“What has you all worked up?” asked Helen, stretching as she got out of bed.
“Mayor Peñuela called some reporters, and a lady already tried to interview me.”
Mary tried to catch her breath.
“Hey, awesome!” Ike said. “I always knew I’d be famous.”
“Don’t start planning your life as a celebrity yet. I really don’t think it’s a good idea to talk to them,” said Mary.
“Why not?” Ike asked. “They’ll probably make a movie or something out of our story.”
“And just how do you plan to explain how we got here?” Mary asked.
“Well, I, uhh … ” Ike struggled to find a response. “Alien abduction?”
“Exactly! We don’t have a logical reason. This could cause all sorts of trouble. What if they start investigating our parents?”
“Yeah, I guess that would be bad,” Ike said. “But aliens would make the movie better.”
“I’m worried what might happen,” Mary said. “If they broadcast our story all over, it won’t take long for Anatoly to figure out where we are.”
“Relax,” said Helen. “He doesn’t know we’re in the Amazon. And even if he did, what could he do about it? We’ll be home long before he ever finds us.”
“He’s only one problem,” Mary said. “What if others find out about the globe?”
“Why don’t we just solve that problem by selling it?” proposed Ike. “No more greedy weirdos chasing us, and we’d be the filthy rich ones.”
“That’s what Anatoly probably wants to do,” Mary said, remembering her first conversation with him in the museum.
“So let’s beat him to it,” said Ike.
“No offense, Ike, but I think that’s a terrible idea. What if somebody used the globe to do bad things?” Mary asked.
“What do you mean?” Ike said. “There’s nothing wrong with traveling.”
“Maybe not traveling, but what about smuggling drugs or kidnapping children? Someone could use it to murder and dump the body in the middle of the sea, or to get away with all sorts of other crimes. It could be used to—”
“Okay, okay, we get the point,” Helen said.
“I just can’t stop thinking about how powerful of a tool the globe is. It does great things in the right hands, but in the wrong hands, who knows?” Mary said.
“Well then,” Helen replied. “I think we can agree that for now, we definitely don’t want these reporters to find out about the globe.”
“So, no money?” Ike asked.
“We could still use the globe to rob banks,” Helen suggested.
“Helen!” Mary said.
“Relax, I’m just teasing!” Helen said, laughing.
“We still need to figure out what to do about the reporter,” Mary said.
“Uh, guys,” said Ike, standing near the window and peering through a gap in the curtains. “We need to think quickly, because it looks like it’s gonna be more than just one interview.”
Mary and Helen jumped up and ran to the window. A boat had just arrived at the main dock, and a huge group of people was disembarking. There were dozens of them, and at least half were carrying cameras and lights.
Mary felt faint, and sat down to catch her breath. Her mind was racing. What were they going to do?
“So now what?” she asked Helen and Ike, who still stood at the window, watching the advancing crowd.
Neither made a sound. Both stared, wide-eyed, as if they’d discovered an army of approaching zombies.
“What’s wrong?” Mary asked.
“It’s him!” Helen squeaked out in a strangled whisper.
“How’d he find us?” Ike said, looking like he was about to throw up.
Mary knew who he was before she could even reach the window. Knowing didn’t make the revelation any less harrowing. Among the crowd, one stood out, clearly not part of the group. A tall, older man with short, white hair and a neatly trimmed white mustache. Anatoly was in Puerto Nariño.
Making a Run for It
“What are we going to do?” Ike asked, his voice dripping with fear.
He clutched the machete, standing poised as if Anatoly would burst into their room at any moment.
“We have to get away from here,” Mary determined. “It’s our only option. And we need to find a way to get to the globe without him seeing or following us.”
“He’ll catch us if we go through the town,” Ike said. “Maybe we can hide in the forest?”
“I think it’s our only choice,” Helen agreed. “But that still means passing through part of the town with him seeing us.”
Mary thought for a moment. She knew there was a back door to the motel. Maybe, if they were careful, they could sneak through the streets of Puerto Nariño, moving away from the crowd. Once clear, they could make a run for the trees.
She proposed the plan, and Helen and Ike eagerly nodded, anxious to do whatever possible to get away. Ike and Helen quickly dressed as Mary packed her things into Grandpa’s backpack. Silently, they tiptoed from the motel room.
“I feel bad just ditching the mayor like this,” Mary whispered.
“Nice of you to be concerned and all, Mary, but I’m not really that worried about the mayor’s feelings right now. I think not getting shot is a little more important,” Helen replied.
They crept downstairs, the wooden steps creaking with every movement they made. Mary was sure that somebody, a journalist or even Anatoly, would appear with a camera or a gun at any moment.
Luckily, nobody was there to even notice them. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Mary breathed a sigh of relief to find the main room empty.
“Let me go first,” Helen suggested as they reached the back door. “I’ll see if anybody’s out and about, and give you a thumbs up if the coast is clear.”
Mary and Ike waited, crouching behind a bush as Helen ran across the sidewalk and hid behind a garbage can. Helen peered from side to side, then motioned for them to follow.
