The Monkey Howled at Midnight (8 page)

“But how did you know?”

“I saw the wound. I could feel his fever. My people have a lot of experience with insects of the forest. Trust me, I know what to do.”

The man's voice was calm and sure. So after some more thought, Cody decided that the best thing to do was to trust him.

Koobi prepared his poultice of water and plants and placed it on Otis's wound. By the time the sun was on the horizon, Otis was able to stand and walk, leaning on Koobi.

Koobi led them to his village. It was a collection of huts made of poles with thatched roofs clustered at random. People were already up and about. They stared at the newcomers with wide, curious eyes.

It was easy to see that the Pirahã were not completely isolated from outside civilization. The women wore loose knee-length dresses. Some of the men wore loincloths, but many were wearing shorts. They had no shoes but their feet were hard and calloused. Many wore necklaces made of beads and feathers. No one was pierced or painted.

The children stared at Rae and the twins. But they weren't too shy to step right up and touch them. They put their little hands on the twins' faces and stroked Rae's hair.

“You must be hungry,” said Koobi. “Have something to eat, and then nap a bit if you want. I know you didn't get much sleep.”

“Thanks,” said Cody, “but we really need to get home as soon as possible.”

“That's right,” Rae agreed. “The sooner we get going, the better.”

“Why are you in such a hurry? Are your parents worried? And why are you traveling through the forest alone?”

“It's a long story.” Cody felt his knees begin to buckle. “Maybe we'd better eat something after all.” His stomach growled loudly.

Koobi said something to the others. Soon Cody and Rae had plates of fish and manioc with bananas and a sweet fruit juice in front of them. A few feet away, someone was feeding Otis.

“Now,” Koobi said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Why are you alone in the jungle, and why are you in a hurry?”

Cody and Rae both took an extra mouthful of food before answering. “It's because of endangered animals,” Rae began. “We're staying with someone whose son is part of a smuggling operation.”

“We left the son—his name is Pino—back there. They have a whole warehouse full of all kinds of animals,” said Cody. “It's all high tech. Antibacterial washes and temperature controls. Pino seemed like he might be changing his mind about the whole thing, but that made this guy Aldo pretty mad. I think Pino might be in danger.”

Koobi stroked his chin. “I know exactly what you are talking about. Some of these men have come to my people and asked them to catch animals for them. It is not something my people would do.” He rubbed his forehead.

“They found others who would help them, though,” he went on. “They were tempted by the things the men showed them, the jewelry, the motion-picture cameras, and other things.”

“I got a couple of pictures of the inside of the warehouse just before we left,” Rae said.

“Smart girl.” Koobi smiled. “If you have pictures, no one can say that the place isn't there.”

Rae took a big gulp of juice. “Why were you in the jungle by yourself, anyway?”

“It's a lot safer for me than for you. I woke up and went walking to think. It's something I've done since I was a boy.”

“You speak English, and the tribal language, too. How come?” asked Cody.

“Well, as you can see my tribe has had contact with the world outside the forest,” he said. “Others speak English, but not as much as I do.”

Koobi looked thoughtful. “When I was a little boy I walked off by myself into the rain forest. I must have been about four years old, and I was looking at animals. I saw a baby monkey who had wandered away from its mother.”

He stopped talking for a moment to watch a little girl walking two baby armadillos as if they were puppies. For a moment she stared at Cody's freckled face and then kept walking.

“I lost sight of the monkey, and I got lost myself,” Koobi went on. “I hadn't told my parents that I was leaving the village—so I don't know when they missed me. It was the next day when some people found me while they were rafting down the river. They tried for hours to find my village. They finally gave up. Not knowing what else to do, they took me into the boat and back to their home. They raised me until I grew up and went to college.”

Cody and Rae both stopped eating. “What about your parents?” Cody asked.

“The people who cared for me wouldn't have known how to find them,” said Koobi. “
They
became my parents, and they were very good to me. But after I finished college I felt that something was missing. I came back and found my Pirahã parents. Now I stay here sometimes and sometimes in Manaus.”

“It must be so different. Like being in two worlds,” said Cody.

“It is,” Koobi agreed. “I've been working with the police to nail these animal smugglers. I never found the warehouse until tonight. But
you
were the ones who got inside.”

Cody put down his plate. “I'm going to ask Otis if he's feeling well enough to travel. Then let's get going, okay?”

He walked over to where Otis lay in a hammock. “How you doin', dude?”

“A lot better.” Otis grinned. “Still sore, but whatever Koobi put on that bite did the trick. I can't describe how it felt—like being bitten by a shark with hot knives for teeth.”

Rae had crept up behind Cody and peered at Otis's leg. “Wow, you've got a big bruise.”

“Compared to the way it felt before, the bruise feels great,” Otis said. He smiled as he eased himself off the hammock. He took a couple of slow, careful steps, then a couple more that weren't so careful.

“How does it feel?” Koobi asked.

“Good enough,” Otis said firmly. “Let's do this.” He turned to his brother. “You get to fly the plane though, dude. I wouldn't trust this foot on the brake.”

