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old dinosaur of a computer.”
    He ended the transmission and turned to Ben and Zoe. “Sorry,” he said, in English. “We have to return now. Just a little problem with our guest bookings.
    We’ll come again tomorrow morning.” He turned and headed back along the walkway towards the reservation.
    â€œWe’ll follow in a second,” Ben called after him. “I’ve just spotted a broadbill – must get a picture.” He pulled Zoe to a halt. “We haven’t had a chance to play the recording,” he muttered, as he aimed his camera at the bird.
    â€œThen we come back tonight,” said Zoe. “On our own.”

CHAPTER
FIVE
    Zoe crept over the bare wooden floor of their bedroom and nudged her brother through his mosquito net.
    â€œWake up,” she whispered. “We’ve got two hours until sunrise.”
    Ben opened his eyes and sat bolt upright in the dark. “Let’s go.”
    They dressed quickly and put on their backpacks. They’d filled them the night before with water, their first aid kit and BUGs. Having put on their EEL belts and boots, they snatched up their night goggles.
    Zoe slowly opened the door.
    â€œShhhh!” hissed Ben as the hinges groaned.
    â€œLucky there are no stairs,” muttered Zoe. “It’s bad enough in this creaky wooden corridor.”
    They stepped outside into the silent, shadowy compound. As soon as they put on their goggles the scene was bathed in green light. Deep puddles lay on the ground and they could hear water dripping from the trees.
    â€œLooks like we’ve just missed a shower,” whispered Ben.
    Zoe turned a dial on the nosepiece to adjust the focus. “We’ll follow the satellite map on the BUGs.”
    They crept for the cover of the trees.
    â€œThe black zigzag lines are the walkways,” said Ben, studying the image on his BUG screen. “And there’s Kawan’s territory, where the walkways come to the river.”



“There must be a more direct path than that,” replied Zoe.
    Ben pressed a button and a different map appeared, showing a narrow track that went right to the south-east edge of the reservation. “This’ll take us there.”
    â€œTuck your trousers into your boots,” Zoe reminded him. “There’ll be snakes.”
    â€œAnd arthropods and invertebrates,” said Ben eagerly.
    â€œCreepy-crawlies in other words.” Zoe grimaced.
    â€œWatch out for the ten-centimetre-long cockroaches!” Ben teased, but Zoe refused to rise to the bait.
    â€œScent dispersers on, too,” she said. “That will help keep unwanted guests away.”
    The rough path led between huge, thick tree trunks deep into the darkness of the rainforest. The children moved along as quietly as they could, listening intently to the sounds around them.
    Suddenly there was a loud whoo-aa call and a long, skinny shape swung down in front of them. It peered at them intently from under a pair of thick eyebrows. The children stopped dead, hearts beating fast. Then the creature gave a cry and shot back up into the trees.
    â€œIt was a gibbon!” whispered Zoe, checking the analysis on her BUG. “Wonder what it made of our goggled faces!”
    â€œWhat’s that?” gasped Ben, pointing into the darkness. “Around that trunk. It looks like a huge snake!”

    â€œIt’s not moving.” Zoe laughed. “It’s just a root that’s twisted round the tree.”
    They pushed their way through a bank of thick fern leaves that hung across the path.
    â€œI can hear the river,” said Ben. “We must nearly be in Kawan’s territory. The walkways ought to be above us now.”
    â€œThere’s a sign on that trunk,” said Zoe pointing. “Platform Twenty-two – that’s where we were earlier. We’ve arrived.”
    Something moved low on the ground ahead. Through their goggles they