The Secret of Zanzibar Read Online Free PDF Page A

trail.’
    â€˜On foot?’ Alex said glumly.
    His father nodded. ‘We’ll meet Solomon Honker in Sharman and cross the border into Gerander from there – though we’ll be going our separate ways, of course.’
    â€˜I’ll bet Solomon has thought of a great way to travel,’ Alex said, cheering up. ‘He was the one who organised that hot-air balloon.’
    â€˜I’d rather walk,’ muttered Alice, who hadn’t enjoyed the experience at all.
    She watched without envy as her aunt and uncle and Zanzibar – who was also her uncle, she remembered, though he was virtually a stranger – walked into the middle of the clearing. They adjusted their rucksacksso that they were tight against their backs, then crossed their arms across their bodies so their hands rested on the opposite shoulders.
    â€˜Okay, Os,’ said Zanzibar, and the giant owl dropped from the branch to hover above the three waiting mice. Carefully, he closed one talon around Zanzibar and the other around Ebenezer and Beezer. Then he beat his giant wings and rose into the air.
    The downdraft ruffled Alice’s fur as she waved.
    Ebenezer had his eyes open and though he couldn’t wave back he was smiling broadly and nodding his head at his family on the ground. Beezer, on the other hand, had her eyes closed tight.
    â€˜See you in Cornoliana,’ Zanzibar called.
    The group on the ground watched until the owl was just a speck in the distance, then Rebus said, ‘We’ll get going ourselves as soon as it’s light.’ He studied the sky. ‘We’ve got an hour or more to kill, I’d say.’ He walked over to a fallen log at the edge of the clearing and sat down, then patted the log on either side of him. ‘Let’s do some catching up,’ he suggested. ‘Why don’t you two tell me about all the birthdays you had while we were away.’
    As they sat beside their father, Alex immediately launched into a detailed description of the different cakes Ebenezer had made them.
    Emmeline, sitting on Alice’s other side, laughed aloud. The sound startled Alice; when had she last heard her mother laugh like that? She couldn’t remember.
    â€˜Oh, Alex,’ said Emmeline affectionately, ‘I’ve missed you.’
    Alex looked surprised at the unexpected declaration. ‘Uh, yeah, me too, Mum. Anyway, for our eleventh birthday Uncle Ebenezer made a triple-layer cheesy chocolate cake …’
    When the first rays of sunlight broke over the horizon, they shouldered their rucksacks and, after a last look around, left the clearing. Alice brushed away their final footsteps. It was as if they had never been there.
    â€˜I still don’t see why Oswald couldn’t at least have carried us some of the way,’ Alex complained as they picked their way carefully along a narrow path that skirted the gorge.
    Alice didn’t answer. She was completely focused on the ground ahead, trying not to glance over the edge. She knew that if she saw how far the drop was, she probably wouldn’t be able to go on.
    â€˜Really, if Oswald should be giving anyone special treatment it’s me,’ Alex continued. ‘I’m the one who’s going to be king.’
    â€˜Oswald hasn’t been choosing to carry Alistair instead of you,’ Alice said. ‘It’s just worked out that way.’
    â€˜When I’m king I’m going to get my own owl,’ Alex went on. ‘For my own exclusive use.’
    â€˜I don’t think you can actually own an owl,’ said Alice. ‘No one owns Oswald. He’s helping FIG because he chooses to.’
    After three hours of hiking, they at last left the gorge behind and joined the road heading north to Sharman. It was an easy walk through a valley, with rolling green hills on either side. Striding along with the sun on her shoulders, Alice realised that for the first time in ages she felt