Drummond nodded. 'What about the boy?'
'He'll be all right. I've kept him under strong sedation so far.'
'What about sleeping arrangements?' Hamid asked.
"In the trucks. We'll need a guard, of course. Two at a time. One here, the other at the roadside. I'll work out a rota after we've eaten.'
Sher Dil moved away and Father Kerrigan smiled up at Janet 'Hand me my bag, my dear. I'd better have a look at Brackenhurst.'
Til go with you,' Hamid said.
They walked away together and Drummond called to Ahmed and helped Janet down. The little Afridi arrived on the run. 'Yes, sahib?'
'Miss Tate's going to cook a meal for us in the back of the supply truck,' Drummond said. 'Get the spirit stove going for her and open a few tins. If you don't do everything she tells you at the double, I'll cut your throat.'
Ahmed grinned at Janet. The sahib has a kind heart, memsahib. He could never do such a terrible thing. You come with me. I will see to everything.'
They moved away and Drummond went after Father Kerrigan and Hamid. He found them in the back of the third truck with the refugees. An engine inspection
Kght bad been rigged up to illuminate the interior. Brackenhurst sat on an ammunition box, stripped to the waist, as Father Kerrigan carefully peeled layers of bandage away from his left arm and the women and children watched solemnly.
Ke looked pale and drawn and every so often glanced furtively at Hamid who watched calmly. The priest removed the final bandage, examined Hie arm and nodded.
'Nothing like as bad as I thought at first You'll be fine in a day or two.'
'It hurts like hell,' Brackenhurst said.
'What a shame.' Drummond pulled himself up and looked over the tailboard. 'Don't you think that's a shame, AH?'
'Undoubtedly,' Hamid replied calmly. "You must rest, Tony. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you.'
Brackenhurst threw them both a glance of pure hatred and Drummond dropped to the ground and moved back to the supply truck. He could smell cooking, and a sudden, hollow ache told him how long it had been since he'd eaten. When he climbed inside, Janet and Ahmed crouched over the stove and Sher Dil sat on a packing case, the map across his knees.
'You look worried.'
Tm thinking about tomorrow. We swing very close to the river again. If the Chinese have moved fast along the other side in their troop carriers and get a few patrols across, we could run into trouble. The bridge across the Sokim Ravine, for example-if that was destroyed, we would be on foot.
'We can worry about that in the morning,' Drummond said. Tm only interested in one thing at the moment - food.' m
Ahmed passed plates of stewed meat and beans across, and as they started to eat Father Kerrigan climbed up, followed by Hamid.
'Will you see that Mr. Brackenhurst gets something to eat,' the priest said to Ahmed and frowned at Drummond. 'Weren't you a little hard on him back there? Any man's nerve can go for a while in a situation like this..
'He never had any in the first place,. Drummoad said flatly.
The old priest frowned, glancing from one to the other, aware that there was something here that he did not understand. Drummond jumped over the tailboard and went round to the cab.
He sat in the warm darkness smoking and Ahmed brought him a mug of strong, scalding tea. A little later Sher Dil opened the door.
Tve worked out a guard rota. Td like you to take over from Amal up on the road at ten. You'll also ba on guard down here for an hour from 4 a.m. I want everyone up at five. We've got a long day ahead of us.'
He vanished into the darkness and Drummond pulled the fur-lined hood of his parka over his head. Ten o'clock. That left tune for a couple of hours sleep. He settled into the comer and closed his eyes.
He was naming down a long, dark road and somewhere ahead of him was Janet. She was calling to him and he knew that something terrible was close behind. He ran faster and then the surface of the road changed to mud and his feet began to stick in it, ankle-deep. Clouds of rain blew across his path, blotting her from sight, and only the sound of her voice told him she was still there. It became fainter and fainter and then he felt terribly afraid and the thing behind him, the nameless evil that made him so afraid, grabbed him violently by the shoulder.
He awakened suddenly to the cold night and realised that somebody was shaking him. He groaned and sat up. Ahmed said from the darkness. 'You were having a bad dream, I think, sahib.'
'Is it time?'
'Yes, sahib.'
Drummond breathed deeply a couple of times to steady himself, then pulled on his mittens. He picked up his sub-machine gun, opened the door and jumped down into the mud.
He rain rushed steadily through the darkness and the mist still blanketed the wet ground as he moved through the pine trees to the road.
After a while, he paused and called in a low voice, 'Amal, where are you?'
The Bengali moved out of the night to join him. 'Drummond sahib?'
'Anything doing?.
"Nothing, only the rain and yet more rain. Soon it will be snow. I have known it happen before this early in the year.'
'Let's hope not,' Drummond said and the Bengali faded into the darkness.
He found a fallen tree and sat on it, arms folded, sub-machine gun across his knee, but the cold ate into his bones and from time to time he stood up and walked around a little, stamping his feet to restore the circulation. Finally, with a complete disregard for caution, he lit a cheroot. It tasted terrible, but the glowing end somehow comforted him. When he had finished it, he lit another.
He became aware of the noise very gradually. He straightened up and listened carefully. He could hear the sound of feet squelcHng through the mud from the direction of the camp. There was silence for a moment as if the person approaching was momentarily at a loss and then the steps sounded again, this time much more cautiously.
Very carefully, Drummond placed his still burning cheroot in a branch of the fallen tree, then slipped quietly into the darkness.
He v/orked his way round in a wide circle until he was certain he was behind the intruder and then moved forward. The dim bulk of a man appeared from the gloom, and glowing faintly through the dark beyond him was the cheroot
It was the stillness of the man that decided Drummond, that and the slight, ominous rattle of a gun sling as he eased from one foot to the other, still peering towards the glowing cheroot. Drummond took a pace forward, tapped him on the shoulder and punched him in the stomach as he turned round.
