golden glow and as it’s soft rays reflected from the leopard’s eyes, Emily saw at last the rivers of gold there that Zanta’s grandfather had instructed her to look for.
‘The leopard! It’s our guide!’ Emily cried
The leopard bowed its head and started walking again, this time without looking back.
Zanta, we must follow Kimbar, the leopard! That’s what the whisperer ... your grandfather told me to look for - Kimbar will guide us to my parents!’
‘Let’s go!’ said Zanta.
For two days and two nights the girls followed the beast, deep into the African wilds. When they slept, the leopard slept. Not too close, but never too far away. They crossed patchy scrublands and dusty plains, oceans of grasslands, and vast rivers and ravines.
Finally, the leopard beckoned them to follow to the top of a rocky outcrop. There, far below them, among a thick patch of acacia trees the two exhausted girls saw the poacher’s camp! The three pickup trucks were partially camouflaged with nets and leaves. Three tents were pitched around a fire. Sitting on the ground, with their arms tied behind them to the trunk of a tree, sat Emily’s parents!
- Poachers Camp -
Emily lunged forward, desperate to free her parents. Zanta stopped her just in time. ‘Wait Emily! We must watch and wait for the right moment.’
Emily looked at her friend and smiled. ‘As always Zanta, you are right. It would foolish to rush in and get captured ourselves.’
The two girls lay face down, peering over the crest, just as they had a few days earlier when Zanta had shown Emily the sunrise over the great Serengeti. This time the view was altogether different.
Down below in the poacher’s camp the lanky, straw haired man emerged from one of the tents. He looked around suspiciously before spitting a huge gobbet of wet tobacco and walked over to the tree where Mr and Mrs Pilcher were tied.
‘Let us go you evil man! The police will get you, mark my words – there will be a search party out looking for us ... and you,’ shouted Mrs Pilcher, struggling with the binds behind her back.
The straw haired man smiled an evil crooked smile as he spoke. ‘You keep still lady. There’ll be no rescue party out here in the wild. There’s probably not another person around for a hundred miles!’ He laughed a horrible wheezing laugh and sauntered over to the other two poachers, who were leaning against one of the disguised pickups.
‘Don’t worry mum, we’ll get out of this,’ said Mr Pilcher. ‘It’s just a case of unpicking the rope. If I can just untie the knot on your wrist, then your hands will be free to untie mine!’ Mr Pilcher desperately scratched at the bindings behind his back, trying to release Mrs Pilcher.
The three evil men laughed as they watched poor Mr Pilcher struggle to free the rope.
‘They won’t get out of those bindings in a hurry,’ said the straw haired man, ‘but keep a close eye on them Charlie while we go and hunt something tasty for dinner!’ The squat, piggy-eyed fellow nodded slowly and cocked his rifle. ‘Don’t worry ‘bout them boss, I’ll keep a good watch over ‘em.’
The two poachers headed off into the scrub, leaving the ugly little man to watch over Mr and Mrs Pilcher.
‘It’s no good mum. I can’t get my fingers under the knot. It’s just too tight.’
‘Never mind dad. I’m sure that search party is out looking for us. Who knows, maybe they will send the army!’ said Mrs Pilcher.
‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ said the piggy-eyed man. No-one’s going to find us out here, best make yourselves comfortable!’ His squat, round body jiggled up and down as he screeched with laughter.
It was approaching midday and the glaring sun bore down on the camp. As the temperature rose, the piggy man teased the captives by offering them a cup of water, before cruelly snatching it back at the last moment. He splashed the water over his face and head to cool down in the hot sun, plastering his greasy rat-tail hair to his forehead.
Mr and Mrs Pilcher, exhausted from their efforts to free themselves and the cruel treatment from the piggy-eyed man, drowsily fell asleep in the midday sun. Later, unable to torment his captives any longer, the piggy-eyed guard snoozed off as well, clutching the rifle close to his chest.
‘Come Emily, now is our chance!’ whispered Zanta.
Emily followed Zanta, as she skilfully traced a path down to the camp. Moving quickly, but quietly, the girls soon reached the edge of camp.
‘We must be very quiet now.’ said Zanta
Crouching down at the edge of camp, Emily and Zanta checked to make sure the guard was in a deep sleep. They watched as the loaded rifle, held across his rounded belly, rose up and down, moving in time with his snuffled snores.
