"That's all right," Johnny said, and squatted down in front of the cage. It wasn't part of the plan for Baba to get away—yet. "Besides, he wouldn't run away while I'm here," he said.
"Can't take no chances." Jeb sprawled out as if glad to be off his feet. Johnny turned to Baba.
"Baba," Johnny clicked in the marva language, "can you get out of here, if you want to?" Johnny didn't like to talk in the clicking language with Jeb around, but there was no avoiding it.
"Yes," the little bear answered after a time. But then he whimpered again.
"Doggone it, stop that!" Johnny said in English. Then he clicked, "If things work out right, you aren't going to have to go to Earthorget killed."
"But how?" Baba asked. He seemed to revive a little. "If I got out and came to you they'd just bring me back here."
"I know, but they don't think you're smart enough to do anything else. They don't know anything except that we were up on the rock."
The little bear grinned. Then suddenly he began to sniff. He looked all around him, found the chocolate and began to stuff it into his mouth, making loud smacking noises. Johnny gave a sigh of relief. Baba was on the mend.
"Now, listen, we've gotta make plans."
"But what can we do, if they know we were on the rock?" Baba clicked through a mouthful of chocolate mixed with nuts—his favorite combination.
Johnny took a deep breath. "We could run away into the jungle!" he clicked. He jumped when Jeb moved away from his box.
"That's quite a racket you two're making." Jeb walked over and peered at them from under jutting grey eyebrows. "Well, you've got the little devil to eatin'!" He smiled and waved at Baba. Baba waved back and the guard laughed. "It's a pity, that what it is. It's just a pity you're worth so much money!" He went back to his seat.
"But, Johnny," Baba clicked, "you couldn't live in the jungle."
"Youcan't livehere—or on Earth. Sooner or later they're going to—well, they're going to want your claws and teeth. Out there we would have a chance. Why, we might even find some of the—" He put in the word 'wild' in English, for there was no word for it in the clicking language, "—marvas, and we could live with them."
"No!" Baba interrupted. "You might be killed. I can make the arrow-birds go away, but there are the horned snakes and the leopards and rhinosaurs and...."
"Wasn't that old rhinosaur about to go away?" Johnny broke in. "Just because you said so?"
"Maybe," Baba admitted. "He stopped a second. But then we don't know for sure!"
"I've got to take the chance. I've just got to!" Johnny insisted. "I can't let them take you away and use you for making somebody's rings or a mess of plastic. Remember that song you sang." Johnny tried to sing the little lullaby that Baba had sung on the top of New Plymouth Rock. The little bear grinned and put his paws over his ears.
"The words are right," he said, "but the tune is all wrong. Listen!" The little bear sang the song that was like the roll of a mockingbird's call.
"That's right pretty," Jeb said from his box. "I'd heard men say that the critters sang, but never did hear one myself. Old hunter friend of mine said he came on a marva once singing to her little ones that way. It was so pretty he stopped to listen and by gum if she didn't smell him and bounce off 'fore he could draw a bead on her."
"Baba sings real well—when he's happy," Johnny said, and turned back to Baba. "And you sing true, too, Baba," he clicked.
"All right," the little bear clicked. "How will we do it?"
The plan came out in a rush. Johnny had it all worked out. "It's Venus evening now," Johnny said, "and we're supposed to be in a sleep period. That means there won't be too many people up but guards. I'll take some food for me and some matches and a flashlight and some other things." He paused. "They leave you alone in here, don't they?"
"Yes," clicked Baba.
"Do you think you can cut a hole in the bottom of the cage?" Johnny asked.
"Easy!" The little bear touched a bar with his claws.
"Good. When you're out, dig a hole in the floor. But be careful. They have guards walking all around, and they already have lights rigged up. The switch is in between the double doors. Get your escape holes all made, turn out the lights, and then scoot! I'll be waiting for you by the rock. O.K.?"
The little bear nodded. "We'll have to find a place to be when it gets dark," he clicked. Baba didn't sleep as people did, but during the four day period of darkness he had to sleep most of the time.
"We'll find some place," Johnny clicked. "Now, listen. I'll try to get some sleep and I'll be ready in five hours. Don't try to get out before then. My folks will be asleep and I can slip out of the house. If it takes you longer, I'll wait."
"Leave it to me," Baba said.
They had everything settled and were playing together through the bars of the cage when Johnny's father came after him.
"Time for bed, son," his father said. "Say goodbye, now."
Johnny got into his armor, said goodnight to Jeb and followed his father outside. In the deep green twilight every building of the settlement stood out sharp and clear. A cool breeze was coming up. Johnny looked over to New Plymouth Rock. Behind that towering rock lay the vast and menacing jungle.
Johnny was afraid. Behind a boulder by New Plymouth Rock, he had been sitting and waiting for Baba for almost one hour. It was too long a time to wait with nothing to do but imagine what might happen in the jungle. Johnny was dressed for the cold night to come in a synthetic fur parka. Strapped on his back was a pack containing food and jungle equipment. Beside him was Baba's harness. He was very tired and sleepy.
He leaned over and peeked cautiously from behind the boulder. The lights around the storage shed were still on. He wondered what was keeping Baba. He made himself comfortable again and listened to the night sounds. He listened hard for any sound of rhinosaurs outside. There was only the sigh of wind through the trampled marshberries.
