Текст книги "The Seventh Scroll"

Автор книги: Wilbur Smith

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black smoke,, the other sending a column of white straight up into the

still evening sky. It was only when they were a kilometer out that they

were able to make out the faint outline of the overgrown and

long'disused landing strip. Roseires airstrip had been built twenty

years before by a company that tried to grow sugar cane under irrigation

from the Blue Nile. But Africa had won again and the company had passed

into oblivion, leaving this feeble scrape mark on the plain as its

epitaph.

Mek Nimmur had chosen this remote and deserted place for the rendezvous.

"No sign of a reception committee," Jannie grunted.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Continue your approach," Nicholas told him. "There should be another

flare – ah, there it is!" The ball of fire shot up from a clump of thorn

trees at the far end -of the runway, and for the first time they were

able to make out human figures in the bleak landscape. They had stayed

hidden until the very last moment.

"That's Mek, all right! Go ahead and land."

As Big Dolly finished her roll-out and the end of the rough and pitted

runway came up ahead, a figure in camouflage fatigues popped up ahead of

them. With a pair of paddles it signalled them to taxi into the space

between two of the tallest thorn trees.

Jannie cut the engines and grinned at them over his shoulder. "Well,

boys and girls, looks like we pulled off another lucky one!'

Then from the height of Big Dolly's-cockpit there was no mistaking the

commanding figure of Mek Nimmur as he emerged from the cover of the

clump of acacia trees. Only now did they realize that the trees had been

shrouded with camouflage netting; this was why they had not been able to

spot any sign of human presence from the air. As soon as the loading

ramp was lowered, Mek Nimmur came striding up it.

"Nicholas! They embraced and, after Mek had kissed him noisily on each

cheek, he held Nicholas at arm's was proce Wolrlc, length and studied

his face, delighted to see him again. "So I was right! You are up to

your old tricks. Not simply a dikdik shoot, was it?"

"How can I lie to an old friend?"Nicholas shrugged.

Hell' "It always came easy to you," Mek laughed, "but I am lad we are

going to have some fun together. Life has been very boring recently."

"I bet!'Nicholas punched his shoulder affectionately.

A slim, graceful figure followed Mek up the ramp. In the olive-green

fatigues Nicholas hardly recognized Tessay until she spoke. She wore

canvas para boots and a cloth cap that made her look like a boy.

"Nicholas! Royan! Welcome back!" Tessay cried. The two women embraced as

enthusiastically as the men had done.

"Come on, you Ous!" Jannie protested. "This isn't Woodstock. I have to

get back to Malta tonight. I want to take off before dark."

Swiftly Mek took charge of the offloading. His men swarmed aboard and

manhandled the pallets forward on the rollers, while Sapper started up

his beloved front-end loader and used it to run the cargo down the ramp

and stack it in the acacia grove under the camouflage netting.

With so many hands to help it went swiftly, and Big Dolly's hold was

emptied just as the sun settled wearily on to the horizon, and the short

African twilight bled all colour from the landscape.

Jannie and Nicholas had one last hurried discussion in the cockpit while

Fred completed his flight checks. They went over the plans and radio

procedures one last time.

Four days from today," Jannie agreed, as they shook hands briefly.

"Let the man go, Nicholas," Mek bellowed from below.

"We must get across the border before dawn."

They watched Big Dolly taxi down to the end of the strip and swing

around. The engine beat crescendoed as she came tearing back in a long

rolling shroud of dust and lifted off over their heads. Jannie waggled

his wings in farewell and, without navigation lights showing, the great

aircraft blended like a black bat into the darkening sky and disappeared

almost immediately.

"Come here." Nicholas led Royan to a seat under the acacia. "I don't

want that knee to play up again." He pushed her culottes halfway up. her

thigh and strapped the knee wit han elastic bandage, trying not to make

his pleasure in this task too apparent. He was pleased to see that the

bruising had almost faded and there was no longer any swelling.

He palpated it gently. Her skin was velvety and the flesh beneath it

firm and warm to the touch. He looked up, and from the expression on her

face realized that she was enjoying this intimacy as much'as he was. As

he caught her eye she flushed slightly, and quickly smoothed down her

culottes.

She jumped up and said, "Tessay and I have a lot of catching up to do,'

and hurried across to join her.

