'In that case Praeger's bound to see us crossing the wadi.'
'In about six hours it'll be dark. We'll cross then. We'll use your hollow baobab to keep watch on von Praeger.'
I had a brainwave and the whole operation fell into place. '
Nadine! Wheels! What a clot I've been!'
'Where, Guy?'
'The plane wreck! The undercarriage was torn off when it first hit the trees! It's lying there for the taking - two wheels and an axle!'
'The tyres wouldn't have survived the fire'
'It doesn't matter about the tyres. The wheels alone are enough for our purpose. We'll fix them to his stretcher and we'll have a mobile litter. We'll make him fast to it with some of the plane's strut wires which are also lying around. It'll be a piece of cake hauling him across the wadi and on to the boat.'
'It's perfect, Guy!' She kissed me lightly. 'Absolutely perfect!'
However, a sense of caution curbed my enthusiasm. 'Don't let's get carried away too soon. Praeger still holds Rankin. We haven't beaten that part of the problem yet. We've got to get our hands on him, which means that somehow or other we must overpower Praeger – and his hyena.'
'If only we could lure Praeger out of the command-post for long enough, we could manage Rankin.'
'It bristles with difficulties. We'll have to be on the alert, to act fast. We'll also have to construct the litter in the dark almost under Praeger's own nose.'
I kicked at the Land-Rover wreck. 'What we need is weapons. We're pitting our bare hands against guns.' '
Plus our wits.'
'Do you remember if the tools were removed from these wrecks?'
'No. Only the petrol'
I reached into one of the mid-section tool compartments as far as I could and after a while I managed to extract a rusty tyre lever. I had no luck with some other things I could only touch. However, with the lever I prised loose a heavy mesh grille protecting a radiator.
'If we wedge that across the narrow section of the stairway it'
ll make an effective seal,' I told Nadine. 'It's not part of the Rankin kidnap plan – at this stage. It's merely an insurance in case things go wrong and we have to use your hide-out on the summit.'
'As I understand it, we cross the wadi tonight, somehow or other overpower von Praeger, grab Rankin, put him on the litter and make all speed for the boat?'
'Correct.'
I was peering under the crumpled bonnet at the engine compartment when, at the sight of the plastic brake fluid reservoir, a thought struck me like a sledgehammer.
'Fire!' I exclaimed. I've got the answer to what we can use for weapons! I'll make a petrol bomb out of my empty brandy bottle. If Praeger and his pet start getting tough, I'll toss it into the enclosure like a grenade. That'll bring 'em up short! They'll have to get out, with flaming fuel all over the place!'
'Where's the petrol coming from? There's none in these tanks.'
'From the boat,' I answered. 'We can come and go to it as . we wish.'
My mind was on the technicalities of fixing a wick through the brandy bottle cork when an odd thought made me burst out laughing.
'I've just thought of something else for our arsenal: a minibomb using Koen's brandy! That stuff of his is practically pure alcohol. Like my petrol bomb, it'll kick up hell's delight. I'll reserve it specially for Dika!'
Nadine did not share my enthusiasm: 'It all sounds very ingenious and terror-like, but where does it get us? A petrol bomb in the command-post won't entice von Praeger out long enough for us to do anything about Rankin. We want him out of the way – well out of the way – for a long time. Instead, why not burn his plane tonight and create a major diversion that way?'
'Sounds good, but the time factor's against it. We'd never make it from the burning plane near the river to the command post and back again to the boat with Rankin. And we'd lay ourselves wide open to bumping into von Praeger somewhere along the line. Also he'd be sure to discover our boat if he passed near the river on the way to his plane. In which case our whole plan is shot.'
'We seem to be going round in circles.'
'No. The main plan's straightforward, but if things start getting snarled up we'll have to improvise, and improvise quickly.'
'What's the alternative if we have to?'
'It's all yours. Your cubby-hole on the summit of The Hill.' 'I don't like it, Guy, because it presupposes that we must abandon Rankin.'
