| Author |
 Topic  |
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
 Posted - July 02 2008 : 11:19:06 PM
|
In a shop located on a back street of downtown Nairobi that morning, four Indian men went to a storage room and flipped on the light.
It revealed two English colonial girls, both 20, who looked up in fright as the masked men confronted them. They were nude save for sandals, one blonde, the other with medium brown hair.
One was named Susan Wilson and the brunette was Holly Delaterre. Holly had a corrupted French last name, but she was long removed from her Norman direct ancestors. When asked about her family, she shrugged and said, "Oh, well, 1066 and all that, you know."
Susan was the daughter of a failed accountant who had come to Kenya several years before to try to deal with his alcoholism. He had died the previous year, her mother having succumbed to influenza during the war. Susan had been barely 10 at the time, and was thankful for an aunt who had largely raised her before they had moved to Africa.
Holly was cut of a different cloth. The daughter of a baron whose ancestral name was inscribed in the Domesday Book, she was born to a banker. Her father owned the institution where Susan worked as a teller. Whereas Susan was modest and shy, Holly was impressed with herself, her family, her expensive car, and the sprawling farm that her family maintained in the White Highlands. She fully expected to marry John Ridley-Smythe IV, the scion of an affluent family who owned a hotel and an auto dealership in Nairobi.
But if she was fond of her wealth and family connections, she was well raised, considering her heritage. Not as much of a snob as one might guess at first meeting, Holly had a wry, somewhat earthy sense of humor, and always pitched in to help in a family crisis. She also attended sick native women on her father's estate, and had many friends among both men and women among the upper echelons of Kenya society. Cheerful, she often had a kind word for those who needed one, and she tried not to look down on those less fortunate than she was. Well, not by too much...
Holly in many ways represented the best of British colonial womanhood. She expected to become the wife of a prominent man, and to raise prominent children, who would grow up to own much of the colony, with substantial holdings in Britain.
Now, she, like the lowly bank clerk, was destined to become a slave in Amarrah.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
 |
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 03 2008 : 12:11:01 AM
|
Both Susan and Holly were bound, with their hands tied behind them, then rebound and tied to their waists with additional loops of rope.
Their crossed ankles were also tied, and they were gagged.
Holly had reflected on the gags, which were of padded heavy leather, with straps and steel buckles. They were obviously very professional items of their sort. Her hands were also so well tied that she had had no success at all in trying to loosen them. Nor had she been able to loosen Susan's bonds, although the girls had tried to free each other.
Gagged, sitting in the dark, she had concluded that she and Susan were in very serious straits. These men knew what they were doing. This was no casual kidnapping.
If only she had been captured, her first thought would be that it was for ransom. But why kidnap a bank teller? She knew Susan by sight, and knew what she did in her father's bank. And Susan was an orphan, probably barely getting by on her meager salary. Why kidnap her?
The awful truth came as she heard their captors talk. They spoke at times in English, and sound came through the door better than they realized. Both young women had heard the words that they dreaded: they were not being held for ransom. They were to be sold to an Arab master in Amarrah! They would become slave girls!
They were stood up now, and their bonds were checked. Susan shuddered as she saw Holly being fondled just before they were blindfolded. Cloth hoods were then placed over their heads. She soon felt hands all over her own body, and heard what must be crude comments as their handlers joked about them..
An authoritive voice stopped the fondling. "Ramal! Stop feeling those girls up for now and make them ready. The truck is waiting."
They were then placed in cloth sacks and wrapped in Oriental rugs before being taken out to a dark green truck with no company markings.
Placed in back of the vehicle, they were removed from the rugs, but one was kept ready to throw over them in event that the truck door had to be opened in a populated area.
The engine started, and the truck moved off. The girls sensed two men with them, and after an hour, their bodies were removed from the cloth bags, which had shielded them from the rough surface of the rugs. They knew that they lay on a large mattress, and a man sat now beside each girl. They felt hands on their bodies once more, and a man spoke to them in English.
"Relax and enjoy the sensation of our hands on your flesh. You are destined for a fate where men will handle you often, and very intimately. We will, through our most kind generosity, help you learn to become accustomed to that. " He had a nasty laugh.
