African Pursuit (5 page)

One day she was playing with some baby bonobos near the edge of the reserve while the adults foraged for food. Suddenly she heard a shout and saw two men with rifles in a boat that had appeared round a bend in the river. She easily disappeared into the jungle with the bonobos as the men were scrambling on to the shore, and she heard a single shot from far behind as she clambered through the canopy. She assumed the men must be poachers – no ranger would have attempted to shoot at her or the chimps – but was still frightened that they might report what they had seen and initiate a search for her. She told Jambo her fears and the entire troop moved to the very furthest limits of their range in the hope that nothing further would come of it.

J
ulian and Helen Fossfinder and their son Mark gave a final wave to Clive as he passed through security control at Rio airport to return to London. Their older son, aged twenty, was returning with the Bonaventures, ostensibly to get back to his medical studies, but Julian suspected the real reason had more to do with Clare, the Bonaventure’s nineteen-year-old daughter with whom Clive seemed to have become very friendly. Their younger son Mark had opted to stay with his parents in Rio while they had a holiday before returning to their university jobs in England. They certainly felt that they had earned a break. Julian, as the pilot for the party of adventurers from the two families, had flown thousands of miles in the previous fortnight, across the remote vastness of the Amazon jungle. He had managed to save the lives of his passengers when his plane had been hit by a giant pterosaur in a lost valley dating from the Cretaceous period sixty-five million years ago. He, Richard and Lucy had survived attacks by velociraptors in the lost valley and his wife, Helen, had been at the mercy of villains hidden in invisibility robes who had attempted to take her hostage. Finally, he had himself only narrowly escaped being killed by a brilliant but evil professor who, had he not walked backwards into Julian’s propeller, would have kidnapped and
eventually killed Julian and left the rest of the party to die, marooned in the remote crater without a radio.

As they now bade farewell to those heading home Julian turned to Helen and Mark with a grin.

‘Phew! What a fortnight! And now I think we’ve earned some time doing nothing but sightseeing.’ The others heartily agreed and that evening they made plans for their holiday. The next day Julian apologized to the others.

‘I know I said we were now going to chill out, but there’s just one thing I
must
do before we start our break’.

Helen looked across at Mark with a resigned smile.

‘How did I guess there’d be something?’ she said. ‘Nothing changes! Well, hurry up and do it and then we can all relax.’

‘Actually, it’s not just me. You should come too! I’m sure Mark can occupy himself sunbathing by the pool and chatting up some of the local talent.’

Mark was only too happy to do this and after breakfast Julian and Helen went to the UN offices. They were both by now highly respected scientists who had benefited from UN support for a number of projects, including the one they had just completed. Up until now, the prehistoric crater that they had discovered with the Bonaventures had remained a secret because they had been terrified of its being exploited for commerce or tourism. They now realised, however, that it was only a matter of time before the crater was discovered by others and they had agreed with the Bonaventures that the UN should be told, with a request that the information should be restricted to a few senior officials until the future management of the site could be properly planned.

Helen and Julian insisted on speaking only to the most senior official at the Rio office, who listened in astonishment to their story
about the prehistoric crater with its two extraordinary valleys. As they showed him dozens of photographs and videos of giant ground sloths, sabretooth tigers and dinosaurs of every size and shape, his attitude turned from an initial one of deep scepticism to one of wonder and admiration.

Helen and Julian also told him about the villains but did not mention the invisibility robes. They mentioned the visit to the crater by the policeman investigating the deaths of the villains, Inspector Colarinho, but explained that he knew nothing of the prehistoric nature of the site. At one point the official rang the detective, without disclosing the secret, and the inspector was able to confirm the details that Helen and Julian had given concerning the position and inaccessibility of the crater. When they had finally finished their story and requested that the information they had given him should remain confidential to all but the most senior people, he sat in deep thought for several minutes. He then asked an assistant to download all the photographic material he had been shown on to his computer and turned back to Helen and Julian.