I am leaving a full combat platoon to guard your stores here," Mek

explained to Nicholas as Tessay led Royan away. "We will travel in a

very small party as far as the border. I don't expect any trouble. There

is very little enemy activity this sector at the moment. Lots of

fighting in the south, but we are quiet here. That is why I chose this

rendezvous."

"How far to the Ethiopian border?"Nicholas wanted to know.

"Five hours' march," Mek told him. "We will slip through one of our

pipelines after the moon has set. The rest of my men are waiting in the

entrance to the Abbay gorge. We should rendezvous with them before dawn

tomorrow."

"And from there to the monastery?"

"Another two days' march," Mek replied. "We will be there just in time

to receive the drop from your fat friend in the fat plane."

He turned away and gave his last orders to the platoon commander who

would remain at Roseires to guard the stores. Then he assembled the

party of six men who would form their escort across the border. Mek

divided up the loads between them. The most important single item was

the radio, a modern military lightweight model which Nicholas carried

himself.

"Those bags of yours are too difficult to carry. You will have to repack

them," Mek told Nicholas and Royan. So they emptied their bags and

stuffed the contents into the two canvas haversacks that Mek had ready

for them. Two of his men slung the haversacks over their shoulders and

disappeared into the darkness.

"He is not taking thatV Mek stared aghast at the bulky legs of the

theodolite that Sapper had retrieved from one of the pallets. Sapper

spoke no Arabic, so Nicholas had to translate.

"Sapper says that it is a delicate instrument. He cannot allow it to be

dropped from the aircraft. He says that if it is damaged he will not be

able to do the work he was hired for."

"Who is going to carry it?" Mek demanded. "My men will mutiny if I try

to make them do it."

"Tell the cantankerous bugger that I will carry it myself." Sapper drew

himself up with dignity. "I wouldn't let one of his great clumsy oafs

lay a finger on it." He picked up the bundle, placed it over his

shoulder and stalked away with "a stiff back.

Mek let the advance guard have a five-minute start, and then he nodded.

"We can go now."

Thirty minutes after Big Dolly had taken off, they left the airfield and

set out across the dark and silent plain, headed into the east. Mek set

a hard pace. He and Nicholas seemed to have the eyes of a pair of cats,

Royan thought, as she followed close behind them. They could see in the

darkness, and only a whispered warning from one of them prevented her

falling into a hole or tripping over a pile of rocks in the darkness.

When she did stumble, Nicholas seemed always to be there, reaching back

to steady her with a strong, firm grip.

They marched in complete and disciplined silence. It was only every

hour, when they rested for five minutes, that Nicholas and Mek sat close

together, and from the few quiet words she picked up Royan realized that

Nicholas was explaining to him the full reasons for their return to the

Abbay gorge. She heard Nicholas repeat the names "Mamose' and "Taita'

often, and Mek's deep voice questioning him at length. Then they would

be up again and moving forward in the night.

After a while she lost all sense of the distance they had travelled.

Only the hourly rest periods orientated her to the passage of time.

Fatigue crept over her slowly, until it required an effort to lift her

foot for each pace. Despite her boast, her knee was beginning to ache.

Now and then she felt Nicholas touch her arm, guiding her over the rough

places. At other times they would stop abruptly at some whispered

warning from up front. Then they would stand quietly waiting in the

darkness, nerves tensed, until at another whisper they would move on

again at the same pressing pace. Once she smelt the cool muddy effluvium

of the river on the dry warm night air, and she knew that they must be

very close to the Nile. Without a word being spoken she sensed the

nervous tension in the men ahead of her, and was aware of the alertness

in the way they carried themselves and their weapons.

"Crossing the border now," Nicholas breathed close to her face, and the

tension was infectious. She forgot her tiredness, and heard her pulse

beating in her own ears.

This time they did not stop for the usual rest break, but continued for

another hour until slowly she felt the mood of the men changing. Someone

laughed softly, and there was a tightness in their pace as they swung on

towards the luminescence in the eastern sky. Abruptly the moon thrust

its crescent horns above the dark silhouette of faroff mountain ranges.

"All clear. We are through," Nicholas told her in his normal voice.

"Welcome back to Ethiopia. How are you feeling?"

"I' okay."

"I am tired too." He grinned at her in the moonlight.

"Pretty soon we will camp and rest. Not much further."

He was lying, of course– the march went on and on until she wanted to

weep. And then suddenly she heard the sound of the river again, the soft

rushing flow of the Nile in the dawn. Up ahead she heard Mek talking to

the men who were waiting for them, and then Nicholas guided her off the

path and made her sit while he knelt in front of her and unlaced her

boots.