He said something in Hindi to the other man, then Holly cringed as he began probing her. She was brave for a woman, but she felt utter despair as she began crying into the padded blindfold. She heard Susan sobbing through her own gag, and wondered whether they would ever see their loved ones again.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 03 2008 : 12:32:26 AM
|
At the Hardy farm, Musgrave listened to Parker talking on the radio. He had first signalled the DC's residence, then to Angus Hardy's farm. He knew Angus's call sign, and hoped that his telephone worked. But it didn't. The line must have been sabotaged in several places.
Now aware of what was happening, Parker was told what to do by Musgrave.
He admitted that he could land his plane on the road at a point designated on the map, and said that he would refuel and take off as soon as his wife had made him some lunch and they had filled water bottles and added a rifle and ammunition. He had been flying earlier with only a revolver, and saw now that more might be needed, even if he just had to land in a remote location.
Musgrave next raised the police post at M'beni (fictitious place) and spoke to the superintendent in charge. "Now, listen, Tom. Here is what I want you to do, as quickly as you please."
And he described what he needed. He hoped desperately that the kidnappers didn't have a radio, and that if they did, they didn't know the frequency on which he was speaking. But with the telephone lines out, he had little choice but to speak over the radio.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 03 2008 : 04:27:41 AM
|
Resting on the blankets in the shade of the acacia tree, Marguerite got some fine sand and dry grass and polished the blades of the Arab knives. She used a little of the precious water to rinse them, getting rid of the last of the blood of the men whom she had killed. She didn't want rust to form or to "pit" the steel.
One handle was of rhino horn, the other of ivory, with silver inlays. Both knives were very well made by Middle Eastern standards, and one sheath was of tooled silver. The men whom she had slain seemed well off by the standards of their people. And they kept their knives sharp. Marguerite thought of making a spear for small game hunting, but decided that they would be rescued by the time that it would matter to have one. If she saw a chance to kill a small buck or a hare, she would just shoot it. But she still needed a way to get fire for cooking, and to signal.
Examining the belts, she noticed that one had several engraved silver conchos, and used a knife to pry one off.
She polished it on the blanket, and resolved to keep it with her.
"What's that for?" asked her companion.
"Signalling. I hope," replied the brunette Briton. "Maybe the lads and Finn will be out here soon, and I want to be sure that we get noticed."
She used a knife point to punch a hole in the center of the disk, to aim with. It was a poor item for the need, but it was what she had, and Lady Roxton meant to do everything that she could to stay alive, and to recover her friend. Veronica must be terror stricken by now, feeling abandoned.
Oh, what will I tell Ned?, she wondered. It was the hardest question that she had had to answer in some time.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 04 2008 : 02:15:37 AM
|
Diana whispered for them to get low and be quiet, for she had seen a troop of baboons approaching. They were probably heading for a rocky outcrop behind them, several hundred yards in the distance.
After the baboons had passed, Marguerite asked if they were really all that dangerous.
"Yes!," answered the Kenya settler girl. "They injure some people every year, especially native women working in the fields. Daddy and I have to shoot some, to keep them from getting too bold and attacking our laborers. They will even steal children and eat them. The public knows so little of them, and they seem just big monkeys. But ask Stuart and Geoff if you want to hear some scary baboon stories!"
"I may just do that right now," said Marguerite. "Do my old eyes deceive me, or is that our hunting cars and a couple of others right there?" She rose and pointed down the hill at a convoy of vehicles driving their way.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 04 2008 : 02:47:46 AM
|
"It is the cars," agreed an astonished, greatly relieved Diana Hardy. "And our truck is there, so Daddy must be along, and that's probably the District Commissioner in the front one. I hope that his wife isn't along. She can be a bit stuffy, and she'll make us feel awful about not being dressed. Her name is Amanda, in case she is there. Oh, Marguerite, get their attention! I shall simply die if they pass us by!" Handcuffed as she was, Diana could do little to help.
"Let me have your blanket," said Marguerite. "We'll stand out more against the hillside if we're uncovered, and I'll wave it to show some motion. The human eye sees motion before anything else."