‘They’re just not going to believe this,’ he said with a wry smile, ‘but let’s give it a go.’ Over the next hour he spoke to UN officials in New York, London and Paris, and then to the Brazilian Minister for the Environment. Every call followed the same pattern. First, frank disbelief at the other end, then the emailing of the photographic evidence, then an excited discussion about what to do next. The Rio officer proved to be a strong and eloquent advocate for Helen and Julian and they were relieved to have had the good fortune to be dealing with such an intelligent and sympathetic person.

Finally he turned back to Helen and Julian.

‘We will obviously need you to come to a top-level conference in the near future to discuss this in detail and to formally present your evidence,’ he said. ‘My colleagues point out that, before that meeting, it will be essential for our experts to verify that the photographs and videos are genuine. In the meantime I think I’ve managed to convince the appropriate authorities that the site should be put completely out of bounds. The Brazilian authorities are, with immediate effect, banning all flights within an area of fifty square miles centred on the crater on the grounds of national security. This won’t raise any eyebrows; there are lots of military sites that are restricted and everybody will just assume it’s just another defence project.’

Helen and Julian thanked him. They exchanged contact details and it was agreed that a strategy meeting would be arranged in the next month or so, to which both the Fossfinders and the Bonaventures would be invited.

As they left Helen and Julian were delighted with the outcome of their interview.

‘The crater is now safe, but is still effectively secret as far as the public are concerned,’ said Helen. ‘I can’t wait to tell the others but we’ll wait till they’ve recovered from their flight.’

Two weeks later, relaxed after their holiday, it was time to return to England. Before they left Rio, Julian arranged a meeting with Inspector Colarinho’s colleague in Rio, Inspector Poirot, to enquire about the professor. Poirot was the detective who had originally investigated an attempt by the professor to murder his research assistant, Lucinda, and steal her research.

‘I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news,’ said the detective after they had exchanged greetings. ‘The blighter’s escaped’.

‘What do you mean
escaped?
’ asked Julian with a frown. ‘I thought he was desperately ill under armed guard in hospital.’

‘He was,’ said the policeman uncomfortably. ‘He had a brain operation – that was about three weeks ago now – then made an amazingly good recovery; he’s a tough character all right. Then he suddenly disappeared under the very noses of the guards.’

On hearing the word “disappeared” Helen and Julian immediately looked at each other in horror. Not only was the professor at large once again but it sounded very much as though he had recovered an invisibility robe that he must have kept concealed in Rio. They were frustrated at not being able to explain about the invisibility factor to the policeman, especially as it would reassure him that his arrangements for guarding the professor had not been as inadequate as they now seemed. They both knew, however, that the invisibility robe must remain secret until Lucinda was ready to present it as a scientific development to the world of physics.

‘What about Lucinda Angstrom, the girl he tried to kill?’ asked Helen.

‘Well, that’s really confidential police business, but between ourselves we’ve told her to remain in hiding with her sister. The only other person who knows she’s still alive, apart from the university authorities, is her boyfriend, Peter Flint. He sends her work from the university. If the professor learns she’s still alive I’m sure he’ll have another go at her.’

Julian and Helen thanked the detective for his help, wished him luck in re-capturing the professor (though privately they knew that it would be almost impossible) and headed back to the hotel to pick up Mark and their baggage to head for the airport. Later, on the plane, they discussed the professor’s escape.

‘The first thing he’s going to do,’ said Julian, ‘is try and get some more ore to extract that special stuff – what was it – photogymnospar?’

‘Photogyraspar,’ corrected Helen with a smile.

‘Well, whatever it is, he’ll need more of it. He’ll probably try to return to the crater to pick up that crate of the stuff he left behind. He doesn’t know we brought it out with us and sent it to Peter Flint at the university.’ Julian was referring to the fact that the professor had tried to force Julian to transport a crate of ore out of the crater and had only been prevented from doing so by his near-fatal collision with the plane’s propeller.

