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 Posted - June 29 2008 : 7:06:17 PM
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Marguerite and Diana ran as fast as they could in the dark. Marguerite had the two flashlights that she had taken from the dead guards, but hesitated to use them often, for the slavers would be looking for that.
She stopped often and ran back along their trail using the bush to erase where they had gone. And they changed direction several times. In the dark, this might allow them to hide.
They almost stepped on a saw-scaled viper, but heard the rustling of its scales making a warning rasp just in time. These little snakes possessed a particularly deadly venom, and were not to be trifled with.
They finally heard a commotion in the camp, and realized that the drums had stopped. They didn't realize at first that Khalid wasn't sure who had taken them, or if they had fled on their own, or just where they had gone. Thus, it was several minutes before he and Ahmed guessed where they had breeched the fence. Even then, they were not sure until they found Ali's body. So, the girls had more time to get lost in the darkness than they had expected. It was over half an hour before the slavers were fairly sure what had happened. Even then, they feared that someone had rescued or stolen the missing women.
"They are but sluts, women. Ali and Selim were strong men, and they were overpowered. And would even this tricky girl, Marguerite, know how to slay a man with a knife, the way that someone did?" Khalid was seriously worried.
"Those white hunters and Lord Roxton carry knives. So do the Challenger couple, although I doubt that mem'Sahib Finn could do this. But the men...Roxton and Hamilton are war heroes, and might know this way to kill. And Challenger is a great scientist. He knows the arteries and veins of men as well as of those animals that he kills. He is still a powerful man. And Roxton and the hunters will know how to deal with the night." Juma was deeply concerned, for what Lady Roxton had told him about her husband and that girl Finn worried him. He had seen Finn shoot, or the results, and heard the gunbearers and skinners singing her praises. He felt very vulnerable in the firelight. Even now, one of the men or that damned blonde Englishwoman who sounded American might be aiming a rifle at him. They would want him dead, for revenge. He remembered Finn's coolness with the puff adder. She had hit the snake's head easily with her .38 revolver, then just calmly poured her husband's coffee. She handled that gun as if she was very familiar indeed with it. And she and the other sluts were very close to one another. Roxton would also dare anything to save his woman. Juma had seen them together when no else one watched, and the love that passed between them was plain to see. He shivered a little, although the night was warm. Finn and Roxton both had rifles with them that had telescopic sights, too. A chilling thought!
"I have an idea," muttered Khalid. "Bring Veronica. Leave her gagged and blindfolded. I do not wish her to call out when I yell something about her into the night."
Soon, Veronica Malone, her hands still cuffed behind her and her ankles chained, was brought to stand in the light of the largest fires.
"Marguerite!," howled Khalid. "See your blonde friend here? I hold her leash, and I hold her destiny in my hands, also. If you do not surrender, I will kill her! Can you hear me, you clever whore? I will slay her if you escape!"
But the other girls were too far away to be sure what he said. Diana guessed the likely content, and asked what they should do.
"Nothing," shrugged Marguerite. "Realistically, we can't. I feel terribly cold and self centered at not helping her, but there is nothing that we can do. There are two of us free, where there were none. Khalid knows her value as a slave. He will probably punish her, but he will not harm her in any permanent way. She is too valuable. That blonde mane of hers makes her a trophy slave in Arab lands. And he has seen her dance. A man would have to be a fool, a eunuch, or a homosexual to dispose of someone like Vee." She smiled at her witticism.
"I hope that her poor husband is all right," whispered Diana. "All three of you women are so lucky to have the men that you do. Your husband is so handsome, Marguerite, and the way that he looks at you... I only hope that Stuart will someday look at me in just that way."
"Obviously, you haven't seen John look at me when we're having an argument," laughed Marguerite.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - June 29 2008 : 7:38:50 PM
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Khalid saw Veronica trembling, for she had heard what he had screamed into the darkness. He stepped over to her.
"Do not fear, blonde slave. I will not truly kill you unless I have to, to prevent your own escape or for a really grave offense. You are too valuable. But you will please me fully, and at length, and you will be whipped more frequently if I do not recover your friends.
The sooner that I get you aboard ship and out into the Indian Ocean, the better for both of us."
What a wonderful future I have to look forward to over the next week, mused Veronica. I'm going to be whipped and shipped! Oh, Marguerite! Why didn't you save me, too?! I'm going to wind up like you did when you were just 20. I'll never see poor Ned again, and I just know that he needs me as much as I need him! She began to cry into the padded blindfold. This disgusted her, for she was a brave woman. But sometimes, too much was too much. And for all of her former tantrums over relatively petty issues, and for all of her true courage, Veronica Malone was a woman, and very feminine. She remembered her children in London, and she openly wept, her sobs audible through the heavy gag.
