Koen was clearly rocked, but still sceptical. 'The Doc heard those words the hyena's blanket from Bowker's grandfather and my old man. He didn't make them up himself.'
'Who says so?' I retorted. 'You can't check that one either: they're both dead. It's part of Praeger's cunning. He fixed his story so that there couldn't possibly be witnesses.'
Nadine followed up crisply. 'Believe it if you want to, Koen. Neither Guy nor I are stopping you. Go chasing your thirty million dream if you wish. What I'm offering you is a lot less, but it's right here and I can take you to it in the next couple of hours.'
His glittering brawn eyes went from Nadine to myself. I began to feel we had him on the ropes.
'Have you ever heard of the Ancient Ruins Exploration Company?'
He shook his head.
'It doesn't matter,' replied Nadine. 'It's a company my father set up to exploit gold from old ruins.'
'You can't do that legally,' objected Koen. 'I'm not that dumb.
Nadine sighed with mock patience. 'Gold is where you find Koen. Why do you think Guy and I came here with the scientific expedition in the first place? It was legal, perfect cover. We reconnoitred the place. Then, when everyone left we came back. We were using a plane because the treasure's in bits and pieces: it's light and easy to fly out. Then along came Rankin and spoilt everything by shooting the pilot.'
Koen remained mulish. 'Rankin was here. You came to fix things about diamonds with him. The Doc says so.'
'For God's sake stop saying the Doc says this and the Doc says that!' I burst out. 'Talk about sucking on the hind tit!
Let me tell it you, Koen, the way it was. I didn't know Rankin was at The Hill. Rankin shopped me. IDB. I gave him a brief summary of the case. 'What Rankin is up to is nothing to do with us. Ours is a separate outfit — gold, as Nadine says. You and Praeger have got your lines hopelessly crossed. When I ran into Rankin here- after what he'd done to me before, well, he got hurt, that's all.'
Koen unscrewed the stopper and took another drag at the brandy. He half closed his eyes against the harsh sunlight. '
Where's this treasure then?'
Nadine indicated the tabletop. 'There. Hidden. I know where. Half a million in solid gold. And there, Koen, not a dream. We'll cut you in on the deal if you let us go free.'
The frustrated greed of a thousand aborted diamond washes was in his face. 'Well I'll be damned for a fiddler's bitch! Right there, you say?',
'You won't. find it without me,' said Nadine. 'Take your choice, Koen. It's not thirty million but it's real. There aren't any risks. You'll get your whack in hard cash'
'Allemagtig!'
I laughed in what I hoped was the right conspiratorial manner.
'Listen to what· she's got to say, Koen.'
Suddenly his face was transformed by suspicion. 'The Doc said you were a smart talker, Bowker. What if I say I don't believe a word of it?'
Nadine came to my rescue. 'I'll make you a gesture of good will. I'll take you there and show you.'
I was out of my depth but I strung along with her. 'I don't leave Bowker behind. Not on your nellie!'
'Of course Guy will come,' she added calmly. 'We have to go up the secret stairway. We must also be very careful at about three-quarters of the way up. Let me explain: the stairway is actually a narrow cleft which is open to the sky. However, at this particular spot a big boulder has fallen down and nearly, but not quite, blocked it. As a result it's very narrow and you have to crawl through slowly. It's almost like a sloping chimney, in fact, for a while and I warn you it's tricky.' She took in the machine-pistol and Koen's broad shoulders. 'Do you think you'll be able to make it?'
He laughed grimly. 'You two will lead; I'll be behind with this in case of tricks.'
She shot me an almost imperceptible glance, then resumed: '
Right. Then I'll go first and Guy will follow. You will have to wait in the open while we negotiate the covered section one at a time. While Guy's there I'll slip up to the summit and make quite sure there's nothing loose which could fall down I got her message; my part in the plan was clear. I was to obstruct Koen by taking my time over the slow section where the rock cover protected me while Koen was exposed out in the open. She would then race on to the summit and pitch a rock down on his head. I remembered that during the expedition there had been talk of a stack of fashioned stones at the head of the stairway which the ancients had used for exactly that purpose against their enemies.
It brought me satisfaction that r was to be the Judas-goat who would lead Koen to the slaughter. However, the operation would require co-ordination, split-second timing and strong nerve. If Nadine's first brickbat missed him there wouldn't be a second chance. He would be behind me at point-blank range and Nadine would be equally vulnerable on the skyline above him.
'Okay, no harm in talking, is there? If this gold of yours is really there, maybe we can get down to business. But I want to see it first. You're still my prisoners, so watch your step!
Let's no!'
The growing tension was almost as energy-sapping as the stiff hike across the sand-filled wadi. Nadine kept up gamely. Koen gave us no opportunity to exchange even a whisper. I wondered what he meant to do about the rolls of barbed wire which blocked the gully we were heading for. I couldn't imagine he'd be fool enough to involve himself in a crawl through it and lay himself wide open to attack. I accordingly kept my mouth shut when we got near; the last thing I wanted now was for him to change his plans and head for the river. Koen surveyed the wire-blocked entrance, backed by a high fence.
'On!' he said briefly. We'll try the next one.'
We trudged farther, our discomfort growing steadily in the sun. After a while the remains of a wall appeared on the terrace above our heads and where it became less ruined the wire barrier had been discontinued. Soon we were confronted with a broad eroded gap in the terrace itself, new since the time of the expedition, which was stoutly fenced with a big double gate and lock. Because of its width, the customary rolls of barbed wire were absent.
'Stand clear!'
Keen fired a short burst from the M-25. The echo magnified it to sound like a heavy machine-gun. Nadine was shaken. I think it brought her an added sense of dismay at what Koen would do if her stone missile missed him in the stairway. Koen gestured at the remains of the lock fastenings which still held.
'Bowker Get this damn thing open!'
A couple of kicks from me and we were through. I wanted if possible to keep him away from my camping-place but our footpath to the secret stairway led directly past it. I was worried that there might be spent cartridges lying around near the fire which could blow the cover on my story about meeting Rankin quite by chance. The Mannlicher, too, gave me qualms. We were almost past when Koen caught sight of my orange yellow gunny sack. Looking suspicious, he led us into my camp, examining everything. The fire was a mess and ash was littered about. It was obvious-that it had not died down of its own accord; in fact, it looked as if two wild animals had fought in its remains.
'What's all this?'
'Only my camping-place.' I tried to keep my voice neutral. He spotted a spent shell from my clip and picked it up. My heart missed a beat.
'You're lying, Bowker. Look at the fire. Look at this.'
The spent case was dulled from being in the embers. I took it from him, commenting casually with a confidence I did not feel, 'That's an old type of cartridge, if you look closely. It's probably been lying around for years.' I had a sudden brainwave about the fire: 'Baboons,' I said. 'They'll tear up anything — and they're starving. I'm surprised they've left anything in one piece.'