Ribblestrop Forever! by Andy Mulligan Read Free Book Online Page A

disembarked, and Imagio was leading
them up a narrow path. ‘I don’t know where I’m going, all right?’ he said.
    They came to the top of the rise, the trees giving way to brambles and nettles.
    ‘If we’ve been seen on camera,’ said Ruskin, ‘then they might be sending someone to help us.’
    ‘We just say we’re lost,’ said Sam. ‘It’s the truth, isn’t it?’
    Sanjay said, ‘I can see more of the kids.’
    ‘Where?’
    He pointed and another column of running figures came into view. They were dressed in blue overalls.
    ‘They do look like prisoners,’ said Vijay. ‘You think they’re being punished for something?’
    ‘No,’ said Miles. ‘They run all the time.’
    The column came closer and it was obvious that the runners were in some distress. They looked tired and strained and they were concentrating hard. There was no cheerful banter and nobody stopped
to dawdle. They ran almost in formation – left, right, left, right – and the one straggler, who was a plump girl with glasses, seemed desperate to keep up. Her face was wet with sweat
and her mouth was set in a thin, determined line. The Ribblestrop children crept back out of sight and watched them pass. Half a minute later they had disappeared over a hilltop and the birdsong
resumed.
    ‘Let’s go,’ said Tomaz. ‘I agree with Miles. I want to get to Ribblestrop.’
    Miles was nodding and his face was pale. ‘I’d rather get back in the boat and go back the way we came. If we get caught here, they’ll lock us up.’
    ‘It’s getting late,’ said Asilah, reasonably. ‘We can’t just stay on the river, Miles – we can’t spend the night in the open. I really think we’ve
got to find civilisation. We’ll stay together, like Sanchez says. We’ll ask the guy we saw in the field and get moving.’
    With that, he led everyone out of the brush and over the rise. The figure was still there, with his back to them, just as before. He wore a bright red waterproof, and was standing by a low
hillock. As they moved towards him they saw that there were several of these hillocks, rising like pimples on the plain.
    ‘It’s a woman,’ said Sanjay, after five minutes of walking.
    ‘What’s she doing?’
    ‘No idea. Looks like a . . . survey, maybe. She’s got some kind of tripod.’
    ‘She’s looking at the burial chambers,’ said Miles, softly. ‘We were never allowed near them, but we did some project—’
    ‘Who’s buried there?’ asked Sam.
    ‘No idea. I hated rubbish like that. I know tourists used to come and look at them, because we had to tell a teacher if we saw any. They have rich kids here, so they’re terrified of
kidnappers.’
    Millie grinned. ‘Just like Sanchez, huh? Feeling nervous?’ she called.
    ‘No,’ said Sanchez. He looked grimly around him. ‘But I want to find the road, so let’s ask her if she knows the way, and get out of here.’
    The figure still had her back to them as they approached. A stiff breeze was blowing her hair about and flapped the hood of her anorak. She was so immersed in her work that she
didn’t look round, even as Asilah coughed. Her eye was in the viewfinder of a large camera and she seemed determined to get close-ups from above and below. They could see now that she was
focusing on a pale white stone that was embedded in the hill, about the size of a small tombstone. The children stopped, not quite sure how to start a conversation with someone so intent.
    ‘Hello?’ said Sanchez. ‘We’re sorry to bother you . . .’
    The woman didn’t hear him. She moved her tripod again, a metre to her left. She lowered the legs and crouched, and they heard her camera click. The white stone had lumps and carvings on it
and she was zooming in on the fine detail.
    ‘Hello!’ called Sanchez more loudly. This time she swung round and started with surprise. The tripod fell onto its side.
    ‘Good afternoon,’ she said, frostily.
    The children came closer and saw that her