get into the second line of positions that I have prepared at the first
waterfall." Then he shook his head sorrowfully, screwing up his eyes
against the stinging raindrops. "You and this crazy old bastard,"
he turned his head to the Ras beside him, "you'll be the death of me,
you two will The Ras grinned happily at him, convinced that they were
charging into a battle again, and deliriously happy at the prospect.
"How do you do?" he cackled, and punched Gareth's shoulder
gleefully.
"Could be better, old boy," Gareth assured him. "Could be a lot
better," and they both ducked as the next shell came howling low over
their heads.
"Those fellows are improving Gareth observed mildly.
"God knows they've had plenty of practice recently, "Jake shouted,
and Gareth rolled his eyes upwards to the heavy bruised cloud banks.
"Let there be rain," he intoned, and instantly the thunder cracked and
the clouds lit internally with a brilliant electric burst of light.
The splattering drops increased their tempo, and the air turned milky
with slanting drumming lances of rain.
"Amazing, Major Swales. I would not have believed it," said
Gregorius Maryam from the turret above Gareth's head, and his voice was
hushed with awe.
"Nothing to it, my lad," Gareth disclaimed. "Just a direct line to the
top." Rain filled the air in a white teeming fog, so that Jake had to
screw up his eyes against the driving needles, and his black curls
clung in a sodden mass to his scalp.
Rain wiped out the mountains and the rocky portals of the gorge,
so that Jake steered by instinct alone. It roared against the racing
steel hull, and closed down visibility to a circle of twenty yards.
The Italian shellfire stopped abruptly, as the gunners were
unsighted.
Rain pounded every inch of exposed skin, striking with a force that
stung painfully, snapping against their faces with a jarring impact
that made the teeth ache in their jaws, and sent them crouching for
what little cover there was on the exposed hull.
"Good Lord, how long does this go on for?" protested Gareth, and he
spat the sodden butt of his cheroot over the side.
"Four months," shouted Gregorius. "It rains for four months now."
"Or until you tell it to stop." Jake grinned wryly, and glanced across
at the other machine.
Sara waved reassuringly from the turret of Miss Wobbly, her face
screwed up against the driving raindrops and the thick mane of hair
plastered to her shoulders and face. Icy rain had soaked the silken
sharnma she wore and it clung transparently to her body, and her fat
little breasts showed through as though they were naked, bouncing to
each exaggerated movement of the car.
Suddenly the mist of rain ahead of them was filled with hurrying
figures, all of them clad in the long sodden sharnmas of the Harari;
carrying their weapons, they were running and staggering forward
through the rain towards the mouth of the gorge.
Gregorius shouted encouragement to them as they sped past, and then
translated quickly.
"I have told them we will hold the enemy at the first waterfall they
are to spread the word." And he turned back to shout again when
suddenly with a startled oath Jake braked and swung the car violently
to avoid a pile of human bodies strewn in their path.
"This is where the Italian machine-gunners caught them," Sara yelled
across the gap, and as if in confirmation there came the tearing
ripping sound of the machine guns off in the rain mist.
Jake threaded the car past the piles of bodies and then looked around
to make sure Vicky was following.
"Now what the hell!" He realized they were alone. "That woman.
That crazy woman," and he braked, slammed Priscilla into reverse and
roared back into the fog until the dark shape of Miss Wobbly loomed up
again.
"No," said Gareth. "I can't bear it." Vicky and Sara were out of the
parked car, hurrying amongst the piles of bodies, stooping over a
wounded warrior and between them dragging him upright and thrusting him
through the open rear doors of the cab. Others, less gravely
wounded,
were limping and crawling towards the machine, and dragging themselves
aboard.
"Come on, Vicky, "Jake yelled.
"We can't leave them here, she yelled back.
"We've got to get to the waterfall," he tried to explain.
"We've got to stop the retreat." But he might not have spoken, for the
two women turned back to their task.
"Vicky!" Jake shouted again.
"If you help it won't take so long, "she called obstinately, and
Jake shrugged helplessly before climbing down out of the hatch.
Both cars were crammed with dreadfully wounded and dying Harari,
and the hulls were thick with those who still had strength to hold
on,
before Vicky was satisfied.
"We've lost fifteen minutes. "Gareth glanced at his pocket watch in
the rain that still poured down with unabated fury.
"And that could be enough to get us all killed, and lose us the
gorge."
"It was worth it," Vicky told him stubbornly, and ran to her car. Again
the heavily burdened machines ground on towards the mountain pass, and
now they had to ignore the pitiful appeals of the wounded they passed.
