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three children of the land of mists and fogs in my charge.
Neville thought fleetingly how ten years in Egypt had colored even Eddie s En-glish.
 We re at the half-way point in our supplies? he asked.
 Just about, at least for water, Eddie admitted.  If Stephen keeps needing liquid at the same rate, we re
definitely there before to-night and I won t hide that Jenny has been drinking more, too. She doesn t
know it, but I ve filled her canteen when she hasn t been looking.
Neville raised his eyebrows.
 It was that or have her collapse on us, Eddie said, as if confessing a fault.  She s kept her peace and
sucked on a pebble, and dosed that kitten from her own share, but she s no camel. For that matter,
neither are you. Head hurting? Muscles stiff?
Neville nodded.  Nothing I can t take.
 I m sure, but I know I don t much like trying to get all of you back by myself.
 Fair.
Neville took one more longing look toward the rocky outline.
 We d better tell the others.
But those others had plans of their own.
Stephen licked his swollen lips, then seemed to regret the gesture as a sign of weakness.
 We ve seen the statues, he said, his voice croaking.  We can t turn around now.
He lurched to his feet, an act that if meant to demonstrate his strength failed to do so, but one that left no
doubt as to his determination.
 We could go back to the Hawk Rock, Neville suggested.  Let you recover, let your sunburn heal.
Then we could try again.
He didn t think they d do any such thing, but he owed Stephen a chance to save face.
Stephen wasn t fooled.
 Chad Spice s journal said he found both water and food, he reminded them.  Tame goats.
 That  tame is one of the things that worries me, Eddie put in.  Spice seemed to think that the goats
were tame because they were unaccustomed to human contact, but the reverse is more likely.
 Bedouin? Jenny asked.
 Likely, Eddie said.
 I don t care, Stephen protested.  I want to go on. One more day, that s all it s going to take. I know
it.
 There s no promise of either food or water, Neville reminded him gently.
 I know, and I don t care.
Eddie shrugged, and they went on.
They were setting up the pavilion as shelter from the mid-day sun, when Stephen gave a croaking shout
and pointed to the sky. A single hawk, every feather delineated against the cruel blue, was riding lazy
circles on some wind unfelt this close to the ground.
 A hawk! Stephen cried.  A hawk.  Under the watching eye of the hawk, the homecoming is joyous. 
It amazed Neville how heartening that one glimpse of something alive and moving could be. The hawk
remained above all the while they waited out the worst of the sun s intensity, then when they broke camp
split off to the northwest.
 Is it leading us? Jenny asked in quiet amazement.
These were the first words she d spoken other than to ask Stephen how he felt. Neville was shocked
when he noticed the dark circles that had formed, bruise-like, under her eyes, and the hollows under her
cheekbones.
No one said anything, but they knew that at least some of them had passed the point of returning even to
the relative safety of the Hawk Rock. The desert, even in its comparative winter mildness, was sucking
moisture from them, leaching it away even in the gentle breeze that created an illusion of comfort.
Eddie readied the patient camels and they struggled on. Neville tried to sense whether his mount was
aware of water nearby, but he felt none of the eagerness that had quickened its step when they had
neared the Hawk Rock. Did that mean there was no water, or merely that the camel knew enough to
husband its strength?
Gradually Neville s field glasses showed him something at the base of the stone outcrop, not a pedestal
or building, but a hill or rise washed with sand about its base. As they came closer, he saw they had
come to the base of a rocky rise, steep, and slick with accumulated sand. It extended as far as they could
see in either direction, curving away so that they could not tell whether they faced a ridge or a circular
barrier.
One thing was clear. The camels weren t going up that. Even a human was going to find it a hard climb.
They arrived near dusk. Stephen was no more than semi-conscious, but his camel continued to carry him
as if he was any other burden. Jenny was looking feverish, her eyes unnaturally bright. Neville knelt his
camel and walked stiffly over to the rock barrier.
 If there s water, he said,  it s beyond that.
 We ve enough for to-night, Eddie said.
 And tomorrow? Neville asked.
 We ll have nothing but camel blood.
16
Four Watchers
Jenny couldn t help herself. She wanted to stay awake, wanted to help treat Stephen s heat exhaustion, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]