Page 129 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

and sending a pounding call for help thr ough the darknes s. The se vibr ations
can be heard over a mile away. H opef ully hi s son w oul d be l istening.

Then José stood in silence, waiting. He smelled the cat. It was close. A few
moments later a large black jaguar, onza negra, over two hundred pounds,
glided down from a tree twenty feet ahead of him and started moving in. José
remembered the glowing yellow eyes, as tho ugh a demon were coming for him.

He knew if he ran the cat would be on hi m ins tantly. He tossed hi s ni ght ’s
catch forward onto the forest floor, then held his machet e and stood hi s gr ound,
moving his weapon rhythmically, pr eparing for the fight of hi s life. The cat
walked straight toward him, and then chan ged cour se about eight feet away. It

started pacing. Back and forth, keepi ng di stance, but nev er taking its eyes off
José. I t watched the machete, f ollowed its movements.
At first, the jaguar’s pacing felt go od. José tho ught that maybe it was
indecisive, considering the dead roden t. The minut es pas sed. José’s arm go t

tired from swaying. He watched the rippl ing mus cles of the cat’s legs ,
imagined them hurling the beast on top of hi m. Ther e woul d be onl y one
chance. When the cat came, he woul d need to dodge and strike in a bl ur. He
would have to get to the neck or take off a limb and somehow roll away from

the razor claws. It would all happen in an instant. But the waiting was eating
him up inside. His whole being was on edge, poised for bat tle, expl odi ng,
while the cat paced, languid, easy, yellow eyes glowing, edgi ng closer, no w
seven feet away, now six feet. After ten minut es the tension was unbe arabl e.

José was drenched in sweat, his right arm sho ok from the weight of the
machete. He switched hands, felt the weapo n in hi s left, ho ped the cat di dn’t
notice the new awkwardness for a minut e or so whi le he recovered. He felt
dreamy, as if the cat were hypnotizing him. Fear overwhel med him. Thi s man

of the jungle was falling apart.
After fifteen minutes, the cat started moving faster. It edged in, coiled,
watched the machete move, then tur ned back to pacing. It looked for ope ni ngs ,
felt the timing of the weapon. José was all strung out . His nerves were frayed.

The yellow eyes were taking him over. His body sho ok. José started sobbing.
He backed away from the cat, and thi s was a mistake. The jagua r moved in.
Straight in. It showed its teeth, crouch ed to leap. José had no fight left. He
gave himself up and there was a crack thr ough the ni ght . Then sho ut ing. The

cat turned. Another crack rang out and then two young men ran thr ough the
bush screaming. José’s son took aim with his gun, but the cat vanishe d int o the