“I’d have to agree,” Kevin said. “I suppose they’d need to keep them up for retrievals. The jungle is so thick and grows so fast out here. Lucky for us, they’ll certainly help us get around as well. As I recall, this one heads up to the limestone cliff.”
“If they come out here to maintain trails, maybe there is something to Siegfried’s story about workmen making the fires,” Melanie said.
“Wouldn’t that be nice,” Kevin said.
“I smell something bad,” Candace said, while sniffing the air. “In fact, it smells putrid.”
Hesitantly, the others sniffed and agreed.
“That’s not a good sign,” Melanie said.
Kevin nodded and moved off in the direction of the cul de sac. A few minutes later, with their fingers pinching their nostrils shut, the three stared down at a disgusting sight: It was the remains of bonobo number sixty. The carcass was in the process of being devoured by insects. Larger scavengers had also taken a toll.
Far more gruesome than the state of the corpse was the evidence of how the animal had died. A wedge-shaped piece of limestone had struck the poor creature between the eyes effectively splitting his head in two. The rock was still in place. Exposed soft eyeballs stared off in opposite directions.
“Ugh!” Melanie said. “It’s what we didn’t want to see. This suggests that not only the bonobos have split into two groups, but they’re killing each other. I wonder if number sixty-seven is dead, too.”
Kevin kicked the rock out of the decomposing head. All three stared at it.
“That’s also what we didn’t want to see,” Kevin said.
“What are you talking about?” Candace asked.
“That rock was shaped artificially,” Kevin said. With the toe of his shoe, he pointed to an area along the side of the rock where there appeared to be freshly made gouges. “That suggests tool-making.”
“More circumstantial evidence I’m afraid,” Melanie said.
“Let’s move upwind,” Kevin managed. “Before I get sick. I can’t stand this smell.”
Kevin got three steps away in an easterly direction when someone grabbed his arm and yanked him to a stop. He turned to see Melanie with her index finger pressed against her lips. Then she pointed to the south.
Kevin turned his gaze in that direction, then caught his breath. About fifty yards away in the shadows of the very back of the cul de sac was one of the bonobos! The animal was standing ramrod straight and absolutely motionless, as if he were a military honor guard. He appeared to be staring back at Kevin and the others just as they were staring at him.
Kevin was surprised at the creature’s size. The animal was well over five feet tall. It also seemed oversized in terms of weight. Given its enormously muscular torso, Kevin guessed the bonobo weighed between one hundred twenty-five and one hundred fifty pounds.
“He’s taller than the bonobos that have been brought in for transplant surgery,” Candace said. “At least I think he is. Of course, the bonobos for the transplants were already sedated and strapped to a gurney by the time they got to me.”
“Shhhhhh,” Melanie admonished. “Let’s not scare him. This might be our only chance to see one.”
Being careful not to move too quickly, Kevin pulled the gear bag off his shoulder and got out the directional beacon. He turned it on to scan. It began to quietly beep until he pointed it toward the bonobo; then it let out a continuous note. Kevin looked at the LCD screen and gasped.
“What’s the matter?” Melanie whispered. She had seen Kevin’s expression change.
“It’s number one!” Kevin whispered back. “It’s my double.”
“Oh my god!” Melanie whispered. “I’m jealous. I’d like to see mine, too.”
“I wish we could see better,” Candace said. “Do we dare try to get closer?”
Kevin was struck by two things. First was the coincidence that the first live bonobo they’d come across would happen to be his double. Secondly, if he had inadvertently created a race of protohumans, then he was in some metamorphic way meeting himself six million years earlier. “This is too much,” Kevin couldn’t help but whisper aloud.
“What are you talking about?” Melanie asked.
“In some ways that’s me standing over there,” Kevin answered.
“Now let’s not jump the gun,” Melanie said.
“He’s certainly standing like a human,” Candace remarked. “But he’s hairier than any human I’ve ever been out with.”
“Very funny,” Melanie said without laughing.
“Melanie, use the locator to scan the area,” Kevin said. “Bonobos usually travel together. Maybe there are more around that we can’t see. They could be hiding in the bushes.”
Melanie played with the instrument.
“I can’t believe how still he is,” Candace said.
“He’s probably scared stiff,” Kevin said. “I’m sure he doesn’t know what to make of us. Or if Melanie is right about there not being enough females out here, maybe he’s smitten with you two.”
“That I don’t find funny at all,” Melanie said, without looking up from the keyboard of the locator.
“Sorry,” Kevin said.
“What’s he got around his waist?” Candace asked.
“I was wondering that, too,” Kevin said. “I can’t make it out, unless it’s just a vine that got caught on him when he came through the bushes.”
“Look at this,” Melanie said with excitement. She held up the instrument so the others could see. “Kevin, you were right. There’s a whole group of bonobos in the trees behind your double.”
“Why would he venture out on his own?” Candace asked.
“Maybe he’s like an alpha male in chimp society,” Melanie said. “Since there are so few females, it stands to reason these bonobos might act more like chimps. If that’s the case, he might be proving himself to be courageous.”
Several minutes passed. The bonobo did not move.
“This is like a Mexican standoff,” Candace complained. “Come on! Let’s see how close we can get. What do we have to lose? Even if he runs off, I’d say this little episode is encouraging that we’ll see more.”
“All right,” Kevin said. “But no sudden movement. I don’t want to scare him. That would only ruin our chances for seeing the others.”
“You guys first,” Candace said.
The three advanced carefully, moving forward step by step. Kevin was in the lead followed immediately by Melanie. Candace brought up the rear. When they reached the midway mark, between them and the bonobo, they stopped. Now they could see the bonobo much better. He had prominent eyebrows and a sloped forehead like a chimp, but the lower half of his face was significantly less prognathous than even a normal bonobo. His nose was flat, his nostrils flared. His ears were smaller than those of either chimps or bonobos and flush against the side of his head.
“Are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?” Melanie whispered.
Candace nodded. “He reminds me of the pictures I saw in the third grade. Of very early cavemen.”
“Uh, oh, can you guys see his hands?” Kevin whispered.
“I think so,” Candace said softly. “What’s wrong with them?”
“It’s the thumb,” Kevin whispered. “It’s not like a chimp’s. His thumb juts out from the palm.”
“You’re right,” Melanie whispered. “And that means he might be able to oppose his thumb with his fingers.”
“Good god! The circumstantial evidence keeps mounting,” Kevin whispered. “I suppose if the developmental genes responsible for the anatomical changes necessary for bipedalism are on the short arm of chromosome six, then it’s entirely possible that the ones for the opposable thumb are, too.”
“It is a vine around his waist,” Candace commented. “Now I can see it clearly.”
“Let’s try moving closer,” Melanie suggested.
“I don’t know,” Kevin said. “I think we’re pushing our luck. Frankly, I’m surprised he hasn’t bolted already. Maybe we should just sit down right here.”