Rescue! (2 page)

Bindi was glad when they finally approached their camping place for the night. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to walk when she dismounted. Her legs felt very stiff but she didn't want to let on to Hannah and Thabu. They rode every day and probably wouldn't be sore at all.

Thabu called quietly to her and Hannah. “Looks like we have company.” He pointed to a group of curious meerkats who were watching the three riders.

Bindi was thrilled. “They're soooooo cute!”

The meerkats stood on their hind legs and seemed to be chattering about the strange humans they were looking at. They reminded Bindi of a group of kids gossiping. They had long slender bodies with big eyes and seemed to be constantly in a state of alertness.

“If we're quiet and make no sudden moves, they might stick around,” said Thabu.

He dismounted slowly and the girls did the same.

Bindi grimaced as she tried to walk. Groaning loudly would have made her feel better about her stiff muscles, but she was determined to be as quiet as a mouse—she was not going to scare away those gorgeous meerkats.

Bindi reached into her saddle bags to unpack some of the cooking gear. Her hand brushed against the small package Robert had given her. She'd forgotten all about his surprise present. As the cloth wrapping came undone, an enormous hairy black spider sprung out from the material!

“Arggghhhh!” Bindi screamed into the quiet African dusk. The startled meerkats bounded off. A far-off flock of birds took flight from a tree they'd been nesting in. Hannah and Thabu rushed over to see what had happened. A scorpion bite? A snake attack?

“What's wrong?” cried Hannah.

Bindi pointed to the ground where she'd dropped the huge spider. It seemed to stare up at her. Typical. Everything else had been scared away by her scream but not the scary spider!

“A nasty little brother surprise is what's wrong!”

Thabu kneeled in the dirt and gently touched the spider with a stick. “It looks like a baboon spider.” It didn't move. Thabu leaned in closer before picking up the creature with a smile.

“Arggghhhh!” cried the girls in unison as they backed away.

“A
fake
baboon spider.” Thabu began to laugh. “It's made of rubber.”

Bindi rolled her eyes. “You've got to be kidding me. My heart almost stopped beating!” When she saw Hannah and Thabu give each other a quick smile, she felt a little foolish. What kind of wildlife warrior was scared of a rubber spider?

Once the horses were rubbed down and fed and the camp set up, three very hungry trekkers sat down to eat. The view was amazing and made even prettier by the pink haze of dusk. Thabu heated up their dinner. He explained that the slightly spicy mince dish was called bobotie and was a traditional South African meal. As Bindi gulped it down she thought it was the best food she'd ever tasted.

They could hear various animal sounds as night approached. They passed the time eating and listening to Hannah do her own imperson-ation of a few animal calls. She was really good!

Bindi noticed a tall wire fence to the west of the camp. “What's behind that fence?”

Thabu's face lit up. “We're very excited about this new sanctuary,” he explained. “It's a new breeding center for the Angolan giant sable antelope. This breed of antelope is on the critically endangered list and needs to be protected.”

“It's awesome that a sanctuary has been set up!” said Bindi. She loved hearing about animals being protected. “Maybe we can check it out?”

Thabu nodded. “I'd like to have a look myself. It's not out of our way. We can drop in tomorrow.”

Hannah and Bindi were excited about the next day but were finding it hard to keep their eyes open. They packed up the dishes and brushed their teeth.

Bindi was about to crawl into the tent when she heard the unmistakable growl of a lion close by.

She didn't panic at all. She tried to remember everything Thabu had taught her. She was to keep a clear head and not make any sudden moves. As her mind raced, her body remained still. A lion in the wild! Awesome! She had faith that Thabu would know what to do.

“Ahem.”

Thabu was clearing his throat nearby. Bindi waited for him to give her instructions on how to stay safe.

“Hannah, that's enough for one night.”

Huh?

The lion attempted to growl again but this time the sound dissolved into giggling. Bindi slowly turned to see Hannah behind her. She couldn't believe it—Hannah was the lion! That girl was seriously, seriously good at animal impersonations!

Bindi was woken from a deep sleep by the sound of voices. At first she thought it was Thabu and Hannah and that it was time to get up. Then she realized it was dark outside and that Hannah was still fast asleep beside her.

Bindi listened but she couldn't understand what was being said. They were speaking in a different language.

“Hannah, wake up!” Bindi shook her friend.

Hannah groggily looked at her watch. “It's three o'clock in the morning!”

Bindi was wide awake. “There are people outside but I can't understand what they're saying.”

Hannah listened. Bindi was right; Hannah could hear male voices and they were speaking in Afrikaans. “Something about sable and hunting, I think. It's hard to hear.”