Khalid repeated his challenge, and still heard nothing but a roar.
"Simba!" mouthed Juma and several of the other Africans. Their eyes grew wide, and they looked uneasily at the gap in the boma. Lions were near, and that was not good.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - June 29 2008 : 8:02:18 PM
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"Marguerite!" hissed Diana. "Get down on the ground slowly and quietly. Pull a blanket over us and get ready to shoot, if you have to. I smell lions, close." Her eyes were wide, for she had seen what a lion could do to a human being, or to large prey animals. She was, after all, a Kenya girl. Now, she knew more about what might happen than her friend did.
Marguerite took a close look at her in the moonlight, and did what she said to.
As they lay still, Diana whispered that the wind had changed and that it now blew from the camp toward them.
"So?," whispered back an exasperated Lady Roxton. "What does which way the breeze blows matter?"
"Lions can scent things, if not as well as antelope and the like. I smelled their acrid odor, so they could smell us. But I think they are more focused on that camp and the horses and camels. And the breeze was blowing from them to us. They may not have smelled us, after all. But be silent. Our lives probably depend on it."
A few moments later, Marguerite sensed large shapes moving past in the night. She saw the silhouettes of several lionesses and two big lions, probably brothers, if what Challenger and Roxton had told them about lions was true. And the white hunters had nodded as they listened, agreeing with the the former Treehouse men.
Marguerite thought that she might have a heart attack, and not of the sort that she had when John gave her that certain look that made her blood race. What was the name of that bloody book that Col. Patterson wrote? Ah, "The Man-Eaters of Tsavo"! She felt as if she was starring in a film production of it. She gripped the Webley, wondering where to shoot a lion with a pistol.
A lioness paused near her and snarled softly. Another was making a rumbling, growling noise just beyond. Then, she sensed them moving. Vee was right, she thought: Can this bloody day possibly get any better?!"
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - June 30 2008 : 09:39:13 AM
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The slavers were out of the compound now, torches lit, searching for the missing women. They swore and threatened, but had no real idea of where the girls had gone. The few footprints that they located had been so distorted by Marguerite's sweeping that they still could not determine whether the escapees were alone.
Marguerite heard Juma's booming voice, and resolved to kill him for his treachery. If she could put a bullet into his sable hide and not run afoul of the law, Juma was a dead man. This thought helped her to bear the sounds of the search and the rustling in the long grass caused by the lions. She tried to think of vultures feeding on Juma's dead body, but that idea disgusted her even more, so she tried to think of something else.
Finally, the men withdrew into the boma, and tried to quiet the panicking animals. If the lions frightened them just a little more, they would break through the thornbush boma, and become prey for the big cats.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - June 30 2008 : 09:55:10 AM
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Khalid dragged Veronica on her leash to his tent. He knelt her on the floor, kicked her knees apart and removed her gag.
"Girl, I demand that you tell me where the other women have gone! If you do not, you will regret it, and I will be harsh with them, also, when they are found. Who helped them? You deliberately kept us busy while they escaped, did you not?"
A frightened Veronica denied this, noting that it was Khalid himself who had ordered her to dance. "Master, they were in chains in the tent when I last saw them. I have no idea what has happened. I fear for them. Some tribesmen must have gotten them. If it was our friends, they would have saved me, too. They would not leave me."
He glowered at her, then quit when he realized that her blindfold prevented her from seeing his scowls. "If I learn differently, you will be well punished, blonde wench. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Master. I swear that I have no idea where they are. Do you want me to do something for you, to atone for this problem? Shall I dance more, or please you with my body, to quiet your anger towards me?" She shivered, hoping that he wouldn't take her up on this offer. And it was true that she really did not know where her friends were. But she doubted that they had had any help in fleeing. She also felt a certain satisfaction in knowing that the two guards had been killed. Selim will not tie open any other girl's legs for her to be whipped, she thought, or leer at her in her shame and fear.
But Veronica was truly puzzled by how the guards had been knifed, and by whom. And now her friends were out in the night with a pride of lions all around!
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - June 30 2008 : 10:45:25 AM
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Back in the safari camp, Finn poured Challenger his tea, then tugged his chair out from the table and sat on his lap. This raised several pair of eyebrows, especially those of Lady Musgrave. She cleared her throat firmly and asked, "Mrs. Challenger, is there something the matter with your chair? I feel sure that Mr. Blacklaws will have a boy bring you another, if there is."
Finn didn't register the admonishment as such. She said calmly, "My chair's fine. I just need to sit here for awhile, and it helps the Genius to think. I bring him luck, too."
"Quite right you are, Darling," her husband said. "In fact, you no more than sat down than I saw what I have been seeking." He put an affectionate arm around Finn, to show Lady Musgrave what he thought of her indignation.