As he listened, his head nodded down on his breast, and his eyes closed. He wished Baba would come. Maybe he couldn't make it. Maybe he.... But his thought trailed off into a dream. He was up in the meat tree being attacked by a rhinosaur standing twice as high as the tree. Far away someone began shooting at the rhinosaur. Then the tree was being shaken back and forth. Baba was clicking something in the dream Johnny couldn't understand.
"Wake up, Johnny! Wake up!"
Johnny's head jerked up. The shaking was real. It was Baba pushing his shoulder. The shooting was real too. Men were running about the settlement with flashlights. It was hard to see for any distance through the green twilight which would last for many hours longer.
"Hurry, Johnny!" Baba clicked.
"O.K." Johnny said. He was still dazed with sleep as he helped Baba struggle into his harness. As soon as the harness was on, they began to run deeper among the boulders. Hundreds of small stones under their feet made a sound like a landslide. They stopped still, listening.
The men had not heard.
"Maybe we'd better go straight up the main rock," Johnny said.
Baba nodded. Both knew it would be harder work, but safer. Johnny tested the straps on Baba's harness. There was no time to tie himself on. This time it was going to be harder for both of them.
Baba didn't dare bounce, so they started right from the foot of the rock. In the half light it was not likely that the men would see them. Even if they did, there was a good chance they would hold their fire when they saw Johnny. If so, the two of them could still get away. Oddly, Johnny's fear was gone.
From below them came the sound of a man moving among the rocks.
"Quiet, Baba," Johnny whispered.
Baba stopped.
Jeb flashed his light among the rocks and up along the main rock. For a fraction of a second the light was full on them. But it passed by without pausing.
"Nothing over here!" Jeb called out in a loud voice. "Dang critter must have got clear away."
There was the sound of footsteps hurrying toward them. Johnny and Baba froze to the rock.
"Hey, you two," Jeb's voice came softly, "I don't know what you're aimin' to do, but you'd better hurry up about it. They're fixin' to mount searchlights on the wall."
Johnny was flabbergasted. The old hunter was helping them!
There was a chuckle from below.
"Hurry up, now. I don't want no more baby marva a-haunting me like the one I told you about."
"Thanks," Johnny whispered. "Golly, thanks! Come on, Baba," he clicked, turning his head back to the little bear.
Baba began to scurry along up the rocks once more.
"Just one thing more," the whisper followed them. "Ain't that clickin' the way those critters got of talking?"
"Yes," Johnny answered.
"I figgered it, by gosh!" Jeb chuckled deep in his throat. "I just knew you was fixin' up a getaway. Good luck, you two!"
"Goodbye," Johnny said.
"You are a good man," Baba clicked. "A true friend!"
"Baba said you are a good man and a true friend," Johnny whispered.
"Thank you, Baba," the old man said. Then he was gone.
Baba and Johnny began climbing in earnest now. Johnny couldn't let himself get tired. As silently as they could, they went on and on.
They climbed for what seemed an hour. Actually it was fifteen minutes later when they reached the ledge leading to the cave in the rock. They were barely inside when search lights cut through the twilight and began to play on the rock.
The two sat down to rest, but not for long. Soon they were tearing down the pile of rocks at the back of the cave so they could get into the main caverns. They had talked about staying the night within the inner rooms, but decided it was too dangerous. Sooner or later the colonists were bound to drop someone from a helicopter to search for Baba on top of the rock; and there was too great a chance the entrance would be discovered.
Once inside the main caverns, the first job was to make their way through the long passageways to the top of the rock to block the entrance they had made earlier in the day. It took precious time, but they had to do it. They almost didn't make it, for as they were filling in the last stone at the cave mouth they heard the sound of 'copter motors. Johnny grabbed Baba's harness, and down the long winding passageways they went, full tilt.
Soon they were picking their way about the brush near the exit of the long, damp tunnel. Through the green twilight they could see the searchlights brightening New Plymouth Rock. Baba was sniffing the air. Johnny listened carefully for the sound of rhinosaurs or of tanks. There was no evidence of either man or animal.
"We made it, Grandfather Bear!" Johnny said aloud to Baba. "You're safe!"
Baba grinned. "No rhinosaurs around either," he clicked. "We'd better hurry."
"Let's stick close to trees for a while—just in case," Johnny suggested. Only heavy brush surrounded them.
"We'd better get to a tank path," Baba clicked, "or we won't get very far very fast."
Johnny nodded. He settled his pack on his shoulder and the two moved forward. Using Johnny's compass they cut through the brush and soon came to a tank path. It was very still. There was no sound but the wind rustling the trees. All around them were trees and brush and pools of deep green shadow.
The first two miles were the easiest. In the absence of rhinosaurs, there was nothing much to fear here but arrow-birds, and they would soon be heading for their nests. Most of the Venus animals kept well away from the settlement. Twice a flight of arrow-birds came shrieking down at them, and twice Baba's clicks sent them whirring on their way. Otherwise the jungle was empty of life. It was a relatively safe zone. But in order to make sure of Baba's safety, they would have to go on into an area of teeming life.