'Not necessarily. Assume we transport him safely as far as The Hill en route for the boat, then have to take emergency action and hole up on the summit for some reason we can't foresee at this stage. We hide Rankin in the root cage as a temporary measure while we shoot up to your hideout. We'll block the secret stairway with this radiator grill. We'll take the litter with us. Praeger is bound to find Rankin but his problem then will be exactly what ours was without the plane's wheels: he can't move Rankin without killing him.'
'Checkmate.'
'Just the contrary. We can stand a siege on the summit by taking up food from my camp. The spring will give us water. We'll hamstring von Praeger and Koen as far as food goes by dumping the contents of Rankin's kitchen over the cliff. They haven't any other provisions that we know of.'
'Then let's hump some of your supplies up to the summit right away,' she answered. 'I think it would also be a good thing if you made yourself familiar with the layout there.'
She tried to smile but it didn't come off. 'As a matter of tactics, not of the heart.'
CHAPTER TWELVE
After our return to the root screen I checked the command post again with the glasses before beginning the food-lift operation. I was uneasy about von Praeger, of whom there was no sign. The place was too far away for him to be able to distinguish individuals but it would be possible for him to see figures moving about, and the nature of our various movements might have aroused his suspicion. I did not want anything to foil our main plan now that we had firmly decided upon it. After a couple of minutes the bright, hard light hurt my eyes too much for me to go on looking; moreover the heat waves reduced the outlines of the rock to vagueness. Nadine also took a long look but could see nothing. Somewhat reassured, we crossed to the camping-spot and quickly loaded the gunny sack which was our sole container with a manageable weight of supplies for the stiff climb. We reckoned they would last us about five days if rationed carefully. I was of two minds about Koen's machine-pistol. It was too heavy and cumbersome to take along and yet it was a big risk leaving it I didn't want to smash it in case I should find a spare magazine when we broke into the command-post; something which would completely alter the balance of power in our favour. I compromised by removing the empty clip and part of the firing mechanism, which I pocketed.
Koen, lying at the foot of the stairway, still showed no signs of consciousness. We left him there and started off, Nadine leading and carrying his boots to stash away in some rocky niche high up out of sight and reach. She outdistanced me but waited at the tricky section which had been Koen's downfall. We worked through this bit together; then she went on ahead to the top.
This was new territory to me and I became strongly aware of that sense of being watched which had struck me previously, as if the long-dead sentries' eyes had burned something of the intensity of their vigil into the rocks themselves. This impression was heightened by the sight of the empty ladder-sockets cut into the rock on either side of the passageway; the rungs had apparently been removable when danger threatened in order to isolate the summit to withstand siege. My idea of the radiator grille was a variation on this same theme. There was also another sensation – less tangible and a little chilling – especially where the ascent straightened out for the final few yards. I imagined that a pilgrim seeking oracular guidance from the great king would have felt it strongly: something vaguely ominous and awe-inspiring about the threatening dark jaws of the cliffs on either hand. I also thought grimly of the other side of the coin – if one had come in the role of an attacker–above me were seve
ral piles of stone missiles stacked ready and a natural slot between giant boulders guarding the head of the stairway where bowmen could have fired into the faces of any enemy who got that far. On the very edge of the cliff top there was also a man-made fortification, terminating in a tall stone pillar. Nadine did not hear me reach the summit; she was standing staring abstractedly at what appeared to be an irregular pyramid-shaped heap of bright, small stones of the kind I had seen below the river terrace. Some of them reflected colour from blue and green inset crystals. It was a puzzling little edifice whose purpose I couldn't guess.
The tabletop ran away at a slight incline, bare and smooth, to the north-western cliffs; and here and there it was intersected by untidy trenches dug by the archaeologists to probe its mysteries. The end near the queen's grave looked like a miniature version of the Lichtenburg diggings but near where I emerged there was only one excavation, running steeply through the cap of soil to the solid rock beneath. A red and white excavator's staff, marked in feet, projected from the bottom like a wrecked ship's mast.
