pack. Now he was stuffing cartridges into the magazine of his 30/06
hunting rifle.
'Let them go, Boris,' Nicholas advised him in a more reasonable tone of
voice 'Mek is a tough lad - they don't come tougher - and he has a war
party of fifty men with him. You are old enough to know that you can
never hold on to a woman by force. Let her go!
'I do not want to hold on to her. I want to kill her.
The safari is over, English.' He flung a pair of keys on a. leather tag
on the floor at Nicholas's feet. 'There are the keys of the Land
Cruiser. You can make your own way back to Addis from here. I will leave
four of my best men to look after you, and hold your hand. Leave the big
truck for me to use. When you get to Addis, leave the keys of the Land
Cruiser with my tracker, Aly. I will know where to find him later. I
will send you the money I owe you for cancellation. Don't worry - I am a
man of principles.'
'How could I ever doubt it?' Nicholas smiled. 'Good bye, old chum. I
wish you luck. You'll need plenty of that if you are going up against
Mek Nimmur.'
Boris was several hours behind his quarry, and as soon as he had left
the camp he broke into a jog trot that carried him down the pathway to
join the main track to the west, towards the Sudanese border. He ran
like a scout, with an easy swinging gait that ate up the ground.
'Looks as though he is still in good shape, even with the vodka.'
Despite himself Nicholas was impressed as he watched him go. 'But I
wonder how long he will be able to keep up that pace?'
He turned back to'his own quarters to get a little more sleep, but as he
passed her hut Royan popped her head out.
'What was all the shouting about? I thought that you and Boris were
having another little difference of opinion.'
'Tessay has done a bunk. Boris has guessed that she has gone off with
Mek, and he is chasing after them.'
'Oh, icky! Can't we warn them?
'No chance of that, but unless Mek has gone soft he will be expecting
Boris to come after him. In fact, now that I come to think of it, he is
probably hoping for just that chance to even the score. No, Mek doesn't
need any more help from us. Go back to sleep!
'I can't possibly sleep now. I am so worked up. I have been looking at
the Polaroids that we took last night. Taita has given us an overflowing
cup. Come and have a look at this.'
'Just one hour's sleep moreP He made a mock plea.
'Immediately, if not sooner.'She laughed at him.
In her hut she had the Polaroids and the rubbings spread out on the camp
table, and she beckoned him to take the seat beside her.
'While you were snoring your head off, I made some progress.' She laid
four Polaroids side by side, and placed her large magnifying glass over
them. It was a professional land surveyor's model on folding legs, and
under it every detail of the photographs was revealed. 'Taita has headed
each of the sides of the stele with the name of one of the seasons of
the year - spring, summer, autumn and winter.
