فرار پوما

Chapter eleven

The Puma Escapes

For the next two months, I lived quietly on the island. My dislike of Moreau and his work grew stronger. But soon the strange animal-people did not seem unusual to me.

I watched Montgomery and M’ling together with interest. M’ling was probably the most successful of Moreau’s experiments. He was made from a bear, but he had bits of dog and horse in him too. He was not as clever as the ape-man, but he followed orders much better and looked more like a man. He lived in a small hut at the back of our house, not with the other animal-people in their huts. He followed Montgomery like a dog and most of the time Montgomery enjoyed his company. When Montgomery spoke kindly to him, he jumped around happily like an excited child. But after a few whiskies, Montgomery sometimes kicked him or threw stones at him. Even then, M’ling was happy to be at his master’s side.

Montgomery and I did not become close friends. After his long time away from ordinary people, he was too strange. He seemed more comfortable with the animal-people than with me. And I stayed away from the animal-people as much as possible.

I dreamed day and night of ways to escape the island. I spent many hours on the beach, looking for ships. But they never came. And then something terrible happened that changed everything.

I woke at six one morning, had breakfast and went outside. Moreau walked past me and said a quick hello. Then he opened the door to his laboratory and went in. After many weeks on the island, I almost did not notice as the cries of the poor puma began for another day.

Then I heard a crash inside the laboratory. Suddenly something was running towards me - not a man, not an animal, but a monster. It had no skin, no face, but terrible yellow eyes, and drops of blood were coming from all over its body. It jumped at me. I held up my arm to protect myself. The monster crashed into me and I fell to the ground. As it ran towards the forest, I tried to get up. But there was a terrible pain in my arm and I could not move. I saw Moreau with blood on his face and a gun in his hand. He looked at me for a second, then followed the monster into the trees.

Finally I stood up. Montgomery arrived.

‘The puma!’ I cried. ‘I was standing near the door, and…’ I was silenced by the pain in my arm.

Montgomery had a look at it. ‘Well, it’s broken,’ he said, ‘and there’s a lot of blood. But it isn’t too serious. You’ll live. Now, what were you saying about the puma?’

He cleaned my arm as I told him my story.

‘Well, there’s no sign of them now,’ he said. ‘I should go and help Moreau. That puma was strong.’

He gave me a gun and walked into the forest. Still in great pain, I went inside. I kept the door open and held the gun in my good hand.

The morning was as calm as death. There was no wind. The sea was like a mirror. I kept my eyes on the place where I last saw Moreau and Montgomery. Where were they now?

I once heard Montgomery shouting ‘Moreau! Moreau!’ Then nothing. After many hours, I heard a gun shot far away in the forest. A long silence, then another shot. A shout, closer this time. Then silence again. Suddenly, a shot, very near. I looked round the corner and Montgomery was there. There were bits of grass in his hair and there were holes in the knees of his trousers. He looked hot and tired, and very worried. Behind him stood M’ling with a strange brown colour around his mouth. Was that blood?

‘Has he come?’ cried Montgomery.

‘Moreau?’ I asked. ‘No.’

‘Go back inside,’ he continued. ‘They’re all crazy. Crazy! What’s happening to them? I need some whisky.’

We went inside, leaving M’ling by the door. After a glass of whisky, Montgomery told me about his morning.

‘We’ve seen no sign of Moreau or the puma. But the animal-people have gone crazy. We met two of the pig-men, and they had blood on their mouths. One of them attacked me. I don’t understand it. No one’s ever done that before - not even the meat-eaters! Well, I shot one of the pig-men in the head, and M’ling got the other with a bite in the neck. M’ling’s damn teeth - probably saved my life today. We met a meat-eater too - one of the big cats - with blood on its mouth and a broken foot. I shot it. Well, it’s better to be safe’

‘What does it all mean?’ I asked.

Montgomery shook his head and picked up the whisky bottle.

I left him with his drink for some time. But he was clearly getting drunk, and that was dangerous on a day like this.

‘Listen, Montgomery, something’s happened to Moreau,’ I said. ‘He’s been out for too long. We need to find him.’

Montgomery did not want to go. But in the end he agreed. We had a quick lunch, then stepped out into the heat of the day.