He looked wildly up the road. Themba, on the edge of the drop, was staring down, his big eyes rolling. Cursing, Fennel saw the taut cable was vibrating, and steeling himself, he went to the edge, feeling sick and dizzy, and looked over.
Four metres below, dangling by the cable was the Land Rover.
Ken was standing on the back of the seat, his hands gripping the wind shield. Far, far below spread out like an aerial map, was the valley.
Even as he looked, Fennel saw the drum was slowly parting from the casing.
“Get to the drum!” he bawled. “Ken… it’s coming away! Get the drum!”
Ken balanced himself, stepped over the wind shield and flattened himself up right on the perpendicular bonnet. He caught hold of one of the steel stanchions supporting the drum, heaved forward, his hands around the cable of the drum. Even as he got a grip, the drum parted from the truck and the truck went hurtling down into the void.
Ken swung on the end of the cable. Themba had the cable in his hands and was trying to haul him in. Shaking from head to foot, Fennel joined him. Ken swung hard against the side of the mountain and his feet got a purchase. As the two men hauled, he began to walk up the slightly sloping side and moments later, he rolled on to the track.
He sat up and forced a grin.
“Now, we will damn well have to walk,” he said.
As the Land Rover drove into the bush, Gaye sighed with relief.
“Well, thank goodness, he’s out of the way,” she said. “He was really beginning to get on my nerves.”
“Mine too.” Garry lit a cigarette. “Do you want some more coffee?”
She shook her head.
“When it gets lighter, I’ll have a swim. The pool looks marvellous.” She wandered over to the fire and knelt before it.
Garry watched her, thinking how lovely she looked, the flames of the fire lighting up her face. Then he went into the tent, found his cordless electric razor and shaved in the light of the flash-lamp. As he shaved, he thought of the hours ahead of them before they took off. He was sharply aware that they were alone together. Firmly, he put the thought out of his mind. Picking up the towel, he left the tent. The light was brighter now. In another hour the sun would be up, but he felt in need of cold water and was too impatient to wait.
“I’ll take my swim first,” he called to her. “Are you all right alone here?”
“Yes, unless a lion turns up. It’ll be cold.”
“That’s how I like it.”
She watched him move off into the shadows and she fed the fire with more sticks collected in a big heap by Themba. She also thought of the hours ahead. She admitted to herself that Fennel in his brutish way had stirred a dormant desire in her for a man. How long, she pondered, had it been since she had had a satisfactory lover? Her mind went back over the number of men who had shared her bed. She could remember only two who had really pleased and satisfied her. The first had been a little like Garry, not so tall and more handsome… an American on vacation. She had been in Paris, modelling clothes. On one hot July night, she had been sitting alone at Fouquet’s cafe which had been crowded. He had come up and asked if he could share her table. They had looked at each other, and she knew immediately that she would be sleeping with him within a few hours as he too seemed to know. Again, the second man, also an American and also who had looked a little like Garry, had come out of the dimness of a bar where she had been waiting for friends and had invited her to drink with him. They had left the bar together before her friends arrived. She decided this Garry type of man had sexual attraction for her that sparked with her instantly as two flints struck together will cause a spark.
She had only met these two men once and only knew their Christian names, but the few hours she had spent with them were etched on her mind, and now after that ape Fennel had aroused her after so long, she knew that sometime during the day, Garry would become her lover.
The sun was rising, and already she could feel its warmth. She moved away from the fire and went into the tent to straighten up. By the time she had finished, she could feel the heat of the sun coming through the canvas of the tent and she went out, taking a towel with her.
She saw Garry coming towards her, wearing shorts and shoes, his towel over his shoulder.
She smiled at him.
“Was it good?”
“Marvellous, but cold. It’ll be fine now.”
“See you later.” She was aware that he was looking at her as the two Americans had looked at her, then he looked away.
She nodded and ran off, swinging her towel, towards the pool.
She seldom had the opportunity of swimming naked and this she loved to do. She stripped off and dived in. The sun was fully on the pool by now and the chill was off the water. She swam for some time, then turned on her back, closed her eyes and let herself float.
Two grey, black-faced monkeys high up in a tree watched her. Then as if by agreement, they slid down the tree, moved swiftly to where she had left her shorts, shirt and towel, snatched them up and shinned up the tree again. Having examined the clothes and finding them of no interest, they left them hanging on a high branch and went swinging from tree to tree farther into the forest.
As they went, Gaye opened her eyes and saw them. She watched them, thinking how cute they looked, but she didn’t think them cute when, on climbing out of the pool, she found only her shoes on the bank.
Looking up, she caught sight of her towel hanging on a branch. She hesitated, knowing she could never climb up there, then shrugging, she put on her shoes and walked back to the camp. Garry, sitting in the shade of the tent, was examining the aerial map Shalik had given him. He glanced up as she came out of the line of trees and startled, he dropped the map. For a moment, he couldn’t believe his eyes, then he got to his feet.
Quite unconcerned, naked as she was born, Gaye came on.
“Monkeys have stolen my clothes… the little devils. They are up a tree by the pool. Could you get them for me, Garry?” she called as she was half-way across the plain. She made no attempt to hide her nakedness. Her arms swung loosely at her sides as she moved. She behaved as if she were fully dressed.
“Sure…”
He started towards her, then deliberately made a wide half circle so he wouldn’t pass close to her and she liked him for that.
They passed and she went into the tent. She was quite sure he hadn’t looked back at her. Her heart was beating fast. She went to her rucksack to get her duplicate shirt and shorts. She got them out, looked at them, hesitated, then dropped them to the ground and stretched herself out on top of her sleeping bag. With her legs crossed and her hands covering her breasts, she waited his return.
“It’s nearly 11.00 hrs.,” Garry said. “They will be coming through on the radio.”
She was loath to let him go, but as he moved away from her, she let her arms slide away from his body. She watched him stand up and put on his shorts, then she closed her eyes.
She had been right about him. It had been even better than it had been with the other two Americans, and also, she did know his surname. The tensions that had been building up inside her for the past year had been released by the explosive coupling, and now she felt as if she had had a shot of some hard drug. She didn’t wish to be disturbed, but to be allowed to remain still and to do nothing. She drifted off int0 semi-sleep which was all the more relaxing and pleasant in the heat of the tent.
She was startled awake by Garry coming to the opening of the tent and calling her name sharply.
She half sat up and immediately became fully alert at the sight of his worried expression.