With
his taste for biltong now firmly established, Zulu tried again for the
meat as it was offered. Again it was pulled away at the last moment.
Zulu's black wet nose quivered with anxiety, and the soft ears were
cocked.
Akkers walked down the steps with Zulu following him eagerly, and at the
bottom he showed the dog the biltong once more, letting him sniff it.
Then he spoke softly but urgently, Get it, boy, and threw the scrap of
biltong at the base of the baboon's pole. Zulu bounded forward, still
slightly clumsy on his big puppy paws, into the circle of the chain
where the baboon's paws had beaten the earth hard. He ran on under the
pole and grubbed hungrily for the biltong in the dust.
The bull baboon came out of his kennel like a tawny grey blur and
dropped the fifteen feet through the air; his limbs were spread and his
jaws were open in a snarl like a great red trap, and the fangs were
vicious, long and yellow and spiked. He hit the ground silently, and
his muscles bunched as they absorbed the shock and hurled the long lithe
body feet first at the unsuspecting pup. The baboon crashed into him,
taking him on the shoulder with all the weight of his ninety pounds.
Zulu went down and over, rolling on his back with a startled yelp, but
before he could find his feet or his wits, the baboon was after him.
Debra heard the pup cry, and started forward, surprised but not yet
alarmed.
As he lay on his back, Zulu's belly was unprotected, sparsely covered
with the silken black hair, the immature penis protruding pathetically,
and the baboon went onto him in a crouching leap, pinning him with
powerful furry legs as he bowed his head and buried the long yellow
fangs deep into the pup's belly.
Zulu screamed in dreadful agony, and Debra screamed in sympathy and ran
forward.
Akkers shot out a foot as she passed him and tripped her, sending her
sprawling on her hands and knees.
Leave it, lady, he warned her, still grinning. You'll get hurt if you
interfere. The baboon locked its long curved eye teeth into the tender
belly, and then hurled the pup away from it with all the fierce strength
of its four limbs. The thin wall of the stomach was ripped through, and
the purple ropes of the entrails came out, hanging festooned in the
baboon's jaws.
Again the disembowelled pup screamed, and Debra rolled blindly to her
feet.
David! she cried wildly. David, help me! David came out of the
building running; pausing in the doorway he took in the scene at a
glance and snatched up a pick handle from the pile by the door. He
jumped off the veranda, and in three quick strides he had reached the
pup.
The baboon saw him coming and released Zulu. With uncanny speed, he
whirled and leapt for the pole, racing upwards to perch on the roof of
the kennel, his jowls red with blood, as he shrieked and jabbered,
bouncing up and down with excitement and triumph.
David dropped the pick and gently lifted the crawling crippled black
body. He carried Zulu to the Land-Rover and ripped his bush jacket into
strips as he tried to bind up the torn belly, pushing the hanging
entrails back into the hole with his fist.
David, what is it? Debra pleaded with him, and as he worked he
explained it in a few terse Hebrew sentences.
Get in, he told her and she clambered into the passenger seat of the
Land-Rover. He laid the injured labrador in her lap, and ran around to
the driver's seat.
Akkers was back at the doorway of his shop, standing with his thumbs
hooked into his braces, and he was laughing. The false teeth clucked in
the open mouth as he laughed, rocking back and forth on his heels.
On its kennel the baboons shrieked and cavorted, sharing its master's