He turned the map toward the District Commissioner and Capt. Thorn.
"Look at this fault in the ridge wall." He pointed with his fountain pen. "With as few as five sticks of dynamite or a similar explosive, I can bring down that wall, closing off the ravine. Thorn, your lads can come up the ravine behind them, and the slavers will be trapped." He looked pleased with himself.
"Lover, we still have to get there and blow off the wall before those guys escape," pointed out Mrs. Challenger. "How can we do that?"
"I have been contemplating that," Challenger replied. "Now, on this next photo is there not a small passage here? Will this not let our cars get past that granite outcropping and run for the ravine, as soon as it is light enough to drive? The cars will go faster than camels, and we can drive across that 30 mile gap between the road and the ravine as quickly as you please. We should be ahead of those varlets!"
"Let me see that!", exclaimed Hardy. "Yes, by Jove! The rains must have washed out some debris there. That gap wasn't there last year at this time. Only a pilot would have seen that. Probably, no one else has wandered in there since. The place is pretty remote, and the hunting wouldn't be any better than closer areas. But we shall have to drive very carefully. That gap may not be as clean on the ground as it looks from the air."
Musgrave made a decision. "Angus, will you take the safari to your place, with my wife? I'll telephone the railway from there and demand that they get a train with empty boxcars for the horses to the station at Hunter's Drift as soon as possible. Craig, take your men on the train and get in behind that lot as best you can, once Professor Challenger blows the fault. Have you got any explosives at your farm, Angus?"
"Yes, I can manage a litle dynamite. We have some that we've been using to blast out some rocks where I want to plant corn soon. If it will get my daughter back, you can have the entire box of boom-booms! I have about ten sticks." Hardy felt better than he had in hours.
Some final planning followed, then the group broke up and began cleaning up the maps.
Lady Musgrave walked over to the professor and his spouse and asked in a voice dripping with condescension, "May I have a private word with you, Mrs. Challenger?"
Finn nodded, and the ladies went behind a tent. The men looked uneasily at each other, and Roxton asked, "What is that all about? George?"
Challenger shrugged. "Looks like some womens' issue. If they get too loud, Musgrave, you and I will go after them and sort it out. But let us hope that it is friendlier than it looked to be. The last thing that we need now is some female squabbling!"
"You can say that again," grumbled Ned Malone. "Who has the asprin bottle? My head is still killing me. Damn, I hope that the girls are all right, considering. I'm worried sick about Veronica."
"It could be worse, Ned," joked an also concerned Roxton. "About now, those slavers are likely getting the full benefit of one of Marguerite's tantrums. It's probably safer being back here."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - June 30 2008 : 6:56:28 PM
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"Mrs. Challenger, " began Lady Musgrave, "I'm a little concerned that you may be cold in those abbreviated shorts. Or, get sunburned legs tomorrow. I have a spare pair of riding pants. Would you like to see if they may fit you?" She gave Finn a meaningful look.
"No, ma'am, I have riding pants and plain trousers. And I may wear them tomorrow, because that bush looks pretty thick between the road and that ravine. I may have to go through stuff that's really scratchy, or lie on my cute little tummy if I'm to get a good shot at those bastards. But thank you. Look, I have spare pairs of these shorts. I could maybe give you some, so that you can discover how comfortable they are? And the guys like them, too. Wearing them gets their attention!" She smiled, trying to defuse the situation.
"Really, Mrs. Challenger! Young lady, I am the wife of a District Commissioner. Like Caesar's wife, I must be above reproach. I hardly think that people would approve of my walking around in those, looking like some hussy. "
"Try it at home, then. Your Caesar might pay more attention to you and less to riding off to conquer Gaul or in going to the Senate. Or, in this case, to Government House in Nairobi."
Amanda Musgrave was mildly surprised to discover that Finn would know about Julius Caesar, let alone his career. Maybe she was more than met the eye. But probably not. She had seen younger women marry older men before, and money was usually the reason. That did not sit well with her, nor did the looks that the men were giving the attractive young wife of the distinguished scientist. Her husband had been caught twice doing that, and she was certain that he had looked additional times when Amanda's back was turned.
"Mrs. Challenger, if you must dress that way, please consider the effect that it has on your husband's reputation. You do love him at least a little, I hope? He seems to take excellent care of you."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - June 30 2008 : 7:27:12 PM
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"Yeah," agreed Finn. "But I take really good care of him, too. I'm proud of it, and I do it although we have servants at home as well as here. But some things, I do for George because I'm his, and he's mine. I get teased for it, but I don't mind. I'm actually rather proud of fussing over him. The guy is a terrific lover and friend, and I'm married to someone so smart that he makes Leonardo Da Vinci look like a kid playing with crayons!" Her pride was evident and so genuine that Lady Musgrave was taken aback. Perhaps she had misread the situation?
