The Flashman Papers: The Complete 12-Book Collection. George Fraser MacDonald

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СКАЧАТЬ punishing as it might have been. Elspeth still swears that she quite enjoyed it; I dare say if I hadn’t been so apprehensive – about our beasts foundering, or losing our way if the mist settled down, or being overtaken by pursuers (although I knew there was scant chance of that), or how we were going to make our final dash to the frigate – I might have marvelled that we came through it so easily. But we did; our luck held through hill and jungle, we hardly saw a native the whole way, and on the fourth afternoon we were trotting down through the strange little conical hillocks that line the sandy coastal plain, with nothing ahead of us but a few scattered villages and easy level going until we should come to Tamitave.

      Of course, I should have been on my guard. I should have known it had gone too smooth. I should have remembered the horror that lay no great way behind, and the mad hatred and bloodlust of that evil woman. I should have thought of the soldier’s first rule, to put yourself in the enemy’s shoes and ask what you would do. If I’d been that terrible b---h, and my ingrate lover had tried to ruin me, cut up my guardsmen, and lit out for the coast – what would I have done, given unlimited power and a maniac’s vengeance to slake? Sent out my fleetest couriers, over plain and jungle and mountain, to carry the alarm, rouse the garrisons, cut off escape – that’s what I’d have done. How far can good runners travel in a day – forty miles over rough going? Say four days, perhaps five, from Antan’ to the coast. We were approaching Tamitave on the evening of the fourth day.

      Aye, I should have been on my guard – but when you’re within the last lap of safety, when all has gone far better than you’d dared hope, when you’ve seen the Tamitave track and know that the coast is only a few scant miles away over the low hills, when you have the gamest, loveliest girl in the world riding knee to knee with you, that eager idiot smile on her face and her tits bouncing famously, when the dark terrors have receded behind you – above all, when you’ve hardly slept in four nights and are fit to topple from the saddle with sheer weariness … then hope can fuddle your wits a little, and you let the last of your rations slip from your hand, and the dusk begins to swim round you, and your head is on the turf and you slip down the long slide into unconsciousness – until someone miles away is shaking you, and yelping urgently in your ear, and you come awake in bleary alarm, staring wildly about you in the dawn.

      “Harry! Oh, Harry – quickly! Look, look!”

      She had me by the wrist, tugging me to my feet. Where was I? – yes, this was the little hollow we’d camped in, there were the horses, the first ray of dawn was just peeping over the low downs to the east, but Elspeth was pulling me t’other way, to the lip of the hollow, pointing.

      “Look, Harry – yonder! Who are those people?”

      I stared back, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes – the distant mountains were in a wall of mist, and on the rolling land between there were long trails of fog hanging on the slopes. Nothing else – no! there was movement on the crest a mile behind us, figures of men coming into plain view, a dozen – twenty perhaps, in an irregular line abreast. I felt an awful clutch at my heart as I stared, disbelieving what I saw, for they were advancing at a slow trot, in an ominously disciplined fashion; I recognized that gait, even as I took in the first twinkle of steel along the line and made out the white streaks of the bandoliers – I’d taught ’em how to advance in skirmishing order myself, hadn’t I? But it was impossible …

      “It can’t be!” I heard my voice cracking. “They’re Hova guardsmen!”

      If any confirmation were needed it came in the faint, wailing yell drifting on the dawn air, as they came jogging down the slope to the plain.

      “I thought I had better rouse you, Harry,” Elspeth was saying, but by then I was leaping for the horses, yelling to her to get aboard. She was still babbling questions as I bundled her up bareback, and flung myself on to a second mount. I slashed at the three other beasts remaining to us, and as they fled neighing from the hollow I spared another wild glance back; three-quarters of a mile away the skirmishing line was coming steadily towards us, cutting the distance at frightening speed. G-d, how had they done it on foot in the time? Where had they come from, for that matter?

      Interesting questions, to which I still don’t know the answer, and they didn’t occupy me above a split second just then. In the nick of time I stifled my coward’s instinct to gallop wildly away from them, and surveyed the ground ahead of us. Two, perhaps three miles due east, across rolling sandy plain, was the crest from which, I was pretty sure, we’d look down on the shore; there was the Tamitave track a mile or so to our right, with a few villagers already on it. I struggled to clear my wits – if we rode straight ahead we ought to come out just above the Tamitave fort, north of the town proper – the frigate would be lying in the roads – Ch---t, how were we going to reach her, for there’d be no time to stop and scheme, with these d---ls on our heels. I looked again; they were well out on the plain by now, and coming on fast … I gripped Elspeth’s wrist.

      “Follow me close! Ride steady, watch your footing, and for G-d’s sake don’t slip! They can’t catch us if we keep up a round canter, but if we tumble we’re done!”

      She was pale as a sheet, but she nodded and for once didn’t ask me who these strange gentlemen were, or what they wanted, or if her hair was disarranged. I wheeled and set off down the slope, with her close behind, and the yell as they saw us turn was clear enough now; a savage hunting cry that had me digging in my heels despite myself. We drummed down the hill, and I forced myself not to look back until we’d crossed the little valley and come to the next crest – we’d gained on them, but they were still coming, and I gulped and gestured furiously to Elspeth to keep up.

      I’d have to count up all the battles I’ve been in to tell you how often I’ve fled in panic, and I’ve made a few other strategic withdrawals, too, but this was as horrid as any. There was the time Scud East and I went tearing along the Arrow of Arabat in a sled with the Cossacks behind us, and the jolly little jaunt I had with Colonel Sebastian Moran in the ammunition cart after Isandhlwana, with the Udloko Zulus on our tail – and couldn’t they cover the ground, just? But in the present case the snag was that very shortly we were going to reach the sea, and unless our embarkation went smoothly – G-d, the frigate must be there! … I stole another look over my shoulder – we were a clear mile ahead now, surely, but there they were still, just appearing on a crest and streaming over it in fine style.

      I took a look at our horses; they weren’t labouring, but they weren’t fit to enter the St Leger either. Would they last? Suppose one went lame – why the blazes hadn’t I thought to drive the spare beasts ahead? But it was too late now.

      “Come on,” says I, and Elspeth gave me a trembling look and kicked in her heels, clinging to the mane. The last slope was half a mile ahead; as we dropped our pace for the ascent I looked back again, but there was nothing in sight for a good mile.

      “We’ll do it yet!” I shouted, and we covered the last few yards to the top through slippery sand, the sun blazed in our eyes as we reached the crest, the breeze was suddenly stiff in our faces – and there below us, down a long sandy slope, was the spreading panorama of beach and blue water, with the surf foaming not a mile away. Far off to the right was Tamitave town, the smoke rising in thin trails above the thatched roofs; closer, but still to the right, was the fort, a massive circular stone tower, with its flag a-flutter, and its outer wooden palisade; there were white-coated troops, about a platoon strong, marching towards it from the town, and looking down from our point of vantage I could see great activity in the central square of the fort itself, and round the gun emplacements on its wall.

      The sun was shining straight towards us out of a blue, cloudless sky, the rays coming over a thick bank of mist which mantled the surface of the sea a mile off-shore. A beautiful sight, the coral strand with its palms, the gulls wheeling, the gentle roll of bright blue sea – there was only one thing missing. СКАЧАТЬ