She took the blanket and began waving it for all that she was worth.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 04 2008 : 03:43:20 AM
|
Lord Roxton had his binocular hung around his neck on its leather strap, and when he thought he saw something moving on the hillside about half a mile away, he swung it up and was amazed at what he saw.
"Stuart!", he called. "I think I see two women on that hillside, waving something. Get over there a bit and stop, so I can get down and have a better look."
Hamilton drove over a bit, signalling to the other drivers with a light tap on his horn.
Challenger and his wife got out with their glasses up, too, as Roxton raised his 8X30 Zeiss. Challenger had the same brand, but a 10X50 model, with more magnification and additional light gathering power. It was he who confirmed that there were human figures there, signalling with a blanket.
"I'm afraid that they don't seem to have any clothes on, either, " he announced. He steadied his glass on a tree beside the car. "By jove, Roxton! I think that may be Marguerite and another girl. She has dark hair, so it may be Miss Hardy."
Finn sat on a big rock and braced her elbows on her knees to steady her view. "I think you're right, Genius. They're coming this way. We'll be sure who they are in a moment. Wave back. They may be afraid that we haven't seen them."
Roxton waved. "Whoever they are, they seem to need our aid. I'll get a rifle and go meet them."
"I'm coming, too," announced Finn. "Genius?"
"Yes," agreed her mate, "we definitely need to see what this is about. I'm quite sure that they are white women."
He reached for his .318 Westley Richards rifle and handed Finn her .275 Rigby, which was fitted with a Zeiss telescopic sight.
Roxton also took a .318, a very popular caliber in Africa in those days, among affluent sportsmen. He added a water bottle, for he was unable to see at that distance that the women had two of those.
Finn got out the clothes that they had brought, for she knew that these were nude women in need of clothing. If they were anyone other than those whom she hoped to meet, they still might be able to wear the sizes that they had. She had packed two outfits for each of the three missing women.
She was dressed today in jodhpur style khaki riding breeches and a short- sleeved pale blue shirt with tall boots. She wore her favorite Smith & Wesson .38 revolver, and had a khaki colored sun helmet on her head. Zeiss brand 8x30 binoculars were around her neck.
She looked back at the hunting car. "Coming, Amanda?", she asked Lady Musgrave. "Those women will probably be glad to see other ladies, I'd think."
Startled, Lady Musgrave got the .303 rifle that she'd borowed from Finn and they trekked off to see who the strange women were.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 04 2008 : 1:13:57 PM
|
From the next vehicle over, Angus Hardy was also watching the women approach. Although one woman was evidently tied or handcuffed, and had to be steadied in places by the other, he recognized her walk and the way that she turned her head to speak to the other and how she tossed her hair.
"Good heavens, Stuart," he called over to the next truck, "That's Diana!"
Both men got their rifles and ran after the Challengers and Roxton. Lady Musgrave was following the others more slowly, unsure of how she should behave.
As the parties closed distance, Marguerite slung the water bottles and the Luger pistol's belt around her shoulder and took Diana's arm. The two girls ran to meet their friends, laughing and sobbing at the same time.
Roxton slung his rifle and opened his arms as he ran to Marguerite. He enveloped her in his grasp, both Roxtons eagerly telling the other how glad they were to be together once again. Diana stood shyly, fully naked but for her boots, her hands behind her as Finn walked over and embraced her. "We brought you some clothes," she said. "You'd better put them on. Didn't Marguerite tell you that you chicks can get sunburned out here if you run around like that?"
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 04 2008 : 2:55:47 PM
|
Marguerite stuck out her tongue at Finn and said, "We were just doing what we knew that you'd like to, Finny! If any of us is an exhibitionist, it's you, dolly!"
Both women laughed, and Diana Hardy, although she was blushing scarlet as she watched her father and her fiance walk up, joined them. She felt intoxicated with the joy of being free and meeting loved ones.
"Hi, Daddy, Stuart", she managed, knowing how she must look, nude and pink from shame.
Hardy picked up the blanket that Marguerite had dropped when she'd seized her man.