"Well, look here: Finn - is that your name?- just be careful not to make any overtures to the other gentlemen, no matter how much they admire those bare legs of yours. I will not tolerate that, especially if you try to come between Sir John and me. Have I made myself clear?"
"Not really," quipped the blonde girl. "For one thing, I don't make overtures. I'm an author, not a composer. But I do sort of like the William Tell Overture. Do you know that one?" She just managed not to add, bitch.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - June 30 2008 : 8:46:29 PM
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"And my real name is Nicole. Nicole Elizabeth Challenger. Used to be Finnegan, so that's where the Finn comes from. Only my friends call me that. I'd like you to become one...Amanda. Look, lady, I'm entirely Mrs. George Challenger, and I have NO designs on any other men. I just enjoy the attention that I get from them. No way am I going to blow what I have with George. The whole universe moves around that man, as far as I'm concerned, and whenever I think about being his woman, I just want to sing. But I think you could fit into a pair of my shorts pretty well, if you want to accept my offer. It's for real, and I bet you'd look good in them. No reason why you shouldn't have the guys look at you, too. It might make old 'Caesar' be more romantic. How long have you guys been married?"
"Ah," stammered a surprised Lady Musgrave. "Uh, for almost ten years.
Are you serious...Finn? You think I'd look good in those?" She glanced enviously down at Finn's superb, toned legs.
"Yeah, I think you can wear these. And I and the other girls, once we get them back, will tell you how to do some exercises that will tone you up and make you feel like the belle of the ball again. You have to be within a few years of my age. You seem really smart, too. I like that. And I do want to be your friend. Will you come with us after the slavers? It would give you more closeness to him to be with Sir John. I make a point of doing things with George and Johnny, because they're my best pals, besides one being my husband. Men can be fun if you let them. Can you shoot? We may need you, if you can. No telling how many slavers are with that caravan."
"Good heavens, you're serious! You really expect to be allowed to go after those vermin." Lady Musgrave was shocked, if intrigued. "Finn, that will be dangerous work."
"Sure," grinned the girl from the future. "But as you doubtless think, I'm an adventuress, if not quite in the sense that you have in mind. I want material for my next book." She grew very serious and Amanda Musgrave sensed her fervor.
"And, Amanda, those bastards took two women who are in all but blood, my sisters. I'd never forgive myself if I wasn't in on getting them back. I'm pretty dangerous, myself, when I have to be. And those creeps opened a war on us that I mean to help finish. I'd like you with us if you have the guts. Please come."
Lady Musgrave cleared her throat. "Finn, my husband would hardly..."
"Never mind that. George and I will take him aside and reassure him that your coming won't hurt his male image or his precious career. It may help both. My husband is friends with men in the House of Lords, including, obviously, the Earl of Avebury, whose wife needs saving just now."
They talked a little longer, the men at the table getting more uneasy with each passing moment. At last, Challenger looked at Musgrave, and said, "Sir John, perhaps we should both go see what's keeping our women."
Musgrave nodded, and the men headed for the tent behind which the ladies were talking. Malone rolled his eyes at Roxton, and the worried lord smiled back. He held up a hand with fingers crossed for luck, and poor Malone smiled for the first time since he had been struck on the head that day.
The men were met by two women holding hands and talking animatedly, on their way back to the table.
"Oh, there you are, Darling!, " exclaimed Challenger. "I trust that you ladies are all right?"
"Sure, Genius," said Finn walking over and giving him a quick kiss on the lips as he bent for her to reach him. He knew when she was going to do it. There was something about them that made him know when she wanted that...Even when he was concentrating in the lab, if she walked over in a certain way, he automatically looked away from the microscope for a moment. And always felt better for it.
"We're just going to our place for a minute," said Finn. "Sir John, I'm giving Amanda a spare pair of my shorts. We thought you might like to see her in them. And she's going with us after the slavers tomorrow, too."
"Eh?" An astonished Sir John Musgrave, DSO, MC, etc. looked at Lady Musgrave. "Darling, you know better than that! You can't possibly go!"
"Certainly, I can, John. Finn is going to lend me one of her rifles. That's been decided. Now, go along to our tent and get ready for bed. I'll be along soon. We girls are almost finished talking."
In fact, it was close to an hour before Lady Musgrave entered her husband's tent, a rifle case in her hand.
"John, Dear, I'm sorry that I took so long. We girls found a lot to talk about. And Finn did give me those shorts. I tried them on, and she says that I look good in them. But I told her that you must be the ultimate judge of that. May I show you?"
She lit a lantern, and Musgrave sat up in bed and looked. His eyes widened, but he said nothing, trying to think of the best response.
