of the ancient scribe by probing the labyrinth of passages and tunnels
that he had built four thousand years previously. This time they moved
into the maze with more circumspection. Nicholas had filled his pockets
with lumps of dried white river clay, and he used these like a
schoolmaster's stick of chalk to write on the stone walls at each branch
and fork of the tunnels, setting out the notations from the winter face
of the, stele and marking a signpost to enable them not only to find
their way through the maze but to relate it to the model that Royan was
drawing up in her notebook.
They found that their first assumption that the shrine of Osiris was the
north castle of the board seemed to be correct, and they happily
believed that with this as the key it would be a simple matter to follow
the moves of play to their conclusion. But these hopes were soon dashed
as they realized that Taita was not thinking in the simple two
dimensions of the conventional board. He had added the third dimension
to the equation.
The stairway leading up from the shrine of Osiris was not the only link
between the eight landings. Each of the passages leading off from it was
subtly angled either upwards or downwards. As they followed the twists
and turns of one of these tunnels they did not detect the fact that they
were changing levels. Then suddenly they reemerged on to the central
staircase, but on a landing higher than the one they had entered from.
They stood there and stared at each other in horrified disbelief.
Royan spoke first. "I didn't even have the feeling that we were
ascending," she whispered. "The whole thing is infinitely more complex
than I first assumed."
"It must be constructed like one of those nuclear models of some
complicated carbon atom,'Nicholas agreed with awe. "It interlinks on all
eight planes. Quite frankly, it's terrifying."
"Now I have some- inkling what those extraneous symbols signify," Royan
muttered. "They set out the levels.
I We are going to have to rethink the entire concept.
matic rules.
"Three'dimensional bao, played to enig What chance have we got against
him?" Nicholas shook his head ruefully. "What we really need is a
computer. Taita.
without good reason. The wasn't Puffing his own virtues old hooligan
really was a mathematical genius." He shone the lamp back down the
tunnel from which they had come.
"Even when you know it's there you cannot actually see the fall in the
floor level. He designed and built it without even a slide rule or a
spirit level in his back pocket. This maze is an extraordinary piece of
engineering."
"You can form Your fan club later," she suggested. "But right now let's
start grinding those numbers again."
I am going to move the lights and the desks up here, on to this central
landing of the staircase."Nicholas agreed, I think we should work from
the centre of the board. It may help us to visualize it. Right now he
has got me thoroughly confused."
The only sound in the room was the soft on the sobbing of the
woman who lay curled Milan floor in a puddle of her own blood and urine.
Tuma Nogo sat at the long conference table and lit a he looked
cigarette. His hands trembled slightly, and gh the sickened, He was a
soldier, and he had lived through Mengistu terror. He was a hard man and
accustomed to violence and cruelty, but he was shaken with what he had
just witnessed. He knew now why von Schiller placed such The man was
barely human.
reliance on Helm Across the room Jake Helm was washing his hands in
tediously and then dabbed the small basin. He dried them fas at the
stains on his clothing with the towel as he came back and stood over
Tessay.
"I don't think there is anything else she can tell us," he said calmly.
"I don't think she held anything back."
Nogo glanced down at the woman, and saw the livid burns that spotted her
chest and her cheeks like the running ulcerations of some dreadful
smallpox. Her eyes were closed, and her lashes were frizzled away. She
had held out well. It was only when Helm had touched her eyelids with
the burning cheroot that she had at last capitulated, and gabbled out
the answers to his questions.
Nogo felt queasy, but he was relieved that it had not been necessary to
hold her lids open, as Helm had ordered, and to watch as he quenched the
flame of the cheroot against her weeping eyeballs.
"Watch her," Helm ordered, as he rolled down his sleeves. "She is a
tough one. Don't take any chances with her."
Helm walked past him, and went to the door in the far end of the hut. He
left the door open, and Nogo could hear their voices, but they were
speaking in German so he could not understand what they were saying. He
understood now why von Schiller had chosen not to be present during the
questioning. He obviously knew how Helm worked.
Helm came back into the room, and nodded at Nogo.
"Very well. We are finished with her. You know what to do., Nogo stood
up nervously and placed his hand on the webbing holster at his side.
"Here?"he asked. "No!"
"Don't be a bloody fool," Helm snapped. "Take her away. Far away. Then
get somebody in here to clean up this mess." Helm turned on his heel and
went back into the rear room.
Nogo roused himself and then went to the door of the hut. He walked wide
of where Tessay lay, so as not to soil his canvas paratrooper boots.
"Lieutenant Hammed!the called through the door.
t Hammed and Nogo lifted Tessay to her feet. Neither them spoke and
they were subdued, almost chastened, as torn and bloodied clothing.
they helped her into her yes from her naked body and the Hammed averted
his ed her glossy amber skin.
burns and other injuries that marre He draped the shamnw over her
shoulders, and led her towards the door, When she stumbled he caught her
before her with a hand under her elbow.
she fell and supported truck, and she moved He led her down the steps to
the sat in the passenger seat slowly, like a very old woman. She her
cupped hands.
with her burned and swollen face in Nogo summoned Hammed with a jerk of
his head, and led him aside. He spoke quietly to him, and Hammed's
listened to his orders. At expression became stricken as he one point he
started to protest, but Nogo snarled at him savagely and he chewed his
lower lip in silence.
"Remember!" Nogo repeated. "Well away from any of the villages. Make
certain that there are no witnesses.
Report back to me immediately."
Hammed straightened his shoulders and saluted before up into the seat
he marched back to the truck and climbed the driver a curt order and
they beside Tessay. He gav drove out of the camp, following the track
back towards Debra Maryam. sed and in such pain that she had Tessay was
so confu s, she lurched lost all sense of time. Only half-consciou ugh
icularly ro about in the seat when the truck hit a part ead rolled
loosely on her stretch of the track, and her shoulders. Her face was so
swollen that it required an effort and when she did she thought to force
her eyelids apart, that her vision was failing and that she was going
blind.