Forest Fire (4 page)

“Did we scare them away?” asked Zoe, disappointed.

“I don't think so,” said Mat frowning. “But I'm surprised they left so quickly. They're usually very friendly. They even sat with us and tried out our tools when we were building the walkways.” He stopped and looked around. The children could see the concern on his face.

“Come to think of it, it's been quieter than usual today. We've been through several territories and only seen Lola and Kiki.” He led them round a platform, down a ladder and on to a lower walkway. “We're just coming into Kawan's old patch now.”

Ben gave Zoe a thumbs up. Maybe they'd learn something useful here.

The walkway took them alongside a wide, muddy coloured river.

“This is the Munia River,” Mat told them.

“Those are oil palms growing on the other side, aren't they?” asked Zoe, recognising the straight rows of low-growing trees. They looked very different from the natural tangle of the high rainforest.

“That's Mr Ostrander's land,” said Mat. “We're right in the south-eastern corner of the reservation now.”

He led them on to a wide platform hung from a thick-trunked tree. A metal sign reading “Platform Twenty-two” was fixed to the trunk above a map of the walkways. The children looked at the view. The river wound its way into the distance, separating the palm trees from a wide swathe of flat land, where small plants in metal drums were growing at regular intervals.

“New oil palms,” Mat explained. “That's where Daud spotted Kawan. I've tried calling him from here, but I'm not sure the sound travels that far.”

“I hope he comes back soon,” said Zoe.

“I'd love you to meet Kawan,” said Mat. “He's such a character, and a great imitator. He used to fill up pans with rice and beans and stir them with a spoon. Copying Yasmin cooking, you see. It might be no use, but I have to try calling him again.”

He pursed his lips together and made the call the children had heard on the film.

Ben and Zoe walked round to the opposite side of the platform. From here they could see a bald area of tree stumps. It looked like an ugly gash in the middle of the dense rainforest.

“Those evil loggers,” said Zoe, looking at the devastation. “I'm glad they were chased off before they did any more damage. Poor Kawan, he must have been so frightened by them.”

“I wish I could play my recording,” whispered Ben. “At full volume it would reach those oil palms and beyond. If Kawan is there, he'll hear it.”

Mat stopped calling for Kawan and came to join them.

“No luck, I'm afraid,” he said. He pointed to the damaged area. “Kawan always nests – or rather, nested – around there. Don't worry, he doesn't think he's a bird!” Mat grinned. “Orang-utans make themselves a different bed every night up in the tree canopy. They even use big leaves as duvets!”

Ben nodded. “I've read about that,” he said.

“Sometimes they hold them as sunshades,” Mat went on, “and –” He was interrupted by a shrill beeping from his shirt pocket. “Sorry about this,” he said, pulling out a walkie-talkie. “It must be Yasmin back at the centre.”

He turned away from the children, speaking rapidly in Malay.

“Something's wrong…” They heard Yasmin's reply translated through their earpieces. “…more cancellations. The Coopers.”

“They were due next week, weren't they?” said Mat.

His walkie-talkie buzzed and Yasmin spoke again. “…lucky they emailed to find out when they could rebook… don't understand…cancellations have been sent out to our guests…How could that happen?”

“I'll come straight back,” said Mat into the walkie-talkie. “We'll phone everyone and reinstate their bookings. Then we'll look into it. Probably something to do with that old dinosaur of a computer.”

He ended the transmission and turned to Ben and Zoe. “Sorry,” he said, in English. “We have to return now. Just a little problem with our guest bookings.

We'll come again tomorrow morning.” He turned and headed back along the walkway towards the reservation.

“We'll follow in a second,” Ben called after him. “I've just spotted a broadbill – must get a picture.” He pulled Zoe to a halt. “We haven't had a chance to play the recording,” he muttered, as he aimed his camera at the bird.

“Then we come back tonight,” said Zoe. “On our own.”

CHAPTER
FIVE

Zoe crept over the bare wooden floor of their bedroom and nudged her brother through his mosquito net.