Bindi couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. She started to get dressed.

“Come on. Let's follow them!”

Hannah knew Bindi well enough to know that it was pointless to argue with her once she'd made up her mind. The two girls hastily pulled on their boots, grabbed flashlights, and snuck out of their tent.

“What about Thabu?” whispered Hannah. “Should we wake him?”

Bindi shook her head. “We'll be back before he even notices we've gone.”

Hannah was no tracker but as they could still hear the men talking, the girls followed the sound of their muffled voices. Luckily, the full moon gave just enough light to keep the night from being pitch black. After a little way, Bindi and Hannah found themselves following the metal fence they had seen the night before.

After several hundred feet the men stopped. They seemed to be having an argument. Bindi and Hannah crouched behind the trunk of a large thorn tree to watch.

Their eyes had now adjusted to the dim light. They could see two men dressed in khaki. It was impossible to really see what they looked like as they had smeared their faces with paint in browns and greens. They had gone to a lot of trouble to camouflage themselves.

The tallest man pulled a pair of wire cutters from his canvas bag and began to cut a hole in the fence.

Suddenly Bindi understood. These men wanted to break into the sanctuary. They'd mentioned hunting earlier. Maybe they were going to shoot or hurt one of the endangered antelopes. She'd heard about game parks selling animals to rich hunters for just this reason.

They had to be stopped!

Bindi leaned in close to Hannah and whispered in her ear. Hannah's eyes widened as she listened to her friend. Finally she nodded and gave Bindi the thumbs up.

The man cutting the fence motioned to his friend to help as he pulled back the tough steel fencing.

A loud and angry roar from a nearby lion rang out over the grasslands. The men froze in their tracks. The lion growled again. After a quick and heated debate, the men dropped their tools and sprinted back the way they had come.

Bindi and Hannah stepped out from behind their hiding place and high-fived each other.

“Way to go, Hannah! You sure had them running scared.” The girls couldn't stop giggling.

“Oh, I'm good!” Hannah was pleased as punch with her efforts! “Did you see how fast they ran?”

But Bindi was already investigating the equipment the men had left scattered on the ground.

Moments later, Bindi heard another loud growl from behind her.

“It's okay, Hannah!” said Bindi as she bent down to look at the wire cutters. “The men are long gone!”

“Ah, Bindi—” Hannah whispered quietly to her friend.

“Yeah, yeah, you're king of the jungle,” joked Bindi, distracted.

“Turn around very slowly,” Hannah cautioned. She pointed a little distance away from the wire fence. “Look.”

Bindi turned to see what Hannah was pointing at.

Not ten feet from the girls, swishing a very angry tail, stood a fully grown lioness.

Hannah and Bindi remained frozen to the spot. They watched transfixed as the lioness paced restlessly in front of them.

“Well, you got your lion,” Hannah whispered to Bindi.

“Sure did,” replied Bindi. It was just as Thabu had said. “Right when I least expected it.”

The closer the lioness paced, the more she blocked off their only escape option. Hannah carefully backed up to where Bindi was pinned against the tall wire fence.

“Let's try moving slowly to the right,” suggested Bindi. She took a step and indicated for Hannah to do the same.

But the lioness didn't like that and let out an angry growl. The girls froze.

Just then a gorgeous little lion cub came tumbling out of the bushes. The lioness nudged him with her nose while keeping a steady eye on the girls.

“No wonder she's upset,” gasped Bindi. “She's got cubs to protect.”

Bindi took another step. She knew that you should never get mixed up with a mother and her babies. The mother would do anything to protect them. They had to get away, and fast.

As Bindi took another step she stumbled on something sharp. She looked down to see the pair of wire cutters.

Of course!

She nudged Hannah. “Let's get to the hole in the fence!” It was their only hope—but the hole was closer to the lioness than they were!

Bindi took a deep breath. If they were very slow and still with their movements, the lioness might lose interest in them. She didn't seem to be on the lookout for food, which was a huge relief. The lioness kept a sharp eye on the girls as they began their slow journey toward the hole in the fence, keeping her cubs away from the two humans.

After what seemed like hours later, Bindi finally reached the break in the fence. She struggled to pull back the stiff and heavy steel mesh so that they could squeeze through.

“You go first, and make it quick!” Bindi nodded to Hannah while she held back the opening. With a swift glance at the lion, Hannah crawled through to the other side.

Bindi passed her the wire cutters and canvas bag the men had dropped. There might be food in the bag and it could be a long time before they found help.

Once Bindi was through to the other side, the girls looked for pieces of bush to cover up the hole. They didn't want a protective mother lion taking too much of an interest in them!