The Mystery of Wandering Caveman - M. V. Carey [9]
“Now you’ll see the chimps!” she said.
The laboratory that had been used by Dr. Birkensteen was at the end of the corridor. It was bigger than Hoffer’s lab. The two chimpanzees that lived in it shared a cage near the window. There were toys and balls in the cage, and a little blackboard where the chimps could scribble with coloured chalk.
The animals shrieked with excitement when they saw Eleanor, and the bigger one held out his arms.
“Hi, there!” she said. She opened the door of the cage and the big chimp came out and took her hand.
“You happy?” she asked. “Did you sleep well last night?”
The chimp closed his eyes briefly and let his head drop to one side. Then he pointed to the clock on the wall and drew circles in the air with one finger.
“You slept long?” asked Eleanor.
The chimp jumped up and down and clapped.
The second chimp got out of the cage and climbed up on one of the laboratory tables.
“Careful!” warned Eleanor.
The animal looked with longing at a shelf lined with jars of chemicals.
“No, no! Don’t touch!” said Eleanor. She turned to the boys and laughed.
“The chimps remind me so much of toddlers. They want to grab everything within reach and play with it.”
Turning away from the shelf, the chimp took an empty beaker from the table, climbed down to the floor and began to roll the beaker across the room like a toy.
Eleanor took fruit and milk from a refrigerator and cereal and bowls from a cupboard.
“They do understand, don’t they?” said Jupe as she poured cereal into the bowls.
“Yes. And they can use signs to say some complicated things. Dr. Birkensteen claimed they communicate as well as most kindergarten children. I don’t know real sign language, so I can’t judge, but I think they’re funny and cute, and they sure let me know what they want.”
“What will happen to them now?” asked Bob.
Eleanor sighed. “I don’t know. The members of the board of the foundation are going to meet next month. They’ll probably decide what to do with the animals. The foundation bought them for Dr. Birkensteen — those and a lot more. Most of them died.”
Eleanor put bowls of cereal and plates of fruit on a little table, and the chimps scrambled into small chairs and ate. When they finished, Eleanor coaxed them back to their cage. They both screamed in protest and tried to cling to her.
“It’s okay,” she said soothingly. “I’ll be back soon. Don’t get so upset.”
The boys watched, and Jupe felt that for the first time he was seeing Eleanor behave as if she were sure of what she was doing. Certainly she looked happier than she had at the McAfees’ shabby house.
“They miss Dr. Birkensteen,” she said now. “I miss him too. He was nice, even when he wasn’t feeling well.”
“Had he been ill?” asked Jupe “Somehow I had the idea that his attack in Rocky Beach was sudden.”
“It was,” said Eleanor, “but he’d been different for a while before that. He’d fall asleep sitting in his chair. Sometimes he’d doze off while the chimps were out of the cage, and they’d run all over and wreck the place. I went with him the day he … he died because it didn’t seem as if he should go all that way by himself.”
“Why did he go to Rocky Beach that day?” Jupe asked.
The question was an idle one. Jupe asked it only to make conversation. But suddenly Eleanor flushed.
“He was … was … I don’t know really.” She looked away and abruptly went to the door.
Pete and Jupe exchanged glances as she left the room.
“Now what’s the matter?” said Pete softly. “Did you say something wrong?”
Jupe frowned. “She’s lying. You can tell she’s lying. But why should she lie? What could she be covering up?”
Chapter 5
A Visit with a Dead Man
THE SCIENTISTS WERE GONE when Eleanor and the boys returned to the living room. A plump woman was there straightening the sofa cushions, and a dark-haired young man was washing the small-paned glass doors that led out to the terrace and the swimming pool.
“Morning, Eleanor,” said the woman. “I see you’ve brought some friends with you. That’s nice.”
Jupe recognized the woman as soon