Mary was terrified as she frantically dashed across the street. She felt like a tapir being hunted by a jaguar. She reached her friend, her heart pounding. Safe so far, they continued their stealthy escape by crossing three more of the wide sidewalks which substituted as roads in the town. They used trees, houses, and other obstacles to stay out of sight as best as they could. With every step, Mary was sure it would be her last. She could scarcely believe it when she finally stood safely under the canopy of the gigantic trees.
Rain still drizzled from the sky, but the rainforest felt just as hot and humid as ever. Sweat poured down Mary’s face like a waterfall.
“So,” Ike said. “We made it to the forest, now what?”
“We have to get in touch with Pepe or one of the other Ticuna,” Mary said. “We’ll need their help if we’re going to get to the globe before Anatoly can track it down.”
“Uh, Mary, how are we supposed to do that again?” Helen asked. “They’re still in the town, and we just ran away from there.”
Mary’s heart sank as she realized that Helen was right. She been so focused on getting away that she hadn’t given much thought to this next stage of her plan.
Then an idea struck her.
“What if they’re already out here?” she said, hopefully. “Taremuku and Wueku have been spending more time in the rainforest than in the town anyway.”
“If they’re here, how are we going to find them?” Helen asked. “We can’t yell and scream. We’ll only alert the people in town to where we are.”
Mary racked her brain, trying to figure out some way that they could get in touch with Pepe and the others.
Ike held his hands to his mouth and tried to make a sound by blowing across his fingers. The only sound that he produced, however, was blowing air.
“Nice thought, Ike,” Mary said. “It’s too bad that we didn’t ask Pepe to show us how he made that sound yesterday.”
�
�But I did ask him!” Ike said. “When I went with him to get the poacher’s boat. He showed me how, and I got it to work a couple of times then.”
Mary perked up as Ike kept trying. He concentrated intently, continually adjusting his hands and blowing at different angles.
“You can do it!” Helen encouraged.
Helen put her own hands to her lips, trying to figure out how to make the sound. Mary did the same. It was much harder than it looked.
All at once, Ike’s attempt paid off. He produced a crisp and clear imitation of the bird call. It rang out like music through the trees.
“I did it!” he cried out in triumph.
“Good job, brother!” Mary said, genuinely impressed.
Hoping to increase their chances of alerting their friends, Mary led Ike and Helen on a zig-zagged path through the trees. Ike made the sound every few steps. Mary could hear plenty of real birds, but not the answer she was listening for.
“I’m starting to get out breath,” Ike said, sitting near the base of a tree.
“I don’t think anybody’s out here,” Helen concluded. “It’s no use. Maybe I should try to sneak back into the town and find Pepe.”
Mary didn’t like the thought of that, but if they didn’t find help soon, they’d be stuck in the jungle yet again. Only this time, they’d have nowhere to go.
“Alright,” she said. “Why don’t you—”
Mary cut off, as a faint sound called from somewhere in the distance.
Ike jumped up and once again produced the sound. Immediately, it was echoed by an identical bird call.
Ike traded calls back and forth with the unseen responder. The kids moved toward the sound, which steadily grew louder with every exchange. Mary knew they were close, and scanned the trees intently for any sign of the Ticuna.
The sound suddenly stopped. Ike made a few more attempts, but they went unanswered.
“What happened?” Mary wondered. “Why did the sound stop?”
“Because, I did not need to answer once I knew where you were,” Pepe’s voice said from behind.
Mary spun, her heart leaping into her throat.
“Oh, Pepe, it’s you!” she said, both relieved and startled.
“I am sorry, I did not mean to frighten you,” he answered. “What are you doing here in the rainforest? The whole town is searching for you.”
“Pepe, we had to get away,” Helen explained. “We saw the group of journalists getting off the boat and coming into the town. But there was one of them who’s not a reporter. He’s a guy we know from home.”
“Yeah, and he tried to shoot us and steal the globe right before it brought us here!” Ike added.
“And this man is here? In Puerto Nariño?” Pepe asked in alarm. “But how could he know where to find you?”
“I don’t know,” Mary said. “Maybe he found out from spying on my grandfather or something. All I know is that we can’t let him find us or the globe. We need to get to it as soon as possible.”
Pepe thought for a moment.
“This will be difficult,” he said. “Our canoes will take a few days to get to the place where my brothers first met you. If this man travels up the river in a motor boat, he will soon overtake us. We will not be able to hide from him once we are on the Amazon.”
“What about a faster boat?” Ike suggested.
“To hire one would be very expensive,” Pepe replied.
“But Pepe, we already have one!” Ike insisted. “We confiscated the boat from the poacher yesterday.”
Pepe looked confused.
“Ike, this is not our boat. We gave it to the authorities. The town policeman will not let us take it, and the rangers, when they arrive, will no doubt claim it.”
“Pepe, I know we shouldn’t take it. But this is really an emergency. Is there any way you could get the keys without the policeman knowing?” Mary asked, feeling guilty for even asking Pepe for such a favor.
But then again, this was a real emergency.