"You did well. I am proud of you," he told her, as he stripped off her

socks and examined her feet for blisters.

Then he unbandaged the knee. It was slightly swollen, and he massaged it

with a skilled and tender touch.

She sighed softly, "Don't stop. That feels good."

"I'll give you a Brufen for the inflammation." He dug the pills out of

his pack and then spread his padded jacket AI for her to lie on. "Sorry,

the sleeping bags are with our other gear. Have to rough it until Jannie

makes his air drop."

He passed her the water bottle, and while she swallowed the pill he

pulled the tab on a pack of emergency rations. "Not exactly gourmet fare

He sniffed the contents.

"In the army we call them rat packs." She fell asleep with her mouth

still halffilled with tasteless meat loaf and plastic cheese.

When Nicholas woke her with a mug of hot sweet tea, she saw it was

already late afternoon. He sat beside her and sipped at his own mug,

noisily blowing away the steam between each mouthful.

"You will be pleased to know that Mek is now fully in the picture. He

has agreed to help us."

"What have you told him?"

"Just enough to keep him interested."Nicholas grinned.

"The theory of progressive disclosure. Never tell everything all at

once, feed it to them a little at a time. He knows what we are looking

for, and that we are going to dam a river."

hat about men to work on the dam?"

 monks at St. Frumentius will do whatever he tells them. He is a great

hero."

"What have you promised him in return?"

"We haven't got round to that yet. I told him that we have no idea what

we are going to find, and he laughed and said he would trust me."

"Silly boy, isn't he?"

"Not exactly how I would describe Mek Nimmur," he murmured. "I think

when the time is ripe he will let us know what the price of his

cooperation is." He looked up at that moment. "We were just talking

about you, Mek."

Mek strode up to them, and then squatted on his haunches beside

Nicholas.

"What were you saying about me

"Royan says you are a hard bastard, pushing er on a forced march all

night."

"Nicholas is spoiling you. I have been watching him fussing over you,'

he chuckled. "What I say is, treat them rough. Women love it." Then he

grew serious. "I am sorry, Royan. The border is always a bad place. You

will find me less of a monster now we are on home ground."

"We are very grateful for all you are doing." He inclined his head

gravely, "Nicholas is an old friend, and I hope that you are a new

friend."

"I have been terribly distressed. Tessay told me last night that there

had been trouble at the monastery."

Mek scowled and tugged at his short beard, pulling a tuft of hair from

his own chin with the force of his anger.

"Nogo and his killers. This is just a sample of what we are fighting

against. We have been rescued from the tyranny of Mengistu, only to be

plunged into fresh horror."

"What happened, MA?"

Speaking tersely but vividly, he described the massacre and the plunder

of the monastery's treasures. "There was no doubt it was Nogo. Every one

of the monks that escaped knows him well."

His anger was too fierce for him to contain, and he stood up abruptly.

"The monastery means much to all the people of the Gojam. I was

christened there, by Jali Hora himself. The murder of the abbot and the

desecration of the church is a terrible outrage." He jammed his cap

down, on his head. "And now we must get on. The road ahead is steep and

difficult.

Now that they were clear of the border, it was safe to move in daylight.

The second day's march carried them into the depths of the orge. There

were no foothills: it was like entering through the keep of a vast

castle. The walls of the great central massif rose up almost four

thousand feet on either hand, and the river snaked along in the depths,

its entire length churned by rapids and breaking white water. At noon

Mek broke the march to rest in a grove of trees beside the river.

There was a beach below them, sheltered by massive boulders which must

have rolled down from the cliffs that hung like a rampart above them.

The five of them sat a little apart from each other.

Sapper was still smarting from his altercation over the theodolite with

Mek, and keeping himself aloof. He placed the heavy instrument in a

conspicuous position and sat ostentatiously close to it. Mek and Tessay

seemed strangely quiet and withdrawn, until suddenly Tessay reached out

and grasped Mek's hand..

I want to tell them, she blurted out impulsively.

Mek looked away at the river for a moment before he nodded. "Why not?"

he shrugged at last.

"I want them to know," Tessay insisted. "They knew Boris. They will

understand."

"Do you.,want me to tell them?" Mek asked softly, and he was still

holding her hand.

