"Come on board, lady. Always room for a small one." With Royan perched
on Nicholas's back, her injured leg sticking out stiffly in front of
her, they toiled upwards, but their progress was even slower than it had
been the day before. Nicholas was forced to pause and rest at shorter
and shorter intervals. On the easier pitches she dismounted and hopped
along on one leg beside him, steadying herself with one hand on his
shoulder. Then she would collapse, and he had to lift her to her feet
and pull her up on to his back once again.
The journey descended into nightmare, and both of them lost all sense of
the passage of time. Hours blended with hours into a single unremitting
agony. At one stage they lay beside each other on the path, sick and
nauseated with thirst and exhaustion and pain. They had emptied the
water bottle an hour ago, and there was no more on this section of the
path - nothing to drink until they reached the summit and were reunited
with the Dandera river.
"Go on and leave me here, she whispered hoarsely.
He sat up immediately and stared at her. "Don't be silly. I need you for
ballast."
"It can't be much further to the top," she insisted. "You can come back
with some of Boris's men to help carry me."
"If they are still there, and if Pegasus doesn't find you first." He
stood up a little unsteadily. "Forget it. You are coming along on this
ride, all the way."And he hoisted her to her feet.
He made her count aloud every step he took, and at every hundredth he
paused and rested. Then he started the next hundred, with her counting
softly in his ear, clinging with both arms around his neck. The whole
universe seemed to shrink in upon them to the ground directly at his
feet. They no longer saw the rock cliff on one side nor the deep void of
space on the other. When he lurched or jolted her and the pain shot
through her knee, she closed her eyes and tried not to let her voice
betray it to him as she kept counting.
When he rested, he had to lean against the cliff face, not trusting his
legs to get him up again if he lay down. He dared not lower her to the
ground. The effort of lifting her again would be too much. He no longer
had the strength for it.
"It's almost dark," she whispered in his ear. "You must stop here for
the night. It's enough for one day. You are killing yourself, Nicky."
"Another hundred, he mumbled.
"No, Nicky. Put me down!'
For answer he pushed off from the rock wall with his shoulder and
staggered on upwards.
"Cound' he ordered.
"Fifty-one, fifty-two," she obeyed. Suddenly the gradient altered so
sharply under his feet that he almost fell.
The path had levelled out, and like a drunkard he reached up for a step
that wasn't there.
He staggered and then caught his balance. He stood teetering on the
brink of the precipice and peered into the dusk ahead of him, at first
unable to credit what he was seeing. There were lights in the gloom, and
he thought that he had begun to hallucinate. Then he heard men's voices,
and he shook his head to clear it and bring himself back to reality.
"Oh, dear God. You have made it. We are at the top$ Nicky. There are the
vehicles. You did it, Nicky. You did it.
He tried to speak, but his throat had closed up and no words came. He
reeled forward towards the lights, and Royan cried out weakly on his
back.
"Help us here. Please help us." First in English and then in Arabic.
"Please help us."
There were startled cries and the sounds of running men. Nicholas sank
down slowly into the fine highland grass and let Royan slide off his
back. Dark figures gathered around them, chattering in Amharic, and
friendly hands seized them and half-carried, half-dragged them towards
the lights. Then a torch was shone into Nicholas's face and a very
English voice said, "Hello, Nicky. Nice surprise. I came down from Addis
to look for your corpse. Heard you were dead. Bit premature, what?"
"Hello, Geoffrey. Good of you to take the trouble."
"I dare say you could use a cup of tea. You look a bit done in," said
Geoffrey Tennant. "Never realized that your beard had ginger and grey
bits in it. Designer stubble.
Fashionable. Suits you actually."
Nicholas realized what a picture he must present, ragged and unshaven,
filthy and haggard with exhaustion.
"You remember Dr Al Simma? She has a bit of a dicky knee. Wonder if you
would mind taking care of her?"
Then his legs gave way under him, and Geoffrey Tennant caught him before
he fell.
"Steady on, old boy." He led him to a canvas-backed camp chair, and
seated him solicitously. Another chair was brought for Royan.
"Letta chai hqPa!" Geoffrey gave the universal call of an Englishman in
Africa, and minutes later thrust mugs of steaming over-sweetened tea
into their hands.
Nicholas saluted Royan with his mug. "Here's to us.
There's none like us!'
They both drank deeply, scalding their tongues, but the caffeine and
sugar hit their bloodstreams like a charge of electricity.
"Now I know I am going to live,'Nicholas sighed.
"Don't want to be pushy, Nicky, but do you mind telling me what the hell
is going on here?" Geoffrey asked.
"Why don't you tell me?" Nicholas countered. He needed time to evaluate
the situation. What did Geoffrey know and who had told him? Geoffrey
obliged immediately.
"First thing we heard was that white hunter chappie of yours, Boris, had
been fished out of the river near the Sudanese border, absolutely
riddled with bullet holes. The crocs and catfish had snacked on his
face, so the border police identified him by the documents in his money
belt."
Nicholas glanced across at Royan and cautioned her with a frown.
"Last time we saw him, he went off on a scouting expedition onhis own,'
Nicholas explained. "He probably ran into the same bunch of shufta who
raided our camp four nights ago."
"Yes, we heard about that too. Colonel Nogo here radioed in a report to
Addis."
Neither of them had recognized Nogo in the crowd of men. It was only
when he stepped forward into the light of the camp lanterns that Royan
stiffened, and such an expression of loathing flashed across her face
that Nicholas reached across surreptitiously and took her hand to
restrain her from any indiscretion. After a moment she relaxed and
composed her features.
"I am very relieved to see you, Sir Quenton-Harper.
You have given us all a very worrying few days," said Nogo.
"I do apologize," said Nicholas smoothly.
Please, sir, I meant no offence. It is just that we had a report from
the Pegasus Exploration Company that you and Dr Al Simma had been caught
up in a blasting accident. I was present when Mr Helm of the exploration
company warned you that they were conducting blasting in the gorge."
"But you-' Royan flared bitterly, and Nicholas squeezed her hand hard to
stop her going on.
It was probably our own carelessness, as you suggest.
Nevertheless, Dr Al Simma has been injured and we are I both badly
shaken up by the accident. More important than that, however, is the
fact that a number of other people, camp'staff and monks from the