'No, please not that. I can't - don't you see that I can't.'
The little red and purple veins in his nose and cheeks stood out in
vivid contrast to his pallor. Bruce hit him openhanded across the face
and the water flew in drops from his hair at the shock.
'No,' he mumbled, 'please Bruce, please.' Bruce hit him twice more,
hard. Watching him carefully, and at last he saw the first
flickering of anger.
Damn you, Bruce Curry, damn you to hell.'
'You'll do,' rejoiced
Bruce. 'Thank God for that.' He hustled Haig back through the bar-room.
Shermaine still stood over Hendry, holding the pistol.
'Come on, Shermaine. You can leave that thing now. I'll attend to him
when we get back.' As they crossed the lobby Bruce asked
Shermaine. 'Can you drive the Ford?'
'Yes.'
'Good,' said Bruce. 'Here are the keys. I'll sit with Haig in the back.
Take us out to the mission.' Haig lost his balance on the front steps of
the hotel and
nearly fell, but Bruce caught him and half carried him to the car. He
pushed him into the back seat and climbed in beside him. Shermaine slid
in behind the wheel, started the engine and U-turned neatly across the
street.
'You can't force me to do this, Bruce. I can't, I just can't,' Haig
pleaded.
'We'll see,' said Bruce.
'You don't know what it's like. You can't know. She'll die on the
table.' He held out his hands palms down. 'Look at that, look at them.
How can I do it with these?' His hands were trembling violently.
'She's going to die anyway,' said Bruce, his voice hard.
'So you might as well do it for her quickly and get it over with.
Haig brought his hands up to his mouth and wiped his lips.
'Can I have a drink, Bruce? That'll help. I'll try then, if you give me
a drink.' 'No,' said Bruce, and Haig began to swear. The filth poured
from his lips and his face twisted with the effort. He cursed
Bruce, he cursed himself, and God in a torrent of the most obscene
language that Bruce had ever heard. Then suddenly he snatched at the
door handle and tried to twist it open. Bruce had been waiting for this
and he caught the back of Haig's collar, pulled him backwards across the
seat and held him there. Haig's struggles ceased abruptly and he began
to sob softly.
Sharmaine drove fast; across the causeway, up the slope and into the
side road. The headlights cut into the darkness and the wind drummed
softly round the car. Haig was still sobbing on the back seat.
Then the lights of the mission were ahead of them through the trees and
Shermaine slowed the car, turned in past the church and pulled up next
to the hospital block.
Bruce helped Haig out of the car, and while he was doing so the side
door of the building opened and Father Ignatius came out with a petromax
lantern in his hand. The harsh white glare of the lantern lit them all
and threw grotesque shadows behind them. It fell with special cruelty on
