The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John

Author:Lauren St. John
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2010-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

14

The combination of Alex’s bizarre behavior and the bone-crushing snares Tendai had destroyed in the valley had unnerved Martine so much that rather than waiting for the white giraffe to find her, as she’d promised herself she would, she became determined to find him again. For once, luck was on her side. Eight days after her outing with Tendai, a Sunday, her grandmother received a call to say that a close friend of hers had been rushed to the hospital. The hospital was in Somerset West, a couple of hours’ drive away, and Gwyn Thomas would have to spend the night. She wanted to take Martine with her, but Martine convinced her that it would be much better if she stayed at Sawubona.

“I don’t want to be tired for school in the morning.”

“That’s true, although I’m surprised to hear you say so,” retorted her grandmother. “But in any case I’ll be worried about you here on your own.”

“I won’t be on my own,” Martine assured her. “Warrior and Shelby will keep me company and if I’m scared I can call Tendai. Besides, I’ve got some homework I need to finish.”

At two o’clock she waved good-bye to her grandmother, smiling what she hoped was her most trustworthy smile. That in itself made Gwyn Thomas suspicious and before half an hour had gone by, Tendai was at the door, checking up on her. Luckily Martine, who really did have a school project to finish, was already sitting at the dining room table surrounded by books, so she had no difficulty convincing Tendai that she was absolutely fine. “I’ll phone you in a second if I’m not,” she promised.

Homework done, she went up to her room, shut the curtains on the afternoon sunshine, set the alarm, and hopped into bed. She had a long night ahead of her and she needed all the sleep she could get.

It was one a.m. when Martine entered the game reserve, nerves tingling, and she knew within seconds that there was going to be trouble. She crouched down in the thick grass and scanned the bush carefully. Lights were flickering in the trees. At this hour, that meant one of two things. At best, it was Tendai or Alex patrolling the reserve, in which case if she was discovered and her grandmother heard about her escapade, her life would no longer be worth living. At worst, it was a gang of poachers—possibly even her grandfather’s killers. Either way, it was a monumental disaster. Unable to get back without being seen, she used the grass as cover to make it as far as the trees and then flung herself under a clump of bushes.

Presently, she heard voices. The men were speaking softly, but it was a fine night and the sound traveled clearly over the water.

“I’m telling you, man, this better not be another one of your wild-goose chases,” said one. “If we don’t deliver this thing very soon, M . . .”—the name was lost on the wind— “is going to get ugly.

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