6 Time for a rescue

Chapter Six TIME FOR A RESCUE The Beagle stood where they had left it, on the landing pad near the hot springs where they had first seen Keemo. Cheng felt a twist of worry in his belly as he thought about Halani and her happy, naughty little puppy. The helicopter greeted them with a wild flurry of anxious BEEPS and flashing lights.

"We missed you too, Beagle," said Leah as she scrambled aboard and slipped on her headset. "You know something's wrong, don't you?" Cheng leaped into the Beagle after Leah, pulling himself into the cabin and flinging himself down in the pilot's seat. He was too out of breath to do anything but put on his headset and pat the Beagle's controls in greeting. Then he flicked on the communications panel on the dashboard. A screen lit up.

"Calling the Exploration Station," said Leah urgently. She flicked another button. "Exploration Station, do you read us?" The Exploration Station came into view. The other Secret Explorers had gathered around the screen. Cheng had never been more pleased to see them.

"Are you guys OK?" said Ollie. "Yeah, how can we help?" asked Roshni. "We've been tracking you and we know Mount Yasur just erupted," said Gustavo. "We're worried there's going to be another eruption," Cheng broke in, leaning close to the screen. "And we have a friend with her dog who may be lost up there. Can you intercept the volcanic data being transmitted to the observatory?" "Just give me a second and I'll be in their database," Kiki said. It was an anxious wait. Leah and Cheng could hear Kiki's fingers clicking over the computer keys. Cheng looked out of the helicopter windshield, but could only see the banks of trees which surrounded them. From the way Leah kept glancing at the wildly twittering birds among the tangled branches,

Cheng knew she was still worried. He crossed his fingers. Maybe they were wrong about a second eruption. "Got it," said Kiki. She frowned. "It says there are a lot of gases being released— more than usual. And the temperature of the lava... that looks seriously high as well."

Cheng's stomach plummeted. More gases and higher temperatures? That meant Mount Yasur wasn't just going to erupt again. It was going to be a much bigger eruption than before! "That's bad," he said, when he could find his voice. "How bad?" asked Leah. Cheng shook his head. "A lot worse than the last one," he said grimly. "Halani and Keemo are in serious danger." "Then we need to get up there," said Leah. "But is it possible to fly so close to an eruption?" "Not in an ordinary helicopter," said Cheng. "The ash would damage the blades. But luckily the Beagle is no ordinary helicopter." "It definitely isn't," Leah said, patting the