'Corporal,' Bruce addressed one of the men beside Hendry; and with a
shock he heard that his own voice was calm, without any trace of the
fury that had so nearly carried him away on its flood.
'Corporal, go back to the train. Tell Lieutenant Haig and
Sergeant Major Ruffararc, that I want them here.' Thankfully the man
went, and Bruce spoke to Wally Hendry in the same dispassionate tone.
'I told you to turn them loose,' he said.
'So they could run home and call the whole pack down on us - is that
what you wanted, Bucko?' Hendry had recovered now, he was defiant,
grinning.
'So instead you murdered them?'
'Murdered! You crazy or something, Bruce? They're Balubes, aren't they?
Bloody man-eating
Balubes!' shouted Hendry angrily, no longer grinning. 'What's wrong
with you man? This is war, Bucko, war. C'est laguerre, like the man
said, c'est laguerre!' Then suddenly his voice moderated again.
'Let's forget it. I did what was right, now let's forget it; what's two
more bloody Balubes after all the killing that's been going on?
Let's forget it.' Bruce did not answer, he lit a cigarette and looked
beyond Hendry for the others to come.
'How's that, Bruce? You willing we just forget it?' persisted
Hendry.
'On the contrary, Hendry, I make you a sacred oath, and I call upon God
to witness it.' Bruce was not looking at him, he couldn't trust himself
to look at Hendry without killing him. 'This is my promise to you: I
will have you hanged for this, not shot, hanged on good hemp rope. I
have sent for Haig and Ruffararo so we'll have plenty of witnesses. The
first thing I do once we get back to
Elisabethville will be to turn you over to the proper authorities.'
'You don't mean that!'
'I have never meant anything so seriously in my life.'
'Jesus, Bruce!-' Then Haig and Ruffy came; they came running until they
saw, and they stopped suddenly and stood uncertainly in the bright sun,
looking from Bruce to the two frail little corpses lying in the road.
'What happened?' asked Mike.
'Hendry shot them,' answered Bruce.
'What for?'
'Only he knows.'
'You mean he - he just killed them, just shot them down?'
'Yes.' 'My God,' said Mike, and then again, his voice dull with shock,
my God.'
'Go and look at them, Haig. I want you to look closely so you remember.'
Haig walked across to the children.
'You too, Ruffy. You'll be a witness at the trial.' Mike Haig and
Ruffy walked side by side to where the children lay, and stood staring
down at them. Hendry shuffled his feet in the dust awkwardly and then
went on loading the magazine of his rifle.
'Oh, for Chrissake!' he blustered. 'What's all the fuss?
They're just a couple of Balubes.' Wheeling slowly to face him
