by David Alric
‘We’ll have to have a pact to filter each other out when we’re together,’ said Grace,‘so we don’t know what the other’s thinking.’
‘It’s a deal,’ said Lucy, grinning, but they both knew that they shared a power that would be extraordinarily useful in the future.
‘Look,’ said Clive. ‘We’ve got lots and lots to talk about. Why don’t we set up camp, make a proper meal and sort out what happens next?’
They all readily agreed to this and set about preparing for a reunion barbeque. Clive drove the Land Rover off the road into the bush so as not to attract any unwelcome visitors and after a wonderful dinner they sat round the fire on logs and camp chairs from the lorry and started to swap stories.
‘Let’s hear from you and Ben first,’ said Clare to Sarah. ‘I’m dying to know what really happened.’
The children told them everything from first seeing the lion cub until finally seeing Grace in the tree. They interrupted and corrected each other constantly as they babbled excitedly about their adventure, and the others were fascinated by their tale.
‘So you really did nearly get eaten by lions,’ said Clive,‘and the men really did save you. I wonder what made them decide so quickly to kidnap you rather than hand you in to the park rangers?’
‘Well they were obviously poachers,’ said Clare. ‘We know that from what Sarah and Ben have told us about all their guns and stuff.’
‘True,’ said Clive, ‘but they could still have dumped the children in a town or somewhere safe without identifying themselves. And why have they crossed three countries and come into the depths of the jungle? It’s almost as though they’ve another mission and took the children along as an insurance policy – to use them as hostages to get out of a police trap, for instance.’
‘I think that they are doing something special,’ said Ben excitedly. ‘The professor kept talking to Sid about exact locations and stuff and they were always looking at the map. Sometimes with a big magnifying glass.’
‘The professor?’ Clive interrupted. During their story the children had been referring to him as Luke. ‘So Luke is a professor?’ The children looked at each other in amusement and nodded. Clive looked at Clare and Lucy. ‘Tell us a bit more about him.’
‘He’s had all kinds of exciting adventures in the Amazon,’ said Ben, ‘– and he’s got a massive scar on his head where he got hit by a plane as he escaped from a tiger.’
‘– or leopard or whatever,’ corrected Sarah. ‘Oh,’ she continued, ‘and he and Sid and Fred were always talking about someone called Chopper.’
‘…and Sam,’ added Ben.
‘Oh my God,’ whispered Clive. He clutched his head between his hands. ‘It’s got to be him, hasn’t it?’ Clare and Lucy nodded.
‘I take it this is someone you know and don’t much care for,’ said Grace, hesitant to seem to be interrupting.
‘It’s a long, long, story,’ said Clare. ‘Clive and I never met Sid and Fred but we know the professor and Lucy can fill you in on the others.’ She looked at Sarah and Ben. ‘You’ve learned a lot of new things today and, I’m afraid, you’re about to learn some more. She was about to tell Grace and the children about their adventures in South America when Clive lifted up his head and interrupted.
‘Sorry, Clare, I’ve just got to ask Ben and Sarah something before they hear what you’re going to say.’ The children looked curious.
‘In all the time you spent with the professor,’ he asked, ‘did you notice anything… funny about him. Did he do anything like …magic tricks?’
The children thought.
‘Well, he kept suddenly disappearing,’ said Ben ‘–but we thought it was because he was a coward, not a conjuror.’
‘– and there was that weird footprint in front of the snake,’ said Sarah, ‘that was more like a conjuring trick.’ Clive groaned.They had said enough.
‘I can’t believe it,’ he said despairingly. ‘The ******* has somehow got hold of another robe. We’ve got to stop him or heaven knows what will happen!’
‘Sorry to seem stupid,’ said Grace, ‘but what on earth are you talking about?’
‘Let me start right from the beginning,’ said Lucy who had been silent so far, ‘and unbelievable though it may sound, all will become clear.’ They sat until almost dawn over the dying embers of the fire, listening to each other’s tales and discussing their future plans, then collapsed in the lorry to sleep, exhausted after one of the most extraordinary days in their extraordinary lives.
They rose late the next day and the bonobos brought them a “brunch” of delicious and exotic fruits. After they had eaten they put their new plans straight into action. First Lucy and Grace stood in the middle of the clearing and called the animals. Lucy had lent Grace some clean clothes from her bag in the Land Rover and Clare had cut her hair and given her some shampoo. They now stood alongside each other looking like peas out of a pod. Clare nudged Clive and whispered:
‘If anyone had any doubts about Grace’s letter, they wouldn’t have them any longer looking at those two, would they?’ Clive grinned and agreed. The two “special ones” had decided the previous night that rather than “share the throne” and risk confusion, Grace would remain affiliated to the “Greater World” and Lucy to the “Lesser World”, but they would make it clear that they acted in unison in all things.
