Gunnarsson's attention, too, had been attracted by the shouting. He stopped to look out into the lake and Hunt yelled, 'Swim for it!' Gunnarsson hesitated, then made up his mind as he became aware of Brice and Hendriks advancing upon him. Hunt steered closer to the shore and waved encouragingly then stopped in mid-wave.
'Oh, Christ!' he said.
As Gunnarsson ran towards the water there was a movement from behind him and a vast grey shape burst out of the trees. Hunt shouted, 'Sideways! Run to the side, Gunnarsson!' but he was ignored. The bull hippopotamus behind Gunnarsson was advancing at a steady yard-eating trot, running much faster than the man. It caught him just as he reached the water's edge. Hunt saw the mouth open in a cavernous gape edged with white tusks which closed in a quick snap. Then the hippo was in the lake and there was no sign of Gunnarsson except for a swirl of bloodied water.
Hunt wrenched the tiller over and opened the throttle, speeding to get between the hippopotamus and Nair who was swimming weakly. He heard no gunfire and did not know what it was that whined past him like an angry hornet to hit the outboard motor. The rapid beat of the engine faltered and then it stopped and the boat lost momentum.
Stafford's boat passed him. Stafford was standing in the bows holding an oar, and shouted, 'Get down – you're being shot at!'
'Watch for the hippo!' Hunt replied and twisted around to look for it but could not see it. But he saw a peculiar wave on the surface of the water and knew the hippopotamus was running on the bottom of the shallow lake. The displacement wave rippled towards Nair but was intercepted by Stafford's boat which lurched violently, almost throwing Stafford off his feet.
Hardin was coming in fast on the other side towards Nair as the hippo surfaced next to Stafford's boat. He raised the oar and struck at its head and as the tough, flexible wood shivered violently in his hands he knew he had got in a good blow. For a moment the hippopotamus looked at him with an unwinking eye then breathed mightily and submerged.
Curtis swung over the tiller and Stafford looked for Nair and was relieved to see Hardin helping him into the boat. A miniature fountain rose quite close to him and Stafford said to Curtis, 'For God's sake, let's get out of here.' He waved to Hardin, pointing out into the lake, as Curtis headed towards the boat in which Hunt drifted.
He slowed as they came alongside and Hunt jumped for it. Even as he jumped Curtis was opening the throttle again and swinging to head out into the lake away from shore. Stafford looked back just in time to see the boat Hunt had abandoned rise bow first and then capsize as the hippopotamus attacked it. There was a splashing and a frothing of water and then the boat had gone leaving only a few shattered timbers floating on the water.
The shore of Crescent Island receded and when they were a good half mile away Stafford said, 'Let's join Hardin and see if Nair is all right.' He looked at Hunt and said quietly, 'That was a bloody bad two minutes.'
Curtis throttled back as he came alongside Hardin and the two boats drifted placidly. Nair had slit his trousers and was examining his leg. Hardin said, 'Nair reckons he was hit in the leg, but I didn't hear any shooting.'
'It was Hendriks,' said Stafford. 'He must have had a silencer. Is it bad, Nair?'
'No, just a hole in the fleshy part of the thigh. The bullet must still be in there; there's only one hole.' He held up his right hand. 'And I broke a finger; maybe two.' He looked around. 'Where's Gunnarsson?'
'Yeah,' said Hardin. 'Where is the son of a bitch?'
'The hippo got him,' said Hunt.
'I didn't see that,' said Stafford. 'I was too busy trying to get to Nair. What happened to him?'
'It bit him in half.' Hunt shivered involuntarily.
'Jesus!' said Hardin. 'I didn't like the bastard but I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. Are you sure?'
'I'm sure,' said Hunt. 'I saw it. There was a lot of blood in the water.' He looked at the sky and added dully, 'They've been known to bite crocodiles in half.'
'I'd have reckoned Gunnarsson to be tougher than any crocodile," said Hardin in a heavy attempt at jocularity, but the humour fell flat.
'We'd better get on,' said Stafford. 'Nair needs a doctor. Any other injuries?'
No one admitted to being hurt, but Curtis said mournfully, 'I left my belt back there. It was a good belt, too. Snakeskin.'
'You left more than that,' said Hardin. 'You left your pants.'
'Yes, but my Amy gave me that belt.'
There was a moment's silence before Stafford said, 'That lot are marooned back there. I think we ought to move into Ol Njorowa now.'
'Chip won't like it,' warned Nair.
'Chip doesn't know the circumstances. How much staff does the animal migration lab have, Alan?'
'I don't know,' said Hunt. 'It varies.'I didn't think there was anyone there now until I saw Patterson.'
'Then there's a good chance that it's empty,' said Stafford as though arguing with himself. 'I don't think Brice can have really got going yet. So far he's been working on a shoestring and waiting for the Hendrykxx money. This must be the best time to bust him, while he's out of the game. Sergeant; head for the shore.'
'To Safariland," said Hunt. 'I think I know of a way to get you into Ol Njorowa.'
Chapter 31
Francis Yongo was boatman at the Lake Naivasha Hotel and Francis was worried. He had promised to pick up Mr Gunnarsson from Crescent Island and he had not done so because someone had taken his boat. He talked to the crayfish fishermen by the lake and asked if they had seen it. One said he thought he had seen it going out across the lake with a number of men in it. No, he had not seen where it was going; it had been of no interest.
Dispiritedly Francis walked up to the hotel to report to the manager who spoke acidly about inconsiderate tourists and got on the telephone. An hour later he called Francis into the office. 'I've traced the boat, Francis. It's lying at Safariland -just come in. You'd better take your bike out there and pick up Mr Gunnarsson on the way back. I doubt if he'll be pleased.' He went on to fulminate about thoughtless joyriders while Francis listened patiently. He had heard it all before. Then he went to get his bicycle.
Nair leaned heavily on Stafford as he hobbled up from the dock at Safariland towards the manager's office. Stafford said, 'What went wrong back there? How did Brice catch on?'
'It was Gunnarsson,' said Nair. 'I thought it best to stick close to the truth so I told Brice I'd arrested him. That meant Gunnarsson had to be handcuffed but he wouldn't wear them; he said he wanted to be free if anything went wrong so he faked it. Then he stumbled and they fell off.'
'And that was a tip-off to Brice.' Stafford shook his head. 'In a way you could say Gunnarsson killed himself. Will you be all right, Nair?'
'As soon as you've gone I'll phone Chip, then I'll get a doctor.' He sat on one of the chairs on the lawn. 'I don't suppose I can stop you?"
'It's the right time,' said Stafford positively.
'Perhaps, but I have to convince Chip.' Nair took a bunch of keys from his pocket. 'Go to the Lake Naivasha Hotel first. There's a pistol and a spare magazine clipped under the front seat of the Mercedes.' He tossed the keys to Stafford. 'Don't use it unless you have to.'
'Thanks. The others will be waiting. I still have to find out from Hunt how we're to get into Ol Njorowa.'
It was to prove ridiculously easy. He found Hunt, Hardin and Curtis waiting for him in the car-park, standing next to Hunt's Land-Rover. Hunt pointed to the trailer attached to the rear. 'You go in there.'