"Yes," she nodded, "it is best that it comes from you." Mek was silent

for a while, gathering his words, and then he started in that low

rumbling voice, not looking at them, but watching Tessay's face. "The

very first moment I looked upon this woman, I knew that she was the one

that God had sent my way."

Tessay moved closer to him.

"Tessay and I said our vows together on the night of Timkat and asked

for God's forgiveness, and then I took man."

her away as my wo She laid her head upon his great muscular shoulder.

"The Russian followed us. He found us here, on this very spot. He tried

to kill us both."

Tessay looked down at the beach upon which she and Mek had so nearly

died, and she shuddered at the memory.

"We fought," he said simply, "and when he was dead, I sent his body

floating away down the river."

"We knew he was dead," Royan told them. "We heard from the people at the

embassy that the police found his body downstream, near the border. We

didn't know how it had happened."

They were all quiet for a while, and then Nicholas broke the silence, "I

wish I had been there to watch. It must have been one hell of a fight.

He shook his head in awe.

"The Russian was good. I am glad I don't have to fight him again," Mek

admitted, and stood up. "We can reach the monastery before dark, if we

start now."

ai Metemma, the newly elected abbot of St. Frumentius, met them on the

terrace of the monastery overlooking the river. He was only a little

younger than Jah Hora had been, tall and with a dignified silver head,

and today he was wearing the blue crown in honour of such a

distinguished guest as Mek

After the visitors had bathed and rested for an hour in the cells that

had been set aside for them, the monks came to lead them to the welcome

feast that had been prepared.

When the tej flasks had been refilled for the third time, and the mood

of the abbot and of his monks had mellowed, Mek began to whisper into

the old man's ear.

"You recall the history of St. Frumentius – how God cast him up on our

shore from the storm-tossed sea, so that he might bring the true faith

to us?"

The abbot's eyes filled with tears. "His holy body was entombed here, in

our nwqdas. The barbarians came and stole the relic away from us. We are

children without a father. The reason for the building of this church

and monastery has been taken away," he lamented. "No longer will the

pilgrims come from every corner of Ethiopia to i pray at his shrine. We

will be forgotten by the Church. We are undone. Our monastery will

perish and our monks will be blown away like dead leaves on the wind."

"When St. Frumentius came to Ethiopia he was not alone. Another

Christian came with him from the High Church in Byzantium," Mek reminded

him in a soft, soothing rumble.

"St. Antonia." The abbot reached for his tei flask to allay the

intensity of his sorrow.

Mek agreed. "He died before St. Frumen "St. Antonia tius, but he was no

less holy than his brother."

"St. Antonia was also a great and holy man, deserving of our love and

veneration." The abbot took a long swallow from the flask.

"The ways of God are mysterious, are they not?" Mek shook his head at

the wonder of the workings of the universe.

"His ways are deep and not for us to question or understand., "And yet

he is compassionate, and he rewards the devout."

"He is all'compassionate." The abbot's tears overflowed and ran down his

cheeks.

"You and your monastery have suffered a grievous loss.

The sacred relic of St. Frumentius has been taken from you alas, never

to be recovered. But what if God were to send you another? What if he

were to send you the sacred body of St. Antonia?"

The abbot looked up through his tears, his expression suddenly

calculating. That would be a miracle indeed."

Mek Nimmur placed his arm around the old man's shoulders and whispered

quietly in his ear, and Mai Metemma stopped weeping and listened

intently.

have obtained your workers for you," Mek told Nicholas as they began the

march up the valley the next morning. "Mai Metemma has promised to give

us a hundred men within two days and another five hundred to follow them

within the next week. He is handing out indulgences to all those who

volunteer to work on the dam. They will be spared the fires of purgatory

if they take part in such a glorious project as the recovery of the holy

relic of St. Antonia."

Both the women stopped in their tracks and stared at him.

"What did you promise the poor old man?" Tessay demanded.

"A body to replace the one that Nogo plundered from the church. If we do

discover the tomb, then the monastery's share will be the mummy of

Mamose."

"That's a mean thing to do,"

A Royan exploded. "You will cheat him into helping us."

"It is not a cheat." Mek's dark eyes flashed at the accusation. "The

relic that they lost was not the veritable body of St. Frumentius, and

yet for hundreds of years it served the purpose of uniting the community

of monks and drawing Christians from all over this land. Now that it is

gone, the very existence of the monastery is threatened.

They have lost their reason for continuing."