“Maybe you could use the reporters as an excuse?” Helen suggested. “Go and tell the policeman that they want to interview him. Offer to watch Colin, then take the keys before he comes back.”
Pepe looked more and more uncomfortable with each suggestion they made.
“Pepe, I’m sorry. We won’t force you to do something you don’t agree with. But we have to keep Anatoly from getting the globe. If he somehow finds it, the consequences could be terrible for the whole world,” Mary stated.
Pepe thought about it some more.
“This is a very difficult thing that you ask,” he said. “Honor is everything to the Ticuna. But you are my friends, and if you are really here because the magic of the rainforest … ”
Pepe’s worried face smoothed, and a look of resolve came over him.
“I see how important this is,” he said. “We must not let this man near the powerful object that brought you here. I will go and do as you ask.”
Pepe turned and sprinted toward the village.
Mary waited tensely for his return. It was taking a long time. With every passing moment, her anxiety deepened. Something wasn’t right.
At long last, Pepe came running back. He was joined by Taremuku and Wueku. She could tell immediately that there was a problem. Wueku’s eyes burned with anger, and Pepe looked like somebody had just delivered terrible news.
“He is gone!” Pepe announced, breathlessly. “The poacher has escaped, and his boat is gone as well!”
Jailbreak
“What?” Mary asked, not believing what she was hearing. “How?”
“I went to the jail as you asked. There I found the guard, on the ground. He was unconscious, and the holding cell was empty. As the man regained consciousness, he told of another, a foreign reporter, who had come to see the prisoner. When he tried to make this man leave, he was suddenly hit over the head with a stone,” Pepe explained.
“No!” Helen said. “It can’t be!”
“Pepe, did he describe what the reporter looked like?” Mary asked, though she already knew the answer.
“Yes, I asked that question. He said it was a tall, older man with a white mustache.”
Mary groaned in frustration as her fears were confirmed.
“We looked for the keys to the poacher’s boat,” Pepe continued. “They were gone, as was his rifle. We ran to the docks to try and stop them, but we were too late. All we could see was the boat sailing quickly up the river with two passengers.”
Mary’s world was collapsing around her. Anatoly had helped Colin escape. Now they’d both fled Puerto Nariño on a speedboat. There could only be one reason why Anatoly had helped the poacher.
“Pepe, how good do you think the poacher is at tracking things in rainforest?” she questioned.
“He is a poacher,” Pepe replied with a shrug. “His job is to track things. He does not know the forest as well as the Ticuna, but he can find things if he wants to.”
“Then he might be able to find where we marked the trees!” Helen said in in realization.
“And maybe even the globe!” Ike added.
“Pepe, we need another boat. We can’t let them get there first,” Mary said.
“Come with me,” Pepe commanded. “We must talk to the mayor. Perhaps he can help.”
With Anatoly now gone from the city, the children had no reason to keep hiding, other than to avoid the reporters. They returned to Puerto Nariño and headed straight for the mayor’s office. Mary didn’t dare enter the city hall with the journalists waiting there for their big story. The last thing she needed was to delay whatever chance she had of getting to the globe first. Pepe went into the city hall alone. Somehow, he was able to convince Mayor Peñuela to join him as Pepe led to the spot in between two houses where Mary and the others were concealed.
“Mary, Ike, Helen! Why are you here? We look everywhere for you. Please, come speak to the newspaper,” he said, visibly
relieved and gesturing toward his office.
“Mr. Mayor,” Mary said quickly, “I’m really sorry, but we can’t come right now. There’s an emergency. Somebody came to Puerto Nariño with the reporters and helped the poacher escape. They just took his boat and are getting away up the river right now.”
The mayor looked confused. He turned to Pepe for clarification. As soon as Pepe finished interpreting, the mayor’s eyes lit up with alarm. He made to run in the direction of the jailhouse. Taremuku stopped him, and rapidly explained all that they’d already discovered.
“Mr. Mayor,” Mary said again. “The man who let him out of jail is somebody we know. He’s a very dangerous person, and we know where they’re going. They’re trying to steal something valuable in the rainforest, and if they find it, it’ll be a disaster for the whole world. We have to find a way to get there first so we can stop them.”
She thought about telling Mayor Peñuela about the globe, but knew that would just take more time—time they didn’t have—not to mention make their story sound unbelievable. Mary hoped he’d simply accept her alarm about this vague danger. Every second this took was a second closer to the globe for Anatoly and Colin.
The mayor looked back and forth from them to the city hall, torn about what to do.
“Please help us!” Ike begged.
Finally, the mayor mumbled a few words and started digging in his pocket.
“Take this,” he said, handing Mary a keychain. “We have village boat, only for emergency.”
“¡Gracias!” Mary cried, as she threw her arms around the mayor. “We’ll never be able to repay you!”
“You are good children,” the mayor said. “You make me feel … special.”
He smiled, and Mary, Ike, and Helen all embraced him again, thanking him profusely.
“Now go,” he said. “Stop the bad man. Please be careful.”
The mayor waved them away, and they bolted toward the docks.
The Race for the Globe
The Magnificent Glass Globe Page 13