"I think that you'd better have this on until you can dress, Darling." he commented. "Stuart isn't supposed to see this much of you until after the wedding."
"I'll manage. She's quite easy on the male eye. Angus, you and your late wife certainly knew how to create a lovely woman." He embraced Diana, and the blanket slid again to the ground.
She kissed him as furiously as he did her, and an embarrassed Hardy stood by helplessly.
"They're engaged," he explained needlessly, looking mainly at Lady Musgrave, the one most likely to make an issue of the situation.
That lady saw now where her duty lay, and she decided against making a priggish fool of herself, pretending moral outrage when these women were clearly helpless victims of non-white villains.
"Lady Roxton, Miss Hardy,", she said, "we are so sorry for what has happened. I assure you, my husband will deal very firmly with those who have outraged you. Now, when you girls decide to come up for air, I'll help you to get dressed."
"In a bloody minute," gasped Marguerite. "Roxton here hasn't finished handling me yet. And I damned well want him all over me for awhile!" Then, she and her man were again kissing each other like there was no tomorrow. For Marguerite, there might not have been much of a tomorrow, had she failed to escape. She was overcome with joy and passion in the arms of her lover and spouse.
"Well, I never..." began Amanda.
"Lady, you've never been through what they have," snapped Finn Challenger. "Give it a rest. They'll dress in a minute. Or three or four. Hell, Marguerite may need longer. She likes to take her time and do things right. She's lazy, anyway."
Despite herself, Lady Musgrave laughed. She was rewarded by Finn's wide urchin grin, which she found to be so delightful. She was beginning to be glad that she had met these people, so open and happy in their loves and their lives. She felt almost a new woman for knowing them.
In time, Diana "came up for air", as Amanda had phrased it, and whispered into her man's ear, "Oh, Stuart! You may not wish to kiss me again. I have done some awful things, and had others done to me.
I am still a virgin, because that made me more valuable to sell. But I have been made to do everything else short of being taken fully by a man. I am so ashamed." She had had this foremost on her mind the whole time that she had been running from her captors, and blurted it out far sooner than she had meant to. Now, she trembled. Should she have said nothing, hoping that he would not guess? She was faint from fright over how Hamilton might react to the details of her captivity.
"Why?", he asked. "Are you afraid that I might not marry you now?"
She shook in her boots, stress making her more afraid than she had been since the visit of the lions. She managed to nod.
"If you now see me as spoiled goods, I will understand. But you have a right to know what I have become, what I was made to do. I am so sorry, but Marguerite and I and poor Veronica had no choice in what was done to us. Poor Vee was even whipped, and made to dance like an Arab slut!"
"Perhaps I should not marry you in three months, after all." he admitted. He chuckled at her expression, and kissed her again, running his hands possessively down her back and bottom, to her father's embarrassment and mild anger.
He released her lips and told her, "Maybe I should marry you as fast as we can conclude this sordid little adventure and find a vicar. But you'd better put on some clothes first. Vicars are easily shocked, you know."
She laughed wildly in relief, and said, "Stuart, if there was a church here, I'd marry you right now. I want you to hold me like this forever!"
"Now see here, Hamilton, you can't just handle my daughter that way, naked in public." Hardy felt compelled to intervene.
"Oh, hush, Daddy," laughed Diana. "I don't care if he handles me this way in Trafalgar Square. I want the world to know how much I want to he his woman! Anyway, I'm not naked. I've got my boots on!"
Finn laughed at that and smacked Marguerite on the butt. "Hey, lady! Come up for air. I don't want to have to perform mouth-to-mouth respiration on you."
Marguerite released Roxton just long enough to reply, "John is doing that nicely, Nicole. Go get your own man. He's around here somewhere." And she and her husband were again lip-locked, hands roaming all over each other. Mainly, she squeezed his shoulders and ribs. We will not mention where all he squeezed her, although her frontal appendages were crushed against his chest, so she had no fear of him fondling her in public in that region. But she meant to make up for that as soon as they had some privacy.
Challenger cleared his throat. "John, Marguerite, Finn has a point, and the other men are driving over. Perhaps it would be best to get dressed, regardless of who is engaged and who is married."