"There's more, I'm afraid," whispered his wife. "John, these women are so scandalous! She also gave me a pair of what they wear under their clothes. Is this not shocking? Just look! Dare I wear these for you?"
And she took off the shorts as Musgrave's eyes followed, and removed her shirt and camisole. She wore just a pair of bikini panties, in pink, lest a darker color might prove too strong for her husband. She turned in them, knowing that his eyes tracked her for every inch.
He stared, and Lady Musgrave asked, "Should I wear these tomorow? I mean, the shorts? If Finn and I both do, it will be less noticeable, and she says that they are so cool in this heat! Are my legs good enough for that?" She held the lantern so that he could see, in case he had forgotten to look of late.
He cleared his throat. "Perhaps you might wear long pants or a suitable skirt, Amanda. The bush is pretty thick where we're going, if you do insist on coming, and bringing Challenger's wife. She seems the determined sort. And Roxton has assured me that she has seen danger before, and acquitted herself well. But those little knickers...do wear those. And keep the shorts. Our home - when no one is there officially - has no brush to scratch you, and Finn is right about your legs. I married them. I really should see more of them. Now, come to bed, and let me see how you feel in those tiny knickers. Or, maybe out of them. But we must make an early start tomorrow..."
Capt. Thorne remembered something that he needed to ask the District Commisioner, and went to their tent to see if he had retired yet. What he heard coming from the tent pulled him up short, and he decided that his question could wait until morning. At least, the DC should be in a good mood after what he and Amanda were doing before they slept!
Whatever the ladies had said to one another had certainly ended far better than he and the other men had expected...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - July 01 2008 : 09:27:07 AM
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Dawn hemorraghed over the savannah, the sun's rays reaching into the ravine, casting shadows over much of the caravan.
Khalid had slept badly, and he was cross, as were Ahmed and most of the other men. The lions had kept them up most of the night, and the possiblity that whoever had taken the missing slaves might be very real and looking for another chance to attack had further frayed nerves.
Khalid half believed Veronica that she had had nothing to do with the escape, if only because he couldn't imagine Marguerite or Diana overpowering his men and using a knife that skilfully. That left only even more frightening possibilities, and he was eager to get men out searching for the women and whoever was with them. With the sun up, tracks would be easier to find.
He had Veronica locked in slave irons of a different sort, which would immobilize her and prevent her being easily freed while the search lasted. They were also designed to humiliate captive women and assist in breaking their pride.
The upper item was an iron collar that enclosed her neck, with a ring for attaching a chain or leash. From either side of this collar, there extended a straight iron bar with handcuffs that were an integral end of the bar, on each end. The girl's hands would be held at shoulder height, and the length of the bar in a particular set of irons determined whether her arms were stetched out wide or held close to her body. This set held Veronica's hands about a foot out from her body on each side.
Her regular leg irons had been replaced with the equivalent to what she wore on her neck and wrists. It was a long round bar with, again, cuffs on each end, for her ankles. The length of the spreader bar determined how wide open her legs would be held. In this case, the bar was long for her height and legs, so that they were forced wide open, hiding nothing of what she wished to keep private. Any man who passed would see every inch of her, which was the idea. A ring in the center of the bar was chained to the heavy iron ball, to keep the slave in place, as if she could have done more than inch herself along, anyway.
Khalid had her placed out in the open, in the sun, where any watchers could see her plight. He wanted to anger and trouble anyone watching, forcing them to reveal themselves in a rescue attempt.
He wanted to leave her blindfolded, but decided that it was even better to let her see, that she might "enjoy" the looks that his men gave her. He wanted her to feel totally helpless, exposed, and intimidated. And if this upset any watchers, so much the better! In any case, Veronica would almost surely wear irons like this during her slavery, and she might as well learn how it felt. Girls were sometimes displayed thus in slave markets, the better to be looked over before a sale.
As a final insulting touch, he had her pink hair ribbon tied on again, for he did like her in a ponytail. She was actually a ravishing sight so displayed, and he told her so. He wanted her to learn to crave male praise, and to want to be seen in ways that pleased men. That was her future in the seraglio of her master: to please men.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - July 01 2008 : 09:39:42 AM
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After they had eaten, Khalid sent men out to locate what sign they could of the escaped women. He pulled a stool over next to where Veronica sat on a low cushion, to keep her bottom off the ground. He offered her a bowl of rice and canned beef, which had been heated on their campfires.
"I'm not hungry," she answered, fighting to avoid calling him choice names that would result in her being treated even worse.
