locations, to check conditions.’
‘Ooh, can we come too?’ blurted Mrs Pilcher, nudging Mr Pilcher. ‘I bet it’s ever so pretty from up there!’
‘And us too Uncle,’ pleaded Zanta, holding Emily’s hand and smiling sweetly.
Dr Aruna laughed. ‘There will be room for everyone,’ said Miss Yorktown, winking at Emily and Zanta. ‘Dr Aruna, please continue.’
‘Ah, yes,’ said Dr Aruna. ‘After the flight, we will return to camp for lunch before heading out to release location one, to set free the leopard. Then we move on to release location two, setting free the cheetah family and finally, on to release location three, where we will hopefully introduce the orphan elephants to a thriving troop. Miss Yorktown and I will head the release convoy while Mr and Mrs Pilcher will be in charge of radio communications here in camp.’
‘Roger that!’ said Mr Pilcher. ‘We’ve got this radio business down to a tee!’
The reconnaissance plane turned out to be a small, rusty, single engine aircraft with only six seats. The pilot fussed about outside, checking the flaps, ailerons and landing gear as Emily and Zanta took their seats at the back. Mr and Mrs Pilcher squeezed into the two seats in the middle and Dr Aruna took the last vacant seat, next to the pilot.
It struck Emily that there was no room left for Miss Yorktown. ‘Where is Miss Yorktown going to sit?’ she said.
‘Don’t fear!’ said Miss Yorktown, entering the aircraft and clambering into the pilots seat. ‘I have over fifty hour’s flight experience! I can quite handle this little baby!’
She waved to the pilot outside, who had to jump out of the way, as Miss Yorktown turned the ignition, starting the engine. The little plane started rolling along the makeshift grassy runway as Miss Yorktown spoke into the plane’s radio mic.
‘Charlie, Tango, zero-niner. This is Charlie, Delta, Foxtrot - Requesting climb-out on a one-four-six, over,’ said Miss Yorktown.
‘Charlie, Tango, zero-niner - I repeat, do you copy? Over.’
Silence.
‘Oh well – looks like it’s VFR all the way folks!’
Emily and Zanta looked at each other, not knowing quite what a ‘Charlie, Delta, Foxtrot’ or a ‘VFR’ were!
Dr Aruna began to question Miss Yorktown’s qualifications, but it was too late. The little aircraft zoomed down the runway and leapt into the sky!
Mr and Mrs Pilcher hid their eyes as the plane climbed rapidly, wobbling slightly, as Miss Yorktown felt the controls.
‘Oh she’s a busy little aircraft - nervous and twitchy!’
Miss Yorktown flicked the aircraft left and right, illustrating the point. They levelled off at two thousand feet and had a grand view of the landscape.
Mr and Mrs Pilcher gasped as they drank in the enormity of the grasslands and its teeming wildlife. Dr Aruna nodded his head proudly.
‘Look! The great plains!’ Dr Aruna’s eyes were alive and he was grinning so infectiously that the rest of the group could not help but join in.
‘There is kifaru – rhino!’ he said, in his native Swahili, ‘and twiga – giraffe!’
Miss Yorktown gently banked the aircraft so that the group could take a better look. A mighty herd of wildebeest swept north to the horizon. Thousands and thousands of the beasts walked in columns as far as the eye could see, trudging onwards on their annual migration to the lush feeding grounds in the north.
‘Magnificent,’ said Dr Aruna - Emily was speechless.
After an hour’s flying, they decided to head back. Occasionally Miss Yorktown would spot a land rover or jeep parked out in the bush and would set the small aircraft into a terrifying dive, scaring the life out of the other passengers, to take a closer look.
‘If I get my hands on those scallywag poachers, they’ll wish they had never been born!’ raged Miss Yorktown.
- Release -
After lunch, Dr Aruna and Miss Yorktown made preparations for the animal release. It was decided that Emily and Zanta would join the release team while Mr and Mrs Pilcher would stay behind at camp to prepare the evening meal.
As the team prepared the vehicles and loaded the animals onboard, Emily stifled a cry, as tears welled in her eyes. Miss Yorktown put her arm gently around Emily’s shoulders.
‘There’s a job to be done Emily, this is only the start. If we can prove that Wallington Zoo is capable of organizing a successful release programme, the sky is the limit! We could become the number one zoo in the whole of Europe, helping to re-introduce rare and endangered species back to their natural habitats all over the World!’