"You tell 'em, Lover," teased his wife, digging him lightly in the ribs wth her elbow. She was still grinning that impish grin, and Challenger smiled and hugged her.
Marguerite pushed John lightly away from her and said, "Finny, damn it! When we got away from Avery Burton, you actually ran and jumped onto George and wrapped your legs around him and carried on worse than I am doing!"
"Yeah," retorted her friend, "but I had clothes on by then. I didn't attack George naked until we were back in our room in the Treehouse."
"Who's Avery Burton?" asked Lady Musgrave.
"He's dead now. I put a bullet into him for what he did to Marguerite and me. But that's a good campfire story, for later."
Finn knew that the time for gushy reunions was ending, and she wanted clothes on her friend by the time the other men arrived. That stuffy District Commisioner might cite Marguerite and Diana for public nudity or lewdness or something. Besides, for all of her earthiness and a bit of a tendency to like men looking at her, Finn was a conventional woman in some ways. She knew how embarrassed Marguerite would be about this scene after her ardor had cooled and she saw men staring at her.
Then, Marguerite looked over Roxton's shoulder and saw Ned Malone approaching, an anxious look on his face.
"Oh, damn, John. I shall have to tell Neddy that we had to leave Vee behind. Those swine have still got her. Stall him while I dress and try to think of what to say to him." And she eased herself reluctantly out of her husband's arms and motioned to Lady Musgrave to hand her her clothing.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 04 2008 : 8:51:55 PM
|
It was no good trying to dress, balancing on one another in the field, so the girls walked over to the car and sat down.
Poor Diana was helpless, although Finn helped her into a borrowed pair of leopard print bikini panties owned by Veronica, who was about the same size. She was a little thinner than Vee, but the panties were a slightly better fit than Finn's or Marguerite's undergarments would be. Truth be told, all four women could wear one another's clothes in a pinch, except that Veronica had breasts too large to allow her bras to fit the others.
Marguerite glanced over at the clothing and saw that Finn had brought one pair of black string panties and two leopard print ones, and made a sarcastic remark about how Finn must have selected the lingerie.
"Yeah, well, I did. I knew where it was, and I wanted stuff that would make you girls feel desirable and feminine, after what you'd probably been through. If I ever get kidnapped again, bring me some sexy undies. It'll make my day. Hey: who's going to get these cuffs off of poor Diana?" Finn was trying to avoid making an admission.
"We can't seem to find anyone who has keys," said Roxton. "No one here carries handcuffs. And those she has on are the American style. When the police arrive, they may only have keys for the British sort. But Mr. Hardy has gone to see if he has a bolt cutter in his truck."
"Gad, don't resort to that," muttered Finn. "Let me get my purse."
She rummaged under the seat of the car, opened her purse, and produced a key that did in fact open the cuffs.
"They may need the bolt cutters for that lock on the chain, though," she admitted. "Di, put on some pants or a skirt, and a shirt. You can lift the top to let your dad cut the chain."
Diana and Lady Musgrave were looking at Mrs. Challenger oddly, as Diana massaged her tired, long constricted arms.
"How did you manage to have a key for these, Finn?", asked Hamilton, who was hovering near his fiancee.
"Oh, Finn has carried a spare key since we lost one in the lab as I was inventing a new style of handcuff lock," chimed in Challenger. He was a bit red in the face, hoping that Marguerite wouldn't tell everyone of Finn's considerable interest in playing bedroom games in which her husband handcuffed or tied her.
Finn was blushing worse than her man, and everyone sensed that Challenger's explanation was at best a diplomatic one. Roxton winked at Finn, trying to suppress a smile. Finn absolutely glowed scarlet, and Marguerite began laughing.
She stepped over and embraced Finn. " Thanks for having that," she said. "I hoped that you would. Diana, wear that long taupe skirt of mine. You'll look terrific in it. And, here."
She handed Diana the Luger in its holster. "You should should be armed, and you say that you can shoot one of these. It has a loaded magazine, and the chamber is empty. The spare magazine in the pouch on the holster is loaded, sixteen shots in all. Aim well, if we get into a fight. Look, has anyone got any food at all? Di and I are starving!"