‘It doesn’t matter now, either way,’ said Helen with a grin. ‘After our chat with the UN the crater is now a complete no-go area. He can’t get anywhere near it.’

‘Gosh you’re right!’ exclaimed Julian, ‘I hadn’t thought of that. ‘And that means …’

‘Yes,’ Helen finished for him. ‘If and when his present robe fades, or stops working, or whatever, he’s done for as far as making himself invisible is concerned. It’s probably just a question of time. How long nobody knows, except perhaps Lucinda. We’ll just have to hope he doesn’t get up to too much mischief in the meantime!’

And on that note they settled down to sleep as the plane headed east into the night sky.

A
fter arriving home in London Joanna and Richard lost no time in putting their plans into action. They had decided on the plane that they would have to return to the Congo to try and establish the truth about the feral child they had read about.

They didn’t want the rest of the family to know why they were going, as they still both thought in their heart of hearts that their quest would end in disappointment. Luckily, their interest in botany provided the perfect excuse for visiting the African rainforest – the need to make some scientific comparisons with the South American rainforest they had just visited. The children, still on holiday, were eager to accompany them, but they felt that the presence of the family would hinder their investigations so they had arrived at a compromise plan. On the entirely valid grounds that the political situation was still unstable in the Congo the family would fly to Tanzania for a holiday. After some days spent together Joanna and Richard would then leave Clare in charge of further sightseeing with Lucy and Sarah while they flew to the Congo for a few days, purportedly to undertake their botanical studies, but really to check out the feral child story. They would then return to Tanzania to rejoin the rest of the family before returning to England.

While they were discussing these plans, the children’s cousin Ben who was ten, the same age as Sarah, pleaded to come with them; he had done a school project on the Serengeti and the prospect of actually visiting the place he knew so much about seemed too good an opportunity to miss.

Joanna and Richard were doubtful.

‘It means that Clare would be in charge of Lucy, Sarah
and
Ben in Tanzania when you and I are in the Congo,’ Joanna said to Richard. ‘It’s too big a responsibility to place on Clare’. Richard agreed, but Clare broke in.

‘I’ve got a great idea!’ she exclaimed. ‘Why don’t we ask Clive to come along as well? The two of us can easily look after the others for a few days and you can relax and enjoy your study trip without worrying about me.’

Richard and Joanna looked at each other. They knew there was more than one reason Clare wanted Clive to come along. They had, however, both formed a very high opinion of Clive during their recent adventures in South America and what Clare said made perfect sense.

‘Well, if Clive wants to come and can get more time off from medical school I suppose that would solve the problem,’ said Richard.

‘And the trip would be much more fun for Sarah if Ben comes along,’ added Joanna.

And so it was agreed. Clive was delighted to join the party and rang his parents who were still in Rio to let them know. Just one week later the party of seven landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania on the start of what would prove to be another momentous adventure.

For the first part of the holiday they were all together. Using a hotel in Arusha as a base they visited the great natural features of
that amazing area. They stood spellbound at the sight of Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, which provided the stunning and extraordinary spectacle of a mountain capped in snow rising from the plains of the equator. They visited the famous Ngorongoro crater, the world’s largest unflooded volcanic caldera, with a floor covering over 100 square miles containing an amazing variety of wildlife. Lucy was enthralled to speak to the African animals, all of whom had been eagerly awaiting her arrival after learning of her visit through the animanet.
*

After Richard and Joanna left to fly to the Congo, Clive and Clare planned to take the younger ones on a one-week safari in the Serengeti National Park, but soon after her parents had left for the airport, Lucy became ill with food-poisoning. Sarah and Ben were so excited about the safari trip that Clare and Clive felt they couldn’t disappoint them, so Clare stayed behind to keep Lucy company in the hotel in Arusha while Clive took Sarah and Ben to the offices of the tour company that would take them out to the safari lodges in the bush. Clare and Lucy planned to join them when Lucy had recovered. Sarah and Ben were bursting with excitement as they reached the first of the lodges where they were due to stay. After unpacking their things they set off in an open truck in the afternoon to see the wild animals. The truck had zebra stripes on the side just as they had seen in documentaries and films about Africa. There was a driver and a ranger in the front and about eight passengers behind on raised seats. As they bounced along the dusty roads Ben and Sarah were thrilled to see herds of zebra and wildebeeste. Gazelles could be seen grazing at every turn, and now and then they saw bigger antelopes, buffaloes, giraffes, and elephants.

