The next morning was bright and sunny. The smell of yesterday’s fire still hung heavy in the air. Bird and monkey cries could be heard in the canopy. Ben and Zoe stood on the walkway, in the middle of Kawan’s territory, looking out towards the river.
“Listen to that racket,” grinned Ben. “It’s as if nothing happened.”
“It’s amazing that this part of the reservation was spared from the flames,” said Zoe. “If that rainstorm hadn’t come when it did...” She looked down at her bandaged hands. The burns were painful, but it could have been a lot worse. Her BUG beeped and she read the incoming text.
“Erika says she’ll be coming for us this afternoon,” she told Ben.
“It’s a shame we can’t stay to help Mat,” he said. “He has such a lot of extra work to do now. He’s lost about a quarter of his trees.”
“Did I hear my name?” came a voice.
They turned to see Mat slowly making his way along the rope walkway, Yasmin – and Biza – hovering anxiously behind.
“He must have finished with the police at last,” whispered Zoe.
The police had questioned the children first. Ben and Zoe had pretended to be frightened tourists, but they were able to give a lot of details about Mr Ostrander.
“I’ve brought the rusks!” Mat said cheerfully.
He steadied himself on the rope handrail. Like Ben and Zoe, he had burns on his hands. “I’ve had trouble keeping them from this cheeky little ape here!” He pulled the bag out of his pocket and gave one to the baby orang-utan.
“Any sign of our friend?” asked Yasmin.
Ben and Zoe shook their heads.
“Kawan’s a hero now,” said Mat. “We’ve had telephone calls from all over the world, television and radio, all wanting to hear about the amazing rescue and how he led us away from the fire.”
“And the best part is,” added Yasmin, “it has given us a lot of publicity. We’ve had people getting in contact wanting to know how they can help support the reservation.
A computer firm in Japan want to sponsor my next balloon and we’ve even had a student from America asking if he can spend his gap year here!”
“But you’ve lost a lot of trees,” said Zoe.
“It’s true,” said Mat. “But within a week, there will be shoots springing up. Dormant seeds that have been waiting for the chance, lying quietly under the cover of the other trees. It will take time, but it will all grow again. We’re going ahead with all our guest bookings.”
“And do you think most of the animals are safe?” asked Ben.
Mat nodded. “They’re much better than us at sensing danger.”
“And the police have put out a warrant for Pieter’s arrest,” Yasmin told them. “Though how they got to know about him so quickly is a mystery.”
Ben and Zoe caught each other’s eye.
Somehow Uncle Stephen always got his messages through to the right people.
“And Talib’s confessed everything,” said Mat soberly.
He looked searchingly at Ben and Zoe. “When I was hurt,” he said, “I thought you had some special machine and were calling Kawan with it.”
Ben and Zoe glanced at each other. What could they say? Then Zoe grinned. “You must have been delirious,” she said kindly. “You’d been knocked out in that balloon, after all.”
“Of course,” said Mat, to their relief. “How ridiculous!”
The branches in a nearby tree swished and Kawan appeared.
“Here he is!” said Zoe. She tried to make the chirruping noise, but it sounded more like a squawk.
“Let me try!” Ben rolled his tongue and made a very good imitation of Mat’s calling sound.
“Impressive!” said Mat. “You only heard it once or twice.”
Kawan jumped down on to the walkway in front of them. He regarded them solemnly. Mat handed the paper bag to Zoe.
“If you would oblige,” he said.
Zoe removed a rusk and held it out. With a low, soothing moan, Kawan reached out a long arm and took it in his fingers. He sniffed it for a moment, and then began to nibble at the edges.
“He’s being very polite!” laughed Ben.
Kawan stared at him as he ate. Then he froze, his eyes glued to something over Ben’s shoulder. He pulled back his lips and gave a warning screech that made Ben and Zoe jump. A loud chattering began behind them. They turned to see Biza clambering on to Yasmin’s shoulder, catching at her hair. He looked terrified.
Ben grinned. “I think Kawan’s telling Biza that this is his territory, and he wants him out of it!”
“I think he’s saying something to us all,” said Zoe.
“What’s that?” asked Mat.
“It’s obvious.” Zoe smiled. “He’s saying, ‘I’m home’.”