As they called out together a vast procession of animals appeared from the dense and seemingly impenetrable undergrowth. Forest elephants, hippos and pygmy cape buffaloes jostled for space among giant forest hogs, red river hogs, bongos, okapi and crocodiles. In and around their hooves and feet clustered countless smaller animals: duikers, pangolins, otters, jackals, cervals, golden cats, mongooses, civets and porcupines. Leopards appeared in the trees, surrounded by pottos, tree pangolins and monkeys of every size and shape. Snakes and various reptiles slithered and crawled to every spare spot and birds of every description appeared, from bustards and buzzards to peafowl and parrots. At the centre, closely surrounding the girls, was a cluster of bonobos. Clare, Clive and the younger children stood in amazement at the sight. They had no concept that such a bewildering number and variety of species could possibly exist in the immediate locality and Sarah and Ben, seeing Lucy’s power in action for the first time, were completely overawed. Grace was the first to speak to the assembled throng:
‘Welcome all ye creatures of the forest. I have great tidings for thee. The Promised One of the Lesser World is here and she is my sister, born in the same brood.’ She put her arm round Lucy. ‘You have all waited countless moons for us to come and now we start to restore the ancient ways. First there is to be harmony between the creatures of the Greater World and the Lesser World which will, henceforth, be called the Inner World and the Outer World. Animals will, of course, chase and kill and eat each other as they have done since the beginning of time. The clawkin devours the clovenkin and the great eat the small. This is right and has always been so. But there must be no distinction henceforth between the junglekin and those outside. The junglekin will speak once again the common tongue when they meet with those who know not the forest tongue and there is to be no strife between the two worlds.’ Then Lucy spoke.
‘Hearken all ye denizens of the Inner World. I too desire that the ancient enmity between the Inner and Outer Worlds should end.’ She held her arms outstretched in front of her and the two eagles she had brought with her fluttered down on to her wrists. ‘See, I now send the raptoquills yonder to the Outer World to proclaim peace. The tuskikin, the greatkine, the manefang and the Dreadful Ones who even now gather in great multitudes to slaughter the junglekin will now return to the plains and mountains and swamps whence they came.’ She lifted her arms and the eagles flew up above the canopy, then separated, one to bear the message to the north and west, the other to the south and east. A wave of sound rippled through the assembled junglekin as the animals growled and grunted and chattered in approbation. Then Grace spoke to them again.
‘The legends that our mothers spoke of have come true, and we are fortunate indeed to see this day. Now go all of thee, and do the will of the Special Ones.’ The animals dispersed with surprising rapidity and Clare grinned.
‘It’s going to be fun for the next few weeks listening to all the animal and climate experts telling us exactly why all the animals suddenly decided to turn round and go back this morning.’ They all laughed.
Lucy then took Sarah and Ben to the Land Rover to see the bees and snakes that had protected them on their forest journey.
‘I bet our snakes are bigger than yours,’ said Ben as they went, and they all laughed.
As soon as the younger ones were out of earshot Clare turned to Clive, who had been looking pensive ever since his conversation with Sarah and Ben about the professor.
‘OK, come on,’ she said, ‘what’s on your mind?’ He gave a rueful smile.
‘That obvious, is it? Well we had to discuss it soon and it may as well be now.’ He was about to continue when Clare interrupted.
‘It’s all right, I can guess. You want to go and find him don’t you?’ Clive gave a resigned shrug.
‘I don’t think we have any option. He’s obviously got an invisibility robe and as long as he’s got it he’s a danger, not just to us but to anyone in the world. The power it confers on him is simply unimaginable – and we’re probably the only people who can succeed in getting it off him. We’re the only ones who know he’s got it, for a start, and only somebody with Lucy’s power could hope to go up against him, with any chance of winning. This has got to be the best – probably only – chance of anyone stopping him.’ Clare nodded slowly.
‘You’re right of course,’ she said, ‘and we’ll need Lucy, but I don’t want the younger ones involved in this in any way.’
‘I agree absolutely,’ said Clive. ‘I was thinking about this during the night and I think we should split up. If you’re happy for Grace to look after Sarah and Ben, she could take them back to your mum and dad at Salonga, while we go with Lucy to sort out the professor.’ Clare thought this was a good plan and over coffee she and Clive discussed it with Lucy and Grace, while Sarah and Ben played with the bonobos. Soon Grace called the pair over.
‘Now I know you two have had a pretty dull time recently,’ she said mischievously. ‘How do fancy coming with me for a really exciting adventure?’ A few moments later a delighted Sarah and Ben, each with a rucksack, were sitting astride okapis. Grace, revelling in the company of her new-found family, called the bonobos together and the expedition set off on the jungle journey to Salonga – a magical experience that Sarah and Ben would both remember in vivid detail for the rest of their lives.
17
Desperate for Diamonds
The professor was now consulting his GPS with ever-increasing frequency and getting progressively more excited as they neared their goal. Although the roads they actually drove along seemed to bear little relation to those shown on Sid’s maps, eventually they reached a spot that corresponded precisely with Peter Flint’s map reference. The location seemed unremarkable. They had driven up a long hill with dense forest on either side and then came out into a more scrub-like, rocky area.
