The Quest

When they reached the fort the women and children of the garrison came out through the gates to welcome them, carrying bowls of soured milk and platters of dhurra cake. Altogether there were fewer than fifty and they were a bedraggled, sorry-looking lot, although they were friendly enough. Accommodation in the fort was limited. The women offered a small windowless cell to Taita and Fenn. The floor was of packed earth, ants moved in military file along the rough-hewn walls and shiny black cockroaches scurried into cracks in the log walls. The smell of the unwashed bodies and chamber-pots of the previous occupants was pervasive.

Rabat explained apologetically that Meren and the rest, officers and men alike, would have to bunk with his soldiers in the communal barracks. With expressions of gratitude and regret, Taita declined this offer of hospitality.

Taita and Meren chose a congenial site half a league beyond the fort, in a grove of shady trees on the banks of a running stream. Rabat, who was plainly relieved not to have them in the fort, honoured Meren's Hawk Seal and provided them with fresh milk, dhurra and, at regular intervals, a slaughtered ox.

'I hope we are not to stay long in this place,' Hilto remarked to Taita, on the second day. 'The mood of these people is so despondent that it will lower the morale of our men. Their spirits are high, and I would like

them to remain so. Besides, all the women are married and most of our men have been celibate for too long. Soon they will want to sport with them and there will be trouble.'i 'I assure you, good Hilto, that we will move on as soon as we have made the arrangements.' Taita and Meren spent the following days in close consultation with the melancholy Rabat.

'How many men went south with Colonel That?' Taita wanted to know.

Like many illiterates, Rabat had a reliable memory and he replied without hesitation: 'Six hundred and twenty-three, with one hundred and forty-five women.'

'Merciful Isis, was that all who remained of the original thousand who marched from Karnak?'

'The swamps were trackless and deep,' Rabat explained. 'We were laid low with swamp-sickness. Our guides were unreliable and we were attacked by the native tribes. Our losses of men and horses were heavy. Surely you had the same experience, for you must have covered the same ground to reach Adari.'

'Yes, indeed. However, the water was lower, and our guides faultless.'

'Then you were more fortunate than ourselves.'

'You said that Colonel That sent men and horses back here. How many horses were there?' Taita switched to a more agreeable subject.

'They brought back fifty-six, all fly-struck. Most died after reaching us.

Only eighteen survived. Once they had delivered the horses, Colonel Tinat's men went south again to rejoin him. They took with them the porters I had recruited for them.'

'So none of Tinat's men remains with you?'

'One was so ill that I kept him here. He has survived to this day.'

'I would like to question him,' Taita told him.

'I will send for him at once.'

The sole survivor was tall but skeletally thin. Taita saw at once that his emaciated frame and thin white hair were relics of disease, rather than signs of age. Despite this he had recovered his health. He was cheerful and willing, unlike most of the other men under Rabat's command.

“I have heard of your ordeal,' Taita told him, 'and 1 commend your courage and zeal.'

'You are the only one who has, Magus, and 1 thank you for it.'

'What is your name?'

'Tolas.'

 ¦¦ THE QUEST

'Your rank?'

'I am a horse surgeon and a sergeant of the first water.'

'How far had you ventured south before Colonel That sent you to bring back the surviving horses?'

'About twenty days' travel, Magus, perhaps two hundred leagues.

Colonel That was determined to travel fast - too fast. I believe this increased our loss of horses.'

'Why was he in such haste?' Taita asked.

Tolas smiled thinly. 'He did not confide in me, Magus, nor seek my counsel.'

Taita thought for a while. It seemed possible that That had come under the influence of the witch, and that she had enticed him southwards.

'Then, good Tolas, tell me about the disease that attacked the horses. Captain Rabat mentioned it to me, but he gave no details. What makes you think that it was caused by these flies?'

'It broke out ten days after we first encountered the insects. The horses began to sweat excessively and their eyes filled with blood so that they became half blind. Most died within ten or fifteen days of the first symptoms occurring.'

'You are a horse surgeon. Do you know of any cure?'

Tolas hesitated, but did not answer the question. Instead he remarked, 'I saw the grey mare you ride. I have seen many tens of thousands of horses in my lifetime, but I would think that mare is as good as the best of them. You might never find another like her.'

'It is clear that you are a fine judge of horseflesh, Tolas, but why do you tell me this?'

'Because it would be a shame to sacrifice such a horse to the fly. If you are determined to go on, as I think you are, leave the mare and her foal with me until you return. I will look after her as though she were my own child.'

'I will think on it,' Taita told him. 'But to return to my question: do you know of any remedy for the fly sickness?'

'The native tribes hereabouts have a potion that they distil from wild berries. They dose their cattle with it.'

'Why did they not warn Colonel That of this disease before he left Fort Adari?'

'At that time we had no contact with the tribes. It was only when I returned with the fly-ridden herd that they came forward to sell us the medicine.'

'Is it efficacious?'

1

WILBUR SMITH

'It is not infallible,' Tolas told him. 'It appears to me that it will,cure six out of ten horses that have been fly-struck. But perhaps those horses I tried it on had already been too long infected.'I 'What would have been your losses if you had not used it?'

'I cannot tell for certain.'

'Then guess.'

'It seems to me that some animals have a natural resistance to the sting. A very few, say, five in a hundred, will show no ill-effects.

Others, perhaps thirty or forty in a hundred, will sicken but recover.

The rest die. Any animal that is infected but recovers is immune to any subsequent infection.'

'How do you know this?'

'The natives know it well.'

'How many of the horses in your care have been infected but have recovered?'

'Most were too far gone before we could dose them. However, eighteen are salted,' Tolas answered promptly, then clarified, 'They are immune.'

'So, Tolas, I will need a goodly supply of this native potion. Can you

[procure it for me?'

'I can do better. I have had almost nine years to study the matter.

Although the tribesmen are secretive and will not divulge the recipe, I ihave discovered for myself the plant that they use. I have spied upon them while their women are gathering it.'

,'You will show it to me?'

'Of course, Magus,' Tolas agreed readily. 'But, again, I caution you 'that even when treated many horses will still die. Your grey mare is too fine an animal to expose to such risk.'

Taita smiled. It was apparent that Tolas had fallen in love with Windsmoke and was angling for a way to keep her with him. “I will take into careful consideration all you have told me. But now my main concern is to learn the secret of the cure.'

'With the permission of Captain Rabat, I will take you into the forest tomorrow to gather the berries. It is a ride of several hours to reach the area where they grow.'