Drummond paused in the doorway and shook his head. "Now you really are wasting your time,' he said.
Chinese headquarters had been set up at the palace and the commanding officer, General Ho Tsen, stood on the terrace and looked out over the garden. He seemed far from happy and paced up and down impatiently.
There was a slight cough from behind and he turned to fold Cheung standing in the window. 'You have found him?' he demanded eagerly.
Tm afraid not, General.'
Ho Tsen slammed a hand hard down on the balustrade. This is your direct responsibility, Colonel. I expected to find the boy ready and waiting when I arrived..
It seems that the priest and the American girl left the mission with the boy shortly before our men arrived. We've confirmed this by questioning herdsmen at a camp up river. I've just had a report that their jeep has been found abandoned ten miles north of here at a village called Quala. There was a vehicle ferry there which has apparently been destroyed so I'm assuming they've crossed by boat. A Land Rover belonging to the man Brackenhurst has been found in the same place.
'Has the patrol gone after them?'
'Unfortunately there were no other boats. The village was quite deserted. Obviously the entire population had crossed over. Since then the level of the water has risen with, the rains..
% there any place where the river may be crossed with vehicles?
'Certainly not here. The current was always too swift for a ferry.'
Cheung spread out a map on a wrought iron table. Twenty miles north of here at Kama. The river is very wide and shallow there. We could cross in half-tracks.' His finger traced a line to the border. There Is only one road to India and they have no transporf,rasember. We should catch them easily. They must stay on the road. The priest is an old man and in any case/ with the woman and the boy, he couldn't hope to get through the mountains on foot by any other route.'
Ho Tsen nodded. 1 hope so, for your sake. Pekin will not be pleased if you fail. I w31 also send other patrols south on this side of the river in troop carriers. They should find boats sooner or later. Once across, they can proceed on foot and cut the road ahead of you.'
'An excellent idea.'
Ho Tsen put a cigarette in his mouth and leaaed to the match Cheung offered. 'One thing worriesme. What if the priest had an alternative plan? Perhaps a vehicle waiting on the other side. It would explain why they did not drive north to Kama and attempt to cross in the jeep. This man Drummond you spoke of? Yon. are certain he knows nothing?'
'He is a, difficult man to be sure of and tko Pa&aa Is as stubborn as the breed usually are.'
.Y6u have exhausted the accepted methods?.
They take time, General, and in any case, Drummond must be preserved for a more searching examination in Pekin.'
"Why is this?
.He is known to have worked for British Intelligence..
"I see!'
Cheung hesitated. 'I would like to have one last try before leaving in case they do have information of value. A small subterfuge which often has remarkable results.'
'Which sounds interesting,. General Ho Tsen said. 1 think I shall accompany you, Colonel. Let us hope Fm not wasting my tune.'
The wind across the river was like a bayonet in the back and Drummond shivered as it cut into him. He flexed his hands to ease his cramped muscles and winced with pain as the wire that was twisted about his wrists bit into his flesh.
Hamid was next to him and on the other side one of Sher Oil's soldiers in tattered uniform was silently weeping. Every few moments the man coughed and a trickle of blood came from his mouth. After a while, he slumped on his face and lay motionless. The guards standing talking a few yards away took no notice.
Two troop carriers, half-tracks biting into the mud, drove up and parked thirty or forty yards away, each containing a dozen men and a heavy machine gun mounted on a pivot
Drummond eased back on to his heels and looked along the line of kneeling men. There were at least thirty of them, mostly Sher Dil's soldiers with a few tribesmen who'd been caught carrying weapons. In his mind's eye he saw them keel over one by one as the machine gun curved in an arc and finally reached him and he shuddered.
A jeep drove up and parked behind the troop carriers and Hamid said quickly, 'We've got company, Jack..
Cheung walked across the broken ground towards them, General Ho Tsen at his side. They paused a few yards away and the General said calmly, These are the men?1
Cheung nodded. They both speak Chinese..
'Excellent.' The General came closer. "Let us not waste any more time, gentlemen, I find this rain most unpleasant. We wish to know the whereabouts of the Catholic priest and the young Khan. If you are sensible and help us, I will see that you are well treated. If not....
Drummqnd and Hamid stared up at him without speaking and Cheung sighed with exasperation. 'You're a damned fool, Jack,. he said in English. 'You always were. We've found the jeep at Quala which means they've crossed the river. They won't get far, I promise you..
He and the General turned and walked back to the troop carriers. Ho Tsen climbed into the shelter of the jeep and Cheung looked up at the sergeant who stood beside the heavy machine gun in the first troop carrier.
'You have your orders. Stop firing when you reach the Indian and the Englishman. If you harm either of them, Til have your head.'
He climbed into the jeep beside the General and Ho Tsen smiled and offered him a cigarette. 'You were quite right, Colonel. This should prove most interesting.'
