‘Sea not taste nice, eh? You like to stroke him?’
Joe looked doubtfully at the crab’s huge pincers.
‘Crab taste much nicer than sea.’ Rey smiled.
He let the crab go, took hold of the rope and disappeared again. When at last he came back up, some distance away, he gestured to Joe’s family to come and join him.
‘Here,’ he said. ‘Seahorses.’
Chapter 11
The Brooks followed Rey as he tracked down several seahorses and related pipefish. Their guide even cupped one seahorse in his hand and gave it first to Aesha and then to Joe to hold. Joe was thrilled when the seahorse curled its black-and-yellow-striped tail round his finger.
‘That’s a tiger tail seahorse.’ Angela took off her mask to inform them. ‘They’re so well camouflaged that only someone as experienced as Rey can spot them, even though they’re bigger here than outside the Marine Protected Area.’
‘He’s so cute,’ said Aesha. ‘I can see why people are tempted to keep them as pets, even though it’s cruel.’
When Rey pointed out a pregnant male, its belly bulging and its partner close by, Joe thought it was one of the best things he had ever seen. He was fascinated by the way they anchored themselves on sponges and pieces of coral and swayed gently in the swell.
For an hour they explored the area where the seahorses were most abundant. Rey led them to other sea creatures as well and every few seconds something new came into view.
This is much more fun than watching television or playing computer games, Joe decided.
He was disappointed when the time came for them to return to the village.
‘We can’t stay out all night,’ said Binti as they returned to the banca. ‘Poor Angela and Rey have to work in the morning.’
‘Can we do it again?’ Joe asked.
‘We’ll see how the time goes,’ said Peter. ‘Rey will be going diving with me tomorrow so that I can take photos of the reef where it’s deeper, but we can’t expect him to miss his beauty sleep every night.’
Rey laughed out loud. ‘Have to stay beautiful for my wife.’
‘I think you’ll need a quiet day tomorrow,’ Angela said to Joe. ‘I bet you won’t be up as early as usual.’
Joe pulled a face. He was sure he would be, but he didn’t want to argue in case it sounded rude. He still felt wide awake when they reached the shore, though he could feel the tiredness in his legs as they made their way back up to the staff house.
‘It’s surprising how much snorkelling takes out of you, isn’t it?’ said Binti, putting her arm round his shoulders as he began to trail behind everyone else.
‘I’m all right,’ he said, but when they reached their room and he lay down on the sleeping mat, he went out like a light.
Joe was woken by the sound of heavy rain. It was pitch black and he had no idea what time it was. He wanted to get up off his sleeping mat and look through the window, but he was worried about letting mosquitoes in under the net. He listened to the rain hammering on the nearby electricity generator and wondered how he would ever get back to sleep. He sat up and looked across at Aesha. She hadn’t stirred and wouldn’t, he was sure, even if someone were to explode a paper bag right by her ear.
He lay back and listened intently. The rain was torrential, drowning out almost every other noise, but he thought he heard the buzz of a motorbike, and wondered why anyone would be driving around on such a night. The effort of listening made him feel hot. He kicked the sheets away and strained his ears. Nothing. He closed his eyes.
The next time Joe woke, it was broad daylight and he found himself alone in the room. He leapt off his sleeping mat and ran to the window. It had stopped raining but the sky was heavy with clouds. He could hear voices coming from the thatched pavilion area and was cross with himself for oversleeping, especially knowing that Aesha was already up. What time is it? He dressed quickly and ran through the house, which was deserted.
When he reached the pavilion, he discovered that his family was there, as well as Angela, Rey, Carl and Dario. The table was covered in used glasses and plates and everyone looked sombre.
‘Good afternoon,’ his father said when he saw him.
Joe pouted. ‘Why didn’t you wake me up?’
‘Aesha said you were sleeping like a baby.’
Joe glared at his sister. He felt embarrassed with his new friend sitting there watching. ‘I got woken up by the rain in the night,’ he said defensively. ‘Why is everybody looking so serious?’
‘We’ve had word from the wardens that someone might have gone blast fishing in the night,’ Angela told him. ‘Carl’s going to investigate, while Rey goes with your father so that he can take the photos he needs for his magazine.’
‘Can I go too?’ Joe asked eagerly.
‘I’m afraid not,’ said Peter. ‘We’re going to be diving today. It’s time to get on with my assignment.’
‘You can
