The Pursuit of the Ivory Poachers Read Online Free PDF Page A

feet of his face. As Jack looked up, he stared into the snake’s eyes. They were black and cold. Boomslangs were hemotoxic, which meant they could inject a poison that could make you bleed to death. And they were aggressive – one move from Jack and the snake would strike.
    Since boomslangs were tree-dwelling snakes, the only way Jack could savehimself was to pretend he was a tree. He slowed his breathing down and sat totally still.
    Closing his eyes, Jack waited. The first thing he felt was the snake’s cold body brushing against his nose. Then he felt it slide across his face. Slithering over his right shoulder, the snake made its way around his Book Bag and down the length of his back. Although it was travelling fairly quickly for a boomslang, it wasn’t quick enough as far as Jack was concerned. It took all of his energy and concentration not to move. But he had to remain still, or the snake would bite.

    Finally, Jack felt the snake slide off of him and onto his mattress. As soon as he heard its heavy body thump onto the floor, he opened his eyes and looked around. The flap to his tent was wide open. The snake being in his room was no accident – somebody put it in there.
    He looked over his shoulder and spied the snake’s tail going under his bed. Thinking this was a perfect opportunity to escape, Jack carefully stood up and, using the beam from the Everglo Light, leaped as far as he could away from the bed. He hurried to the opening of the tent and stopped to look back. The boomslang was coming out from under the bed. Not wanting to come face-to-face with the creature again, Jack quickly headed out through the tent flap.

    Now that he was outside, Jack decided the safest place for him was the lodge. Although the tents were dark, the main lodge was lit throughout the night. With the beam of his Everglo Light guiding him, he made his move. Just to his left, he could hear hippos burrowing themselves into the bank. From somewhere above came the strange sound of an unknown animal. Jack reckoned he’d seen enough of the local wildlife for one night, and hurried towards the main building as quickly as he could.

Chapter 14: The Transfer
    â€œJack!” said a voice from up ahead. Thanks to the glow of his torch, Jack could see that it was Jasper Kendall heading towards him. “What are you doing here?” he asked, seeming surprised. “It’s a bit early to be out and about, isn’t it?”
    Yeah, right, thought Jack, who was thinking it was more than a coincidence that Jasper was up this early, too. Maybe he was the one who had put the snake in Jack’s tent. Not wanting to let him in onhis private thoughts, Jack just shrugged. “I wanted to use the lights in the main lodge to do some work.”
    â€œI see,” said Jasper. He didn’t seem convinced by Jack’s excuse. “Why don’t I take you there?” he said, leading Jack by the arm. “Shall I call Trevor and tell him that you’ll be ready . . . a bit earlier than expected?”
    â€œThat would be nice,” said Jack.

    They soon reached the main building and Jasper phoned Trevor. It wasn’t long before he arrived. He pulled up in the darkened car park. After all, it was only 6:00 AM .
    â€œMorning,” Trevor said. “I was thinking I’d take you on a safari drive. It’s too early to see the old man anyway,” he said, meaning Chief Abasi. “He’s probably still asleep. But the animals, on the other hand, are just starting to wake up.”
    Jack thought that was a great idea. Any opportunity to learn about the animals, especially the elephants, could only help with the investigation. He also wanted to search for clues that would tie Jasper Kendall to the crime.
    â€œExcellent idea,” said Jack as he climbed into the front seat. Jack was impressed by Trevor’s new Land Rover. He’d ridden in the same kind of vehicle once with his dad at a