Drummond stared at the sodden earth, numb with cold and waited for what was to come. He wondered about Father Kerrigan and Janet and the boy, somewhere on the other side of the river in the mist, and prayed that the old man would have the sense to keep on the move. But the Indian border was a long way oflj all of three hundred miles.
A burst of shrill, girlish laughter came from the
Chinese and he stiffened. They strutted towards the line of prisoners, their thin voices bird-like on the wind and Dnunmond dropped his head and waited.
A boot thudded into his chest and he rolled on his face and fought for breath. The wire was torn from his wrists and a kick in the side drove him to his feet The Chinese soldier grinned amiably and held out a spade.
Drummond glanced once at Hamid and they started to dig. The soil was soft and sandy and lifted easily. Beside them the other prisoners worked silently, and as Drummond bent to his task, he knew with a feeling of utter hopelessness that it wouldn't take very long.
The rain increased into a heavy downpour and the Chinese turned and ran to the shelter of their vehicles leaving one man on guard, a sub-machine gun crooked in one arm.
The trench was now a couple of feet down and Drummond wondered how deep they wanted it Six feet was the statutory requirement for a grave back home, but it was unlikely that the Chinese bothered about such niceties.
He leaned on his spade for a moment and Hamid moved closer. 'I don't suppose we've got much longer,' Drummond said.
Hamid glanced once over his shoulder at the mist rolling up from the river. 'Not if I can help it Any good at the hundred yard dash, Jack?'
Drummond frowned in bewilderment 'What in the hell are you talking about?.
This,' Hamid said crisply and slapped Mm heavily in the face.
As Drummond staggered back, momentarily dazed, the guard hurried across to see what the disturbance was about. He leaned over the trench, the sub-machine gun pointed threateningly and Hamid swung the edge of the spade against his neck. The man fell Into the trench without a sound.
The rain was now a heavy grey curtain that almost shrouded them from the troop carriers and the jeep. Hamid snatched up the guard's sub-machine gun, scrambled out of the trench and ran towards the river. Drummond went after him, slipping and stumbling in the mud.
Behind him he heard a cry and glanced over his shoulder. The other prisoners were strung out in a ragged line, running for dear life. Beyond them, the first Chinese had
already reached the trench, firing as they advanced, and one of the troop carrier's heavy machine guns opened up above then. heads.
The river was very close now and he increased his pace as he smelled water. A bullet plucked at his heel and he tripped and fell heavily. Hamid was beside him in an instant He dragged him to his feet and together they stumbled down the slope to the water.
The river was in a sullen, angry mood. It ran smoothly through the heavy rain, but sudden swirls on the surface indicated dangerous currents and the speed with which tree branches drifted by argued against any attempt to reach the other side.
There was a rattle of stones and earth behind and one of Sher Dil's soldiers ran past, his face purple with effort so that a scar which stretched from one eye to the corner of his mouth gleamed whitely. He plunged into the water and began to swim furiously.
In a few moments, the swift current had carried him out of sight into the heavy rain. Others followed, some bleeding from wounds, crying with fear as they stumbled down the slope and flung themselves into the river.
They won't last five minutes,' Hamid shouted. The water must be near freezing.'
A bullet landed at their feet, showering them with dirt. He turned as four Chinese appeared at the top of the slope and swung the sub-machine gun in a wide arc, firing from the hip. Two of them crumpled to the ground.
As their companions dropped behind an outcrop of rock, several more appeared on the skyline and Hamid drove them back with a long burst that emptied the gun.
As one of the troop carriers came into view, Hamid tossed the useless weapon to one side and they ran into the river and splashed through the shallows towards a line of dense, thorny bushes that grew down into the water. Bullets churned around them and then they were waist deep and hidden by the rain.
The water was bitterly cold and Drummond could feel it eating its way into his bones. They could hear the cries of the soldiers coming nearer and began to move further downstream aided by the strong current
The land curved out for about fifty yards making a natural breakwater, imprisoning a floating mass of smashed trees and branches. They pushed towards it and the current, taking pity on them, swept them into the safety of the floating jungle.
They rested side by side, holding the branches of a tree, gasping for breath. Voices came from the shore and half a dozen soldiers appeared, pushing their way through the bushes along the water's edge.
They were no more than ten yards away from the shore and through the branches Drummond could see the Chinese clearly, the peaked caps pulled down over the eyes, the red star prominent, the shining Burp guns and rubber, knee-length boots.
The breathless minutes passed slowly and the cold gradually numbed their limbs. The soldiers appeared to be having a conference. After a while, they split into pairs and disappeared into the driving rain.
'Now what?' Drummond said.
'Only one thing for it,' Hamid said, his lips blue with the cold. 'We'll have to try to get across on one of these logs. They'll be swarming around like flies on this side of the river. We wouldn't last five minutes..
