away towards the inner curve of the bank from where the attack was
coming.
The attackers were completely concealed amongst the rocks and scrub, and
there was no definite target to shoot at. However, in an ambush like
this it was essential to lay down as heavy a covering fire as possible,
to keep the attackers' heads down and to upset their aim.
A bullet tore through the nylon skin of the Avon close to Royan's head
and went on to lam into one of the metal offered ammunition crates. The
sides of their craft 0 protection at all from the heavy fusillade that
lashed them.
One of their crew was hit in the head. The bullet cut the top off his
skull like the shell of a soft'boiled egg, and he was flung over the
side. Royan screamed more with horro.
than with fear, while Nicholas snatched up the assault rifle that the
dead man had dropped and emptied the magazine towards the bank, firing
short taps of three and raking the scrub that concealed their attackers.
The Avon still raced downstream on the current, spiralling aimlessly as
she lost direction without the steering oar. It took them less than' a
minute to be carried past the ambush and around the next bend of the
river.
Nicholas dropped the empty rifle and shouted across at Mek, "Are you all
right?"
"One man hit here," Mek yelled back. "Not too bad." Each of the boats
reported their casualties: a total of one dead and three wounded. None
of the wounded was in a serious condition, and although three of the
boats had been holed, the hulls were made up of watertight compartments
and were all still floating high.
Mek steered his Avon alongside Nicholas's and called across. "I was
beginning to think we had given Nogo the slip."
"We got off lightly that time," Nicholas called back.
"We probably took them by surprise. They weren't expecting us to be on
the water."
"Well, no more surprises for him now. You can bet they are on the radio
already. Nogo knows exactly where we are and where we are headed." He
looked up at the cloud. "We can only hope the cloud stays thick and
low."
"How much further to the Sudanese border?"
"Not sure, but it can't be more than another couple of hours."
"Is the crossing guarded?" Nicholas asked.
"No. Nothing there. Just empty bush on both sides."
"Let's hope it stays empty," Nicholas muttered.
Within thirty minutes of the fire-fight, they heard the helicopter
again. It was flying above the clouds, and as they listened it passed
overhead, but out of sight, and headed on downstream. Twenty minutes
later they heard it again, coming back in the opposite direction, and
shortly after that it flew downstream again, still above the cloud.
"What the hell is Nogo playing at?" Mek called across to Nicholas.
"Sounds as though he is patrolling the river, but he can't get under the
cloud."
"My guess is that he is ferrying men downstream to cut us off. Now he
knows we are using boats, he also knows that we can only head in one
direction. Nogo isn't one to worry about international borders. He may
even have realized by now that we are heading for Roseires. It's the
nearest unmanned airstrip along the river. He could be waiting for us
when we try to land., Mek steered his Avon closer and passed a line
across, tying the two boats together so that they could talk in normal
tones.
"I don't like it, Nicholas. We are going to walk right into them again.
What do you suggest?"
Nicholas pondered for a long minute. "Don't you recognize this part of
the river? Don't you know precisely where we are yet?"
Mek shook his head. "I always keep well away from the river when we
cross the border, but I will recognize the old sugar'mill at Roseires
when we get there. It's about three miles upstream from the airstrip."
"DesertedT Nicholas asked.
"Yes. Abandoned ever since the war began twenty years ago."
"With this cloud cover, it will be dark in an hour," Nicholas said. "The
river is slower now and not so dangerous. We can take a chance and keep
on going after dark.
Perhaps Nogo won't expect that. We might be able to give him the slip in
the dark."
"Is that the best you can do?" Mek chuckled. "As a plan it sounds to me
a bit like closing your eyes and hoping for the best."
"Well, if somebody could tell me where the hell we are, and what time
Jannie will arrive tomorrow, I might be able to come up with something a
bit more specific." Nicholas grinned back at him. "Until that happens, I
am flying by the seat of my pants."
All of them were tense with strung-out nerves as they paddled on into
the premature dusk beneath the thick blanket of cloud and rain. Even in
the gathering darkness the crew kept their weapons cocked and locked,
trained on either bank of the river, ready to return fire instantly.
"We must have crossed the border an hour ago," Mek called to Nicholas.
"The old sugar mill can't be far ahead."
"In the dark, how will you find it?"
"There is the remains of an old stone jetty on the bank, from which the
riverboats taking the sugar down to Khartoum used to load."
Night came down upon them abruptly, and Nicholas felt a sense of relief
as the river banks receded into the murk and the darkness hid them from
hostile eyes ashore.
As soon as it was fully dark they lashed the boats -together to prevent
them becoming separated and then let the river carry them on silently,
keeping so close in to the right hand bank that they ran aground more
than once, and some of the men had to slip over the side and push them
out into deeper water.
The stone piers of the jetty at Roseires sprang out at them
unexpectedly, and Nicholas's leading Avon slammed into them before he
could steer clear. However, the crew were ready and they jumped over the
side into chest-deep water and dragged the boat to the bank. Immediately
Mek leaped ashore and, with twenty of his men, spread out into the
overgrown canefields along the bank to secure the area and prevent a
surprise attack by Nogo's men.
There was confusion and more noise than Nicholas felt was safe as the
rest of the flotilla beached, and they began to bring the wounded ashore
and unload the cargo of ammunition cases. Nicholas piggybacked Royan to
the bank and then waded back to fetch Tessay. She was much stronger by
now. The enforced rest during the voyage down river had given her a
chance to recover, and she stood up unaided in the Avon and climbed on
to Nicholas's shoulders to be brought ashore.
Once on dry ground he let her slide down on to her own feet and asked
her quietly, "How are you feeling?"
"I will be all right now, thank you, Nicholas," He supported her for a
moment while she recovered her balance and said quickly, "I did not have
a chance to ask earlier. What about Royan's message that she asked you
to telephone from Debra Maryam? Did you get it through for her?
"Yes, of course," Tessay replied guilelessly. "I told Royan that I had
given her message to Moussad at the Egyptian Embassy. Didn't she tell
you?"
Nicholas winced as though he had taken a low punch, but he smiled and
kept his tone casual. "It must have slipped her mind. Not important,