Sean turned back. He had wanted that elephant. He had wanted him with the utmost parts of his being. Now, as he turned back into the west, the disappointment weighed down his legs and his heart, and he went heavily.
A little before midnight they found Riccardo and Claudia sleeping on a mattress of cut grass, under a lean-to shelter beside a fire that had burned down to coals, while Pumula sat guard at the second fire, close by.
Riccardo came awake the instant Sean touched his shoulder, and he scrambled up eagerly. "Did you find him? What happened?
What about the poachers?"
"He's gone, Capo. Across the border. We chased off the poachers, but Tukutela got clear away," Sean told him. Riccardo sagged back on the grass mattress and listened in silence while Sean described the chase and the contact with the poachers.
Claudia sat close to her father, and when Sean told them how Tukutela had crossed into Mozambique, she slipped her arm around his shoulders in a gesture of comfort.
"All right." Sean stood up. "There is one of my hunting tracks that cuts through about five miles south of here. Matatu and I will go back to fetch the truck, and Job will lead you to the track. I'll meet you there. Should take us four or five hours."
By the light of the stars alone, Matatu led Sean for four hours through forest and dense bush, bringing him at last unerringly to where the truck was parked.
It was another hour's drive to the rendezvous, where they found Claudia, Riccardo, and the others sitting beside a fire on the verge of the rough track. They climbed wearily into the truck, and Sean turned back and headed towards camp. It was four in the morning, over twenty-four hours since they had set out on the hunt with such high hopes.
They drove in silence for a while, Claudia asleep on her father's shoulder. Then Riccardo asked thoughtfully, "Do you know where Tukutela, has gone?"
"Beyond our reach, Capo," Sean told him grimly.
"Seriously." Riccardo was impatient. "Is there one of his regular haunts where he will be headed?"
"That's rough country in there," Sean murmured. "Chaos and confusion. Villages burned and deserted, two armies fighting each other, with Mugabe's lads joining in."
"Where has that elephant gone?" Riccardo insisted. "He must have an established range."
Sean nodded. "We have worked it out, Job, Matatu, and I. We reckon he holes up from July to September in the swamps below the Cabora Bossa dam. Then in late September or the beginning of October, he crosses the Zambezi and heads north into Malawi, into the dense rain forest around Mlanje. He hides there until after the rains break and then comes south again, crosses the Zambezi near Tete and goes back into the Chiwewe National Park again."
"So he'll be heading for the swamps now?" Riccardo asked.
"More than likely." Sean nodded. "We'll get another crack at him next season, Capo."
At dawn they reached camp, where there were steaming hot showers and freshly ironed clothes ready for them, and a huge breakfast spread in the dining tent. Sean loaded crispy bacon and fried eggs onto their plates.
"When we have finished breakfast, we'll catch up on some of the sleep we missed last night, sack out until lunchtime."
"Suits me," Claudia agreed readily.
"Then we'll have a conference. We must work out our plans for the rest of the safari. We still have almost three weeks. We can try for another bull elephant. I can't offer you anything like Tukutela, but we might be able to find a sixty-pounder for you, Capo."
"I don't want a sixty-pounder," Riccardo said. "I want Tukutela."
"Don't we all, but let's drop it now." Sean's irritation was undisguised. "We can't do anything about it. Let's just drop the subject."
"What if we crossed the border and followed him into the swamps?" Riccardo did not look up from his eggs and bacon, and Sean studied his face before he laughed mirthlessly.
"For a moment you had me worried. I thought you meant it.
We'll get Tukutela next season."
"There isn't going to be another season," Riccardo told him.
You know damn well Geoffrey Manguza is going to pull your license and take Chiwewe away from you."
"Thanks, Capo, you certainly know how to make me feel good."
"No sense fooling ourselves. This is our last chance at that elephant."
"Correction." Sean shook his head. "It's over for this season.
We had our chance and we blew it."
"Not if we follow him into Mozambique," Riccardo said. "Follow him into the swamps."
Sean stared at him, "My God, you are serious!" "I told you, there is nothing that I want more in this life than that elephant."
"So you expect Job and Matatu and me to commit suicide for a whim of yours."
"No, I don't expect it for a whim-let's say for half a minion dollars."
Sean shook his head, but no words came out, and Riccardo went on. "I feel responsible for you losing your license. With half a million you could buy a good concession in Zambia or Botswana or fifty thousand acres of game ranch in South Africa. Half a million. Think about it."
Sean jumped up from the breakfast table so violently he knocked his plate to the ground. He strode away without looking back.