MICHAEL CRICHTON

“We have to continue, Amy,” he said.Gorilla no want human people come.“Human people won’t harm gorillas,” Elliot assured her. But Amy just lookedblank at this, and shook her head, as if Elliot had missed the point.Days later he realized that he had indeed missed the point.Amy was not telling him that the gorillas were afraid of being harmed bypeople. She was saying that the gorillas were afraid that the people would beharmed, by gorillas.They had progressed halfway across a small jungle clearing when the largesilverback male reared above the foliage and bellowed at them.Elliot was leading the group, because Munro had gone back to help one of theporters with his pack. He saw six animals at the edge of the clearing, dark blackshapes against the green, watching the human intruders. Several of the femalescocked their heads and compressed their lips in a kind of disapproval. Thedominant male roared again.He was a large male with silver hair down his back. His massive head stoodmote than six feet above the ground, and his barrel chest indicated that heweighed more than four hundred pounds. Seeing him, Elliot understood why thefirst explorers to the Congo had believed gorillas to be “hairy men,” for thismagnificent creature looked like, a gigantic man, both in size and shape.At Elliot’s back Ross whispered, “What do we do?”“Stay behind me,” Elliot said, “and don’t move.”The silverback male dropped to all fours briefly, and began a soft ho-ho-hosound, which grew more intense as he leapt to his feet again, grabbing handfulsof grass as he did so. He threw the grass in the air, and then beat his chest withflat palms, making a hollow thumping sound.“Oh, no,” Ross said.The chest-beating lasted five seconds, and then the male dropped to all foursagain. He ran sideways across the grass, slapping the foliage and making as162