"Slave, you must eat," he encouraged her. "You must remain well fed, for I do not torture my girls with near starvation, as may happen if you show resistance where you are going. You will already face pain and other stress, and not eating will only add to that. Finally, if you refuse to eat, I will call over the ugliest man in my caravan, and I will unfasten you and give you to him for an hour. You must do as he chooses, and I will share with you the things that Yusuf likes to do to a woman."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Posted - July 01 2008 : 09:51:23 AM
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What he told her changed her mind about eating. One thing, in particular, she seldom did, even with Ned, both of them having found it uncomfortable for them as a couple. Ned had decided that he respected her too much to enjoy that act, and she pleased him more in other ways. She certainly did not want Yusuf doing that to her, not to mention the other "charming" activities that Khalid had mentioned. It was not only somewhat painful for her to be taken that way; with Yusuf, it would be her ultimate humiliation, especially with others watching, as he forced himself on her, in the open. Her friends might even be watching, through binoculars!
"Master," she begged, "I apologize for being snitty. Please feed me. I know that you are right: I must eat." And she knew that if she was to have any hope of escape, she did indeed need to remain as well fed as she could. She needed her strength. Showing her temper was simply counterproductive.
Still, she felt belittled by having to lean over and take each bite from Khalid's hand. She decided to do this in a graceful, submissive way, for whatever credit it might gain her. She feared being whipped before the caravan got underway that morning.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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971 Posts |
Posted - July 01 2008 : 10:16:11 AM
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Marguerite and Diana found a shallow part of the ravine, with dirt and rock sides, avoiding the steeper rock walls. They were soon up on the savannah above the caravan, running as fast as they could. Marguerite used her thorn bush to eliminate as many of their tracks as she could, which slowed them, but hid their trail.
They stopped to drink, and were profoundly grateful that the water bottles had been left in their tent. Marguerite asked her new friend about edible plants or fruit, but Diana saw none.
When they saw the figures of Khalid's men looking for them, they hid in a depression and pulled one dull green blanket over them, lying on the other. With her hands fastened as they were, Diana was helpless, and only Marguerite could use a gun.
She had checked Selim's weapon, a Luger 9mm automatic. It held only the eight cartridges in the magazine and another eight in the spare magazine, which fitted in a pouch sewn to the German military holster. Sixteen shots, plus the 24 for the Webley. Not much, if they had to hold off an attack. And the slavers had rifles and a light machinegun, a British Lewis, probably stolen from a supply depot, or sold by a dishonest NCO in a native regiment. Or, supplied by the Sultan of Amarrah, to further criminal activities on his behalf...
"Do you know how to work that Luger, Marguerite? Daddy has one that he captured in the war, and I've shot it a number of times. I can tell you how to use it." Diana could at least do that much, she felt.
"Thank you, Diana, but I know how it works. I've killed men with one of these, and I'll do it again, if I have to. But our best bet is to stay hidden and hope that they can't look for us all day. We need to find help before the water runs out and we get too hungry."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
971 Posts |
Posted - July 01 2008 : 10:35:34 AM
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Khalid grew weary of waiting. He ordered the caravan to pack, so that they could leave when the searchers returned. He decided to whip Veronica, but less formally than the night before.
He spread a blanket and had her turned over in a kneeling position. The bars kept her helpless, and he personally used a smaller whip on her, ordering her to keep her hips high as an easy target.
She screamed well, if not with the howls of sheer pain and terror that she had made previously. Khalid decided that if the other girls were still within earshot, they had heard her. That was half the reason why he had whipped her.
She was freed of the bars and had her wrists tied in front and tied to her waist. Her ankles were bound, and she was told that she would be placed in a hammock alongside a camel soon.
"I like having your hands behind you, slave, but if you get a bad jolt if the camel falls or something, your arms are less likely to be damaged this way. You represent a considerable amount of money to me, and you will see that I take good care of you. When we reach the ship, you will have your own cage, and it will be nicer than riding these accursed camels."
He told her that she must dance again that evening and that how well she did it would determine how hard she would be whipped the next morning.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
971 Posts |
Posted - July 01 2008 : 11:06:19 AM
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The other girls were frightened as the searchers came closer. One was a native tracker, and he was good. But the stony ground in places and Margeurite's efforts to conceal their trail made the work slower than he liked.
Suddenly, there came the sound of an airplane. Everyone looked up, and it was soon in sight.
The pilot saw them and made another pass over the searchers, and one over the canyon where the caravan lay.
One of the searchers fired his rifle at the plane, and the pilot banked sharply and flew off.
The searchers ran back to the caravan, Khalid summoning them on a highpitched whistle.
The pilot chanced another run, looking to see just what was there. He had felt the bullet hit his plane's fuselage, and he wanted to report whoever had fired at him.
"Oh, my gosh, that is Tim Parker's plane!", exclaimed Diana. "Peel the blanket off of us and let Tim see us. He'll know that something is wrong and send help. He only lives 40 miles from me!"
So, the women lay exposed on the ground, frantically waving Marguerite's arms. Diana flexed her legs, hoping that the motion was visible from the air.