Johnny thought of the comfort and safety of the settlement, of the love and protection his parents had given him. He had left a note for his parents. "I am sorry to take Baba away since he is worth so much to the colony," he had written. "But he is just like a brother to me. Don't worry. I will be safe with Baba." He hoped they would understand.
Though he had bravely told his parents not to worry, here in the jungle, Johnny, himself, was already frightened and very homesick.
"Baba," he said suddenly, "it's going to be hard being away from Mom and Pop." They were walking now through the thick grove of meat trees that edged a forest of diamond-woods that loomed up in the distance.
"Yes," Baba clicked, "I know."
"Well, I was thinking," Johnny continued, "that after we find your people, maybe after a month or so, I could go back home. Later I could come for visits and things." Johnny watched Baba from the corners of his eyes to see how the little bear would take to the idea. For a while, Baba bounded along beside Johnny, his eyes straight ahead.
"I know what it's like being without a mother and father," the little bear clicked so softly Johnny could hardly hear him. "It happened long ago, but I remember how it was at first. I can't bear to think of your going away. But we will see what happens." Baba turned toward Johnny. "I think you shouldn't have come."
Johnny was sorry for having brought up the subject.
"Let's skip it," he said. "Don't be an unhappy old grandfather bear," he joked. "Think about the nuts you'll find right ahead."
The nuts were not really very close. It took a good deal of hiking before the tank trail began to wind among gigantic trees. Bigger than Earth redwoods, they rose almost like mountains around them. Here even the wind did not enter, and beneath their feet was a cushion of fine leaves. All was silence. Johnny was glad to rest his feet while Baba gathered a few nuts. Then they trudged on.
Hours later they emerged from the darkness of the diamond-wood forest into the green twilight of the surrounding meat trees. Johnny was exhausted.
A sudden coughing roar in the distance sent a shiver up Johnny's back and brought them to an abrupt halt. It was a saber-tooth leopard!
Johnny heard a slight stir of movement in the underbrush. About them, birds of all kinds twittered and chirped, readying themselves for the long darkness of Venus night. They were out of the safety zone.
Though many hours had gone by, it was still Venus evening. He and Baba had to push on into the deadly part of the jungle before they could rest.
The leopard's roar had come from far away and there was no immediate danger, but from that time on the two watched every step they took. A faint breeze blew in their faces. That was good. Johnny's scent would not be blown to any of the animals. Johnny set his voice to click, not to speak. He had to try to forget human speech, and talk always like Baba. He spoke to Baba constantly in the marva language, and Baba corrected him when he let his clicks become high pitched as Baba's once had been.
The meat tree grove was thinning out. The tank tracks were getting fainter and fainter. Vines wound around the trees and bushes. On the vines great orange flowers seemed to burn with color in the green light. Johnny watched the flowers carefully because one might really be a scarlet ape. Men called these flowers monkey flowers since they were so near the color of those small apes that lived on the edge of meat tree groves. As the two adventurers walked, the noises of animals became louder and more numerous. A large bird fluttered across their path and went shrieking ahead of them.
Then there was sudden silence. They stopped.
Baba hurriedly clicked loudly into the silence, "Friend-pets, friend-pets, bother—"
He did not have time to finish the sentence. Johnny was struck suddenly on the back and sent sprawling on his face. A hundred tiny hands seemed to be pulling at his hair. He felt a rip of cloth and then a sharp pain as a small claw cut into his back. Baba was clicking loudly.
As suddenly as he was struck down, the attack on him stopped. Dazed, he painfully got to his hands and knees.
"Friend-pets, bother us not. Bother us not!" Baba was repeating over and over again as loudly as he could. Johnny's eyes widened.
Surrounding them were hundreds of tiny monkeys no more than eight inches high. Scarlet red in color, they sat perfectly still, their eyes fixed on Johnny and Baba. Sitting high on a nearby bush one of the little apes held a packet of Johnny's food in its tiny hands. Johnny stood up to his full height and a low growl went up from the animals. The monkey with Johnny's packet hurled it at Johnny with surprising strength. Johnny made a quick catch.
"Thank you," Johnny clicked in the marva tongue. The monkeys chattered excitedly. "Thank you, friend-pet."
"Give it something," Baba clicked. "Oh, I'm afraid, Johnny. They hate you so much—I can feel it." Johnny knew why. The skins of these animals were much in fashion for coats back on Earth.
Johnny reached down for his knife to cut the strings of the packet. As the knife came in sight a menacing growl went up. As Johnny and Baba stood there, more and more of the monkeys leaped from the bushes to join the crowd. The whole path was covered; the trees seemed to be filled with red flowers. Some of the new-comers were intent upon rushing Johnny when the knife glittered in the half light. But Baba stopped them with his sharp, repeated commands.
Johnny cut the packet open. Among other things, a large bag of candy was inside. He had raided the cupboard well.
"Come here," Johnny clicked, as firmly as he could manage. "Friend-pet, come here." He pointed at the little creature who had thrown the package at him. Showing its teeth and growling faintly, the monkey bounded forward. Johnny held out a piece of candy to it. It sidled up, snatched the candy, and ran back to the others. It sniffed at the sweet, chattering wildly. Then its long black tongue went out and licked it. The monkey's eyes widened and it popped the candy into its mouth, smacking its lips.
Again Johnny was almost knocked down. He was surrounded, climbed over, patted, peered at, and deafened by chatter. In a few seconds not a piece was left.
