Panda-Monium Read Free Page B

buckets.
    Her breath caught in shock. ‘Wangchuk! Look!’
    Wangchuk stopped talking and stared where Bindi was pointing. He took a step back in surprise. ‘Panda poo!’ He turned and spoke urgently with his aunty.
    â€˜Well?’ Bindi was flabbergasted. Could the whole village be in on this? What was going on?
    â€˜She says two passing strangers offered her the poo to put on her garden. She says they were keen to get rid of it, which suited her. She didn’t know it was panda poo.’ Wangchuk looked shocked. ‘She also says she agrees with Chandra – the red pandas need a safe place to live.’
    Bindi was relieved. Chandra was right. Aunty Maya was on their side. ‘Ask her if she saw where they went.’
    Wangchuk said a few more words in Sherpa. His aunty responded, a questioning look on her face.
    â€˜What did she say?’ Bindi suspected she already knew the answer.
    â€˜Mr Ming-Ma’s house. That’s where they went. Mr Ming-Ma’s.’

Bindi and Wangchuk jumped up and peered over the top of the stone wall that ran behind Mr Ming-Ma’s. No one was around, but they could hear voices coming from inside the big house.
    Bindi felt a rush of determination. She was certain Mr Ming-Ma had something to do with the disappearing panda poo. Now they just had to find out what, so they could alert Vicki, Chandra and the villagers.
    She glanced over at Wangchuk. ‘Bring your parcel. We might need it.’
    Pulling themselves up, they clambered to the top of the wall then jumped down the other side. As soon as they hit the deck they dashed across the open ground and hid behind a bush not far from the house’s back door.
    Bindi peered through the leaves. Just metres away, two dogs were lying asleep on the doorstep. One was tan and black with lanky legs. The other, huge with thick dark fur, was a Tibetan mastiff, an ancient breed that made good guard dogs – and good hunters as well.
    â€˜I’ll take care of the dogs,’ Bindi whispered, tugging the parcel from Wangchuk’s hands, ‘if you can find out what they’re talking about in there.’
    Wangchuk just nodded.
    Bindi pulled the wrapping from Wangchuk’s parcel. Inside was his blue ball. She gave a little whistle. The dogs woke immediately and looked around. The mastiff gave one loud bark.
    Someone from inside yelled, probably to tell the dog to be quiet.
    Bindi whistled softly again. ‘Here, boy,’ she called as quietly as she could. She popped her head around the bush. Both dogs leapt to their feet. Bindi put her hand to her lips, then motioned for them to come. Tails wagging, the dogs rushed over.
    â€˜Look at that! They like you!’ Wangchuk said, shaking his head in amazement before scuttling across to the window. He crouched down to listen.
    Bindi bounced the ball as quietly as she could. ‘Come on, guys,’ she said softly, ‘let’s play ball.’ She ran to the side of the house where she would be out of sight of passersby and the house occupants. The dogs followed, still wagging their tails. Bindi threw the ball. The lanky dog ran after it and brought it back. Bindi began the game again.
    At last Wangchuk appeared. The dogs ignored him. They were too busy chasing the ball.
    â€˜Well?’ Bindi whispered.
    â€˜There were three men talking. One of them was Mr Ming-Ma. They were making plans and talking. Mr Ming-Ma was telling the other two to go back to the forest.’
    â€˜To get more panda poo?’
    â€˜Worse. He wants them to take the dogs. They’re going to hunt down the pandas.’
    â€˜When? Tomorrow?’ Bindi could hardly believe what she was hearing.
    Wangchuk shook his head. ‘No. Not tomorrow. Now.’

There was no time to lose. They had to do something, and fast.
    An idea popped into Bindi’s head, but could she pull it off? She surveyed the stone wall they’d scaled to get into Mr