Poacher Peril (5 page)

“Someone in the village?” gasped Zoe, pretending to be shocked by the revelation.

Angkasa lowered her voice. “Bad man.” Her eyes flickered down the row of houses. Zoe was sure that she was looking at Wicaksono's house. “He sells bones, skin, whiskers. Against the law.”

She looked around suddenly as if she thought she might be overheard.

“I have work,” she said hurriedly, finding bags for the food Ben had chosen.

Ben and Zoe paid and set off for their hut. They said nothing until they were well away from the village.

“We're as good as spies!” Ben laughed, punching Zoe's arm. “We've pinpointed the poacher, and we know where to start our search for Tora. Where she must go to drink and hunt – Silent Water.”

“And we've done it all in one afternoon,” said Zoe, rubbing her arm. “Uncle Stephen will be proud of us.”

“Yes,” said Ben, as he scrolled through the menu on his BUG and brought up a map of the area. “Silent Water's here,” he murmured. “Looks like it's the only water around so it would be the place where all the animals drink. Tigers like to drink at night so that's when we'll go there.”

“It's a good place to start,” agreed Zoe, “but I don't like the sound of it. What did she call that strange hairy man?”

“
Orang pendek
.” Ben grinned. “It's just a story. Like the Loch Ness monster, or Bigfoot. Anyway, I'll look after you.”

“You?” scoffed Zoe. “You'd be as much use as a concrete trampoline.”

“Then don't come running to me when the creature bites your legs off!” joked Ben. He ducked as Zoe swiped at him.

“Anyway, how's our poacher doing?” she asked.

“Still at home,” said Ben, glancing at his BUG. “We haven't got to worry about him till the cubs come out.”

“And we've got an advantage,” said Zoe. “The poachers have no idea we're going to thwart their plans. Wild to the rescue!”

CHAPTER
SIX

“What time is it?” asked Ben as they sat on the floor of their hut, eating fish and rice from a papaya skin.

“17.30,” said Zoe. “It'll be dusk soon. And darkness comes very quickly this near the equator.”

“Tiger-tracking time!” said Ben. “Tigers are mainly nocturnal and usually hunt at night.”

“Thank you, Mr Walking Encyclopedia.” Zoe laughed.

Ben threw his papaya skin into the bin and pulled on his walking boots. “Let's go!”

“Hang on a minute!” said Zoe. “Don't forget your water bottle.” She unzipped a small backpack from her big one and put water, fruit and the medical kit inside. Then she checked the route on the BUG's satellite map. “We'll need the night vision glasses Erika told us about. It'll get pitch black under the trees.” She plunged her hand into one of the backpack pockets. “I think they're in here somewhere.”

“Can't we put them on when we need them?” said Ben impatiently.

“Silly!” said Zoe, pulling out two pairs of small, lightweight goggles on a thin strap. “It'll be so dark we'll need night-vision glasses to find the night-vision glasses.”

“These are state-of-the-art technology,” exclaimed Ben. “Remember the huge ones Mum and Dad used when they were looking for that injured elephant in Botswana?”

“They made them look like aliens!” Zoe laughed.

Ben pulled his over his head. He opened the door to the hut and stared out into the gloom. “The world's gone green,” he said. He twiddled a dial on the nosepiece. “Awesome. They've got telephoto lenses. I can zoom right in.”

He stepped out of the hut and into the darkening jungle.

“This is going to be hard work,” he said, pushing aside branches to make a way between the trees. As their footsteps crunched on the mass of ferns and dead leaves of the forest floor they heard the warning cries of animals deep among the trees.

“The BUGs have got scent dispersers,” hissed Zoe, as she clambered over a fallen tree trunk. “Activate them. That way we won't smell like dinner to anything lurking in here.”

“Too right.” Ben grinned. “You don't want to scare Tora away with your pong!”

“She'd already have seen your ugly mug and scarpered!” Zoe retaliated. “Now shush. We've got a job to do.”

They moved on, keeping their footsteps as quiet as possible. After a while, Zoe stretched up and ran her hand over the bark of a tree.

“There's no time for nature studies!” Ben told her.

“But this is important,” insisted Zoe. “Look.”

Four deep vertical gashes ran down the trunk, showing the light wood beneath.

“Wow,” gasped Ben. “Tiger score marks.” He sniffed at them. “They look fresh. Did you know that's what tigers do to mark their territory and warn others off?”

“Of course.” Zoe sighed. “And I know this as well – they've got to be Tora's. Erika said she's the only tiger in the area.” She looked around. “Her footprints must be here somewhere.”

“Pugs, you mean,” said Ben smugly.

There was a sudden animal shriek from high in the trees. They froze. Zoe's BUG vibrated in her hand.

“Phew!” she whispered. “It's analysed the sound. It was just a tarsier monkey.”

They walked on, carefully watching every movement from the undergrowth, pausing when a spiny little creature scurried past. “Brush-tailed porcupine,” Zoe told Ben. “Wish we had time to study the wildlife.”

They came to a sort of corridor through the trees, where large animals had broken away the vegetation to make a path. Ben bent to examine the ground.

“We're on her trail,” he said in excitement. “I've found a faint pug mark. This must be the way she comes to drink.”

Zoe joined him. There on the soft earth was a large indent and four smaller ones.

“I thought they'd be more like circles,” said Zoe, puzzled.

“That's the males,” said Ben. “Female tigers have uneven pads. It's got to be Tora's!”

Zoe checked her satellite map. “Looks like this path heads straight to Silent Water. Cool! We're taking the same track as her.”

They followed the trail through the trees for almost an hour, heading deeper into the jungle. Zoe suddenly clutched Ben's arm.

“What is it?” hissed Ben.

“Dunno,” said Zoe. “I've just got a sort of creepy feeling. Remember what Angkasa said about Silent Water. Supposing that orang thingy shows up.”

Ben grasped her by the hand and pulled her along. “There won't be anything like that there,” he said, sounding braver than he felt. “It's just a story.”

A screech split the air and echoed eerily round. “It's a macaque,” said Ben quickly, as he felt Zoe tense and pull back. “We've heard them before in Thailand, remember? Hey, I can see water through the trees. Better be quiet. She may already be there.”

The trees gave way to a large clearing. In front of them was Silent Water, flat and smooth, glimmering in the moonlight. It was surrounded by tall, overhanging trees and a tangle of bushes. A fallen tree rested in the pool and large rocks were scattered about the bank. There was no sign of the tiger.

“How weird,” muttered Zoe, glancing nervously round at the branches that arched like giant fingers over the water.

“It really
is
silent. There must be animals around here, but it's like everything's just… frozen.”

Suddenly they could hear something moving through the trees on the other side of the waterhole. Zoe dragged Ben down behind a thick, ferny bush to the side of the trail. “What's that?” she whispered.

A solid black shape barged into the clearing, with a cracking of branches underfoot. The moonlight caught its leathery back.

“If that's an
orang pendek
, I'm a dung beetle,” hissed Ben.

“It's a Sumatran rhino,” gasped Zoe, her fear forgotten. “They're so rare. There's hardly any left in the wild. Look at his cute little face.”

“They might look cute, but they can be dangerous,” warned Ben. “If that charged at you it'd be like being hit by a car.”