‘It was your donation that got us here Emily. But now I need your help again, out there in the wild, where these animals really belong.’
Emily squeezed Miss Yorktown’s hand and smiled, ‘Let’s go!’ she said.
They made their farewells to Mr and Mrs Pilcher, who were busy twiddling with the radio, and departed camp.
‘Don’t be too late,’ Mrs Pilcher called after them, ‘we’ve got a nice Lancashire hot pot tonight with roast potatoes, swede and carrots!’
‘… Ooh! and it’s sponge pudding and custard for dessert!’ called dad.
The release team headed out in convoy formation, one vehicle following the other, onto the red dust track that led to the great plains.
Emily and Zanta rode in the lead truck alongside Miss Yorktown and Dr Aruna. The team drove deep into the savannah, where acacia trees grew sparsely and the grasses were three feet high.
First on the list was Kimbar, the solitary leopard. Emily looked deep into the old leopard’s eyes; they were the colour of liquid gold, burning bright. Emily could see that the mighty leopard was ready to be free, to make his own way in the great wilds of Africa.
As Emily and Zanta climbed back into the safety of the truck, Dr Aruna’s rangers opened the cage door.
The leopard was poised and ready; looking strong and fit with ears pointed and head high. He burst out as the cage door opened, scowling and roaring for all to hear. The leopard made off into the scrub – disappearing from view into the long grass.
Dr Aruna radioed back to camp, ‘Pilcher’s Base, Pilcher’s Base - this is team leader, come in?’
Mrs Pilcher answered the call, ‘Roger team leader, this is Pilcher’s Base, over.’
‘Pilcher’s Base, we report – the spotted cat is free!’
Miss Yorktown, cried tears of happiness.
After releasing the leopard, the team drove on for an hour before stopping in the dry scrubland, surrounding the grassy plains.
Emily couldn’t bear to watch as Sheeba and her two cubs were released into the dusty scrubland, making a beeline for the protection of a small group of acacia trees. As they drove away, Emily saw Sheeba, head high, gazing over her new territory, with her two cubs nervously standing by her side.
It was another two-hour drive before they reached a large water hole to release the elephant orphans. A huge troop of thirty elephants, of all shapes and sizes, congregated at the water. Three females stood to one side as Binda, Zuma and Sultan were led towards them. The orphaned youngsters snuggled up to their new foster carers and were embraced by powerful but gentle trunks.
The team watched the magnificent elephants for a while before the huge herd started off into the scrub.
Emily and Zanta wiped tears from their eyes and beamed with happiness as the trio of orphans followed their new family into the savannah.
Just then the radio burst into life: ‘TEAM LEADER! TEAM LEADER! – THIS IS PILCHER’S CAMP! – DO YOU READ!
‘TEAM LEADER! TEAM LEADER! – THIS IS PILCHER’S CAMP! - WE ARE UNDER ATTACK, I REPEAT, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!’
The teams scrambled back to the trucks and took off, heading straight back to camp, the final word from Mrs Pilcher hanging in the air … POACHERS!
- Poached Pilcher -
Everything happened so quickly. One minute Mr and Mrs Pilcher were preparing dinner for the camp, the next they were surrounded by a trio of noisy 4x4 pickup trucks, raci
ng around in circles, kicking up monstrous clouds of dust and shattering the peaceful tranquillity of camp!
Leering out of the windows of each of the trucks were the ugliest faces that the Pilchers had ever seen.
In the lead truck was a lanky, straw haired man, with huge bushy eyebrows and broken protruding teeth. He was chewing tobacco and his lips and mouth were stained a foul orangey brown colour.
In the second truck, a squat, round man with piggy eyes peered over the side of the door – he looked like he had not washed for a month and had a grubby, unshaven growth covering most of his face. His thin patch of hair was plastered to his scalp, with greasy loops slipping down over his eyes like rat’s tails.
In the third truck was a large man with a bushy, red beard. He had thick gold-rimmed glasses and a mouldy green earring hanging from his left ear.
The nasty men raced about, knocking over tents and equipment, screaming and hollering at the top of their voices. Gradually, they drove their vehicles closer and closer, penning Mr and Mrs Pilcher in. Finally, they stopped, surrounding the Pilchers with the pickup trucks.
The lanky, straw haired man got out of the truck, slamming the door behind him. ‘Well, what have we got here then?’ he said, with a slow,
Emily Pilcher and the Golden Eye (The Adventures of Emily Pilcher Book 2) Page 5
