made by white-hot metal.
His left arm hampered him, he had no feeling or use in it. The straps
bound him tightly to his seat and he had to pause in his assault upon
the canopy to loosen them.
Then he began again. He tore an opening in the Perspex, the size of a
hand, and as he worked to enlarge it, a ruptured fuel pressure line
somewhere in the shattered fuselage sprayed a jet of Avtur high in the
air. It fell in a heavy drizzle upon the canopy like a garden
sprinkler, poured down the curved sides and dribbled through the hole
David was cutting. It fell into his face, icy cold on his cheeks and
stinging his eyes, it drenched his shoulders and the front of his
pressure suit, and David began to pray. For the first time ever in his
life the words took on meaning and he felt his terror receding. Hear O
Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. He prayed aloud, striking up
at the softly yielding Perspex and feeling the soft rain of death in his
face. He tore at the opening with his hands, bringing away slabs of
transparent material, but ripping his gloves and leaving his blood
smearing the jagged edges of the opening.
Blessed be His name, whose glorious kingdom is for ever The opening was
large enough. He hauled himself up in the seat, and found himself
caught by the oxygen and radio lines attached to his helmet. He could
not reach them with his crippled left arm. He stared down at the
offending limb, and saw the blood welling out of the torn sleeve of the
suit. There was no pain but it was twisted at a comical angle from the
elbow.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart - he whispered, and
with his right hand he tore loose the chin strap and let his helmet drop
to the floorboards. The Avtur soaked into the soft dark mop of his hair
and ran down his neck behind his ears, and he thought about the flames
of hell.
Painfully he dragged himself out through the opening in the canopy, and
now not even prayer could hold off the dark hordes of terror that
assaulted his soul. - For the anger of God will kindle against you
Laboriously he crawled across the slippery sleek metal of the wing root
and fell to the ground. He fell facedown and lay for a moment, exhausted
by fear and effort.
I, remember all the commands of God, He heard voices then as he lay with
his face against the dusty earth, and he lifted his head and saw the
women from the orchard running towards him across the open field. The
voices were shrill but faint and the words were in Hebrew. He knew that
he was home.
Steadying himself against the shattered body of the Mirage, he came to
his feet with the broken arm dangling at his side, and he tried to shout
to them.
Go back! Beware! but his voice was a throaty croak, and they ran on
towards him. Their dresses and aprons were gay spots of colour against
the dry brown earth.
He pushed himself away from the aircraft and staggered to meet the
running women.
Go back! he croaked in his own terrible distress, with the grip of his
