The Lost City by George Dismukes

Author:George Dismukes [Dismukes, George]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781953735430
Publisher: Melange Books, LLC

Chapter Five

Naja Comes Home…With A Friend

When they returned to the Jungle Inn, Bruce Burns was pacing back and forth on the hotel landing waiting for them. As soon as Brandon got out of the Jeep and started walking up the steps, Bruce flanked him saying excitedly, yet smiling while he talked, “What the hell is this? I thought you only had one jaguar.”

“Now I have two,” Brandon said, offhandedly.

“Two?” Bruce said, looking around at the big cats. “Two! What do you mean? This other full grown, flipping jaguar just ‘followed you home’?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Great Caesar’s Ghost!” Bruce said excitedly. I’ve never seen anything like this in my whole life. Who are you? What are you?”

“He’s Brandon Shaw,” Andrea said, mimicking Kan-Bah’s stoic line.

“Ah, there’s really no big mystery,” Brandon said with a coy smile. Then he repeated his explanation, this time for Bruce. “Many times, although it’s against the law, the Indians kill a jaguar for its pelt. Sometimes that jaguar is a female who has a cub. When that happens, the Indian’s family feels obligated to raise the cub until it gets big enough to take care of itself. Otherwise, their soul is condemned to eternal hell. It’s the real law of the jungle.

“Eventually, the cub gets too big for them to take care of, so, they return it to the jungle. But the jaguar never forgets. If it encounters a human and the human doesn’t panic…well, you see the result.”

“I sure do see it! I thought I would shit my pants when you bailed out of that Jeep with two jaguars following you. Oops. Excuse my language, Ma’am,” he said, looking over at Andrea.

“No problem,” Andrea said, smiling to herself because she knew the real truth.

Bruce looked down at Naja. “An absolutely beautiful cat. Stunning. Acts more like a tabby than a jaguar.” Then, “Hello, girl. Welcome back! Your daddy sure is glad to have you home. The rest of us are too.”

Bruce stayed with the group as they entered the restaurant and took seats at a table where Kan-Bah was already seated.

Didier was there to greet Naja with a good head rub. He looked at Naja and said, “We were all very worried about you, girl. And who is your new friend?”

Observing all this, Bruce said, “You know, every one of you talk to this jaguar like she is a golden retriever instead of a jaguar, one that understands you. That isn’t all that unusual, but what is seems to be the fact that she does understand. What’s all that about?”

“Naja was raised by me from a tiny cub,” Brandon explained honestly. “She senses the intonations of voices, whether somebody is being friendly, stern or what have you. So, her reactions are a response to that.”

Andrea interrupted. “Don’t look now, boys and girls, but we have two extremely huge mouths to feed instead of one. And I believe the second addition to our group needs a name.”

Lorenzo said, “Let’s name him, ‘Brand’.”

Andrea looked at Lorenzo. “Brand?” What kind of a name is that?”

“Bueno.

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