After a while the truck stopped near some rocks and they all got out and sat on folding bush chairs under the shade of some trees for a picnic.

‘This is usually a quiet spot where it is safe to sit out,’ said the ranger. ‘We’ll stop for an hour or so. If you need to go behind a bush or a rock for a wee it’s safe as long as you don’t go too far away. Just watch out for snakes and insects.’

Just then an elderly man in the group groaned and clutched his chest. Clive, now in his third year of medical school, went over to him, then turned to the driver.

‘I think he may be having a heart attack. He seems OK just now but I think we should get him back immediately.’

After some discussion it was decided the driver should take the patient and Clive back as quickly as possible to the lodge while the ranger, who had a rifle, would wait with the party until the driver returned to continue the tour. Clive asked one of the other tourists to keep an eye on Sarah and Ben, then hurried off to help the driver get the sick man into the truck.

It was a little daunting for the tourists seeing the truck drive away. For the first time they felt they really were out in the African bush and somewhat vulnerable. The ranger seemed completely relaxed, however, and soon everybody settled down to enjoy their picnic. After lunch the guide took one or two interested tourists to examine some dung beetles which were busily disposing of a pile of elephant dung nearby and the woman looking after Ben and Sarah started to doze under the combined effects of jet lag, the afternoon heat and the large glass of wine she had just drunk.

‘Come on,’ said Ben to Sarah. ‘Let’s see what’s on the other side of the rocks.’

‘Do you think we should?’ asked Sarah.

‘He said it was OK to go a little way, and we’ll just be very careful,’ replied Ben confidently. They scrambled over the nearby rocks and found themselves looking out over an open area dotted with bushes and occasional trees. They wandered here and there, fascinated by the giant millipedes, the beetles and the lizards. They had gone about a hundred yards from the rocks when Sarah suddenly realised how far they had strayed and said they should go back. Just then they saw something move. In the bushes ahead of them three lion cubs were playing tag with each other.

‘We’d better run back,’ said Ben, turning pale, ‘their mum may be around.’

‘No,’ said Sarah. ‘Cats like to chase things that run. I think we’d better move back very slowly and keep watching all the time.’

They held hands and started slowly to step backwards. At that moment one of the cubs saw them and bounded up to them with a little yelp. Then, beyond the cubs there was another slight movement and magically, as though conjured up in a kaleidoscope, the bushes transformed themselves into the outline of a crouching lioness. Sarah and Ben clutched each other in terror as the great cat gave a low growl and slowly began to edge towards them, belly flattened to the ground in an unmistakable stalking movement.

After his conversation about dung beetles the ranger strolled back to the group under the trees. He frowned as he saw the dozing tourist.

‘Excuse me, Ma’am,’ he said, ‘where are the two children?’

She woke with a start, then looked round in horror as she remembered where she was.

‘I don’t know. I must… must have nodded off for a few seconds.’

The ranger grabbed his rifle and scrambled over the rocks. The children were nowhere to be seen. He slowly scrutinised the entire area and then his heart stopped as he saw a child’s sunhat lying on the ground.

‘Oh my God …’ he muttered. He ran over and then saw more clothing. Then, in some sandy earth nearby, he saw the unmistakable pugmark of a lioness. He immediately called for help on his radio, then turned and ran back to the group.

At that moment the driver returned to the tour group. Clive jumped down from the truck, little realizing he was about to receive the worst news he had ever heard in his life.