not been for the effect of the vodka on the Russian's reflexes Nicholas
would never have taken a chance with an adversary of this calibre, but
Boris was just loose enough in his control to allow him to duck in under
the swinging chair leg. He straightened, with all his weight rolling
into the punch, and his fist slogged into the pit Of Boris's belly just
under the sternum. The Russian's breath was driven out of him in a great
gusty belch.
The chair leg flew from his grip, and he doubled over and collapsed.
Clasping his middle, and heaving and wheezing for breath, Boris lay
curled in the dust. Nicholas stooped over him and told him softly in
English, 'This sort of behaviour simply isn't good enough, old chap. We
don't bully-girls. Please don't let it happen again.'
He straightened up and spoke to Royan, 'Get her to your tent and keep
her there.' He combed his hair back from his face with his fingers. 'And
now, if you have no serious objections, may we get a little sleep?'
It rained again during the early hours. The heavy drops drummed down on
the canvas and the lightning lit the interior of the tents with an eerie
brilliance. However, by the time that Nicholas went through to the
dining tent for breakfast the next morning, the clouds had cleared and
the sunshine was bright and cheering. The sweet mountain air smelt of
wet earth and mushrooms.
Boris greeted Nicholas with hearty good fellowship.
'Good morning, English. We had some fun last night. I still laugh to
remember it. Very good jokes. One day soon we will have some more vodka,
then we will makesome more good jokes.' And he bellowed through to the
kitchen tent, 'Hey! Lady Sun, bring your new boyfriend something to eat.
He is hungry from all the sport last night.'
Tessay was quiet and withdrawn as she supervised the' servants handing
round breakfast. One eye was swollen almost closed, and her lip was cut.
She did not look at Nicholas once during the meal.
'We will go on ahead,' Boris explained jovially as they drank coffee.
'My servants will break camp, and follow us in my big truck. With luck,
we will be able to camp tonight on the rim above the gorge, and tomorrow
we will begin the descent.'
As they were climbing into the truck, Tessay was able to speak to him
softly for a moment, without danger of Boris overhearing her. 'Thank
you, Alto Nicholas. But it was not wise. You don't know him. You must be
careful now. He does not forget, not does he forgive.'
From the village of Debra Maryarn Boris took a branch road that ran
alongside the Dandera river directly south, wards. The road they had
followed the previous day from Lake Tana was shown on the map as a major
highway. It had been bad enough. But this track that they were now on
was marked as a secondary road 'not passable in all weather'. To
compound matters, it seemed that most of the heavy traffic that had torn
up the main road had followed this same track. They came to a place
where some huge vehicle had become bogged down in the rain-saturated
earth, and the efforts to free it had left areas of ploughed land and an
excavation like a bomb crater that resembled an old photograph of the
battlefields of First World War Flanders.
Twice during the day the Toyota too became stuck in this foul ground.