He let go of the tree and splashed to the next one, progressing slowly through the floating mass and Drummond followed. When they reached the edge, they found a krge tree that was already swinging out into the river, straining to be free.
Hamid pulled himself into the branches and Drummond said, Til try to guide it from the other end.'
He lifted a foot from the water and pushed against the next tree. There was a snapping of branches and the tree lifted into the current In a few moments they were drifting rapidly away and the floating mass of trees and the promontory disappeared into the mist.
Drummond soon found that it was impossible to guide the tree. It went with the current and his feeble kicking had no effect. He gave up the struggle and tried to heave himself into a more secure position, but his frozen limbs refused to help him. He trailed helplessly through the water, arms hooking over a projecting branch and gradually all discomfort and pain left him.
When Cheung scrambled up the steep bank from the river's edge, he found General Ho Tsen still sitting in the front of the jeep, a cigarette in a long jade holder between his teeth.
'Well?' the General demanded.
Cheung seemed tired. 'As yet there is no sign of them, General.'
'A small subterfuge which often leads to remarkable results,' said Ho Tsea. 'Wasn't tliat what you promised msT
Cheung wiped rain from his face mechanically. 'What can I say?'
'Nothing,' Ho Tsen told him. That would be much better. As it happens, in such weather it is more than likely that Drummond and his friend are akeady floating face down somewhere out there in the flood. In any case, I shall take charge here, Colonel. Take your men and go north to Kama. Cross the river and bring me back the young Khan.' He paused and neatly ejected the end of his cigarette from the holder. When he looked up again, his eyes were cold. 'Without him, there would be little point in returning at all. You follow me?'
Cheuag stood there in the rain, staring at him for a moment, his face quite white. He seemed to pull himself together, saluted, turned and clambered up beside the driver of the first troop carrier. A moment later, the two vehicles moved up the slope, their tracks spurning file wet earth and disappeared into the mist
Forced March
VAGUELY through his numbed mind, Drummond became aware that something was digging into him. After a while, he realised that another large tree had drifted into them. They floated together, branches intertwined, their combined weight considerably slowing down the speed at which they were travelling,
Hamid was still secure in Ms perch amongst the branches and after a while he called, 1 can see the other side. The river must be narrowing.'
Drummond turned his head. Through the torrential rain, the opposite bank was just visible and it seemed to draw nearer every moment. The water became rougher and trees and flotsam of every description raced through the white-capped waves.
Suddenly, the bank was very close and seemed to increase in size as the river churned through a deeper and narrowing channel. There was a sickening, body-shaking jar and the tree grounded.
Drummond heard a cry and saw Hamid flung into the water. He unhooked his cramped limbs and found that he could stand waist deep. He forced his way along, pushed by the current, and caught Hamid by the belt before the river took him. There was a crashing sound behind and, as he turned, the trees were lifted by a sudden swell of the water and swept away again.
The water boiled around them as they braced themselves against the current. Slowly they forced their way to the steeply shelving banks and scrambled to temporary safety. They lay face down, their battered bodies heaving as they retched up river water.
After a while, they got to their feet and clambered up the mud bank away from the river. They stood looking across the river through the mist, listening. Hamid was shaking with cold, his uniform moulded to his body although strangely enough, his turban was still intact
'Sooner or later they'll get men across by boat,' he said. They're bound to find an odd one or two missed by the refugees.'
'But they'll be on foot, just like us,' Drummond reminded him. The nearest place they have a hope of crossing with vehicles is Kama and that's twenty miles north from here. The shallows there could well be impassable because of the rain.'
.Well, one thing is certain,' Hamid said with a savage grin. There's only one road out to India and there's only one way we're going to get to it'
They began to walk south through the rain, slowly, because the ground was fast turning into a quagmire. Drummond found it an effort to lift one foot in front of the other, and after a while found himself falling behind the hardy hiliman.
They moved into a grey impenetrable mist that shrouded them completely from the outside world. Nothing existed now except the two of them and the rain and Drummond stumbled on through the mud, wondering what he was doing here and where it was all going to end.
>
It was perhaps half an hour later that he became aware that Hamid was calling to him. He was standing on top of a small hill about fifty yards away. When Drummond joined him, he saw a herdsman's hut in a small hollow below.
There was no sign of life and they moved cautiously down into the hollow. Drummond didn't feel tired any more. He didn't feel anything. He knew he was alive and that was about all.
It was a poor place of mud and wattle construction and a thin tracer of smoke lifted through a hole in the straw roof. Hamid opened the door and led the way in.
The fire on the stone hearth was banked with earth and smoke drifted in a heavy layer against the ceiling. It was filthy and it smelled and Drummond knew the place was very probably lousy with fleas as well, but it was warm and dry, and at the moment that was all that mattered.
Jack Higgins - Iron Tiger Page 9