"Ah, Darling, lets' get the ladies some sandwiches." Challenger was eager to change the focus from that embarrasing handcuff key..."Really, we'd better all eat. It's just past noon, anyway."
Hardy came over and used his bolt cutters to snip a link in the chain around his daughter's waist, and Diana kissed him and finished dressing.
"Has someone got a knife with a fine point on it?", she wondered. "I shall have to make a new hole or two to get this gun belt to stay on me."
Marguerite walked over to help Challenger serve lunch. "Finny, get over there with your little red Swiss pocketknife and punch some holes in that belt for Diana." She handed her the belt for the Webley. "While you're at it, make this belt fasten tight enough for me to wear. That damned Juma is wearing my Smith & Wesson. I'm looking forward to taking it off of his body later today."
"Now, see here, Lady Roxton: we can't have that sort of talk. I'll deputize all of you, but we have the rule of British Law here. This isn't the American West or your primitive Brazilian jungle, where you shoot whom you please." The DC wondered just how angry Marguerite was, and if he ought to let her get within shooting range of the slavers.
"I'll be a good girl," Marguerite quipped. "I'll shout, 'surrender, you cowardly Wog son of a bitch.' Then, when I see that he intends to resist, I'll shoot him. Simple? It solves the entire problem."
Lady Musgrave was amused, in spite of herself. These people really were rather fun to know. "And how, Marguerite, do you know for sure that he'll resist?"
"Easy," said that lady. "I'm clairvoyant. After the way that he fondled me and scared me half out of my own skin, I don't even need to check my crystal ball to know his intentions. He had very busy hands on Diana and Veronica, too. And he had Vee WHIPPED! Di, do you want to shoot Ahmed first? We can take turns, shooting that pair of jackals."
"That's it!" said Musgrave. "Mr. Hardy, would you like to take these ladies and my wife and Mrs. Challenger to your home until this is over? They've all been in quite enough danger."
"No, Daddy! Please! We girls have been through the wringer because of those fellows, and I demand to see them captured. Anyway, the police aren't here, and we need to be off to save Mrs. Malone as soon as we eat. You'll need us. I can shoot, and I promise that I'll keep an eye on Calamity Jane here." She jabbed a thumb at Marguerite. "She'll be good, and we won't shoot anyone that we don't have to. Honest! RIGHT, Marguerite?" Diana gave her companion a firm look.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 04 2008 : 10:03:29 PM
|
Lady Musgrave gave her husband a pointed stare. "John, may I see you aside for a moment?" She took his hand and led him away from the others.
Finn opened the leather punch blade on her Victorinox pocketknife, and tried the belt around Diana's waist. Then, she carefully and neatly bored two new holes in the leather belt, to allow it to fit a slimmer waist. She tried the other belt on her own waist, made a slight change to account for any difference betwen her and Marguerite, and bored two more holes in the other belt.
"Here, Marguerite," she said. "one or the other of those holes will make that fit you now. If I'm wrong, I'll make another hole. But I'm almost never wrong. Just ask George."
Her husband chuckled. "Well, very seldom wrong. After all, you are worthy of being the bride of a truly brillant, if immodest, scientific genius." He leaned down and kissed her cheek.
Finn glowed, flashed that impish grin, and kissed him back.
Musgrave saw, and the closeness and evident love that these safari clients shared impressed him. Moreover, he was by now tired of his wife's arguments against sending the women to Hardy's refuge. And it was quite true that he might need their help.
The Musgraves rejoined the others.
"Ahem," the DC cleared his throat. "In the manner of wives everywhere, my lady has convinced me that it might be best for you women to remain. And I rather like the idea of knowing that all's well with you, and that you are with us. Lady Roxton, if you can restrain your nervous trigger finger and limit it to LEGITIMATE use, you may remain."
Marguerite looked contrite. "Yes, Sir John. I am sorry to have been out of order. I promise to shoot only if I must. And if I do, I'll try really hard to shoot those bastards in the chest, and not blow off their balls!"
"Marguerite..."warned her mate.