“Are you sure you can handle it?” Koobi asked Cody. “I can help you find the plane, but I can't fly it.” He peered at Cody doubtfully. “Are you sure you can fly that plane? You seem awfully young to be a pilot.”

Cody put his hands in his pockets. “Well, you probably know that I am too young to have a pilot's license. My brother and I are twelve years old. But I could get a license if I were a few years older. I have flown well over the forty hours required. I've passed the tests for student, sport, and recreational pilot. I am familiar with Cessnas—that's the plane they used to get us here.”

“He's telling the truth,” Otis said. “I studied piloting, too. One of our uncles has a school in Deerville, New York. That's where we live.”

Koobi still looked doubtful. “You guys are twelve years old. How much experience flying solo do you have, Cody?”

Cody looked down at the ground. “Enough,” he said. He looked up and glanced from Otis to Rae.

“Cody has had enough experience to fly us back to Manaus,” said Rae. “He's not the type to play around.”

“Watch me check out the plane,” said Cody. “You'll see that I know what I'm doing.”

Koobi shrugged. “Well, okay … I'll go get ready,” he said, then walked away.

Cody exhaled a long breath. “Thanks for covering for me, guys. I think I can do this, but I wish I were a little more confident.”

“Try to relax and concentrate,” said Rae.

“You can do it,” Otis said, punching him lightly on the arm. “Besides, you've got to. And I'll be right there with you.”

Hours later, they were nearing their destination. As they approached the landing strip, Cody shielded his eyes from the sun.

“There is another plane beside ours,” he said in a hushed voice. “I wonder who it belongs to. I wouldn't be surprised if it was more of Aldo's crew. We'd better be careful. They might be around.”

“I don't think so,” said eagle-eyed Otis. “The pilot is still in the cockpit. But he's tied up—and he's either sleeping or unconscious.”

They hurried to the plane. The twins jumped inside.

The pilot's head lolled to the side and his hair fell over his eyes. His lips were cracked and bleeding and there were lots of bruises on his face. It looked as if he had been beaten.

After a moment, the man stirred and groaned. He shook the hair from his face and opened his eyes.

Cody and Otis gasped. It was Luis Estevez.

[
Chapter Thirteen
]

T
he twins gave Luis some water. He tried to speak, but he was in no shape to do much talking. They untied him and, with Koobi's help, got him into the waiting plane.

When Rae saw him, her eyes widened. “Someone gave him an awful beating,” she said.

“I wonder what Luis was doing here,” Otis said in a hushed voice. “We'll have to find out later. He's barely conscious.”

“This whole situation is going from bad to worse.” Cody ran a hand through his hair. He began moving around the plane, examining every part. He used the fuel cup to check for water in the tanks. Koobi never took his eyes off him.

“You've got me convinced that you know what you're doing,” he murmured after a few moments. “Can you find the airport in Manaus?”

“I think so,” Cody answered. “There should be a chart in the plane.” He searched inside. “Got it.”

“I remember that the airport for the private planes is called Amazonas,” Koobi told him.

Cody unfurled the chart.

“It's here,” Koobi said, pointing a finger.

Cody looked and nodded. He folded the chart and went to examine the wing flaps.

“Got much more to do before we leave?” Koobi asked.

“I'm done,” Cody said, wiping his hands on his pants. “Let's go, everybody. Otis, sit in front with me and help out, okay?”

Cody climbed into the pilot's seat, adjusting it to move it closer to the steering column. He looked for the checklist in the door's side pocket where he had found the chart.

Every plane is supposed to carry a copy of a checklist. It shows all of the many items to be taken care of at all stages of the flight. The checklist wasn't in the side pocket.

He felt under the seat and came up empty-handed. He looked left and right. “Where is the checklist? Did Aldo take it with him?” he muttered. “That was dumb. What good would it do him outside the plane?” He'd have to remember the checks as best he could. There were a lot of them.

Cody checked to make sure all the doors were securely closed. “Are your seat belts on, everybody?”

“Seat belts on,” they all answered.

“Right door closed and locked,” said Otis.

Mentally, Cody went down the items to be checked before starting up. “Fuel valve
on
, brakes
on
, circuit breakers
check
, brakes
hold
, master switch
on
…”

“Well, here we go,” he said finally. “I can't radio in to Control so I'm clearing myself for takeoff.”

He started the engine and they all listened to the whir of the propeller. Cody pulled back on the throttle and the plane began to taxi down the runway.

Cody peered at the gauges and tried to remember more of the checklist. “Flight instruments
checked and set
, ammeter
check
, oil temperature
check
…” He moved the throttle forward for full power and applied some right rudder. Moments later, they watched as the nose went up and the plane lifted into the air.

The plane rose higher. The passengers listened as Cody muttered to himself. “Land light off … gauges checked … cruise set … 122 miles per hour …”

“You're
on top of things
,” said Otis.

Cody groaned. “This is no time for puns, and that was really bad, by the way.”

“How about a palindrome?”

“If this were a seaplane maybe I could land it in a
loopy pool
. There's one.”