"So you are tempting them with a false promiseP Royan was still angry.

"The body of Mamose is every bit as authentic as the one they lost. What

does it matter if it is the body of an ancient Egyptian rather than that

of an ancient Christian, just as long as it serves as a focus for the

faith and if it is the means by which the monastery might survive for

another five hundred years?"

"I think Mek is making sense." Nicholas gave his opinion.

"Since when have you been an expert in Christianity?

You are an atheist," Royan flashed at him, and he held up his hands as

if to ward off a blow.

"You are right. What do I know about it anyway?

You argue it out with Mek. I am going to discuss the theory of

dam-building with Sapper Webb." He sauntered up to the head of the file

of men and fell in beside his engineer.

From time to time he heard heated voices raised behind him, and he

grinned. He knew Mek, but he was also beginning to understand the lady.

It would be fascinating to see who would win this argument.

They reached the head of the chasm in the middle of the afternoon, and

while Mek 6.. searched out a campsite Nicholas took Sapper immediately

to the narrow neck of the river just above where it plunged over the

waterfall. While Sapper set up the theodolite, Nicholas took the

graduated levelling staff.

Sapper ordered him up and down the face of the cliff with peremptory

hand signals, all the while peering into the lens of the theodolite,

while Nicholas teetered on insecure footing and tried to keep the staff

upright for Sapper to take his sightings.

"Okay!" Sapper bellowed, after taking his twentieth shot. "Now I want

you on the other side of the river."

Tine!" Nicholas bellowed back. "Do you want me to fly or swim?"

Nicholas hiked three miles upstream to the ford where the trail crossed

the Dandera river, and then fought his way back through the tangled

river in undergrowth to the point on the bank opposite which Sapper lay

in the shade smoking a soothing cigarette.

"Don't rupture yourself, will you?" Nicholas yelled across the water at

him.

It was almost dark before Sapper had made all the shots he wanted, and

Nicholas was still faced with the long return trip over the ford. He

covered the last mile in almost total darkness, guided only by the

flicker of the campfires.

Wearily he stumbled into the camp and flung down the levelling staff.

"You had beer tell me that it was worth it," he tt growled at Sapper,

who did not look up from his slide rule.

He was working over his revised drawings by the glaring light of a small

butane lantern.

Most Populiir VPIL

"You weren't too far out in your estimates," he congratulated Nicholas.

"The river is forty'one yards wide at the critical point above the

falls, where I want to site the structure."

"All I want to know is if you will be able to throw a dam across it."

Sapper grinned and laid his finger down the side of his nose, "You get

me my ruddy front-ender, and I'll dam the bleeding Nile itself."

 had eaten their dinner – another of the packs – Royan glanced across

the fire at cholas. -When she caught his eye she inclined her head in

invitation. Then she stood up and casually drifted out of camp, looking

back once to make sure he was following her. Nicholas lighted the path

with his torch as they picked their way back to the dam site and found a

boulder overlooking the water on which to sit.

He switched off the torch and they were silent for a while as their eyes

adjusted to the starlight, and then Royan whispered, "There were times

that I thought we would never return here – that it was all a dream, and

that Taita's pool never existed."

"For us perhaps it never will, without the help of the monks from the

monastery." There was a note of enquiry in his voice.

"You and Mek Nimmur win," she chuckled softly. "Of course we have to

accept their help. Mek's arguments were very convincing."

"So you agree that their reward should be the mummy of Mamose?"

"I agree that they may take whatever mummy we discover, if we discover

one at all," she qualified. "For all we know, the true mummy of Mamose

may be the one that Nogo stole."

Quite naturally he slipped his arm around her shoulders, and after a

moment she relaxed against him. -oh, Nicky, I am afraid and excited.

Afraid that all our hopes are vain, and excited that we might have found

the key to Taita's game." She turned her face to his, and he felt her

breath on his lips.

He kissed her, tenderly. Then he drew back with the warmth of her

lingering on his lips and studied her face in the starlight. She made no

movement to pull away from stead she swayed towards him, and kissed him

back., him. In At first it was a staid sisterly kiss, with her mouth

tightly losed. He brought his right hand up behind her head and  weaved

his fingers into her hair, holding her face to his.

He opened his mouth over hers, and she made a little sound of dissent

through her closed lips.

