Mr Ostrander chatted away pleasantly as he drove Ben and Zoe back to the Adilah Reservation. The children sat in the back, trying to answer as if nothing was wrong.
Ben remembered the strange expression on Talib’s face when Mat told him about the broken walkway. He must have been surprised that Mat was still in one piece. Ben needed to find out more about Talib. Perhaps Mr Ostrander could help, but how could he bring up the subject without it looking suspicious?
“Shame there was no sign of Kawan,” Mr Ostrander was saying sympathetically.
“I expect Mat will keep looking,” said Ben. “And his staff,” he added with a sudden flash of inspiration. “We know that Daud’s very fond of him.”
“But we don’t know about Talib,” Zoe burst in, catching on. “He’s very quiet. Do you know what he’s like, Mr Ostrander?”
“I don’t know Mat’s men very well,” said the plantation owner. “Which one is Talib?” “Older than Mat, with greying hair,” Ben told him.
“Surly chap?” Mr Ostrander shrugged. “Never spoken to him.” He swung the jeep through the gates of the reservation.
Mat was waiting for them in the courtyard.
“Just in time for your surprise treat,” he beamed, as Mr Ostrander’s car disappeared in a cloud of dust. “I’ll let you go and freshen up first. Meet you here in five minutes.”
Back in their room, the children turned to each other anxiously.
“Our surprise couldn’t have come at a worse time,” said Ben.
Zoe nodded. “What are we going to do about Talib? He could start the fire at any moment. We must tell Mat.”
“We can’t,” said Ben. “We’d have to tell him about the walkway and the shed. He mustn’t know we’ve been investigating. Anyway, how do we know he’d believe us?”
“Then we’ll call Uncle Stephen.” Zoe pulled out her BUG and pressed the hot key that would put her in direct contact with Wild HQ.
“Greetings!” They heard their godfather’s sleepy voice. It was the middle of the night on his island. “Any news of Kawan yet?”
“We’ve seen him,” said Zoe. “But there’s much more to tell.”
“Worse than I thought,” said Uncle Stephen, when Zoe had finished her report. “Erika’s in North Borneo. I’ll get her to alert the authorities right now – anonymously, of course. They’ll be on their way at once. They take fire in the forest very seriously.”
“And as soon as the threat’s over we’ll try using the call again to lure Kawan back to his old territory,” added Zoe. “There’s no bird scarer to keep him away now.”
“You go and enjoy your surprise,” said their godfather. “And leave everything to me.”
“Are you ready?” they heard Mat calling from the courtyard. They swung their rucksacks on to their backs and headed outside to find him standing by a small, open-top jeep. He grinned. “Hop in!”
“Where are we going?” asked Zoe, as Mat steered them down a bumpy track. It was impossible to see ahead because of the dense trees.
“You’ll see in a minute.”
The jeep turned a corner and in front of them was a cleared area, about the size of a football pitch, leading to a runway. Ben and Zoe could see it was a small airstrip, and then they spotted the craft shimmering in the heat in the middle of the tarmac.