‘See if you can pull out onto that rocky stuff,’ Luke said to Sid. ‘I think we’ve actually got here.’ Sid pulled off the road and followed a stony gully up a further small rise in the ground and then stopped. Luke jumped out and walked to the top of the ridge. An astonishing view lay in front of him. He was standing at the edge of a small narrow gorge. A river coursed one hundred feet below, parallel to the road they had just turned off. To the left, the west, the river ran down a series of cataracts along the gorge before disappearing into the depths of the rainforest which, from his elevated vantage point, he could see stretching to the horizon in all directions. On the opposite side of the ravine, easily accessible from this side by large boulders straddling the river, was a cliff similar to the one he was standing on. The side of the cliff had been eroded over the centuries and various rock strata were easily visible. To the right, the east, the ridge he was standing on gradually diminished in height and disappeared into the forest. On the opposite side, however, the stratified cliff ended abruptly in an escarpment that plunged down almost vertically to a giant swamp that stretched for several miles to the north-east. The river itself arose from the swamp, its greenish-brown waters starting their immense journey to the sea by gushing through the boulders immediately below him. The professor felt a surge of excitement as he gazed at the striking geological feature of the cliff opposite. This was obviously it. Even the colour of the principal visible rock stratum reminded him of the rocks he had collected in the Amazon crater. He looked down. There was a flat grassy area adjacent to the river that was free of trees, probably a meander left where the river had changed its course. It was adjacent to the boulders that led across the river and was an ideal site for a camp. Getting the stuff down from the truck to the riverbank would require some labour and he decided a psychological boost was necessary. He knew from long experience that there was nothing like greed to get things moving along. He turned back to the men who had all alighted and were now coming to see what lay beyond the ridge.
‘This is it, boys,’ Luke said cheerfully. ‘We’ve arrived – at last! And there …,’ he waved expansively at the cliff opposite, ‘… is the best diamond ore on the planet – enough for me to make millions of gems. In a month we’ll be the richest men on earth.’ The excitement in the group was almost palpable. The thugs did high fives, cheering and congratulating Luke on his navigation. ‘But now,’ Luke continued, ‘there’s work to do. We’ve got to build a camp and a cabin where I can process the minerals we’re going to extract.’ He didn’t add that the only minerals any of them were going to receive at the end of their labours would be cupronickel and lead in the shape of a bullet. His psychology was perfect and soon the men were eagerly unloading boxes from the lorry and manhandling them down the steep rocky slope to the river bank below.
The professor took a geologist’s hammer and a pair of binoculars and went with Sid across the river to reconnoitre, picking his way carefully from boulder to boulder. He inspected the entire cliff face with the binoculars, then grunted with satisfaction. Viewed in close-up, the rocks comprising the principal stratum looked identical to the samples he had left in the South American crater. He scrambled up to the nearest seam and hacked at it with his hammer. As he did so Sid looked over to see how the men were coping with the hill and his eye caught a glint on the hilltop. He counted the men; they were all visible. He saw the glint again.
‘What’s that, Luke?’ The professor turned. ‘That glinting over there, above the men.’ The professor looked through his binoculars. The sun had glinted off somebody’s spectacles; somebody who, with two companions, was looking down at the men below. As they began to look up again Luke recognized them instantly and groaned. He immediately turned back to the cliff – he was pretty certain they hadn’t seen him.
‘What is it?’ said Sid.
‘It’s strangers,’ said the professor. Don’t look!’ he added sharply as Sid started to turn to stare. ‘I don’t want them to know we’ve seen them.’
‘Who in Gawd’s name is out ’ere in the middle of nowhere?’ asked Sid in astonishment. Luke thought rapidly: he needed Sid on side for the moment.
‘It’s prospectors,’ he said. ‘I recognize them from another dig. They’re after our diamonds.’ He paused; he might as well use the opportunity to gain a little extra credibility with Sid. ‘And the reason they’re here is the same reaso
n we’re here. They are among the world’s leading mineralogists and, like me, they’ve obviously worked out that this is likely to be the richest lode of diamonds in the world – even without the benefit of my enhanced extraction technique.’ he added hurriedly. Sid was clearly impressed.
‘What are we goin’ to do?’ asked Sid, ‘should we follow ’em?’
‘No,’ said the professor. ‘They’re smart. They’ll be away before we reach the top of the hill. But they’ll be back. They were just spying out the land. And when they come, we’ll be waiting for them.’
As they made their way back across the river Luke was feverishly working out what had happened. He remembered telling them all about the ore needed for invisibility robes in the crater so they must be after the photogyraspar, just as he was. But how on earth …? In a flash it came to him. Peter Flint of course – he was in contact with both the Bonaventures and the Fossfinders and he had copied them in on the e-mail about the Congo deposits. Well, if they thought they could start making invisibility robes they had another think coming. But what to do about it? He was more than prepared to kill the three of them without compunction but he knew there were others in the family and that the three he had just seen were almost certainly part of a larger expedition. No, he had to deal with this problem at its source and that meant using Hans. But how? His mobile was useless out here. His problem was solved by a shout from Fred who was leading the working party of men they were now approaching.
‘Half the stuff we need for buildin’ the camp – saws an’ axes an’ spades an’ stuff was in the other truck – the one with the snakes.’ Sid swore but the professor saw his chance.