5 Now’s the Time!

Chapter 5 NOW'S THE TIME! Jack and Annie followed Tuya. Batu and Gan were waiting outside the yurt. They all hurried after other families and volunteers leaving the camp. Everyone was headed down a path bordered by feathery grasses. Jack remembered things Khan the bus driver had said: Officials report the planes landed safely…. Hundreds of people greeted them…. Get ready for a miracle…. Jack could hardly wait to see the miracle. The crowd from the nomad camp soon arrived at the nature reserve. Beyond the arched entrance was a blue building. The minibus and a few trucks were in a parking lot. Beside the building was a bike stand. It was filled with mountain bikes.

"This is the field station of the reserve," Tuya said to Jack and Annie. "Who owns all those bikes?" asked Jack. "The station," said Tuya. "Eco-Volunteers use bikes to ride around the reserve." She pointed to a vast open plain bordered by distant hills. "You don't ride your horses there?" asked Annie. "Oh, no, tame horses are not allowed," said Tuya. "The nature reserve is a home only for wild animals." "Come, Tuya!" called Gan. The crowd had already gathered around a fenced area near the bike stand. Jack and Annie hurried with Tuya, her mother, and brother. They all squeezed into an open spot near the gate.

Inside the fenced area were rangers in green uniforms. They were waiting beside a row of large wooden crates. The crates were as tall as the men who stood beside them. "Hi! We're here!" Tuya yelled, waving. Two rangers waved back. "That's my father and big brother!" Tuya told Jack and Annie. "They helped build this fence. It circles fifty acres of the reserve." "How big is the whole reserve?" asked Jack. "Over one hundred thousand acres!" said Tuya. "Wow, that's huge!" said Annie. From inside the crates came sounds of thumping and banging. "What's inside the boxes?" Jack asked. "The Takhi!" Tuya said. "What are the Takhi?" Annie asked. Before Tuya could answer, a burly ranger shouted to the crowd, "It's time! They just took a thirty-hour trip on planes and trucks to get here! They will be confused at first! Be very quiet! Do not frighten them!" The crowd grew silent. Photographers held up their cameras.

Jack gripped the wire fence. The suspense was almost more than he could bear. He felt like aliens from another planet were about to come out of the boxes. "Get ready!" yelled the burly ranger. The other rangers gripped the door handles on the crates. "Now!" one of them shouted, and they all pulled the doors open at the same time. Slowly, a pale brown horse stepped from one of the crates onto the grass. It looked around shyly and pricked up its ears. Then another horse stepped out of a crate. Then another… and another… until more than a dozen horses had stepped out onto the grass.

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The horses all looked alike. They had round white bellies and spiky black manes. They were smaller than regular horses. Their heads were large, but their legs were short. The crowd held its breath. "Ohhh… they are so beautiful," said Tuya. Gan was shaking. Batu wiped away tears. What's the big deal? Jack wondered. Leaning over the fence, he peered through his binoculars. A couple of the horses stamped the ground. They snorted, then bolted away from the crates. Then all the other horses followed, breaking into a full gallop. As the herd thundered down the long fenced area, the crowd began clapping and cheering. Photographers snapped pictures. Tuya jumped up and down, bumping into Jack. His binoculars slipped from his hands. They landed on the other side of the fence, inside the horse corral.