“Wake up,” she whispered. “We've got two hours until sunrise.”

Ben opened his eyes and sat bolt upright in the dark. “Let's go.”

They dressed quickly and put on their backpacks. They'd filled them the night before with water, their first aid kit and BUGs. Having put on their EEL belts and boots, they snatched up their night goggles.

Zoe slowly opened the door.

“Shhhh!” hissed Ben as the hinges groaned.

“Lucky there are no stairs,” muttered Zoe. “It's bad enough in this creaky wooden corridor.”

They stepped outside into the silent, shadowy compound. As soon as they put on their goggles the scene was bathed in green light. Deep puddles lay on the ground and they could hear water dripping from the trees.

“Looks like we've just missed a shower,” whispered Ben.

Zoe turned a dial on the nosepiece to adjust the focus. “We'll follow the satellite map on the BUGs.”

They crept for the cover of the trees.

“The black zigzag lines are the walkways,” said Ben, studying the image on his BUG screen. “And there's Kawan's territory, where the walkways come to the river.”

“There must be a more direct path than that,” replied Zoe.

Ben pressed a button and a different map appeared, showing a narrow track that went right to the south-east edge of the reservation. “This'll take us there.”

“Tuck your trousers into your boots,” Zoe reminded him. “There'll be snakes.”

“And arthropods and invertebrates,” said Ben eagerly.

“Creepy-crawlies in other words.” Zoe grimaced.

“Watch out for the ten-centimetre-long cockroaches!” Ben teased, but Zoe refused to rise to the bait.

“Scent dispersers on, too,” she said. “That will help keep unwanted guests away.”

The rough path led between huge, thick tree trunks deep into the darkness of the rainforest. The children moved along as quietly as they could, listening intently to the sounds around them.

Suddenly there was a loud
whoo-aa
call and a long, skinny shape swung down in front of them. It peered at them intently from under a pair of thick eyebrows. The children stopped dead, hearts beating fast. Then the creature gave a cry and shot back up into the trees.

“It was a gibbon!” whispered Zoe, checking the analysis on her BUG. “Wonder what it made of our goggled faces!”

“What's that?” gasped Ben, pointing into the darkness. “Around that trunk. It looks like a huge snake!”

“It's not moving.” Zoe laughed. “It's just a root that's twisted round the tree.”

They pushed their way through a bank of thick fern leaves that hung across the path.

“I can hear the river,” said Ben. “We must nearly be in Kawan's territory. The walkways ought to be above us now.”

“There's a sign on that trunk,” said Zoe pointing. “Platform Twenty-two – that's where we were earlier. We've arrived.”

Something moved low on the ground ahead. Through their goggles they got a glimpse of cold reptilian eyes and a scaly snout edging towards them.

“Crocodile!” gasped Ben, pulling Zoe back. “We have to get off the ground – now!”

“But how?” Zoe looked round wildly.

“There'll be a ladder up to the platform.” Ben stumbled through the ferns to reach the numbered trunk. Zoe was close on his heels. Behind her the ferns swayed and flattened as the crocodile followed.

Ben leapt up the first rungs of the wooden ladder. He reached down and grabbed Zoe's hand, hauling her up to safety just as the crocodile launched itself at the base of the tree, snapping at the empty air beneath her feet.

“That was close!” breathed his sister, scrambling up as high as she could. “I thought we were safe with our scent dispersers on.”

“Crocs have really acute hearing,” Ben told her, as he looked down at the enormous scaly creature that was still searching for its prey. “We weren't exactly silent back there. Did you know,” he went on, as they climbed towards the platform, “the saltwater crocodile can grow up to seven metres long?”

“Fascinating,” panted Zoe, following on behind. “Plenty of room inside for a couple of kids then!”

At last they were on the platform. Down below they could see the distant shape of their attacker sliding back towards the dark sweep of the river that lay beyond the trees.

“This will be a good place to try the call,” said Ben.

He pulled out his BUG and pressed some buttons. A loud chirruping noise filled the air and echoed far into the trees.