But the monkeys no longer growled.
"Go away! Go away!" Baba clicked. Reluctantly the animals parted from Johnny and took to the trees along the path. The branches swayed under them as they chattered among themselves.
Suddenly, as quickly and mysteriously as they had appeared, the monkeys were gone. Something was wrong! Johnny's fear returned with the sense that something was watching him.
Hardly daring to, he looked behind him. There in the half-darkness, glowed three pairs of green eyes. Crouched ready to spring, a leopardess was watching them, her two cubs beside her. How long they had been watching, Johnny never knew. He froze in his tracks. Baba had not looked around.
"Friend-pets, bother us not, bother us not!" Baba was clicking loudly in preparation for going forward. As Johnny watched, the leopard, followed by her cubs, slipped into the jungle.
"You didn't see her," Johnny clicked. "There was a leopardess and two cubs."
Baba turned in the direction toward which Johnny was pointing. "We'd better go back," he clicked.
"No," Johnny insisted bravely. "She and her cubs went away when you began to talk."
"Notfaraway." Baba sniffed the air. "I can smell them. I smell rain too."
"Then we'd better find shelter. C'mon. Maybe we better take a path over to the right, away from the tank trail," Johnny suggested. "The leopardess went the other way."
Baba nodded.
They trudged on and took the first animal trail to the right. Baba went slightly ahead, crying "Friend-pets, bother us not!" over and over again. It was almost a chorus now. Most of the time Baba clicked it, but when he got tired Johnny took over for a while. They never ceased repeating the magical words.
Once an antelope walked by their sides a few yards off, but he soon bounded away. Shortly afterward Johnny thought he saw a large black shadow moving in the deep brush.
They walked steadily and found nothing but brush land. Then, not a hundred yards from them, a river shone through the deepening twilight. The shine of the water stopped them. They had proved they could control some of the animals, possibly even the leopards and rhinosaurs. But, if a river snake struck without warning as the monkeys had done, it would be the end of Johnny.
While Johnny stood where he was, Baba went forward, chanting the cry of "Bother us not" as he went. When he returned he looked worried.
"It is too dangerous to try to swim," he clicked. "In some places the branches of the trees on this side almost touch branches of the trees on the other side. If we keep on the path, maybe we can find a place where it would be safe to climb over." The path they were on turned and followed the river.
They walked on for a few minutes. Baba stopped again, sniffing the air.
"I don't like it," he clicked. "The leopards are close again."
They moved forward cautiously, but when minutes passed and no attack came they walked with more confidence. The magic formula of clicks seemed to be working. Though nothing bothered them, they knew from rustling noises and from cries that animals were all about them. Nowhere could they find a place where the tree branches made a bridge across the river. Nowhere could they find a place of refuge.
The trail began to lead away from the river toward a little hill that stood in black outline against the almost darkened sky. Big Venus fireflies had begun to come out, sparkling like so many blue stars. The two weary travelers followed the path, hoping it would lead back to the river. It ended completely at the base of the small rocky hill.
So tired he almost wanted to cry, Johnny sat down in the middle of the path. Then he noticed a spot of deeper darkness among the rocks. He jumped to his feet.
"Hey, Baba," he said, "it looks like a cave! Come on!"
The two of them hurried forward. A nice comfortable cave was just what they were looking for! They were within a few yards of the cave, when they heard a crashing noise from the underbrush and the pad of soft footsteps.
A leopardess leaped in front of them, cutting them off from the cave. The big cat growled low, and two cubs scuttled through the entrance. The leopardess sat back on her haunches in the mouth of the cave, her eyes two gold-green lights burning in the dark green of the late twilight. Slightly larger than an Earth lion, the Venus sabre-tooth leopard is coal black, marked with golden spots. Her two tusk-like fangs show why leopards are among the most deadly fighters of all the Venus animals.
Baba began clicking again.
Johnny stood stock still. The leopardess watched them. She looked as if she might spring at any moment. Then, with a ripple of her powerful shoulder muscles, she lay down in the mouth of the cave.
"Let's go before she changes her mind and attacks," Johnny said.
"No, wait!" Baba said. "You stay here."
Slowly Baba walked up to the spot where the big cat was lying, clicking as he went. She appeared to pay no attention to him, but when he was right beside her, she stood up. She made a low rumbling in her throat that sounded strangely like a purr.
When Baba paused, the leopardess made a little coughing sound. The two cubs, who were as large as collie dogs, came tumbling out of the cave, their tongues hanging out. They came up to Baba, cocking their heads. They rubbed themselves in a friendly way against the little bear.
"Come on, Johnny," Baba clicked. "I think we have a home."
His heart in his mouth, Johnny walked forward.
"Friend-pet," he clicked firmly, "I am your friend." Repeating this, he walked straight up to the deadly beast. He reached out a trembling hand and patted the ugly fanged head. The creature stood rigid. But as he petted her, she relaxed and the purring noise began in the back of her throat. The big head moved around. Her mouth opened slightly and she licked his hand. She made a little coughing noise and the cubs came up to him. He petted them, too, and looked at Baba.
"Come on," said the little bear, "let's see what the leopard's house is like."
