both of you we'd never make it over the mountains,' and they saw what
torture the words caused her.
Another bullet clanged against steel. 'We can take only one more.'
'Spin you for it.' Gareth had the silver Maria Theresa on his thumb
and he grinned at Jake.
'Heads,' said Jake and it spun silver in the sunlight and Gareth caught
it in the palm of his good hand and glanced at Jake..
'It had to come your turn at last.' Gareth's grin lifted the corners
of his mouth. 'Well done, old son. off you go.' But Jake caught the
wrist, and twisted it. He glanced at the coin.
'Tails,' he snapped. 'I always knew you were a cheat, you bastard,'
and he turned away towards Vicky. 'I'll cover the take-off,
Vicky, I'll keep Priscilla between you and the Eyeties as long as I
can.' Behind him, Gareth stooped and picked up a stone the size of a
gull's egg out of the grass.
'Sorry, old son,' he drawled. 'But I owe you two already,' and
tenderly he tapped Jake above the right ear with the stone held in the
cup of his hand, and then dropped the stone and caught him under the
armpits as his legs sagged and he began to collapse.
He put his knee under Jake's backside and with a heave boosted him
headfirst and unconscious through the cabin door. Then he put his foot
on Jake's protruding posterior and thrust him farther into the cramped
cabin until he could slam and lock the door.
Rifle-fire pounded and crashed against the screening hull of
Priscilla. Gareth reached into his inside pocket and pulled out the
pigskin wallet. He dropped it through the side window into Vicky's lap
as she sat at the controls.
'Tell Jake if I'm not there on the first to cash the Lijs cheque and
buy You a bottle of Charlie from me, and when you drink it,
remember I really did love you,-' Before she could reply he had turned
and darted back to the armoured car and scrambled up into the driver's
hatch.
Like a team in harness, the car and the little blue aircraft ran side
by side down the open field and the Italian fire drummed against the
steel hull of the car.
Then slowly the heavily laden aircraft drew ahead of the speeding car,
but by then they were beyond effective rifle range, and as Vicky felt
the Puss Moth come alive and the wheels bumped clear of the rough turf,
she glanced quickly backwards.
Gareth stood in the driver's hatch, and she saw his lips Move as he
shouted after her, and he lifted his bandaged arm in a gesture of
farewell.
She did not hear the words, but she read them upon his lips.
'Noli il legitimi carborundum,' and saw the flash of that devilish
buccaneer smile, before the aircraft lifted away from the earth and she
must turn all her attention back to it.
are th halted Priscilla at the edge of the field and he stood in the
hatch, shielding his eyes with his good 3hand, and watched the little
blue aircraft climb laboriously into the thin mountain air.
