Tigers at Twilight (4 page)
Soon Jack’s head rested on Saba’s back. He began drifting in and out of dreams—dreams of rocking in a boat under the dark treetops.
Caw! Caw!
Awk! Awk! Awk!
Jack slowly came out of his dream. He opened his eyes with a start.
He was surrounded by hazy sunlight.
Where am I?
he thought in a panic.
Then he remembered—he was in India, on an elephant’s back!
He sat up. Through the haze, he saw that Saba was standing on a muddy stream bank.
Jack yawned. Where was Annie?
The other elephants were upstream. They sprayed water on each other with their trunks.
Teddy, Kah, and Ko were at the edge of the forest. Teddy sniffed the tall grass. The langurs ate flowers.
“Good morning!” called Annie.
She was sitting on a big black rock downstream. She was barefoot and soaking wet.
“Hi,” said Jack. “How did you get down?”
“Teddy and I slid off Saba into the mud,” said Annie. “Try it. But throw down your sneakers and backpack first.”
Annie went to Saba’s side. Her feet were buried in mud up to her ankles.
Jack threw his things to Annie. Then he patted Saba’s rough, wrinkled skin.
“Thanks for the ride,” he said softly.
The elephant touched him one last time with her trunk.
Jack slid down her side—feet first—and fell into the mud. He caught himself with his hands. They sank into the mud past his wrists. His glasses were spattered, too.
“Wash off in the stream,” Annie said.
She put Jack’s pack and shoes on the rock while Jack waded into the cool water.
He washed the mud off his hands and feet. He rinsed off his glasses. Then he looked around.
Saba had joined the rest of the herd. The elephants looked beautiful in the morning mist.
Everything
looked beautiful.
Yellow and blue water birds spread their wings. Mossy hanging vines swayed in the breeze. Huge white flowers floated on top of the stream.
Then Jack saw a strange sight. It looked like a horn and two ears sticking out of the water. One ear flicked away a fly.
“There’s a weird creature out here,” he called to Annie. “It looks like it has a horn.”
Annie waded into the stream.
“I better check the book,” said Jack.
He hurried to his pack, wiping his wet hands on his T-shirt. He pulled out the India book.
There was a picture of a horn sticking out of the water. He read:
The one-horned rhinoceros, or “rhino,” washes in a forest stream. Rhinos are not usually dangerous. But because they do not see well, they sometimes charge at things by mistake. A loud noise will usually stop them.
Jack felt sorry for the rhinos.
Too bad animals can’t wear glasses
, he thought. He read more:
The Indian rhino is a very endangered animal. This means that there are not many left. People called poachers kill them and sell their body parts as medicine and good-luck charms.
Jack started to take out his notebook.
Just then, a slurpy, sloshing sound came from the water.
“Whoa!” said Annie.
Jack looked up.
The rhino rose from the stream. He looked like an ancient swamp creature.
“Oh, man!” said Jack.
The rhino peered at Annie with his tiny eyes.
Then he snorted and lowered his head. His horn pointed right at Annie.
“Make a loud noise!” Jack yelled.
Annie clapped her hands and shouted, “We come in peace!”
The rhino stopped. He grunted. Then he sank back into the water.
Annie laughed.
“Whew,” said Jack. “I better take some notes about that big guy.”
Arf! Arf!
Teddy barked from the edge of the forest.
“And I better get Teddy,” said Annie.
She hurried out of the stream and ran to get the dog. Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote:
“Jack!” shouted Annie. She was racing toward him, with Teddy at her heels. “Come quick!”
“What’s wrong?” he said.
“We found something terrible!” Annie was close to tears. “
Really
terrible!”
Jack threw his things into his pack and followed Annie to the forest edge.
Teddy stayed close to them, whining. Kah and Ko bounced around, chattering nervously.
As Jack got closer, he saw a tiger. The tiger was lying on his side, completely still.
His eyes were closed. His front paw was caught in a trap.
“Is he dead?” said Jack.
“No, he’s still breathing,” Annie said. A tear ran down her cheek. “He’s worn out from struggling. He must have gotten caught last night. That’s the sad sound we heard.”
“What can we do?” said Jack.
“We have to free him!” said Annie. She started toward the tiger.
“Wait! Wait!” Jack grabbed her. “Tigers eat people, you know.” He took a deep breath. “Let’s see what the book says first.”
“Hurry,” said Annie.
Jack opened their India book. He found a chapter called “Tiger Traps.” He read:
Poachers catch Indian tigers with steel traps. This is against the law. After trapping a tiger, they kill it and sell the body parts for money. Like the rhino, the tiger is a very endangered species. If the killing does not end, they both face extinction. Extinction means that someday there may be no Indian tigers or rhinos left on earth.
“Oh, man, we
do
have to save him,” said Jack.
Under the writing was a picture of a steel trap used to catch tigers. Jack studied it. It looked horrible and deadly.
“Okay,” he said. He showed the picture to Annie. “Here’s the plan. I’ll push down on this part. The trap will spring open. Then you pull his leg out. Got it?”
“Got it,” said Annie. “Sit, Teddy.”
The little dog sat.
The langurs watched silently as Jack and Annie moved closer to the tiger.
He was the most majestic creature Jack had ever seen. His huge head was a dark orange color. He had perfect black-and-white stripes around his wide face.
The leg in the ugly steel trap was bleeding.
Slowly, silently, Jack pushed down the lever.
He raised the bar off the tiger’s leg.
The tiger kept sleeping.
Slowly, silently, Annie freed the tiger’s leg. She stroked his fur gently.
“Get well,” she whispered.
The tiger didn’t move.
Slowly, silently, Jack and Annie stood up.
They turned around. They started tiptoeing back toward the langurs.
Koo-koo-koo!
warned Kah and Ko.
Jack and Annie turned back.
The tiger was on his feet. He stared right at them. His eyes seemed to glow.
Jack looked about wildly. How could they escape?
The tiger snarled at Jack and Annie.
Then slowly, silently, he started toward them.
The huge tiger limped closer and closer to Jack and Annie.
Jack clapped his hands.
“We come in peace!” he shouted.
But the tiger didn’t turn away. His eyes blazed. His lip curled.
Arf! Arf!
Teddy barked fiercely at Annie.
“Teddy says run and hide!” said Annie.
She grabbed Jack’s hand and pulled him over to the bank.
“Wait—what about Teddy?” he cried.
“Don’t worry!” Annie said.
She pulled Jack down behind the black rock.
“What about Teddy?” Jack asked again.
“He’s okay—he told me!” said Annie.
Jack heard Teddy’s barks turn to fierce growls.
ARF! ARF! GRRR! GRRRR!
The growls grew louder and louder.