Slowly, voluptuously, he worked her lips apart, and her protests died

away as he probed her mouth deely with his tongue. She was making a

contented little mewling sound now, like a kitten nursing on the teat,

and her arms went around him. She kneaded his back with strong supple

fingers, her mouth wide open to his kiss, her tongue sinuous and

slippery as it twined around his.

He slid his other hand up between their bodies and unhooked the buttons

of her shirt down as low as her belt.

She leaned back slightly in his embrace to make it easier for him. With

a delicious shock he discovered that her breasts were naked under the

thin cotton shirt. He cupped one of them in his hand: it was small and

firm, only just filling his hand. When he pinched the nipple gently , it

stiffened between his fingers like a tiny ripe strawberry.

He broke off the kiss and bowed his head to her bosom.

She moaned softly, and with one hand guided him down.

When he sucked her nipple into his mouth she gasped and hooked the nails

of her other hand into his back, like a cat responding to a caress. Her

whole body undulated in his embrace, and after a while she pulled his

mouth away. He thought for a moment that she was rejecting him, but then

she moved his head across and placed her other nipple in his mouth. Once

again she gasped as he sucked it in.

Her movements became mote abandoned, keeping pace with his own arousal.

He could restrain himself no longer and he reached up under her khaki

culottes and laid his hand on the plump mound of her sex. Then with one

swift lithe movement she broke away and sprang to her feet. She stood

back from him, smoothing down her culottes and buttoning her shirt with

fingers that trembled

"I am so sorry, Nicky. I want to, oh God, you will never know how much I

want to. But-' she shook her head and she was panting wildly, "not yet.

Please, Nicky, forgive me. I am caught between two worlds. One half of

me wants this so very much but the other half will not allow me He stood

up and kissed her chastely. "There is no hurry. Good things are worth

waiting for," he told her with his mouth just touching hers. "Come! I

will take you home now."

while it was still dark the next morning, the first levy of priests that

Mai Metemma had promised came filing up the valley. Their chanting awoke

the camp, and everyone came sleepily out of their thatched lean-to

shelters to welcome the Ion column of holy men.

"Sweet heavens," Nicholas yawned, "it looks as though we have started

another crusade. They must have left the monastery in the middle of the

night to get here at this hour." He went to find Tessay, and when he did

he told her, "You are hereby appointed official translator. Sapper

speaks not a word of either Arabic or Amharic. Stick close to him."

As soon as it was fully light, Mek and Nicholas left camp to reconnoitr

the drop site. By noon they had agreed that there was only one

possibility: they would have to use the valley itself Compared to the

rocky ridges that surrounded them, the floor of the valley was level and

fairly free of obstructions. It was imperative that the drop should take

place as close to the dam site as possible, for every mile that the

stores must be manhandled would add immeasurably to the time and effort

needed for the work.

"Time is the major factor," Nicholas told Mek as they stood in the

chosen drop zone the following morning.

"Every day counts from now until the rains break."

Mek looked up at the sky. "Pray God for late rains." They marked out

their drop site a mile down from the river, along the stretch where the

valley was widest and there was a clear approach through a gap in the

hills.

Jannie would need to fly straight and level for five miles under full

flap and with the loading ramp down.

"Cutting it fine," Mek remarked, as they surveyed the rugged slopes and

frowning peaks that surrounded them.

"Can your fat friend fly?"

"Fly? He is half-bird,'Nicholas told him.

They moved down the valley to check the placement of the flares and the

markers, The markers consisted of crosses of quartz stones laid out down

the centre of the valley floor, and they would be highly visible from

the air.

Sapper was up at the head of the valley. They could see him there on the

skyline as he moved around, setting out his smoke flares to mark the

approach to the drop zone.

When Nicholas turned around and looked in the opposite direction, he

could see the two women sitting on a rock together at the far end of the

valley. Sapper had already helped them to set up their flares. These

would mark the far limit of the zone, and give Jannie a mark for his

climb out of the valley.

Nicholas then turned his attention back to Mek's men as they finished

laying out the stark white quartz markers.

Once these were all in place, Mek ordered the area to be cleared. Then,

lugging the radio, they climbed up to join Sapper on the high ground at

the head of the valley. Mek helped Nicholas string out the aerial. Then

Nicholas switched on and adjusted the gain carefully before he thumbed

the microphone.

"Big Dolly. Come in, Big Dolly!'Nicholas invited, but the static hummed

and whined.

"They must be running late." Nicholas tried not to let his disquiet

show. Jannie will be coming straight in from Malta on this run. After