African Pursuit by David Alric Read Free Book Online Page A

land, she guessed that they were probably in Rwanda. After much thought she used the birds to send them a message assuring them that she was safe and that would one day join them. She knew that they would be utterly bewildered by getting a message apparently out of nowhere (a crumpled note on a table near an open window), but decided that this was better by far than having them constantly wondering whether or not she was alive.
    One day she was playing with some baby bonobos near the edge of the reserve while the adults foraged for food. Suddenly she heard a shout and saw two men with rifles in a boat that had appeared round a bend in the river. She easily disappeared into the jungle with the bonobos as the men were scrambling on to the shore, and she heard a single shot from far behind as she clambered through the canopy. She assumed the men must be poachers – no ranger would have attempted to shoot at her or the chimps – but was still frightened that they might report what they had seen and initiate a search for her. She told Jambo her fears and the entire troop moved to the very furthest limits of their range in the hope that nothing further would come of it.

5
Preserving Prehistory
    J ulian and Helen Fossfinder and their son Mark gave a final wave to Clive as he passed through security control at Rio airport to return to London. Their older son, aged twenty, was returning with the Bonaventures, ostensibly to get back to his medical studies, but Julian suspected the real reason had more to do with Clare, the Bonaventure’s nineteen-year-old daughter with whom Clive seemed to have become very friendly. Their younger son Mark had opted to stay with his parents in Rio while they had a holiday before returning to their university jobs in England. They certainly felt that they had earned a break. Julian, as the pilot for the party of adventurers from the two families, had flown thousands of miles in the previous fortnight, across the remote vastness of the Amazon jungle. He had managed to save the lives of his passengers when his plane had been hit by a giant pterosaur in a lost valley dating from the Cretaceous period sixty-five million years ago. He, Richard and Lucy had survived attacks by velociraptors in the lost valley and his wife, Helen, had been at the mercy of villains hidden in invisibility robes who had attempted to take her hostage. Finally, he had himself only narrowly escaped being killed by a brilliant but evil professor who, had he not walked backwards into Julian’s propeller, would have kidnapped andeventually killed Julian and left the rest of the party to die, marooned in the remote crater without a radio.
    As they now bade farewell to those heading home Julian turned to Helen and Mark with a grin.
    ‘Phew! What a fortnight! And now I think we’ve earned some time doing nothing but sightseeing.’ The others heartily agreed and that evening they made plans for their holiday. The next day Julian apologized to the others.
    ‘I know I said we were now going to chill out, but there’s just one thing I must do before we start our break’.
    Helen looked across at Mark with a resigned smile.
    ‘How did I guess there’d be something?’ she said. ‘Nothing changes! Well, hurry up and do it and then we can all relax.’
    ‘Actually, it’s not just me. You should come too! I’m sure Mark can occupy himself sunbathing by the pool and chatting up some of the local talent.’
    Mark was only too happy to do this and after breakfast Julian and Helen went to the UN offices. They were both by now highly respected scientists who had benefited from UN support for a number of projects, including the one they had just completed. Up until now, the prehistoric crater that they had discovered with the Bonaventures had remained a secret because they had been terrified of its being exploited for commerce or tourism. They now realised, however, that it was only a matter of time before the crater was discovered by