Nadine started from her reverie as I approached and I noticed that she flushed slightly.
She indicated the staff. 'Our hideout's down there. There are a couple of chambers, all at a lower level. They have a natural rock ceiling, so where we go in is actually the top part of an old door. As you can see, there's been very little work done.'
'Are you sure it's safe? It looks a bit spooky to me. No wild animals holed up? What about baboons?'
'Let's investigate: there weren't any last time.'
'Before we do that I'm going to check on von Praeger.'
The declining afternoon light tended to iron out all the shadows against the distant slopes of K2, making it harder than ever to pick out the command-post. I had a grandstand view as I faced southwards across the wadi and overlooked the complex of hills beyond. I thought I spotted something moving when eventually I located the post but I couldn't be sure.
'Nothing,' I told Nadine when I rejoined her. 'It somehow seems too good to be true.'
Nadine, however, was in high spirits and didn't share my uneasiness.
'Feel better?' I asked.
Our eyes met. There was almost no need for words. 'I'm at home here. I feel . . . good, that's all.'
She took me impulsively by the hand. 'There's no time to show you all the wonderful things but there's one of our essentials – the spring, at the back of the rooms.'
'And the baboons?'
'Their rest colony is farther along beyond the spring itself. They don't seem to want to shelter here, for some reason. Come!'
She insisted on leading the way into the dimness below. I didn't share her confidence about the place not being used as a lair. She used the top of the lintel as a handhold and swung down. I followed. The interior was twilight-dim, although a shaft of long light made it possible to see without artificial means. It was chilly by comparison with outside and there was a faint odour of midden gas. Floor and walls were of living rock and there was room to stand comfortably. In a far corner was what appeared to be a patch of moisture, probably seepage from the spring.
Nadine was delighted that I could not locate her hide-away.
'It really takes a lot of looking for,' she said. 'It's right there below the drip. It mightn't be man-made but simply a water fissure which has widened out with time'
I went to examine it more closely, my mind occupied with its possibilities, so was not aware of the mosaic pavement until I trod on it.
But to me it wasn't a mosaic pavement at all – it was an isifuba board.
Isifuba is a game as old as Africa. It can be played anywhere, any time, simply by crudely sketching a squared board as for draughts. Pebbles are used as pieces. Isifuba, it is said, was the game the Roman soldiers played at the foot of the Cross. If there are no wayside shrines in Africa, at least the traveller's road is cheered by innumerable isifuba boards scratched in the rocks and distinguishable immediately by slightly hollowed places for the pieces.
However, I could not imagine the purpose of such an ornate and sophisticated isifuba board hidden out of sight in an underground chamber. It was about three feet square; which to begin with is about twice the size of a regular board. It had three squares each way and every hollow seemed inlaid with a different coloured stone, and one was missing entirely. They could have been semi-precious but I wasn't sure: the dim light and a layer of dust didn't help.
'What do you make of it, Guy?'
'I'm foxed. It isn't a mosaic in the usual sense.'
'I suspect this is what brought Dr Drummond rushing up here after the Land Rover business.'
'Didn't he give you any clue as to what these stones really were?'
'No. He was puzzled, but from the way he spoke I'd say it was a lead to something else.'
'A lead to what?'
'He didn't say. As I told you, this chamber hasn't been examined properly: there wasn't time. All I know is that Dr Drummond found a lot of rather peculiar-looking arrow shafts in here made of ivory, which he took away with him. They were very short and had odd markings. That's why he called this place the armoury, for want of a better name.'
'Let's take a close look at your hideout and get this stuff stowed. I have a feeling that Praeger is breathing down our necks all the time.'
'He's miles away, Guy. Try this gap for size.'
The way into the cubby-hole was a very tight squeeze past a jag of sandstone. Because of the loose debris it was virtually undetectable.
Standing jammed across the entrance, I pitched a tin from the gunny sack into the inkiness. As I did so there was a sharp prick in my shoulder and what seemed to be a clatter at my feet; simultaneously I heard what I thought was a distant shot. From the darkness I caught a gleam of mother-of-- pearl.
