the bottom of them.
'And?'
'There are more Boers sitting on those kopJes than there are quills on
a porcupine's back. Whoever tries to cross those bridges in daylight
is going to get the Bejesus shot out of him.'
'Lovely thought!' growled Tim.
'Charming, isn't it? Further contemplation of it will make me puke.
What did you find?'
'We found plenty of water. ' Tim glanced down at his sodden clothing.
'Deep water.'
'No ford,' Sean anticipated gloomily.
'None. But we found a ferryboat on the bank with the bottom knocked
out of it. That could be the excuse for marking a ford on the map. '
'So now you can go and tell your beloved Colonel the glad tidings.'
Saul grinned. 'But one gets you five that it has no effect.
My guess is that Buller will attack Colenso within the next two days.
He might just be able to get a couple of thousand men across that
bridge, then we'd have a chance. ' Tim regarded him balefully. 'And
the Guides will be the first across. All very well for you. The Rabbi
has reduced your target area considerably-but what about us?
'But it's marked on the map,' protested Lieutenant-Colonel Garrick
Courtney. His head bowed so that Tim could see the Pink scalp through
the furrows the comb had left in his sandy brown hair.
'I've seen dragons and sea monsters marked on maps, Sir, Tim answered,
and Garry looked up at him coldly with pale blue eyes.
'You're not paid to be a comedian, Curtis.' 'I beg your pardon, Sir,'
and Garry frowned. Curtis could make the
'Sir' sound like an insult.
'Who did you send?' he demanded.
'I went myself, Sir. ' 'You could have missed it in the dark.
'If there is a ford there, it would have a road or at least a path
leading down to it. I wouldn't have missed that, Sir.
'But in the darkness you could have been mistaken,' insisted Garry.
'You might have missed something that would be obvious in daylight.'
'Well, Sir ... 'Good. ' Briskly Garry went on. 'Now, the bridges. You
say these are still intact.
'Only the road bridge, but. .
'But what?'
-The men I sent report that the hills beyond the river are heavily
defended. Almost as though the bridge has been preserved to bait a
trap.'
-Curtis.' Deliberately Garry laid his paper-knife upon the map before
him. His nose was too large for the space between his eyes and when he
pursed his lips this way he looked, Tim thought, like a bird-a sparrow,
a little brown sparrow.
-Curtis', Garry repeated softly. 'It seems to me you have very little
enthusiasm for this business. I send you out to do a job and you come
back with a long list of excuses. I don't think you realize how
important this is.'
