concentrate and to think clearly.
Nicholas burst into her hut and looked around quickly.
'They did the same thing to me. Ransacked the place. My rifle has gone,
and all my papers. But at least I had the passports and travellers'
cheques in my day-pack-' He broke off as he saw the empty canvas folder
lying at her feet. 'Have they taken the-'
'Yes!' she forestalled his question. 'They have cleaned out all our
research material, even the Polaroids. Thank God you had the undeveloped
rolls of film with you. It's the same as happened to Duraid and me all
over again. We aren't safe from them, even here,'even out in the
remotest part of the bush.' There was the edge of hysteria in her voice.
She jumped up from the bed and ran to him.
'Oh, Nicky, what would have happened if we had been in camp last night?'
She threw her arms around him, and clung to him. 'We would be lying out
there in the sun now, all bloody and covered with flies.'
'Steady on, my dear. Let's not jump to any conclusions.
This could just be a chance raid by bandits.'
'Then why did they steal our papers? What value would ordinary shtifta
place on rubbings and Polaroids?
Where was the Pegasus helicopter heading just before the raid? They were
after us, Nicky. I feel it so strongly. They wanted to kill us just as
they did Duraid. They could return at any time, and now we are unarmed
and helpless.'
'All right, I agree with you that we are pretty vulnerable here. It
would be wise to get out as soon as possible.
There isn't any point in staying on here anyway. There's nothing more we
can do at this stage.' He hugged her and shook her gently. 'Brace up! We
will salvage what we can from this mess, and then get moving back to the
vehicles right away.'
'What about the dead men?' She stood back, and with an effort forced
back her, tears and brought herself under control. 'How many of our
people survived?'
'Aly, Salin and Kif escaped. They dived out of their huts and ran off
into the darkness as soon as the shooting started. I have told them to
get ready to leave right away. I have spoken to one of the senior
priests. They will take care of the burial of the dead, and will report
to the authorities as soon as they are able. But they agree that the
attack was aimed at us, and that we are still in danger, and that we
should get away as soon as possible.'
Within the hour they were ready to start. Nicholas had decided to leave
all the camping equipment and Boris's personal gear in the charge of
Jali Hora. The mules were lightly loaded, and he planned to make a
forced march out of the gorge.
The abbot had given them an escort of monks to accompany them to the top
of the escarpment. 'Only a truly Godless man would attack you while you
are under the protection of the crosss' he explained.
Nicholas found the dried hide and head of the striped dik-dik still in
the skinning shed. He rolled it into a bundle and strapped it on to the
load atop one of the mules, and then gave the order for the attenuated
