A Giant Rescue (4 page)

Bindi and Robert dragged themselves out of their sleeping bags to help out in the fields the next morning. They were both exhausted. Although they had snuck back into their tents well before sunrise, neither of them had really slept. They were too worried
about what Kret might do to the elephant. They had agreed that there was nothing else they could do at night and Tri hoped Kret might have come to his senses by morning.

Terri noticed the dark shadows under her children's eyes. ‘I'm worried you two are working too hard. Why don't you take things a bit easy today?'

Bindi shrugged. ‘That's okay, Mum. We want to help.'

Terri affectionately ruffled her daughter's hair. ‘You're good kids.'

It was midmorning and they were taking a refreshments break. Bindi was impressed with the work
that had been completed so far. The wooden elephant-viewing tower was nearly finished, existing crop areas were dotted with fences, chilli plants, scarecrows and other deterrents. Further away, on a vacant patch of land, the more complicated task of planting new crops was coming along.

Bindi noticed Tri and Chenda taking a break from their farming work in the shade of a large palm tree. It was hot work for Chenda to pull a plough and she needed regular breaks in the shade as well as lots of water to drink. Bindi and Robert made their way over to join them.

‘Any sign of Kret?' asked Bindi as they approached.

Tri shook his head, nervously looking around as he spoke. ‘I stopped by to see his family this morning. He never came home last night.'

Bindi pulled a face. ‘His parents must be worried.'

Tri nodded. ‘It's just his mum now, and yes, she is.'

A cloud of dust in the distance was accompanied by the sound of an engine. They all turned around, hoping it was Kret and that he had come to tell them he'd changed his mind. As the dust cleared, their hopes were dashed. It was the two
men from the previous night. They were in an expensive-looking off-road vehicle.

‘Here's trouble,' Tri muttered.

The SUV pulled to a halt next to the kids. Chenda took a few steps back. The car definitely made her nervous. Bindi held her breath. Had the men come to threaten them too? She looked around for Terri or Kate or Din but the other workers had all wandered back to work. They were on their own.

A tinted car window rolled down and a Chinese man with black sunglasses stuck his head out. ‘Seen Kret around?'

Tri, Bindi and Robert all shook their heads in unison.

Bindi's throat was dry. She wasn't sure any words would come out but she managed to croak, ‘Why are you looking for him?'

The man pulled off his glasses and peered suspiciously at Bindi before turning his attention to Chenda. ‘That your elephant?'

Tri took a step forward. ‘She's mine.'

The man laughed. ‘Better keep a close eye on her then!' The man in the driver's seat joined in. ‘If you see Kret, tell him we're looking for him. And we don't like being kept waiting.'

The window rolled back up and the car pulled away. The three kids looked at each other. These were bad men. They would think nothing of killing an elephant, let alone a person.

Tri sprung into action. ‘We've got to find Kret! He's behaving badly but he was once a good person.'

Bindi gave her Cambodian friend a hug. ‘Don't worry, we'll find him, Tri.' Although she quietly wondered where he'd disappeared to.

By late afternoon Bindi was beginning to wonder if they would ever find Kret. Bindi, Tri and Robert had been traipsing through the jungle for hours with Tri doing his best to track the rogue elephant's movements in the hope that if they found the
elephant, then they would find Kret. They were now making their way around the site of an old mine.

‘I can't believe you're friends with this guy, Tri,' said Robert. ‘What kind of person would shoot an elephant?'

‘He's my oldest friend,' replied Tri. ‘When we were younger, it was Kret who was closer to the elephants than I was. Kret's father died and now he has a great responsibility to look after his brothers and sisters. It has changed him.'

Bindi and Robert walked on in silence. They were both thinking about the arrogant Kret they had
met and imagining a younger, happier version.

‘I'm sorry for Kret,' said Bindi, ‘but that's no excuse for hurting an innocent animal. We've got to find him before he does something terrible.'

‘Hey, did you hear that?' asked Bindi.

‘Hear what?' answered Robert.

‘I thought I heard someone calling out!'

They all stood still and listened. There were echoes of a voice calling out but it seemed like it was coming from a long way away.

‘There it is again!'

‘Ssh.' Tri held his fingers to his
lips as he listened. ‘It sounds like someone's in trouble!'

They found Kret's dirt bike parked just off the trail. As it was green it blended in, but the large exhaust gave it away. The calls for help had stopped.

Tri called out, ‘Kret? Where are you?'

‘Tri?' came a muffled reply.

The three friends followed the call to a large hole. Kret had fallen into an almost hidden, disused mine shaft. You would hardly have noticed it was even there as it was covered over by vines and leaves.

This vertical shaft looked to be several metres deep. When Tri,
Robert and Bindi looked down, they couldn't even see Kret, let alone the bottom. But his forlorn voice cemented the fact that he was down there.

‘Are you okay?' asked Bindi.

