The Seventh Scroll - Smith Wilbur - Страница 138

• Предыдущая
• 138/177
• Следующая

like a startled hare in the beam of the light. They bayed behind her

like a pack of hounds. She reached the bank of the river and spun off to

the right, downstream. A pistol cracked out behind her and she ducked as

a shot fluted past her head.

"Don't shoot, you baboons!" a voice roared in commanding tones. "We want

her for questioning."

In the torch beam her white shamnw flashed like the wings of a moth

flitting around the candle flame.

"Stop her!" shouted the officer behind her. "Don't let her get away."

But she was fleet as a gazelle, and her lightly sandalled feet flew

across the rough terrain while the heavily equipped soldiers blundered

along behind her. Her spirits soared as she realized that she was

pulling away from them.

The sound of the pursuit dwindled behind her and she had reached the

limit of the effective range of the torch beam when she ran into a fence

of rusty barbed wire. Three wire strands whipped across her lower body,

at the level of her knees, her hips and her diaphragm. The top strand

drove the breath from her lungs, and the barbs tore through the wool of

her clothing and into her flesh. They snagged her like a fish in the

mesh of a net, and she hung there struggling helplessly. Rough hands

seized her and dragged her off the wire, and she sobbed with despair and

with the pain of the sharp wire spurs tearing her skin. One of the

soldiers grabbed her wrist and twisted it up between her

shoulder-blades, laughing with sadistic relish when she cried out at the

pain.

The officer came up panting over the rough ground.

He was overweight, and even in the cold night air he was sweating

heavily. It greased his fat cheeks and glistened in the light of the

torch.

"Do not hurt her, you oaf," he gasped. "She is not a criminal. She is a

high-bred lady. Bring her to the truck, but treat her with respect."

With a man on each arm they marched her to the truck, holding her so

that her feet barely touched the rough ground, and then shoved her up

into the cab on to the seat beside the uniformed driver. The plump

officer climbed in heavily after her, and she found herself wedged

in'firinly between the two men. The soldiers scrambled up into the rear

of the truck, and the driver revved the engine and let out the clutch.

Tessay was sobbing softly, and the officer glanced sideways at her. She

saw in the reflection of the headlights that his expression was gentle

and sympathetic, completely at odds with his actions.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked softly, stifling her sobs. "What

have I done wrong?"

"I have been ordered to take you to Colonel Nogo, the district

commander, for questioning in connection with shufta activities in the

Gojam," he told her, as they jolted and bounced down the rough track.

They were both silent for a while, and then the officer said quietly in

English, "The driver speaks only Amharic, I wanted to tell you that I

knew your father, Alto Zemen.

He was a good man. I am sorry for what is happening here tonight, but I

am only a lieutenant. I have to follow my orders."

"I understand that it is not your choice, or your blame."

"My name is Hammed. If I can, I will help you. For Alto Zemen's sake.,

"Thank you, Lieutenant Hammed. I need friends now."

while they waited for the dust of the cavein to settle, and for any

loose hanging rock to fall or stabilize, Nicholas dressed the minor

injuries that Ryan had sustained. The cut over her temple was not deep,

barely more than a scratch.

Nicholas saw that it did not require a stitch. He disinfected it and

covered it with a Band Aid. However, her shoulder, which the falling

rock had struck, was badly bruised. He massaged it with arnica cream.

His own bruises he treated less ceremoniously. Within an hour of the

cave-in he was ready to go back up the tunnel. He ordered Royan and

Sapper to remain on the causeway over the sink-hole while he returned to

the landing at the top of the stairs alone. He carried a bamboo pole and

a hand lamp connected to the Honda generator.

Nicholas proceeded with the utmost caution, probing the roof of the

tunnel for weakness as he went. When he reached the landing he saw at

once that the rock fall had smashed down what remained of the wkite

plaster door that had originally sealed the entrance to the tomb. The

ammunition crates, eight of which contained the statues JVI from the

shrines, had been knocked about and scattered, and some of them were

partially buried under the fallen rubble. He retrieved them and opened

each of the packed crates in turn to check the contents. With immense

relief he discovered that the stout metal containers had withstood the

rough treatment and there was no damage to the precious statues they

held. One at a time he carried them back down the tunnel as far as the

causeway and handed them into Sapper's care.

When he returned to the landing outside the tomb, Royan insisted on

accompanying him. Even his lurid descriptions of the danger of a further

rock-fall could not dissuade her. Her dismay when she stood outside the

shattered gallery was overwhelming.

"It's totally destroyed," she whispered. "All those mar, vellous works

of art. I cannot believe that Taita wanted this to happen."

"No,'Nicholas agreed ruefully. "His plan was to give us a big send-off

along the road past the seven pylons to the happy hunting grounds. And

he damned nigh succeeded."

"It's going to take a lot of hard work to clear up this mess," she said.

"What on earth are you talking about?" He turned on her in genuine

alarm. "We have saved the statues, and that's all we can hope for. Now I

think it's time to cut our losses and get out of here."

"Get out of here? Are you crazy?" She rounded on him furiously. "Are you

out of your mind?"

"At least the statues will pay our costs," he explained, and there might

even be something left over to divvy up between us, in accordance with

our agreement."

"You aren't dreaming of giving up now, when we are so close?" Her voice

rose sharply with agitation.

"The gallery is destroyed-' he began in more reasonable tones, but she

stamped her foot with agitation and shouted him down.

"The tomb is still there. Dammit! Nicky, Taita would not have gone to

those lengths if it were not. We are getting too close now - that is why

he fired that warning shot across our bows. Don't you see? We have him

really worried now. We can't give up with the prize almost in sight."

"Royan, be reasonable."

"No! No! You be reasonable." She refused to listen.

"You have to start clearing the gallery right away. I know the entrance

is open now. All we have to do is clear this mess, and I am certain that

we will find the true entrance to the tomb behind the rubble that Taita

deliberately dropped on us."

I think that bang on your head has loosened a couple of nuts and bolts."

He threw up his hands in resignation.

"But what's the use arguing with a crazy woman? We will clear just

enough of the scree to prove to you that there is nothing more to

discover in there."

"The dust is going to be our big problem." Sapper eyed the blocked

• Предыдущая
• 138/177
• Следующая