He lay moaning on the ground and Drummond struck a match. It was Brackenhurst, one of the Russian sub-machine guns lying in the mud beside him. The match hissed and was extinguished by the rain.
After a while, Brackenhurst groaned and sat up..What happened?. His voice quavered aad he sounded sick.
'You shouldn't go creeping around in the dark like that,. Drummond said. 'People might get the wrong idea.'
'I wanted a word with you, that's all,' Brackenhurst said. 'Away from the others. I wanted to explain about what happened at Sadar. When the roof started to come down, I panicked. Didn't know what was happening. I got to the Land Rover and when no onr else followed, I thought you'd all bought it.'
Which was a straight lie, but Drummond let it go. That's all right These things happen.'
Brackenhurst hesitated. 'Have you told anyone else?.
Drummond shook his head. 'Only Hamid and I know and we've more important things to worry about' He stood there, calm and somehow uncompromising in the darkness. 'You'd better get some sleep. You're going to need it. He picked up the sub-machine gun and held it out 'Better take this with you.'
Brackeahurst stumbled away without speaking and Drummond went back to bis tree. Half an hour later, Sher Dil relieved him. 'Anything happened?'
Drummond shook his head. 'No, everything quiet up here,' he replied and trudged through the mud back to the camp.
He climbed into the back of the truck and lay down, hitching a blanket over his shoulders. He was cold, numb all over and yet he wasn't miserable. He was long past that point
He came awake slowly, yawned and turned on one side. Janet crouched over the oil stove, waiting for the kettle to boil, her face half in shadow in the subdued glow.
'What time is it?. he asked softly.
She glanced at her watch. 'Just after three. I couldn't sleep..
She made tea in two tin mugs and handed him one and they sat in companionable silence in the glow of the stove. After a while, he said gently, 'What is it, Janet? Are you afraid?'
.I think I am,' she said simply. 'Even Vietnam didn't prepare me for anything like this. Do you think well get out?'
He was tempted to answer witih a false assurance and then looked into that calm, grave face and knew that he couldn't. I'm not sure. As Sher Dil says, if the Chinese have moved fast along the other side, they could be ahead of us. They're bound to find boats at Huma or one of the other riverside villages. They could put men across to cut the road with no trouble.'
This bridge up ahead that Sher Dil mentioned. Do you think there may be trouble there?'
'Trouble is where you find it. There's never any sense in worrying too much in advance.' He smiled. "What will you do when all this is over?'
'Carry on to Chicago with Kerim, I suppose. That still stands whatever else may be changed. I'm due three months leave anyway.'
'And afterwards?'
Tm not sure. I go wherever the Society sends me..
'Isn't it tune you thought about settling down?.
'Is that a straight ofier?'
He shook his head. 'I could offer you money, Janet, enough and to spare. But take a look at the debit side. I'm forty years old, a beat-up ex-Navy flyer who's seen too much of hot countries and strange cities, had enough of flying to places where no one else will go. I want to rest my head somewhere for a while. That doesn't sound like much of a catch to me.'
'I know one thing,' she said quietly. If we don't try, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives.'
He sat staring down at the light of the stove, her hand in his, sighed and got to his feet Til get a little air. Fve got some thinking to do.'
Janet sat there in the darkness, and after a while Hamid climbed over the tailboard. He helped himself to tea and squatted on the other side of the stove from her.
'I should wake Jack. He's supposed to take over from me at four.'
That's all right. He was here. He's just gone for soraa air.'
Trouble?' Hamid said.
She shrugged. 'Four o'clock la the morning talk, that's aH. He's just decided he's too old for me.'
Hamid nodded. 'He's tired, that's all.' He hesitated and then decided to carry oa. 'Jack isn't aware that I know this, Janet, but for the past five years at least, he's been working for British Intelligence, mainly flying illegal reconnaissance flights across the borders of what might be termed the less friendly powers.'
The breath went out of her in a long sigh. Tbu're sure about this?'
'Oh, yes, the information comes to me from friends la Indian Army Intelligence. A long time for a man to live on Ms nerves..
'Which explains a great many things.'
'Last year he crashed in the Borneo jungle and was badly wounded. They nearly got him that time and the Indonesians do not care for the British these days. His fate would hardly have been a pleasant one.'
'Is that when he got that terrible scar on his face?"
He nodded and leaned across, his face grave in the diffused light of the stove. 'He's a good man, Janet, but he's had enough. Take him home, wherever that turns out to be.'
There was an obvious change in her, she seemed confident, assured, smiled suddenly and squeezed his hand. 'I will, Ali, I will.' She got to her feet. 'I'd better check on Kerim."
Hamid poured himself some more tea, feeling strangely sad, and after a while Drummond climbed over the tailboard and joined him.
'Where's Janet?'
"Gone to have a look at Kerim. Who's on duty at the road?'
'Ahmed, I think.' Drummond hesitated and then went on, 'Brackenhurst turned up when I was doing my hour up there last night.
"What did he want?'
Tra not sure. I rather got the impression he was toying with the idea of killing me, but basically he just wanted to make sure that we hadn't told the others what really happened at Sadar.'
He explained what had taken place. When he had finished, Hamid nodded slowly, a frown on bis face. 'Of course, he could argue that he was carrying the gun merely as precaution in case of trouble. He could never have used it Far too noisy. The knife is the weapon for darkness, Jack.'