None of them had spoken for four hours. The shock of Ken's horrible end had reduced them to a numbed silence. Although they hadn't known him for long, they had all liked him for there had been nothing to dislike about him. What shocked them more than anything was the swiftness and the way of his going.
Gaye was sure that the terrible scene was now indelibly printed on her mind. Ken's terrified expression, his wild scream as the crocodile's teeth had crunched down on his leg and the brief sight of the evil, scaly snout were the ingredients of future nightmares.
Garry too had been violently shocked, but he was mentally much more resilient than either Gaye or Fennel. When he had seen Ken disappear and had seen the blood on the foaming water, he knew there was nothing he could do to help him. His duty to the others and himself was to keep moving, for he knew they dare not waste a moment, ever aware of Kahlenberg's threat that if caught, they would be impaled, and he had enough imagination to know such a death would be far more horrible than Ken's death. So catching hold of Gaye's hand, ignoring her hysterical sobbing, he dragged her away from the scene and back into the jungle. He kept moving until finally she steadied herself, stopped sobbing and continued with him, walking like a zombie.
Perhaps of the three of them, Fennel was the most affected. He had come to admire Ken. The episode with the Land Rover on the narrow track had enormously impressed him. He knew he hadn't the guts to have done such a thing. Ken's coolness when he was dangling at the end of the cable had completely wiped out Fennel's hostility. Ken's death now left him viciously angry, and in a brooding, homicidal state of mind. Why hadn't this sonofabitch Edwards gone into the stream first? He and his whore weren't worth a tenth of what Ken had been worth. He looked at them out of the corners of his small glittering eyes. Garry had his arm around Gaye and Fennel felt a hot, furious rush of blood to his head. Well, I'll fix them, he thought. No one shoves me around as that bitch did without paying for it.
Garry was speaking quietly to Gaye.
'This rain's lucky. It'll wash out our tracks. This was the one thing I was praying for. They can't track us after this storm.'
Gaye clutched his hand. She was still too shocked to speak.
After some ten minutes, the rain began to slacken.
'We must get on,' Garry said, getting to his feet. We've got to cross the river.' He turned to Fennel. 'Think we could build a raft?'
'I've thrown my goddamn tool kit away,' Fennel told him, 'How the hell can we build a raft without tools?'
Garry walked to the edge of the river. The opposite bank was thick with high grass and shrubs. Were more crocodiles lurking on the bank, hidden from sight, waiting for them? After what had happened to Ken, he decided the risk was too great to attempt a crossing. He decided to push on down the river in the hope that they would come to a clearing where crocodiles couldn't conceal themselves.
'Before we go further, let's eat,' he said, and opening Ken's rucksack, he produced a can of stewed beef. 'We'll split this between the three of us.'
'I'm not hungry . . . I don't want any,' Gaye said listlessly.
'You've got to eat!' Garry said sharply. Now, come on.'
'No . . . leave me alone.'
Garry looked closely at her. Her white drawn face, her eyes that had become sunken, began to worry him.
'Are you all right?'
'I have a headache. The thought of food makes me feel ill . . . just leave me alone.'
Was it shock? he asked himself. Or was she ill? He flinched at the thought. To fall sick now would be a disaster.
The meal finished, the two men got to their feet. Garry went over to Gaye and touched her lightly on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, and again he felt a pang of alarm at the heavy, dull look in her eyes. She dragged herself to her feet.
'You're not ill, Gaye?' he asked.
'No.'
'Come on!' Fennel barked. 'I want to get going if you don't!'
Garry walked by Gaye's side. She moved listlessly and had lost the spring in her step. He took her arm.
'Don't fuss!' She tried to pull away. 'I'm all right. It's just this awful headache.'
He kept hold of her and walked on, but they weren't making the speed they had made earlier on.
'Keep moving for God's sake!' Fennel barked suddenly. 'What the hell are you two loitering for?'