The aircraft banked again and made four passes over the missing women, then one more over the camp of the slavers. Then, it flew off to the northeast, the pilot making the engine roar as he fled the scene. It was obvious that he was headed somewhere that he could notify the police of what he had discovered.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
971 Posts |
Posted - July 01 2008 : 8:07:18 PM
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Khalid was furious. He ordered the caravan to make ready to leave. He turned to Ahmed and informed him that the two of them would take just five men and Veronica and run ahead of the main caravan. He placed Yusuf in charge of the main unit, telling him where to turn off the trail and move toward the coast and the rendezvous with the slave ship. He and the smaller group would meet with the Indian at his dukka, where two more white girls, captured in Nairobi, would be brought. These would then go to a different ship. It was smaller than the big dhow needed to carry the African girls and the 200 tusks of ivory, but was faster and less conspicuous, and better able to evade Royal Navy patrols.
He knelt beside Veronica and told her that she would be blindfolded after they reached a certain place. "It is not to punish you, girl, but for our security. If you behave well, you will be treated as well as is appropriate with your new station in life. If you behave badly, you will be treated badly. Is this clear to you?"
"Yes, Master," answered a despondent Veronica. All she could do was to hope desperately that whoever was in that airplane had seen what was happening and would send help, and that it would not come too late...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
971 Posts |
Posted - July 02 2008 : 10:02:40 AM
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Marguerite and Diana were thrilled that the airplane had caused the searchers to call off their hunt and return to the caravan. They waited an hour, without anyone else coming after them.
Marguerite sneaked up the depression and hid behind a large rock outcropping to look. No one there...Maybe they had left. A few vultures were circling where the camels had been, but when Diana looked, she wasn't too concerned.
"Marguerite, if that was Veronica's body down there, the birds would be thicker. That few probably just means that they're fighting over some scraps of garbage that the caravan left. And, if it hadn't left, the vultures wouldn't be landing."
The women decided that they were safe from pursuit, but they still faced a dangerous wilderness with no food, no clothing, and little water.
"Can we find a stream or river safe to drink from?", Marguerite wondered.
"None near here, probably," said a worried Diana. "If we find a dry river, we might be able to dig for water in the bed, like elephants do. It's often down there, below the mud. But we have to find a way to strain and boil it, and we haven't any utensils. I think we'd better hope that Tim sends help soon. He's a nice bloke. Owns an insurance agency, and has a farm near mine, as distance out here goes. We've lots of open space in Kenya."
"Do you know a lot about animals?," asked Marguerite. "You certainly seemed to know a lot about lions last night."
Diana smiled. "I shot my first lion at 14. Daddy backed me up with his heavy rifle, of course. But I shot well, and that lion hide is on my bedroom wall today. I've killed 17 of the blighters, and I respect them a great deal. You don't want to get careless with them. They're very dangerous. Sometimes, they'll run from almost nothing. The next day, the same pride will charge with little or no provocation. Look here; can you shoot that Luger well? I can hit fairly small targets with Daddy's to at least 75 yards. We might be able to knock over a small antelope, and eat that. Can you make a fire without matches?"
No," Marguerite said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Can you?"
"Sometimes," Diana replied. "I know the drill. I just can't always get it to work. We need two sticks of dry wood to rub, or to bore one into the other. Or, some sort of lens. Pity that you don't wear glasses."
"Me?!", exclaimed a shocked Marguerite. "Look here, if one of us ought to have had to wear eyeglases, it should be you! Men don't like those!"
Both ladies laughed, lifting their spirits. Then, they heard the thunder of hooves, and crouched in the long grass as a herd of impala raced past, a pack of wild dogs in pursuit.
After the desperate chase had passed from view, Marguerite asked whether the dogs were dangerous.
"They probably pull down whatever they can," responded Diana. "But we don't hear of many people being attacked. Baboons kill more people than the wild hunting dogs. But I'm glad that they didn't see us or scent us. I'd hate to find out the hard way that they like meeting naked women without rifles."
"We aren't naked," comforted Marguerite. "I've got my little knickers on and we have these blankets. If anyone finds us, we can each wrap one around us like Roman togas. Look: if one of those lions had tried to take a bite out of us last night, could I have killed it with a pistol?"
"Just one lion, before the others were on us? Probably. Tnere was a game ranger chap in South Africa who successfully stabbed a lion that was dragging him off to eat. Put a six-inch blade in its heart, and that did the trick." (Note: This is a true story. The ranger was Harry Wolhuter, and the lion's hide was displayed in Kruger National Park for years.)
"But I'd hate to shoot a lion with a revolver, if it could be avoided. And if there are several...I wouldn't give the proverbial snowball's chance in Hell for our odds. But last evening, I'd have given about the same odds on our ever being free again. Marguerite, you were magnificent!" Diana was deeply impressed by her companion.
