A deep, threatening growl filled the barn. The children turned slowly to see a guard dog in the doorway, teeth bared. It was squarely built and strong – and it looked angry.
“Back off, everybody,” muttered Ben out of the side of his mouth. “But no sudden movements.”
“And don’t look it in the eye,” added Zoe.
Keeping their gaze lowered, the three children shuffled backwards until they felt the sharp stalks of straw against their legs.
The dog advanced, snarling all the time, its heavy chain dragging behind.
“Good thing it’s tied up,” said Ben. “I don’t think it can reach us.”
“Yes it can,” wailed Xu Mei.
At the end of the chain a stake was being dragged across the ground.
“It must have come loose in the aftershock,” gasped Zoe. “Climb – as fast as you can!”
Turning in an instant, they scrambled up the straw mountain. The dog lunged, snapping at the air beneath their feet. Zoe felt its hot breath on her ankle. The dog hurled itself at the straw bales again but they were too high and it fell back, snarling.
“We’re stuck!” cried Xu Mei.
Zoe peered down at the dog who was clawing away at the straw, veins standing out on his neck. He wasn’t going to give up until he had his quarry.
“I don’t understand,” said Zoe. “It’s a Shar Pei. The only ones I know are friendly family pets.”
“They can be trained as guard dogs though,” Ben answered. “We wouldn’t stand a chance against those powerful jaws.”
Xu Mei’s eyes looked wide and frightened in the gloom. “What are we going to do?” she whispered.
“I can feel a breeze on my back,” said Zoe suddenly. She turned to investigate. “Look, the wall’s broken here. That’s where the air’s coming from.” She hooked her fingers into the split wood and pulled. It came away with a loud crack. The guard dog rapped out a fierce bark at the sound.
“Well done, Zoe. We can squeeze through,” said Ben, cautiously poking his head out. “There’s a bit of a drop but we’ll have to risk it.”
He edged in between the shattered planks, gave a push off and disappeared from sight.
Zoe looked down. Ben had landed on a pile of twigs and small logs, ready for kindling. He beckoned silently and Zoe and Xu Mei followed him. There was no sound from the dog.
They dashed for the fence, not daring to stop until they had left the farmer’s land and reached the river. After checking to make sure they hadn’t been followed, they sat down to get their breath back.
“No sign of Jing Jing,” said Xu Mei.
“We’ve only looked in one place,” said Zoe. “Let’s have some lunch and think about what we’re going to do next. We got these from the guest house we’re staying in.” She pulled out the packets Mr Zhi had given them and offered one to Xu Mei.
“Delicious!” Ben sighed as he tucked into his pancake filled with vegetables and chunks of chicken. “Ahhh!” he gasped. “Spicy!” He grabbed his bottle and took huge gulps of water.
“You must be staying at the Panda Palace Hotel,” said Xu Mei with her mouth full. “My friend Wen lives there. You saw the roof that fell in the earthquake? He got hurt.”
“Is he all right?” asked Ben.
“He was bleeding a lot,” said Xu Mei solemnly. “He is in the Chengdu Hospital. My mother said it is a pity the new medical centre is not built yet.” She pointed at the stretch of deforestation Ben and Zoe had noticed earlier. “He would have got help much quicker.”
“We should have realised the people here have a good reason for tearing up the forest,” Ben muttered to Zoe. “We were only thinking how bad it was for the pandas.”
“True,” Zoe whispered back. “Chengdu is a long way to go if you’re injured.”
They munched away at their lunch for a few moments.
“Where shall we look now?” Xu Mei carried on, fingers wrapped firmly round a bean shoot pancake. “My father said I must not go into the mountains but I think we have to.”
Zoe suddenly felt dreadfully guilty. They’d already dragged the little girl into a dangerous situation. This was their mission and they shouldn’t have risked her safety. She’d never have forgiven herself if the farmer’s dog had attacked Xu Mei. They would have to continue hunting on their own. She made a big show of looking at her watch.
“I don’t think we have time to search any more today,” she said. “Aunt Erika will be expecting us.”
Ben gave her a puzzled look. “But she’s –” “Waiting,” interrupted Zoe firmly. “So we have to go back to the hotel.”
“Listen. I’ve an idea where he could be,” said Xu Mei eagerly. “He could have gone back to where he was born – where my father found him.” She shaded her eyes and looked at the mountain slope beyond the cleared land. “It was near a big waterfall, he said. Somewhere up there.”
“I’m sorry, Xu Mei, but after meeting that dog I think we’d better leave finding Jing Jing to the grown-ups,” said Zoe, ignoring Ben’s look of astonishment.
Xu Mei’s eyes filled with tears. “But Jing Jing needs us now. You said you would find him with me.”
“Maybe tomorrow,” said Zoe.
“Tomorrow will be too late.” Xu Mei jumped to her feet. “I thought you were my friends!”
Before Ben and Zoe could stop her she ran off sobbing.
“What did you do that for, Zoe?” protested Ben. “Wild sent us here to search for Jing Jing, right?”
“And that’s just what we’re going to do,” said Zoe. “I know it looked mean but it’s not safe to take a seven-year-old with us. We’ve already led her into danger once.”
Ben nodded. “See what you mean.
So what’s our next step?”
“Xu Mei might be right about Jing Jing going back to his birthplace.”
“Don’t be silly,” scoffed Ben. “He’s not a salmon.”
“We don’t know what goes on inside an animal’s head,” insisted Zoe. “Anyway, it’s as good a place to start as any.” She pulled out her BUG and brought up an image of the area. She tapped in waterfall and pointed to the displayed map. “This has got to be it. It’s the only waterfall near enough.
Doesn’t look too far.”
“But it’s a climb so it’s going to take a lot longer than you think,” said Ben. “Let’s get going.” He stuffed the remains of the lunch in his backpack and marched off in the direction of the forest. Then he stopped suddenly. “I’ve just thought of something.”
“What?” asked Zoe.
“It was what Xu Mei said,” Ben explained.
“She told us the bamboo had all died where Jing Jing was found. I’ve read about bamboo. Whole areas die at once and then they take years to grow back. If Jing Jing has gone there…”
“…he’ll have nothing to eat!” exclaimed Zoe. “The poor thing will be starving!”