Together the two explored the inside of the cave with the help of Johnny's flashlight. It was surprisingly clean. The big cat had dragged in straw, which was arranged thickly over part of the floor.
"It sure looks like it would make a good bed," Johnny said. He was so tired; so much had happened. Trader Harkness and the meat fruit, the climbing of New Plymouth Rock, the rhinosaur raid and Rick's betrayal, and the escape into the jungle. Johnny ate a few antelope berries to quench his thirst, but nothing more. He arranged a place for himself on the dried grass and curled up. He was almost asleep, when he heard the big cat come into that part of the cave.
He opened his eyes to see the sabre-tooth leopard looming over him. For a second he was afraid. Then, just as a house cat will do, she pushed her paws back and forth into the straw, circled a few times, and lay down right by his head, pushing him aside. He rearranged his bed and lay his head against her soft flank.
With his head pillowed against a sabre-tooth leopard, Johnny Watson slipped off to sleep.
Johnny was hot and sweaty. He was glad to see the cool dark cave ahead. It was like home to him by now. The mother leopard was lying in front of the cave, and the two cubs came running to greet them.
"Hi, Pat. Hi, Mike," he called. They came up to be petted.
"They seem happy to see us," Baba clicked as he bounced along.
"And I'm glad to see them," Johnny said. "Golly, I'm hot."
Baba and he had just been down the river trying to find a place where they might cross. Immediately after the long Venus night was over, they had gone exploring in hopes of finding a colony of wild marva nearby. But the only diamond-wood groves close to the cave were still too close to the settlement. The marva must have left them because of the danger. The two had gathered a good supply of nuts for Baba, but otherwise the trip had been useless. Though they were still afraid of the horned river snakes, there was no way of avoiding crossing the river. If they went downstream they would soon be in the rhinosaur marshes. Upstream the river curved back toward the colony.
Johnny and Baba had spent the whole long night in the cave and Johnny had got to know the leopard family quite well. He had discovered they, too, had something like a language. It was made up of different kinds of growls. Each growl meant something, but there weren't many of them. The mother leopard could say things like "Come," or "Go" to her kittens. She had a different growl for each of them, though Johnny named them Pat and Mike. Throughout the time Baba was asleep Johnny had practiced these growls, until he could talk a little in the leopard language. He had also taught the little ones to like meat fruit roasted over the open fire he had had to light to keep warm. All three cats had been afraid of the fire when he had first lit it. They had soon learned it was harmless if they didn't step into it. They were very smart animals, but by no means as smart as Baba. Baba was just as clever as a person.
All the rest of the animals now seemed friendly, too. Johnny thought he knew why. Not only the leopards, but all the animals could talk! They couldn't say much, but just enough to tell one another Johnny wouldn't hurt them. And all of them could understand the marva language. He and Baba talked about this, but they weren't yet ready to take a chance on river snakes. The snakes stayed deep in the water and struck before they could be seen. It didn't seem likely that they would have learned Johnny was a friend.
Baba was going to go down to the river by himself. Perhaps he could find one of the horned snakes and bring it back with him. Then Johnny could make friends with it. If what Johnny thought was true, then the snake would tell the others and he and Baba could float safely across the river on a log they had found.
After patting the mother leopard on the head, Johnny took off his pack and laid it in the mouth of the cave.
"I think I'll go over to the waterfall and have a shower," he said.
"That's not such a good idea," Baba said. "Stay here. I won't be gone long."
"Oh, stop worrying, Grandfather!" Johnny laughed. He was stripping himself down to his shorts. The three leopards sat on their haunches watching him. They were fascinated by his clothes. The first time he had taken them off they had been almost afraid of him.
"I'll take Mama Leopard along with me for a guard," Johnny said. "You tell her, Baba. Maybe I can growl better than you, but she still seems to do everything you say."
Baba clicked directions to the leopard. She was to go along with Johnny and protect him. When Baba was through clicking, the mother leopard came over and licked Johnny, making a growling sound that meant she understood.
Then with a wave of his paw, Baba bounced away toward the river. Johnny was happy to see him go. Baba, himself, had suggested that the trip be taken. It was the first time he had ever offered to leave Johnny for such a long time. Johnny loved the little bear, and it was fun in the jungle, but he couldn't help wishing he were home.
The waterfall was not much of a waterfall. A little way from the leopard's cave was a small spring high up in the rocks. A tiny stream of water fell about ten feet making a great spray and quite a little noise. It made a wonderful shower.
The mother leopard lay on the rocks below while Johnny climbed up to the waterfall. Johnny danced about as the cool water hit his hot dusty skin. It felt wonderful running all over him. Then he walked into a pool and splashed happily.
Then Johnny began to sing. With him the little waterfall sang a tinkling, merry tune that blotted out even the chatter of the birds in the surrounding trees.
It did not blot out a coughing roar that came from the mother leopard. Johnny knew that sound. It meantcome!
Johnny stopped singing and looked down. The leopardess was on her feet now, looking into the sky. Johnny looked too. A helicopter floated soundlessly overhead, its jets off.
Johnny looked around for some place to hide. There was none.
The mother leopard crouched. Her muscles rippled under her black and gold skin. In one mighty spring she was beside him. Before Johnny knew what was happening, her great jaws opened—and closed around him. The long sabre teeth barely touched his skin.
