Rescue! Read Free Page B

Africa would be like!
    The girls were stumped. They’d tried the windows and the door but both were locked. The phone on the desk was disconnected and, although Hannah had found her mobile phone in her jeans pocket, she couldn’t get any reception.
    Bindi began to pace. “It makes me so mad that those men are getting away while we’re trapped in here!”
    Hannah sighed glumly. “Why would anyone want to hurt such an incredible animal? And why are we getting blamed for trying to help catch them?”
    Bindi didn’t have an answer to either of Hannah’s questions. Both girls turned as they heard the door being unlocked.
    Hannah jumped to her feet. “About time.”
    A tall, thin, bearded man wearing rangers’ overalls entered the room. He carried a tray of food and bottles of water that he set down on the desk. He gestured to the food. “Brian asked me to bring you some breakfast. Help yourselves.”
    The girls didn’t need to be told twice. They were starving.
    As she ate, Bindi tried to appeal to the man. “Listen, my friend and I need to get out of here.”
    He smirked. “Is that so?”
    Bindi nodded. “We know some men tried to hunt the antelope last night and we have to stop them.”
    Suddenly the man was all ears. “How do you know that?”
    Hannah piped up mid-mouthful. “Because we were there and we’re being held prisoner here because we can’t identify the men. We saw them cut a hole in the fence. They were up to something bad!”
    The staff member shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe they had a different motive.”
    Bindi couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Why would you defend them? They were obviously doing something illegal.”
    As she ate, Hannah studied the man more closely. He looked familiar to her. The more she looked at him, the more she knew she’d seen him before.
    Hannah pointed to the man’s face. “You’ve got something on your beard.”
    He rubbed at his beard self-consciously. As he did so a dark smudge appeared on his chin.
    Bindi noticed the mark. “You’ve made it worse.”
    She took a step closer for a better look. “It looks like…face paint.”
    Hannah gasped. “I recognize you now. You were there last night. You’re one of the men!”
    Without a word the man strode swiftly toward the door and closed it. Then he turned back to face the girls. He looked very serious now. “You’re absolutely right. I was one of the men breaking in last night.”

Hannah and Bindi sat in stunned silence, staring at the employee-turned-intruder. They were both scared about what he might do to keep his secret from getting out. Should they scream for help?
    The man took a deep breath before speaking. “Listen to me for a moment. I wasn’t breaking in to steal or hurt an animal. I was trying to gather hard evidence to prove what’s really going on here at this so-called ‘sanctuary.’”
    The girls gave him a quizzical look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hannah said honestly.
    â€œLet me explain. This is an animal sanctuary and breeding center, by day. It’s a different story at night . They use part of the grounds as a reserve where men pay good money to hunt game for sport.”
    Now Bindi was confused. “No, that can’t be right. Thabu said it’s for protecting the antelope.”
    The man shook his head and continued, “A colleague and I figured out what was going on here a few weeks ago. Antelope numbers were decreasing and we didn’t know why. We’ve been trying to collect evidence ever since but it’s difficult. Brian is a powerful man and security is really tight. We’re searched whenever we arrive or leave the grounds.”
    Bindi shook her head slowly. “How do we know you’re telling the truth?”
    The man threw up his hands in