‘He’s crazy-does he want to be killed? Does he know what he’s doing? Stop him!’
But Ferne had seen the reckless determination in his eyes and knew that nothing could have stopped him. Terrified, she watched as he reached the house and began climbing up the ladder through the smoke that now seemed to surround everything. Every time he vanished, she was convinced she wouldn’t see him again, but somehow he always managed to reappear, higher and higher, closer to the place where the dog was looking down, yelping with terror.
By now two fire-engines had arrived, but had to stop at the end of the narrow street. Seeing what was happening, the firemen came running along the street with a detachable ladder and sent it shooting up towards Dante. Mercifully it was longer than the first one, but when they shouted at him to climb onto it he merely glanced down at them, shook his head and turned back, heading up again.
He’d reached the last balcony, but now his luck ran out. As soon as he seized it, the wrought iron pulled away from the crumbling brickwork so that one end came completely free, swinging down violently. Screams came from the crowd as Dante hung from the iron, seemingly with no way to save himself. The firemen were working the ladder, trying to get it closer to him.
Ferne watched, her heart in her mouth, unable to endure looking, yet equally unable to turn away. It was surely impossible that he could come through this alive?
Then he kicked against the wall hard enough to swing out and up. From somewhere he found the strength to reach higher, and begin to climb up the swinging balcony. He did it again and again, inching closer to the window where the dog was shivering.
Cheers rose as he finally made it, but as he reached for the dog the animal vanished into the building. Dante hauled himself in, also vanishing, and everyone below held their breath. The next moment there came a crash from inside. Smoke billowed from the window, and an appalled hush fell over the onlookers. He was dead. He must be.
Ferne buried her face in her hands, praying frantically. He couldn’t die. He mustn’t.
Then a shout of triumph went up.
Dante had reappeared at another window, further down, with the dog in his arms. Now he was closer to the ladder with the fireman at the top. A little more manoeuvring, and it was near enough for him to reach down and hand the animal to the fireman, who began to back down the rungs, leaving the top of the ladder free for Dante to follow.
It was nearly over. He reached the ladder, climbed onto it and started the descent. In another moment, he would be safe.
But then something seemed to halt him. He froze and stayed there, clinging on, leaning against the metal, his eyes closed, his head hanging down.
‘Oh heavens, he’s passed out!’ Ferne whispered. ‘It’s the smoke.’
The fireman passed the dog to another man further down, then climbed back up to Dante, positioning himself ready to catch him if he fell, reaching up to touch him.
To everyone’s relief Dante seemed to come out of his trance and look around him. At last he managed to move and complete the journey down.
As he reached the ground, the cheers broke out again. He shook his head as though to clear it and, seeming to return to reality, took the dog from the fireman and carried it to the child, who screamed in ecstasy.
If the crowd had cheered him before, they now went completely mad. A man who risked himself for a child was a hero; a man who took the same risks for a dog was a wonderful madman.
Yes, a madman, Ferne thought, trying to still her thumping heart. A glorious madman, but still a man who didn’t live on the same planet as everyone else.
He seemed strangely unwilling to enjoy the praise he’d won. They tried to hoist him shoulder-high, but now all he wanted was to escape.
‘Let’s go,’ he said, grasping her hand.
CHAPTER FIVE
THEY ran from the crowd, dodging the outstretched hands, darting through street after street until they were lost and their pursuers were far behind.
‘Where are we?’ she asked.
‘Who cares? Anywhere.’
‘And where’s the car?’
‘Anywhere. What does it matter?’
‘Will you talk sense?’ she laughed. She was on a high of relief.
‘No. Why talk sense? When was it ever sensible to be sensible?’
‘Never for you; I can see that,’ she said tenderly. ‘Come on, let’s get you somewhere safe.’
‘Wherever you say. Lead on.’
She suddenly felt protective. Taking his hand as she might have taken the hand of a child, she led him until they found a small cafe with a table on the pavement where they could let the sun drench them.
‘I need this,’ he said, ‘after all that smoke. I also need a drink, but I suppose I’d better not have one since I have to drive home-when we find the car.’ He began to laugh. ‘Where are we going to find it? Where do we start?’
‘I think I remember the street. Don’t worry about it now.’
When the waiter had taken their order, he leaned back, looking at her. There was exhilaration in his eyes.
‘Dante, for pity’s sake,’ she said, taking hold of his hand again. ‘Will you come down to earth?’
‘I thought that was what I’d just done.’
‘You know what I mean. You’re up in the stratosphere somewhere. Come back down to the same planet as the rest of us.’
‘What for? I like it up here.’ He turned his hand so that now he was holding her. ‘Come up here with me. It’s a great life. I’ve never had such fun.’
‘Fun? You could have died!’
‘Well, the strangest things can be fun if you look at them the right way.’
‘You could have died,’ she repeated slowly, as if to an idiot.
‘But I didn’t. I could have, but I didn’t. Don’t you understand? It’s been a great day.’
‘How can you
‘I’m a dog lover. And that little boy would have been broken-hearted if I’d left his dog to die.’
‘And what about you? Don’t you mind if you live or die?’
He shrugged. ‘I don’t worry about it. It’ll happen when it happens.’
‘It’ll happen a lot sooner if you take crazy risks.’
‘Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. What’s wrong with taking risks? Life’s better that way. Think of it as doing the quick-step with fate as your partner. You go faster and faster, never knowing which of you is going to reach the edge first. Everything is possible; it’s the only way to live. And, if not, better to die like that than, well, some of the other ways.’
‘You nearly came to grief,’ she reminded him. ‘When you were on top of the ladder you seemed to collapse. You just clung there and I thought you were going to fall. What happened?’
‘Nothing. You imagined it.’
‘But I didn’t. You slumped against the ladder.’
‘I don’t remember. There was smoke everywhere and a lot of things passed me by. It doesn’t matter now. Let’s leave it.’
‘I don’t think we ought to leave it. You may have been affected in some way that isn’t obvious yet. I want a doctor to have a look at you.’
‘There’s no need,’ he said in a voice suddenly full of tension. ‘It’s over.’
