bandolier of ammunition for the moment when Sean needed it. Neither of
them had spoken until this moment. Between them words were seldom
necessary.
Sean fingered the raw graze on his face and listened to the murmured
conversation of the men around him. Twice he heard clearly the voices
of Boers from the saucer above them and once he heard a burgher laugh ,
They were very close, and Sean moved uneasily against the rock.
Within minutes Mbejane was back with Saul crawling behind him.
When he saw Sean, Saul's expression changed quickly.
'Your face! Are you all right?'
'Cut mySElf shaving.' Sean grinned at him. 'Have a seat.
Make yourself comfortable.'
Saul crawled the last few yards and settled himself against Sean's
rock. 'Now what?' he asked.
'Ten minutes' rest, then we're going up again,' Sean told him.
'But this time with a little more purpose. I want you to work around
the back of the kopje with half the men. Take Eccles with you.
We'll rush their whole perimeter at the same moment. When you're in
position fire three shots in quick succession then count slowly to
twenty. I'll back you from this side. ' 'Good.' Saul nodded. 'It'll
take me a little while to get round, don't be impatient.' And he was
smiling as he rose to his knees and leaned forward to touch Sean's
shoulder.
Sean would always remember him like that: big mouth creased at the
corners, smiling with white teeth through three days' growth of beard,
slouch hat pushed to the back of his head, so his hair fell forward on
to his forehead, and sunburned skin flaking from the tip of his nose.
The rock behind them was cracked through. If Saul had not leaned
forward to make that gesture of affection he would not have exposed
himself.
The sniper on the ridge had seen the brim of his hat above the rock and
he held his aim into the crack. At the moment that Saul's fingers
touched Sean's shoulder his head moved across the gap and the Boer
fired.
The bullet hit Saul in the right temple, slanted diagonally back
through his head and came out behind his left ear.
Their faces were but eighteen inches apart and Sean was smiling into
Saul's eyes as the bullet hit. Saul's whole head was distorted by the
impact, swelling and bursting like a balloon.
His lips stretched so that for an instant his smile was a hideous
rubbery thing and then he was snatched away and thrown sideways down
the slope. He slid to a stop with his head and shoulders mercifully
covered by a tuft of the Coarse grey grass that grew among the rocks,
but his trunk shivered and his legs danced and kicked convulsively.
For a slow count of ten Sean did not move nor did his expression alter.
It took him that long to believe what he had seen Then his face seemed
to crumple.
'Saul!' His voice was a croak.
'Saul!' It rose higher, sharp with the realization of his loss He came
slowly to hIS knees. Now Saul's body was still, Very still and
