The Seventh Scroll - Smith Wilbur - Страница 124

• Предыдущая
• 124/177
• Следующая

ring of excitement.

"I am afraid it is," Nicholas agreed. "We are going to have to clear

every bit of this rubbish by hand, and there won It be time for the

niceties of formal archaeological excavation. We are just going to rip

it out." He clambered back out of the coffer, and reached back to hand

her up the bank. "Well, at least we have the-floodlights he added, "We

can keep the men working in shifts, night and day, until we get

through."

hey have dammed the Dandera river," said Nahoot Ouddabi, and Gotthold

von Schiller stared at him in astonishment.

"Dammed the river? Are you certain?"he demanded.

"Yes, Herr von Schiller. We have a report from our spy in Harper's camp.

He has over three hundred men working in the gorge. That is not all. He

has air-dropped huge amounts of equipment and supplies. It is like

a.military operation. Our spy tells us that he even has an earth, moving

machine, some sort of tractor, which he has brought in."

Von Schiller looked across the table at Jake Helm for confirmation, and

Helm nodded. "Yes, Herr von Schiller.

That is true. Harper must have spent a large amount of money. The air

charter alone could have cost him fifty grand."

Von Schiller felt the first stirrings of real passion since the "Urgent

satellite message had summoned him from Frankfurt. He had flown directly

to Addis Ababa, where the jet Ranger had been waiting to carry him to

the Pegasus base camp on the escarpment above the Abbay gorge.

If this was true, and he did not doubt Helm's word, then Harper was on

to something of enormous importance.

He looked out of the window of the Quonset hut to where flowed down the

valley below the base camp.

the Dandera It was a large river. To dam that volume of water would be

an expensive and difficult project in this remote and primitive

situation - not a project to be taken on lightly without the prospect of

substantial reward.

He felt a reluctant admiration for the Englishman's achievement. "Show

me where he has placed his dam!" he ordered, and Helm came around the

table to stand beside him. Von Schiller was standing on his block, and

their eyes were on the same level.

Helm bent over the satellite photograph and carefully marked in the site

of the dam. They both studied it for a minute, and then von Schiller

asked, "What do you make of it, Helm?"

Helm shook his head, hunching it down on his bulllike shoulders. "I can

only guess."

"Guess then," said von Schiller, but still Helm all, hesitated.

"Go on!'

"Either he wants to move the water to another area downstream, to use it

for washing out a deposit, gold nuggets or artefacts made of precious

metals, perhaps even site of the to use it for hosing the overburden off

the tomb,$

"Highly unlikely!" von Schiller interjected. "That would be an

inefficient and expensive manner of excavation."

"I agree that it is far-fetched." Nahoot obsequiously followed von

Schiller's lead, but no one even looked at him.

"What is your other supposition?" Von Schiller glared at Helm.

"The only other reason for damming the river, that I can think of, would

be to reach something that has been covered by the water. Something

lying in the bed of the river."

"That is more logical," von Schiller mused, and turned his attention

back to the photograph. "What is there below this dam site?"

"The river enters a deep and narrow ravine here." Helm pointed at the

spot. "Just below his dam. The ravine stretches about eight miles, down

to this point, just above the monastery. I have flown over it in the

helicopter, and it seems to be impassable, and yet-' he broke off, "Yes,

go on! And yet - what?"

"On one flight over the area, we found Harper and the woman on the high

ground above the ravine. They were at this spot here." He touched the

photograph, and von Schiller leaned forward to peer at it.

"What were they doing there?" he demanded, without looking up.

"Nothing. They were merely sitting on the top of the cliff above the

ravine."

"But they were aware of your presence?"

"Of course. We were in the helicopter. They heard our approach. They

were watching us, and Harper even waved."

And so they would have ceased whatever activity they were engaged in

when they became aware of your approach?"

Von Schiller was silent for so long that they began to fidget

uncomfortably and exchange glances. When he spoke it was so unexpected

that Nahoot started.

"Harper obviously has reason to believe that the tomb lies in the gorge

below the dam. When and how do you make contact with your spy that you

have in Harper's camp?"

"Harper is receiving some of his supplies from the villages here on the

escarpment. The women are driving down slaughter cattle to feed his men,

and carrying down pots of tej. Out man sends back his reports with the

women when they return."

"Very well. Very well!" Von Schiller waved him to silence. "I don't need

to know his life history. All I want to know is if Harper is working in

the ravine below his dam.

How soon can you find this out?"

"By the day after tomorrow at the latest," Helm promised him.

Von Schiller turned to Colonel Nogo at the far end Of the conference

table. So far he had not spoken, but had watched and listened quietly to

the others.

"How many men have you deployed in this area?" von Schiller asked.

"Three full companies, over three hundred men. All well trained. Many

are battle-hardened veterans."

"Where are they? Show me on the map."

The colonel came to stand beside him. "One company here, another

billeted at the village of Debra Maryam, and the third company at the

foot of the escarpment, ready to move forward and attack Harper's camp."

"I think you should attack them now. Wipe them out, before they can

uncover the tomb-' Nahoot came in again.

"Shut your mouth," von Schiller snapped' without looking up at Nahoot.

"I will ask for your opinion when I need it."

He considered the map for a while longer, then asked Nogo, "How many men

has this guerrilla commander, what is his name, the one who has allied

himself to Harper?"

"Mek Nimmur is no a guerrilla. He is a bandit, and notorious shufta

terrorist," Nogo corrected him hotly.

"One man's freedom fighter is the next man's terrorist," von Schiller

remarked drily. "How many men has he under his command?"

"Not many. Fewer than a hundred, perhaps no more than fifty. He has them

all guarding Harper's camp, and the dam."

Von Schiller nodded to himself, plucking at the lobe of his ear. "How

did Harper and his gang return to Ethiopia?" he mused. "I know he flew

from Malta, but it is not possible that the aircraft could have landed

down there in the gorge."

He hopped down off his block and strutted to the window of the hut

through which he had a panoramic view spread below him. He stared down

into the depths of the gorge, a vista of cliffs and broken hilltops and

wild tablelands, smoked blue with distance.

• Предыдущая
• 124/177
• Следующая