With no more effort than if she were carrying a feather, she leaped through the air with Johnny in her mouth. When she landed Johnny's feet thumped painfully against a rock. Where she was holding him about the middle in her teeth, he was unharmed.
Johnny heard the roar of gunfire as the helicopter's motors were switched on. Still carrying Johnny in her jaws, the mother leopard screamed in pain. Johnny was tumbled to the ground, half dazed.
A very shaken Johnny watched the mother leopard run away a short distance, then turn and spring back toward him. A second later she was standing over Johnny, putting her body between him and the helicopter. She roared her defiance at the machine. Johnny marveled at her courage. She started to pick him up again.
The helicopter was getting into a position where it could hit the big cat without hitting Johnny. In a few seconds the courageous animal would be dead.
"Run, friend-pet!" he clicked loudly. "Run! They won't hurt me. Run!" She looked down at him and growled in a questioning way. Her muscles tensed, and, with a great spring, she was gone. The guns roared, but the leopard's last bound carried her safely into the brush.
Before Johnny could get to his feet the 'copter was beside him. Two men in armor and headglobes jumped out.
"Hurry," yelled the pilot from inside. "You just grazed the leopard."
One man grabbed Johnny by the heels, the other by his shoulders. With one swing he was tossed heavily onto the floor of the 'copter. The two men jumped in after him. The armored door clanged closed. The motors roared and they were going straight up into the sky.
Johnny lay quietly on the floor for some moments; he was still dazed by his fall—and by the sudden turn of events.
"That leopard was crazy," one of the men was saying. "I never saw one come back like that, except for a cub!"
Johnny looked up into the face of the speaker. It was a thin, narrow face with full red lips and small black eyes. Johnny didn't know him.
"That was a narrow squeak you had," the hunter said to Johnny, in a high, nasal voice. "Two minutes later you'd have been leopard food. Are you hurt?"
Johnny sat up slowly, moving his arms and legs.
"Uh uh," he said.
With a whine of the motors the 'copter went into a hover. It floated over the spot where they had picked up Johnny.
"What in the name of all the moon devils were you doing out there like that—stark naked and no armor?"
"Taking a bath." Johnny was too bewildered to make up an excuse.
The man raised his black eyes to heaven and looked at his companion. "Crazy!" he muttered. "But, kid," he addressed Johnny, "what made—"
"Skip it!" the pilot said, in a low hard voice. The black-eyed man stopped abruptly. Johnny decided the pilot must be the leader. The man turned around and looked at Johnny. He was a large man, slope-shouldered but powerful. His blond hair was slicked down against his head. Two long red scars cut across a white heavy-jawed face. His eyes were so pale they were almost white.
"Where's the bear?" he snapped.
Johnny was struck silent. They were after Baba!
"Come on, kid," the low voice came again, "where's the bear?"
"He ran away." Johnny blurted out the first thing he could think of. "I've had an awful time. We got lost in the jungle and he ran away, right at first. I lit fires to attract attention and keep off animals, and the rains put them out and my matches got wet. I've had an awful time, and...."
"You ain't seen nothing of the bear?" the scar-faced pilot cut in.
Johnny crossed his fingers carefully and looked the big man straight in the eyes.
"Not since right at first!"
The pale eyes bored into his. Johnny's eyes dropped down.
"The kid's lying!" the big man said to the others, and turned back to Johnny. "O.K., kid, let's have it straight now!"
But no matter how much they questioned him or how they threatened, Johnny insisted he did not know where Baba was.
Finally Ed, the blond scar-faced leader, gave up. He turned to the others. "You guys search the ground," he commanded, "while I call in to the boss." He turned and dialed the radio telephone on the instrument board of the 'copter.
"Hello," he said, "I want to speak to the boss." There was a pause. "Hello," he said again. "We got the kid—found him where Stevenson thought he saw the fire."
Johnny heard a voice coming back over the instrument. He thought he recognized it, but he couldn't make out any words.
"No," the pilot spoke into the instrument, "the kid says the bear ran away, but I think he's lying. We're going to search from the plane. Can't send anybody down because of the leopards. One had the kid when we found him." There was another pause. "No, not hurt. When we're finished I'll drop him at the colony." There was a long pause. Johnny caught the words, "if I know that bear," and then there was more he couldn't catch.
"That's a smart idea," the scar-faced man said. "We'll do just what you said. O.K. Be seeing you!" The pilot turned back to the other two, who had binoculars trained down into the jungle.
"See anything, Barney?"
"Not a thing, Ed!" the black-eyed man replied.
"You, Shorty?"
The other man shook his head. "Not even a bird."
For over an hour they searched. While they were searching, Ed, the pilot, put in another call and told someone else what had happened. He hinted that even if they didn't find the bear, there was still a way they might get their hands on him.
Johnny sat with his fists clenched. He knew they would shoot if Baba showed himself.
After an hour went by and the 'copter had gone over every foot of the surrounding territory, the men had to give up because they were running low on fuel.
As they went higher up, Johnny peered out. The 'copter veered Venus east—away from the colony. At that moment Johnny's heart sank. The hunters weren't taking him home! Baba would have seen the 'copter come and go. The little bear would think anyone finding Johnny would take him back to the settlement. Johnny knew just what the little bear would do. He would go back to the settlement looking for Johnny!
