Suddenly Rick stumbled. He stopped and balanced himself by leaning on Johnny's shoulder. He looked at Johnny with bloodshot eyes, sighed and crumpled up on the ground. The arrow-bird that had been sitting on his shoulder hovered in the air above him making little squeaking noises. He flew toward Johnny and then down an animal trail that led off toward a diamond-wood grove. As Johnny leaned over to look at Rick the monkey jumped from Johnny's head.
Johnny stared down at Rick Saunders' face. His cheeks were flushed but the rest of his face was grey. The little monkey sniffed the wounded man and chattered something at Johnny. Then he, too, ran down the side trail. When Johnny paid no attention, he came up to Johnny and plucked his sleeve, chattering all the while. Johnny looked around. He thought the monkey was drawing his attention to some antelope berries growing down the path. Johnny clicked to the little red monkey to gather some. When the red monkey returned, clutching a cluster of the large berries in each tiny paw, Johnny took them and squeezed the clear red juice into Rick's mouth.
The man coughed and turned his face away. But gradually his eyes opened. They were dull and feverish. His hand went to his shoulder and he winced. In the few hours that had passed, his arm and shoulder had already swollen a great deal. He raised his head. Johnny helped him to his feet, but when he staggered, Johnny helped him lie down again on a patch of grass by the antelope berry bush.
"I can't go any farther, Johnny." Rick's voice was hoarse. "Those birds must have some kind of poison on their beaks. That wound feels like it's on fire."
"It's not poison, Rick," Johnny explained. "They eat the meat fruit and little pieces stick to their beaks. The pieces get rotten and infect wounds bad." Johnny remembered that Rick was an Earthie and had been on Venus barely a year.
"There's only one thing to do," Johnny went on. "I'll have to light a signal fire with lots of smoke. Somebody'll see us then."
Rick shook his head slowly. "No, Johnny, it won't do. If those hunters come they'll get you again and they're likely to finish me off. You take the map and go on...." Rick's voice trailed away. He struggled to sit up.
Johnny stepped forward, wondering what was wrong. The monkey leaped off his head and bounded into a tree. Slowly Rick raised his good arm and pointed directly behind Johnny.
Johnny turned. Staring at him through a bush was a coal black sabre-toothed leopard, crouched to spring.
"Friend-pet, go away!" Johnny clicked in the marva tongue. Oh, if Baba were only here! The monkey chattered from a tree.