'Nadine! Stand back! It's a puff-adder! It got me in the shoulder!'
For a split second we stood rooted, but her eyes were better than mine in the poor light.
Her voice shadowed the curiosity inside her. 'Puff-adders aren't made of ivory!'
She picked up the thing and we hurried to the light. It was a curious gauntlet-like object cut off above the knuckles and thumb-hole and with a wicked, backswept hook at the wrist. Its sharp point had jabbed me. The lethal glove had been carved from solid elephant tusk.
Nadine was delighted. 'Guy, what a find! It must be an archer's arm-guard to prevent backlash from the bow-string!'
I slipped it on. 'No,' I replied. 'It's much more dangerous. Look!' I made a dummy sweep with my arm. 'It's meant for in-fighting.'
The echo of a far away shot slapped through the hills. This time I knew I was not mistaken and Nadine heard it too. '
That's von Praeger's signal – he wants Koen back.' 'It's our turn to be grilled, Guy.'
'We haven't any means of bluffing him by giving an answer ing signal. When Koen doesn't reply he'll know there's something wrong. Let's leave this for the moment and take a look outside.'
'I'll hide the arm-guard right here by the door.'
I hurried ahead of Nadine and once outside I heard a repetition of the three signal shots from the direction of K2. They sounded like the Mauser.
'Keep down and well out of sight. Even if Praeger's a very long way away,' I warned Nadine, 'he'll be looking for any sign of movement.'
We crept to the cliff under cover of the wall and I used the glasses. K2 looked the same as before. When my eyes became fogged Nadine took over.
We waited.
'He's coming!'
'Where,' for God's sake!'
'He's just leaving the post – starting to move across the bad bit above the precipice . .
She pushed the binoculars into my hands. Praeger was crossing very slowly on the handlines, guiding his pet by its mane. Rankin's Mauser was slung over his shoulder and I reckoned he'd be armed with his pistol too.
'If that damn brute would only slip and break its neck a lot of our problems would be over,' I remarked.
Nadine took a
look. 'He's being very careful, Guy. That animal gives me the horrors.'
'It's a nasty piece of work, but don't overrate it. Hyenas are natural cowards and no amount of training will beat that.' '
He'll use it to track us down.'
'It's not a dog, Nadine: it only found us last time by following a trail of blood. And it can't climb – that's another point in our favour. Above all, like all wild animals, it's afraid of fire. A chunk of burning wood should be enough to scare it off. My Molotov cocktail would probably send it skidding over the nearest horizon.'
'He's across now, Guy! He's heading our way!'
I checked the height of the sun and the time and calculated how long von Praeger would take to cross the wadi.
'Good! This is a break we didn't expect. Now we don't have to winkle him out of the command-post.'
Nadine was very taut. 'Are you just going to stay here and wait?'
'Not on your nellie, as Koen would say. We're getting across there and bringing Rankin out. 'This is our golden opportunity.'
'He'll see us! He can't help it. It's still hours before dark!'
'Right. He'll reach The Hill before nightfall. But we're moving out – now. He can't possibly see us descending the stairway. Once we're down we'll work our way between the boulders and fallen rubbish westwards, as I did when I escaped from Rankin. Look down there at the long shadows. We'll use 'em. We'll have to choose our moment very carefully, though, so as to stay out of sight while negotiating the terrace wall.'
'If he spots us from a distance he'll send Dika to cut us off.' '
Dika will never manage the drop off the terrace. I half wish it would try. I'd like to get close to that brute with a firebomb.'
Nadine continued to be apprehensive, 'Are you sure it will work, Guy? What if he sights us when we cross the wadi?'
'We wait for darkness before we do cross. Until then we hide amongst the rocks.'
What's the time?'
'Nearly four.'
'Three hours until dark! He'll be here at The Hill long before that!'
A Cleft Of Stars Page 15