The Seventh Scroll - Smith Wilbur - Страница 119

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wings and said, "The vulture rises, and the stone falls." I hated him so

much I wanted to strike him, but then he was gone."

"And then you woke up?"Nicholas suggested.

"No. There was one other room."

Who was in it?"

She dropped her eyes, and her voice was small, "You were," she said.

"Me? What did I say?" He smiled.

"You didn't say anything," she whispered, and blushed so suddenly and

fiercely that he was instantly intrigued.

"What did I do then?" He was still smiling.

"Nothing. I mean, I can't tell you." The dream returned to her, vivid

and real as life, every detail of his naked body, even the smell and the

feel of him. She forced herself to stop thinking about it. She felt

vulnerable as she had been in the dream.

"Tell me about it he insisted.

"No! She stood up quickly, confused and still blushing, trying to thrust

the images from her.

Last night had been the first time in her life that she first time she

had ever dreamed of a man in that way, the had ever experienced a full

orgasm in her sleep. This morning, when she awoke, she found that she

had soaked right through her pyjamas bottoms.

"We have a full day ahead of us with no work to do," she blurted - the

first thought that came into her mind.

have On the contrary." He stood up with her. "We still to make the

arrangements for getting out of here. When the time comes, we will

probably be in something of a hurry."

"Mind if I tag along?" she asked.

wo teams, the Buffaloes and the Elephants, with only their foremen

missingi were waiting, for them at the quarry. They comprised sixty of

the strongest men in the Tabour force. Nicholas unrill from one of the

pallets.

packed the inflatable Avon rafts neat pack, with Each raft was deflated

and folded into a ese craft had been the paddles strapped along the

sides. It is specifically designed for river'running in turbulent water,

and each was capable of carrying sixteen crew and a ton of cargo.

strap the heavy packs on to Nicholas directed them to they had cut for

that purpose. Five the carrying poles that men on each end of the long

poles, with the bundle of the boat stung in the centre, made light of

the load They se off at a cracking pace down the trail, and as soon as

one was ready to take over. They made the team tired the nex exchange

without even stopping, the new porters slipping their shoulders under

the pole on the run while the exhausted team dropped out.

proof and water Nicholas carried the radio in its shock uch a precious

reglass case. He would not trust proof fib He and Royan trotted

instrument to one of the porters.

behind the caravan, joining in the chorus of the along work chant that

the porters sang as they carried their loads down to the monastery.

Mai Metemma was waiting on the terrace outside the church of St.

Frumentius to welcome them. He led them down the staircase hewn out of

the rock of the cliff, two hundred feet to the very water's edge. There

was a narrow rocky ledge against which the Nile waters dashed, and the

spray from the high waterfalls drifted over them like a perpetual

drizzle of rain. After the heat and the bright sunlight above, it was

cold and gloomy and dank down here in the depths of the gorge. The black

cliffs ran with water, and the ledge on which they stood was wet and

slippery underfoot.

Royan shivered as she watched the river racing by, forming a great

spinning vortex as it swirled around the deep rock bowl and then raced

out through the narrow throat of the gorge on its long hectic journey

towards Egypt and the north.

"If only I had known that this was the road you were planning on taking

home-' she eyed the river dubiously.

"If you would prefer to walk, it's okay by me,'Nicholas told her. "With

luck we will be carrying some extra baggage.

The river is the logical escape route."

"I suppose it makes sense, but still it's not terribly inviting." She

broke off a piece of driftwood from a stranded tangle that lay trapped

upon the ledge and tossed it into the river. It was whipped away, and

raced over the standing wave where some submerged obstacle forced the

surface to bulge up.

What speed is that current? she asked in a subdued voice as the splinter

of driftwood was sucked below the surface.

"Oh, not much more than eight or nine knots," he told her off handedly,

'but that's nothing. The river is still very low. just wait until it

starts raining up in the Mountains, then you will really see some water

passing through here.

it will be great fun. Lots of people would pay good money for the chance

to run a river like this. You are going to love it."

Thanks," she said drily. "I can't wait."

Fifty feet above the ledge, out of reach of the Nile's highest water

level, was a small cavern - the Epiphany shrine. Long ago the monks had

cut this passage deeply into the rock face, and it ended in a spacious,

candle-lit chamber that housed a life'sized statue of the Virgin,

dressed in faded velvet robes, with the infant in her arms.

Mai Metemma gave them his sanction to store the rafts in the shrine, and

they stacked them against a side wall.

When the porters had left, Nicholas showed Royan how to operate the

quick-release handles on the packs, and the CO, cylinders which would

inflate the rafts within minutes.

He wrapped the radio case and his small emergency pack in a sheet of

plastic and stowed them in one of the boat packs, where he could lay his

hands on them again in a hurry.

"You do intend coming along on this joy ride?" she asked anxiously. "You

aren't planning on sending me down on my ownsome?"

"It is best that you know how it all works," he told her.

if things start to get a little hairy when the time comes to leave here,

I may need your help in launching the rafts." When they climbed back up

the staircase into the warmth and the sunlight, Royan's uncertain mood

had changed. "It's not yet noon, and we have the rest of the day to

ourselves. Let's go back to Taita pool again," she suggested, and he

shrugged indulgently.

the Elephants accompanied them as The Buffaloes and far as the branch in

the trail. Here the teams headed back towards the dam, and shouted and

hallooed their farewells after Nicholas and Royan.

their last visit, the path Even in the short time since through the

undergrowth had become overgrown. Nicholas was forced to use his machete

to hack a way through, and they ducked uqder the trailing thorn

branches. It was midafternoon when they eventually crossed the high

ridge and stood once again on the cliff directly above Taita's pool.

"It looks as though we were the last ones here., Nicholas's tone was

relieved. "No signs of any other visitors since us."

"Were you expecting any?"

"You never know. Von Schiller is a formidable character, and he has some

charming lads working for him. Helm is one that worries me, and I had a

nasty feeling that he might have been snooping around here. I am going

to take a closer look."

He worked quickly around the entire area, casting widely for any sign of

intruders. Then came back to where she sat on the lip of the abyss and

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