Johnny had succeeded in keeping those hunters from getting Baba; now the colonists would get him. Or would they? Suddenly Johnny knew whose voice that had been on the radio telephone. The voice was that of the trader, Willard Harkness!
They were in the air over two hours, traveling at maximum speed, before they arrived at their destination. This turned out to be a small cabin, surrounded by the usual high wall, with a space inside the wall for a helicopter and a tank. It was a hunters' hideout entirely hidden from view by diamond-wood trees. The pilot had had to work his way through branches and then fly for a time between the trunks of the great trees before hovering in for a landing. A man was standing in the yard waiting for them when they landed.
As soon as Ed shut off the 'copter's motor, the man who was waiting for them yelled, "No arrow-birds that I can see. Tell the kid to run for it." The man had been informed about him by the helicopter's radio.
"O.K., kid, scoot!" Ed jabbed Johnny in the ribs.
Johnny scooted. The lodge door slammed behind him and he opened the inner door. The large central room was surprisingly neat. The floor was bare but polished. Some hunting trophies were on the windowless walls.
Chained on a perch in one corner of the room, a miserable little scarlet ape sat huddled up, with its chin upon its knees. When it saw Johnny it screamed and chattered. Johnny walked toward it, about to click a greeting.
"Better watch out!" A red head was thrust from the door of another room. "Ed's monkey is meaner than he is." It was Rick Saunders.
"Glad to see you safe!" The big redhaired man grinned easily, and waved.
"Hullo," Johnny said. He didn't smile. If Rick were here, it meant only one thing. These were the same men who had stolen the colony's marva claws! He all but glared at Rick Saunders standing in the inner doorway.
"You don't seem too happy about being rescued," Rick said with a laugh.
"I wasn't rescued. I...." Johnny stopped. He knew he shouldn't have said that.
Rick's eyebrows went up. "It seems I heard something about a leopard."
"Well, I guess I was rescued—sorta," Johnny admitted lamely.
"I guess you were!" Rick paused, looking at Johnny. "You sure don't sound very friendly."
"I don't like thieves and traitors," Johnny said defiantly.
"Wait a minute!" Rick began.
At that moment the four hunters entered the room, cutting off the rest of Rick's sentence. The scarred-faced leader spoke to Rick.
"You know you're not allowed in here. Get out!" His voice was low and threatening. Rick turned to go.
"Hold it," called Barney, the narrow-faced hunter. "Carry this in to the kitchen." He dropped a haunch of antelope on the floor.
His face set and calm, Rick walked slowly past Johnny and hoisted the meat to his shoulder.
"Any other orders?" he asked quietly.
"Yep!" Ed said. "Take the kid with you. Rustle him up clothes of some kind. Then you can put him to work helping you."
"Come on, Johnny." Rick put his hand on Johnny's shoulder and started for the door. Johnny followed him, shrugging off the friendly hand.
The kitchen was even neater than the main room. As soon as they entered the room, Rick tossed the haunch of antelope into the sink. He turned, faced Johnny, and grasped the boy's shoulders with his big freckled hands. He seemed angry.
"What's this thieves-and-traitors business mean?" he demanded.
"First you pretended to be on our side," Johnny answered, "and then you let the rhinosaurs get in so's those hunters could steal our marva claws."
"So that's what you think," Rick said. He regarded Johnny gravely. "Does the rest of the colony think that, too?"
Johnny nodded.
"Take a good look at me, Johnny." Rick touched a cloth tied around his middle like an apron. "I'm cook and housekeeper here, not one of the gang. I wasn't pretending anything, and I didn'tletany rhinosaurs inside. I came with these outlaws because they had their tank guns leveled on me."
"But why did they do that?" Johnny demanded.
"Harkness' orders," Rick replied. "Remember his threat?"
"I sure do!" Johnny said. His eyes grew wide. "I was right," he went on. "IthoughtMr. Harkness was the boss those hunters called."
"He sure is the boss," Rick said. "He's given out word he'll pay for any information about you and Baba. Any information he gets he passes on to this bunch. The gang has to work for him so he'll market their stolen claws and arrange their passage to Earth. Why he's even offering to pay double for Baba just to prevent the colony from getting him."
"Golly!" Johnny breathed. "He really must be sore at us." Johnny sat down on a kitchen stool. It was cold against his bare bottom. He looked up at Rick. "Gosh, I'm sorry, Rick. I mean about thinking you were—well you know."
"That's all right, Johnny." Rick was smiling now. "I'll admit it did look bad. Let's forget it and get you into some clothes. We have a meal to fix."
Johnny jumped up. With a friend beside him things didn't seem quite as bad. Helped by a pair of scissors, Rick soon had him into a pair of cut down trousers and a baggy shirt. As soon as the clothes were on, the two started preparing the meal.
As they worked, Johnny questioned Rick about what had happened to him. Outside of beating him up once, the hunters hadn't treated him too badly. He was being saved for Trader Harkness. They made Rick stay in the kitchen and wouldn't let him into the main room except to clean it up, and then kept a gun on him. The gang kept him from escaping by a very simple means—they locked up the rhinosaur-hide armor in a closet. Ed kept the closet keys, as well as the keys to the tank and helicopter, fastened to his wrist. Rick had been watching carefully but had not seen one chance to escape.
