they climbed the waiting ladder, she pressed a remote and the craft glided forwards into a boat shed set in the bank.
Ben and Zoe knew the routine by now. They made for the tumbledown outside toilet, Erika at their heels. Ben bolted the door and Zoe pulled the chain.
Whoosh! The cubicle turned into a lift and shot deep into the earth.
âWho needs a rollercoaster when weâve got Uncle Stephenâs turbo toilet!â Ben laughed, clutching his belly.
Zoe and Erika followed Ben along a well-lit corridor to the Control Room. They placed their fingertips on an ID pad.
âPrint identification complete,â announced the electronic voice.
They burst into a bright room full of flashing control panels and computer screens â the nerve centre of Wild HQ. A pair of plimsolled feet was sticking out from under a console.
âUncle Stephen,â called Zoe softly.
There was a thump and a muffled curse, then the gangly figure of their godfather emerged, rubbing his head.
âHello there,â he said cheerfully. âJust fixing the phase converters. Iâve got the whole place running on solar power now.â He looked at their wetsuits. âI know youâre going to the rain forest, but it wonât be that wet!â
âI picked Ben and Zoe up from the beach,â explained Erika.
âLet me tell you about your mission.â Uncle Stephen grinned. He touched a plasma screen and brought up a satellite map of a large island. âBorneo,â he announced. âThere was once a huge rainforest here, but thereâs been a lot of logging over the last few years â legal and illegal.â
âIâve read all about that,â said Ben. âTheyâre clearing the land for oil palm plantations. Palm oilâs used all over the world â in margarine, soap, candles, cosmetics â loads of things.â
âMr Know-it-all.â Zoe raised her eyebrows. âBut youâre right. The rainforestâs disappearing really fast. Is that something to do with the orang-utan in danger?â
âSpot on, Zoe,â said her godfather. âWeâve had reports from one of our operatives out there about an orang-utan called Kawan. Until recently he was living safely on the Adilah Reservation. But then suddenly he left his territory.â
âMat Ginting, who runs the reservation, had reared him from a baby,â Erika explained. âHe reintroduced Kawan into the wild last year.â
âOrang-utans donât become independent until theyâre about seven or eight, do they?â said Ben. âNo other animal in the world stays with its mother that long.â
âYouâre correct, Ben,â said Dr Fisher. âKawanâs about eight now. He had initially adapted well to living in the wild and had established his own territory. Male orang-utans live alone and their territory is very important to them. The only time they come near to other orang-utans is for mating or to fight another male whoâs strayed into their space.â
âBut then two weeks ago, there was some illegal logging in his area,â said Erika. âSome men came at night and cut down several trees before they were chased off. Wood is valuable and they intended to sell it. One of the felled trees had an orang-utan nest made of leaves that were still fresh, so Kawan must have been sleeping there. He fled in terror and hasnât been back since.â
âSo heâs completely disappeared?â said Zoe.
âThere have been a couple of sightings outside the reservation on a nearby oil palm plantation.â Uncle Stephen took up the story. âBut he hasnât wanted to come back to his territory. Now this is serious.
Kawan is essential for Mr Gintingâs dream of increasing the orang-utan population.
There are very few males on the reservation.â
âAnd orang-utans breed very slowly, donât they?â said Ben.
Uncle