A Cleft Of Stars

'We've decided; and I'm happy.'

It was clear that our resolve had given her an immense shot in the arm.

'After Praeger's outfit, the moonlight is enemy number two,' I went on. 'The shadows will be risky as we move along the edge of the hills but frankly it's the open crossing of the wadi that scares me.'

'Must we retrace the route we took coming here?' '

There's no alternative but I don't like it.'

'We've beaten them all along the line so far, Guy, and we can do it again. We've simply got to get back to the isifuba board.'

'And darkness is the only time for doing it. Let's face it, we can't hike for miles, break through Praeger's defences, climb the secret stairway and set about solving the problem on the summit all in a few hours tonight. We're going to be pretty short of sleep, even by the time we've reached The Hill.'

'I'm fine, Guy-ready for anything.'

'We must also make up our minds that once we do reach the tabletop we'll have to sit out a siege there. Five days is about our maximum with limited food. After that what happens is anyone's guess.'

'We do have the edge on them as far as food goes.' She indicated Rankin's shelves. 'Let's dump all this over the precipice. Then even if they come back here they won't last out as long as we do'

I smiled at her enthusiasm. 'We'll eat some of it first — now — and take away what little we can carry. I'll start the dumping right away and make a recce at the same time.'

First, I covered Rankin's body with a blanket, gathered up an armful of supplies and crept out on hands and knees to peer cautiously over the breastwork. I needn't have been so concerned: the light was hazy and diffused, and the countryside far from being illuminated. The high thin cloud which had masked the sky during the day had thickened and, to the north-east — the weather quarter — a long black line showed.

'Nadine! Come and look at this!'

I must have sounded more excited than I knew, for she came running and I had to warn her to keep down.

The cloud bank — it looked almost like a front at sea — appeared about a hand's-breadth above the horizon. But the moon which had travelled about a quarter of its way across the sky was consequently ahead of the oncoming bank.

'It all depends on how fast that cloud is coming up,' I said. ' It could overtake the moon within an hour. If it does, we'll be home and dry. It'll be a dark, dark night.'

'Can we risk waiting here so long? — Guy! I just saw something!'

'Where? Where, Nadine?'

'Near your camp, slightly to the right- no, I can't be sure now. I thought I saw it.'

We craned our necks, trying to pierce the uncertain light but couldn't make out anything.

'It moved,' she breathed. 'It seemed to flit from one rock to another.'

'The bastards!' I exclaimed. 'It looks as if they're on the alert. And there's Dika too.'

We'll make it, Guy.'

I pitched the supplies carefully over the parapet to avoid clatter and when I had done that, I tried to measure the respective rates of climb of the cloud bank and the moon.n relation to the stars. Eventually I gave it up, concluding, however, that by and large the bank appeared to be gaining. After we had eaten I checked again and returned to Nadine, feeling much happier.

'Now I'm sure. This is a break we couldn't have foreseen. We'll hang around here until it's dim enough for a safe crossing via the handlines. Then we'll put as much distance behind us as we can while the going's good.'

The ensuing minutes dragged like hours and we became more and more impatient to leave; the moon and the rising cloud bank were like two tortoises competing for the world's slowest race in the sky.

Eventually, however, the distance between them did narrow to the point of safety and the haziness increased to a general blurred dimness in which The Hill was swallowed up. Then we left. As a precaution I ripped the handlines loose after we had crossed but I had to leave the door ajar, as I dared not risk being seen climbing over if I should decide to barricade it from the inside.

We made our way from patch of shadow to patch of shadow down the steep path off K2, keeping a watchful eye on the wadi; but before we were halfway down the moon lost its race with the cloud bank and the night became pitch black. We moved as quickly as we dared, speaking in whispers only. Nadine took the lead, finding her way with surprising certainty, apparently untiring and buoyed up by the thought of returning to the The Hill.

It was after midnight when we arrived at the western limit of our route and made a right-angled turn to cross the wadi. The whole sky was now blacked out: it had taken place without so much as a whisper of wind at ground level. To my tight-strung senses this silent blackness seemed to add a touch of the sinister.

'If the drought should end at this moment we could find ourselves in trouble,' I told Nadine. 'The wadi could become a quagmire. If it does rain we'll be trapped on this side. Daybreak is our deadline, remember.'

It's very hot and oppressive. It does feel as though it could be working up for something.'

'If we lose the boat in a flash flood we're done for.'

'I know, I know. Nevertheless I'm quite drunk with excitement!'

I kissed her. The Hill alone is enough to send you on a trip, any time.'

'Any time — but not without you, my darling.'

We rested briefly before crossing the wadi. By the time we were over we were both stumping along mechanically, exhausted. It was with relief that we found our course had brought us directly to the boulder which had previously sheltered us.

'We're in no shape to climb the stairway,' I said. 'What we need is a good couple of hours' sleep.'

Isn't that rather tempting the gods, seeing we've got this far safely.'

'The most dangerous part is ahead. We'll need everything we've got for it. I'll wake, all right. I've got a sort of built-in alarm in my brain.'

She nestled down against me and it seemed like only minutes, not hours later, that I jerked awake.

'What is it, Guy?'

'Wind. Listen!'

We heard its rustling approach among the kiln-dry grains of sand and shortly afterwards we were smothered in dust from a passing squall.

'The weather's really lining up on our side,' I said. 'If the wind goes on like this it'll deafen Praeger and Koen to any sound we make.

'Do we have to go near them?'

'Right past, if they're at the camp. There's no other way to the secret stairway.'

'What's the order of battle from now on, then?' There was the slightest tremor in her voice.

'First we have to shin up the terrace: it'll have to be done carefully, feeling our way for holds. I don't much fancy that in the dark. Then we'll backtrack on yesterday's route until we're in the vicinity of the camp. After that it's hands and knees and by guess and by God until we get to the root cage. You hang on to me — I'll lead now. Later on in the stairway you'll be the boss. Let's go!'

'I love you. I'm going to say that over and over to myself all the way and I'm going to say it again to you when we're safe.'

'I love you, Nadine. If I don't get another chance. Her mouth came hard against mine and we tasted the blown sand on each other's lips.

'I won't have you say that, ever! We'll make it. We must, we will.'

We set off into the gusting wind, which made an unpleasant but effective cover. It was so dark we had to link hands. We reckoned we must be near the camp when we picked up a footpath, and we dropped flat to a crawl. When the ground began to rise we knew we must be slap against the camp's protecting boulders but it was too dark to make them out. One behind the other we went on to higher ground, moving only when we had the wind's sound to mask our own; lying, scarcely breathing, during the intervals. Once on the slope proper we cast about for a time in the inky blackness until we found the root screen. It was with a sense of immense relief that we found it was deserted. We made rapid progress up the secret stairway and by the time we reached the tricky section we began to feel a growing confidence that we had achieved our objective.