'Please follow me.'
She led them across the lounge into a wide corridor that stretched away into the far distance. What looked like an electric golf cart stood nearby and she slid under the driving wheel while the other two took the rear seats.
'This corridor is so long,' she said, turning to smile at them, 'we have to use this to save our legs.'
'I was wondering how you managed,' Gaye returned. 'When I saw the house from the air, I thought of the tremendous amount of walking it must make.'
Silently the trolley took them quickly past many closed doors until they reached the far end.
'This is the guest wing,' Miah said, stopping the car. She walked to a door and opened it. 'Please come in.'
They entered a long narrow luxuriously furnished room which led on to a small terrace, also with a swimming-pool and a bar.
'You will find everything you want here,' Miah said. 'Your lunch will be served on the terrace at 13.00 hrs. This is your bedroom, Miss Desmond.' She crossed the room and opened a door. 'I will send a maid to help you dress. I thought it would be the easiest thing for you to wear one of my saris. Would that be all right?'
'It would be perfect.' Gaye stood in the doorway looking into the bedroom. It was a delightful room, decorated in pale-blue with a king's size bed, closets, a big dressing-table on which stood a variety of face creams, lotions, perfumes and a make-up kit in a flat, silver box. Moving around the room, Gaye saw on the opposite wall, facing the bed a huge mirror which made the room seem to be twice its size. The bathroom was equipped with every luxury, including a sun lamp, a cabinet equipped with nozzles from which hot air could be released thus saving the fatigue of drying oneself on a towel, and a vibro-massage machine.
While Gaye was exclaiming over the room, Garry was moving around the sitting-room, making a careful examination of the doors and windows.
Miah came to show him his bedroom and bathroom, both of them as luxurious as Gaye's.
A tall Zulu maid came in carrying the sari. Gaye said she didn't need her help and could manage on her own. A Zulu manservant brought Garry a pair of white slacks, heelless slippers and a white shirt.
'Mr. Kahlenberg is quite informal,' Miah said. 'Dinner tonight will be on the main terrace. Please make yourselves at home. If you wish to swim, there are swim suits in the changing-room. Do explore the garden. If there is anything you wish for, please use the telephone.' With a nod of her head and a smile, she left the room.
Gaye and Garry looked at each other and Garry whistled. 'Talk about living it up . .
There came a tap on the door and a Zulu came in with their rucksacks. These he set on the floor and withdrew.
Garry went quickly to his rucksack and satisfied himself the two-way radio hadn't been removed. He looked at Gaye.
'I wonder if they spotted this?'
'It doesn't matter if they did, does it?' Gaye's mind was occupied with the luxury surrounding her. Her eyes shining, she went on, 'Isn't it really marvellous! I'm taking a bath. See you later.' Picking up her rucksack, she went into her bedroom and shut the door.
She quickly undressed. Naked, she stood for a moment admiring herself in the big mirror, then she went into the bathroom and turned on the bath taps. Again while waiting for the bath to fill, she regarded herself in the mirror, striking poses and laughing happily to herself.
What she didn't realize was that both the big mirrors were twoway: anyone behind the mirrors could see her as if the mirrors were plain glass, whereas from the front she imagined the mirrors were genuine and not trick ones.
His affairs forgotten, his desk neglected, Kahlenberg sat in his wheelchair in a narrow passage which was air conditioned and took his fill of Gaye's naked beauty.
From the edge of the jungle, Fennel watched the helicopter land. He and Ken had found a vantage point on a big balancing rock, formed by soil erosion, surrounded by trees and bushes, yet giving them an excellent view of Kahlenberg's house, garden and airfield far below them.
Fennel had powerful field glasses to his eyes. He saw Tak arrive in the jeep and Gaye meet him. He watched Gaye and Garry get into the jeep and drive to the house. He saw them enter and the front door close.
'Good for them! They're in!' he said, lowering the glasses.
'That was pretty easy, wasn't it?' Ken asked, puzzled. 'From what I hear of Kahlenberg, he doesn't welcome strangers.'
'Shalik said he was a sucker for a glamour puss. Looks like Shalik knew what he was talking about.'