"Thanks. I aim to please. And I was utterly desperate not to go to Amarrah if there was any possible alternative." Marguerite shuddered at that dismal thought.
The women began walking toward where Diana thought they might find rescuers coming to their aid. She asked Marguerite to tell her about what conditions they would have endured as slaves.
After an hour, they stopped in the shade of an acacia tree, which Diana looked over to be sure that there were no snakes in its branches. She told Marguerite how to distinguish the deadly boomslang from the also very deadly green mamba. Marguerite was as chilled by this matter-of-fact knowledge as Diana had been with her tales of the slave block and the seraglio. They were fast becoming real friends. If nothing else, this sordid episode in their lives had brought them together, and they might know one another for years to come, now.
"Marguerite, I'm sure that Geoff and Stuart won't charge you for the safari after this happening. If you want to stay on, Daddy and I will see that you get some good shooting. Or, the lads will give you a free or reduced rate. Would you like that? Daddy and I would love to have you as our guests." Diana liked her new companion, and wanted to learn more of her adventurous life.
"We'll see," her friend answered. "Much probably depends on how Ned is, and whether we recover Veronica. How are you bearing up? We had a rather rum time with that lot."
"I think I'll make it all right, if I don't find my reputation in tatters. If Stuart will still marry me, I'm going to cope, I think.
Look, Marguerite, Khalid and his charming Oriental friends did about everything to me that they could think of, short of actually raping me. I feel awfully dirty. How did you deal with that? You were a slave, but you are still strong, and beautiful, and you married an exceptional man."
Marguerite blushed. This girl was certainly honest. And her praise was music to Marguerite's ears, for she had loathed herself at times for what she had been through.
"Thank you, Diana. You're beautiful, yourself, which is why they were so eager to kidnap you. You would have sold for a high price, I'm sure. But I have never quite fully recovered from what I went through. Roxton has helped a lot, and Finny had a hard life, too, before she joined our little group. She and I and Vee have become very close, and we all nurture one another. Challenger has also helped Finn a great deal. They're in love, but she may also have a psychological dependency on him, for getting her to think better of herself and for giving her a new life. We all have our emotional scars. If you need to talk, I'm here, or ask one of the others. We're all bound together in this, and you mustn't think badly of yourself for what you were forced to do. If Stuart Hamilton rejects you, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. He may be as brave as they come when facing a charging elephant, but he's never been up against an angry Marguerite Roxton!"
Diana smiled at the thought. "Well, lets give poor Stuart a chance. He may come through for me yet. I say: will you teach me to dance, like you learned in Amarrah? "
And so the ladies passed the time as they waited for help to come.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
971 Posts |
Posted - July 02 2008 : 10:16:47 PM
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"Show me how that dance goes," requested Diana.
"Very well." And Marguerite set aside her blanket, tried to hear music in her head, and began to sway and wriggle.
"Good Lord!," exclaimed Diana Hardy. "If you look like that and move like that, no wonder that Lord Roxton married you! The poor man hadn't a chance of staying a bachelor!"
"Thanks," laughed Marguerite, "but it was actually my cooking that attracted him." She tried to keep a straight face, but failed.
The girls laughed, and a pair of cheetahs stalking the tree to see what was under it heard. They turned and loped off.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
971 Posts |
Posted - July 02 2008 : 10:36:22 PM
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Just at dawn, the safari and its added guests rose and faced the day. They were hopeful, but glum over what had happened. The DC's wife whispered to him that if he handled this well, he might enhance his career in the Colonial Service.
"We could apply for that posting to Jamaica that we want. " she added. And Musgrave brightened.
As they loaded into the cars after breakfast, Finn took Ned's arm, squeezed his shoulder encouragingly, and pecked him on the cheek. "We'll get her back, Neddy, you'll see. She'll be fine."
Finn hoped that she was right. She got in between Amanda Musgrave and her own husband, whose hand she took. Amanda saw that, and realized that in fact, the Challengers were very much in love, and that whatever else Finn was, she wasn't just after Challenger's fortune. That sort of restored her faith in humanity, especially in the blonde female side of it.
Blacklaws got in behind the steering wheel, looked over at the other drivers, and switched on the car. And they were off, to Hardy's farm to get the dynamite and use the radio.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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Explorer
971 Posts |
Posted - July 02 2008 : 10:43:11 PM
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After his encounter with the caravan and the naked white women that morning, Tim Parker raced to his farm and landed on the runway near the main house.
He ran to the house, where he told his wife and the (white) farm manager what had happened.
Picking up the telephone, he dialed the number of the nearest post of the Kenya Police. But the line was dead.
He realized with a rush of horror that the line had probably been cut, maybe by the very men who had shot at him!
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
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