As Johnny served the meal to the outlaw hunters, he looked the room over carefully. When the men weren't looking, he clicked a greeting to the little scarlet ape. It immediately became quite excited. A plan for escape began to shape itself in Johnny's mind. He said nothing to Rick, however.
After the outlaws had eaten, Johnny and Rick had their meal. Rick thought it strange, but Johnny couldn't bring himself to eat any of the antelope; he remembered all too well the tiny antelope leader he had held in his hand. When they were finished and had washed the dishes, Johnny was all too glad for a blanket thrown on the kitchen floor—the same kind of bed Rick had.
Johnny tried to push away his fears for Baba, but it was a long time before he could get to sleep.
It seemed only minutes later when he was rudely awakened by a rough blow on his shoulder. Actually it was ten hours later, as he could see by the clock above the stove. Johnny reared up to see Ed standing over him, a smile on his thin lips, his pale eyes jubilant.
"Get up and get your clothes on," he ordered. "We're going places."
Johnny jumped up and reached for the baggy clothes Rick had made him.
"Come on in when you're ready and don't waste any time about it," Ed directed, and strode back into the other room. Johnny slipped on the pants and was soon stuffing in the shirt tails of the oversized shirt. Rick stood by the stove and watched, sympathy in his eyes.
"Baba," he said slowly, "arrived at the colony an hour ago. I was listening at the door when the call came from Harkness. These guys are planning—"
"Come on!" Ed stuck his head in through the door and cut Rick off. Numb with worry, Johnny followed Ed into the main room.
"Better wrap him up in something," the outlaw called Barney said, his narrow face twisted in a strange grin. "We can't let the arrow-birds get him now."
Johnny stood while they strapped man-sized armor on him and put a headglobe on his head. He followed Ed out of the door and into the helicopter. The outlaw leader seated Johnny beside him, switched on the motor, and they roared away.
"Where we going?" Johnny asked.
"You'll find out," Ed snapped. "Keep quiet till I tell you to talk!"
They flew on for almost an hour. Then Ed set the helicopter controls on automatic hover and snapped the radio telephone on. He dialed a number. Johnny saw that the number was that of Colony Headquarters.
"Hello." Ed made his voice high and nasal. "I have information concerning Johnny Watson. Let me speak to his father."
The slick-haired blond man put his hand over the telephone mouthpiece. He grabbed Johnny by the collar and stared directly into his eyes.
"Listen," he said, "when your father comes on, I want you to speak to him. Tell him you were rescued by us and we've treated you O.K. Understand?"
Johnny nodded, his mouth dry.
"I'll tell him what happened," Johnny said. He didn't understand why Ed was making such a fuss about it.
"Hello. Hello. This is Frederick Watson." Johnny was thrilled by the sound of his father's voice over the telephone.
"Hello, Mr. Watson," Ed said in the fake voice. "We've found your boy and here he is." Ed handed Johnny the telephone, his hand over the mouthpiece again. "Remember!" he said in a threatening voice.
"Hello, dad!" Johnny said into the telephone. "I'm safe all right."
"Thank God!" his father's voice replied.
"I was rescued by these men and outside of making me wash dishes and sleep on the floor, they've treated me fine. I'm—"
Ed took the telephone away from him in mid-sentence.
"But where are you, Johnny?" Johnny could still hear his father's voice.
"Right now," Ed said into the telephone, "Johnny's up in a 'copter. You needn't try to get a direction finder on us. Rescuing this boy cost us a lot and we gotta be sure you'll pay us for it."
"I offered a reward." Mr. Watson's voice was anxious.
"It ain't enough," Ed said. "We lost a tank and a 'copter getting him. He was surrounded by rhinosaurs. We have the boy. You've got a live marva. I figure it should be a trade. You bring the marva to the old tank road by the river, and we'll bring the boy. Bring one tank, driven by one man. That's all. Be there forty-eight hours from now. Do as I say and the boy will be delivered on schedule."
"Hello, hello." Frederick Watson's voice was frantic. "I don't know if the colony will—" Ed hung up and snapped off the radio.
"They will," he said.
Johnny's spirits had never been so low. Everything he touched seemed to turn to disaster. The colony was all but ruined. In trying to protect Baba he had caused the marshberries to be destroyed and had given these outlaws a chance to steal the colony's marva claws. By running away with Baba he hadn't saved the little bear at all. The outlaws, Trader Harkness' outlaws, were going to get him.
Johnny would not only lose Baba, but the colony, too, would lose its last chance for survival.
The little red monkey screamed and chattered its hate as Johnny and Ed stepped through the doorway of the cabin after their eventful flight. Johnny had noted that the cabin door was the only exit.
As was usual on Venus, the exit was a double door. When the outer door was open, the inner one could not be opened. It was just like the school door. If Johnny could once get through the outer door and block it open, it would be a while before the men could break the lock on the inner door and get out. Getting out the first door would be the problem—but not too big a problem. The outlaws didn't think that he could go into the jungle without armor, so they did not watch him or the door too carefully.
As soon as they were inside, Ed took off Johnny's oversized armor and locked it away. He then winked at the other men and sat Johnny down in front of him on a high stool.
"You know who I am?" Ed asked him.
"Sure," Johnny said. "You're Ed."