Emily looked at Zanta and nodded. The girls carefully tiptoed towards the tree where Mr and Mrs Pilcher were bound. Emily could hardly contain herself. Choking back the tears, she finally reached her parents.
Zanta went to work on the cruel binds.
‘Eh, what! Who’s that?’ The Pilchers awoke with a start.
‘Shhh, it’s me, Emily! And Zanta! We are here to rescue you!’
‘Emily? Zanta? How on earth?... Where is Miss Yorktown, Dr Aruna?…’
Mr Pilcher seemed confused, but Mrs Pilcher was delighted to see the girls, though a little concerned.
‘Oh, Emily, Zanta. It’s so dangerous, you should never have left the rest of the group. You don’t need to worry about dad and I. We will be alright…
BANG!!!
A deafening shot rang out, making Emily and Zanta jump out of their skin.
Standing just a few feet away, the straw haired Poacher held a smoking rifle, aimed at the group. The mouldy-eared man with the bushy, red beard, growled menacingly.
They had crept back unnoticed as Emily and Zanta had tried to free Mr and Mrs Pilcher.
The piggy-eyed man was in a state of panic as he jumped up pretending that he had not been asleep at all.
The straw haired man gave him an evil look. ‘I’ll deal with you later,’ he said to the quivering guard.
‘So what have we here then,’ asked the man addressing Emily and Zanta. ‘A rescue party!’ He roared with laughter, the pig-eyed fellow nervously joining in.
‘I think we’ll get double the ransom for you two! Tie ‘em up!’ he ordered.
- A Whirlwind from Above -
The pig-eyed man rested his gun, grabbed some thick cord and took a step forward.
The straw-haired poacher raised his rifle and fixed the foursome in his sights, mouldy-eared man, glowering beside him. ‘Don’t move an inch,’ he said in a slow, terrifying voice.
Emily closed her eyes and thought of everything that had happened; the game show, the weeks of waiting for Miss Yorktown to show up, the long sea journey with mum and dad, Captain Fernandez, the countless hours spent talking to and soothing the animals in the cargo hold. She thought of the long dusty days of travel, Dr Aruna and the welcoming villagers and Zanta, her great friend, who would not be in this mess if she had not rushed after Emily.
She thought of the hardships that she and Zanta had faced on their long journey but then she remembered Zanta’s grandfather, the wise old Whisperer, and of course Kimba, their guide!
The pig-eyed man was only a few metres away when a great hurricane of rushing wind blew him aside. A colossal ‘clack-clacking’ assaulted their ears as, descending from above, there came a shiny yellow whirlwind. An Autogyro! A small two person flying machine that looked like a cross between a helicopter and bobsleigh! Seated in the front, piloting the contraption, was the unmistakable form of Miss Yorktown! She wore a brown leather flying hat and thick goggles and had a look of steely determination set on her face. In the back, sat none other than Captain Fernandez!
‘Hello again my friends!’ shouted the friendly captain, above the noise of the contraption’s blades. He lobbed two small canisters into the compound which immediately gave off thick white smoke.
The smoke quickly enveloped the camp, concealing the captives from the ev
il poachers.
‘Now’s our chance!’ cried Emily. She quickly untied Mrs Pilcher’s binds while Zanta went to work on Mr Pilcher.
As the lofty Miss Yorktown swooped round for another pass at the camp, the confused poachers fumbled for their rifles. They raised them to the sky and squeezed on the triggers. At that moment, Kimba the leopard leapt at them from out of the white smoke!
The mighty leopard lunged at the poachers, swiping the rifles clean out of their hands. Scowling and bearing his ferocious teeth; the leopard planted himself between Emily and the evil poachers and crouched for another attack!
The terrified poachers screamed in horror and dashed to the nearest pickup truck. They gunned the vehicle to life and raced out of camp, tyres squealing!
Miss Yorktown and Captain Fernandez, flying dangerously low in the autogyro contraption, followed in hot pursuit.
The truck bucked and bounced over the rough terrain, threatening to tear itself apart, but the poachers could not shake off Miss Yorktown and Captain Fernandez, flying just twenty feet off the ground, directly behind them.
As the poachers fled, they became aware of clouds of red dust approaching from either side. Dr Aruna and his team were
Emily Pilcher and the Golden Eye (The Adventures of Emily Pilcher Book 2) Page 7
