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10
Bulletin Board
The first thing Debra wanted to do the morning after her nightmare was to make sure Dilo was safe and well. The weather was perfect.
“I’m going for a swim with Dilo before breakfast,” she announced cheerfully to her uncle who was busying himself in the kitchen.
“Off you go then,” said Pat with a smile “I won’t start cooking until you get back”.
Debra bounced lightly down the steps to the sea. “Dilo, I’m coming,” she called out as she put on her mask and snorkel. As soon as she was in the sea Debra dived down to the seabed and picked up two stones. She banged them together. She knew Dilo would recognise her secret signal. When Dilo didn’t appear she continued swimming clapping the stones as she went. No Dilo. Eventually she swam back to the rocks.
Pat saw Debra’s disappointment as soon as she stepped back into the house. “He’s probably far out in the bay catching his breakfast. Sit down and have yours. You can try again later,” he said optimistically.
And that’s just what Debra did. Several times she swam out from the rocks. But no Dilo. Debra persuaded Pat to row her to The Silent Pool, the secret cave where she knew Dilo rested, but the dolphin wasn’t there. She got Mike, her diver friend, to search far and wide in his inflatable. Reluctantly she had to accept that Dilo had gone away.
The next day Uncle Pat and Postie racked their brains to fathom out why Dilo should have disappeared. They considered the possibility that he had swum off to find a mate. They asked the fishermen coming back into the harbour it they had seen Dilo on their visits to the fishing grounds. But none of them had. How and why the friendly dolphin had disappeared remained a complete mystery.
Time went by. At first the fishermen left out their signs, TRIPS TO SEE THE DOLPHIN, in the hope Dilo would return. After several days they took them down.
Robin and his Uncle Pat continued to record the details of the wildlife and the boating activity in the harbour on the International Wildlife Watch computer. Then one day when she was in the observation room with her brother, Debra commented, “Robin, if that computer of yours is so clever, why can’t it tell us what happened to Dilo?”
It was meant as a joke, Debra wasn’t keen on computers. Even so, Debra’s remark inspired Robin to call up every observation he had made on Dilo. He tried to connect Dilo’s disappearance with the phases of the moon, with the presence of seals, with the weather, but nothing gave him a clue.
Robin tried linking Dilo to ‘Boating Activity’, but nothing seemed to tie up. Dilo obviously liked boats. The more boating activity there was, the more Dilo jumped and moved around the bay.
Debra watched the screen intently, “Can’t you come up with anything?” she asked.
“No, not a thing,” Robin said with a hopeless shrug of his shoulders.
“After your dream I even looked up witches on the world wide web, but I couldn’t find out any thing about the Witch of Black Rock” Then he thought for a moment. “There is one small thing,” he added. “Do you remember Sea Wolf? There was something very suspicious about that boat. Well, on the day before Dilo vanished it was in the bay. What’s more, it had an unusual net on board.”
“Sea Wolf is not a fishing boat, so why did it have a net on board?” asked Pat, who had joined them.
“You don’t think those men on Sea Wolf have caught Dilo?” asked Debra with a horrified look on her face.
“What would they have done with him if they had? Well not in this part of the world anyway.”
“Some people still watch dolphin shows,” said Postie who had arrived and joined in the conversation.
“You don’t think they’ve caught Dilo and taken him to an aquarium?” suggested Pat.
They were all surprised that none of them had seriously considered this possibility before.
“Performing dolphins fetch a high price.” added Postie. He thought about it for a moment before he continued. “I’ll have to do some research. I’ve got a friend in London who may be able to help. When I get home I’ll look up his number and give him a call.”
Robin was quiet. Debra recognised the signs.
“Robin, you look as if you are going to have one of your brain waves,” she said.
“I’ve already had it Sis,” he replied, looking very excited. “There are things called Electronic Bulletin Boards. if we put out an appeal for information about Dilo on the International Wildlife Watch website someone is sure to pick it up. He looked at Postie for confirmation. That’s right isn’t it?”
“So I believe. There’s no harm in giving it a try anyway.”
“If computers can help us find Dilo I will never say anything against them ever again,” added Debra, pleased to have some new hope of finding her beloved dolphin friend.
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