‘No. I think my leg's broken,' Kret gave a muffled reply. ‘And my ribs don't feel so good either.'

Tri and Robert looked around for some rope with which to pull Kret out.

‘It's no good,' said Bindi. ‘Even if we find some rope, we're not strong enough to pull him out and then carry him back through the jungle.'

Tri looked up at the sky. ‘And it will be dark soon.'

They stared at each other, completely stumped. Suddenly Bindi had an idea.

‘I'm not sure if it will work but we have to try. It will take a leap of faith on Kret's part.' She leaned in closer to Tri and Robert and whispered, ‘Here's the plan …'

It took a while to make their way back to the elephant enclosure and find Chenda. She seemed to sense their urgency and briskly followed them through the jungle as they
led her back towards the mine. Bindi couldn't help but admire the elephant's sheer size as she watched Tri attach the harness, used to pull the plough, to Chenda's chest. Tri and Bindi then attached a long rope to the harness.

‘Here goes,' said Robert as he threw the length of rope down into the mine shaft.

There was silence as they listened for the sound of the rope hitting the bottom of the shaft. They waited for Kret to grab the rope. The three friends peered down anxiously into the hole.

‘Kret? Can you reach the rope?' called Bindi.

‘I think so.' There was the faint sound of scuffling and then, ‘Got it.'

‘Okay.' Bindi motioned for Tri to take Chenda by the harness and lead her away from the hole. ‘We're going to pull you up now, Kret. You're going to have to hold on really tightly.'

‘Ready?' asked Tri.

‘Ready!' called Kret.

‘Go!' Bindi called. She and Robert monitored the rope and crouched by the hole, ready to grab Kret. Chenda took a few steps and slowly the rope began to move.

‘Go, Chenda, you can do it!' encouraged Robert.

Chenda braced herself against
the strain and continued to walk away. The rope inched further and further until Bindi could see the top of Kret's head.

‘Nearly there. Hang on, Kret!'

Kret looked up and with amazement saw that he was being pulled up by Chenda. He looked dazed and confused, and it took all of his strength to hold on as he scraped against the sides of the wall.

‘One more step!' cried Robert.

Robert and Bindi reached down and grabbed Kret's arms. They slowly pulled him up onto the jungle floor. He was covered in scratches and streaked with dirt, but he was safe.

Bindi and Robert sank back onto the ground. Both breathed heavy sighs of relief.

Kret lay on his back and looked up at the elephant. She looked even bigger and more powerful from so low down at ground level. And boy, did Kret feel low. ‘I can't thank you enough.' He turned to Bindi and Robert, looking humble – quite different from the overconfident youth they had seen last night.

Bindi shook her head. ‘We're just the hired help.' She pointed to Tri and Chenda. ‘They're the brains and brawn of the operation.' Bindi held out her hand and helped Kret to his feet.

Kret limped over towards Tri. The old friends nodded to one another and held eye contact. They were still awkward with each other. Words could come later.

Kret turned his attention to the gentle giant of an elephant and leaned against her wrinkled neck. As he stroked her rough skin, he breathed in her smell. She smelled like home. ‘Thank you, Chenda,' he whispered, quickly wiping away tears of relief.

Back at the village, Kret received medical attention for his injuries. Tri, Bindi and Robert kept his secret, and it was assumed his broken leg was a result of a dirt bike accident.

Kret held one more meeting with his former business partners,
returning the bike and mobile phone they had given him. He made it very clear to them that he was no longer in the business of trophy hunting and would alert the police if they caused any trouble in the area.

Bindi was sad to say goodbye when the time came for them to leave Mondulkiri two weeks later. She was amazed by how welcome they felt at the little village and how quickly she had made so many friends.

Kret visited Bindi the morning the Irwins were due to leave. He was waiting for Bindi when she stepped out of her tent in the early morning.

Kret held out his hand to Bindi. ‘I wanted to say goodbye in person before I head off to work.'

Bindi was touched. ‘Thanks, Kret. I'm glad you did.' They shook hands. ‘How are you feeling?'

Kret tapped the cast on his leg. ‘It's driving me mad, it's so itchy! But it could have been so much worse. I hope I never get in over my head again.'

Bindi looked thoughtful. She could imagine the lure to make money for his family would be very tempting for Kret. ‘Just remember to run it past Tri and Chenda next time. They'll help you sort out what's
really important – or Chenda will just hose you down!'

Kret laughed. ‘It's true. Thanks again, Bindi.'

Kate sent Terri, Bindi and Robert regular updates about the Bunong people and their friend Tri. In the weeks that followed after the Irwins left, Kret worked the land with his community and helped to champion the changes Kate had recommended. His friendship with Tri and Chenda grew strong again. Bindi understood
Kret's new-found passion for his land and the elephants that coexisted with his people. A flame had been lit that would burn brightly for the rest of his life. She knew all about it!