"All right! I've said that I'll be good! John, would you like mustard on this? They seem to have the Dijon sort here."
"We have," chimed in Diana. "I made that. Mum taught me how before she died. Daddy really likes it, as do most of our guests." She was glad to change the subject, for she wanted Marguerite with them.
"Mrs. Challenger, may I see your knife? Not the one on your belt; the pocket model." Hardy (and Blacklaws) were curious about it.
Finn passed it over and the men looked at it with great interest. "Sort of a basic Officer's knife, eh?", said Hardy. "But it is well made, and not a brand that I've seen."
"I got it last year in Switzerland," said Finn. "It's the current version of one that I've had for years. I didn't want to wear it out, so I left it at home, and packed three of these. I bought a dozen, and stashed some around home and gave a few to friends. I'll send you one, or give you a spare when we leave for England, if you really like it."
The men all admired the versatile knife, showed their own, and the subject of the women leaving was over, to everyone's relief.
But Ned Malone sat off a little by himself, looking stressed and forlorn.
Finn took him a roast beef sandwich and some potato salad, made in the German manner, with a cold beer. "Here, Ned. Don't worry. We'll get her back." She kissed his cheek and squeezed his shoulder encouragingly.
He nodded and tried to smile. He failed, and bit into the sandwich. It was excellent. So, at least something was going well. And Roxton had his woman back, as did Hamilton. Ned couldn't help wondering whether Marguerite and Diana couldn't have freed Veronica, too. Marguerite used to have a habit of looking out mainly for herself...
But he finally decided that she was probably telling the truth in the account that he overheard her giving as they ate.
After she had finished her story, she came over and talked quietly to Ned, hugging him as she finished. The stricken look in her eyes got to Malone, and he knew in his heart that Marguerite was suffering almost as much as he was over the missing woman.
He resolved to get Veronica back, if it was the last thing that he did. He amended that: it was going to be the first thing that he did, right after lunch. And he made a mental note of those names that the ladies had mentioned. Khalid and Ahmed. If no one was watching and he had the chance, they were going to be two dead Arabs!
And that traitor Juma was also going to Hell...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 06 2008 : 12:34:22 AM
|
Following the quick lunch, they packed up and rushed to where the escaped women said they had last seen the slavers' caravan.
Challenger consulted the map with a misgiving feeling. Sure enough, when they arrived at the camp of the enemy, they had been further up the canyon than realized. The cars being unable to get down into the canyon, as relatively shallow as it was, they paralled it, driving around brush and trees as needed.
Finally, Challenger spied the outcropping that he meant to blow up, and Roxton, Blacklaws, and the Wanderobo tracker went down the steep slope into the canyon. They were soon back, announcing that there was no point to setting off an explosion: the caravan had already passed that point.
Furious and desperate, the convoy of cars and trucks went ahead as quickly as they dared. This was no place to break an axle, or to have a flat tire.
Eventually, the canyon sloped upward and disppeared as it rose to meet the surrounding terrain. Now, they could move faster, although they had to be careful not to be detected if they closed too rapidly on the pursued. If they met the caravan before the police dispatched by Musgrave arrived, they would be badly outnumbered and outgunned.
Nor could they be sure that Thorne's troop of cavalry from the King's African Rifles had successfully gotten aboard a train, then down into the canyon, to follow the tracks of the slavers. It might be several hours before they came into sight, if the train had even arrived.
Periodically, the search team got out of the vehicles and examined the trail. Suddenly, Roxton, who was leaning out one side of his car to see the tracks they were following, called a halt.
He and the others examined the trail, working it back and forth. They soon realized that the greater body of the caravan had left the trail here and had gone on a southeasterly course toward the coast. For some reason, a smaller group had pressed on, headed more toward the road in the distance. That led back toward the highway to Nairobi!
They got out the map and the aerial photos, trying to see why this route would appeal to anyone. All that was on the way, apart from native villages, was an Indian-run dukka some 30 miles distant.
"Wait a minute!" said Musgrave. "I think I know who runs that store. Geoff, Stuart, you men operate safaris along this route. Do you ever stop for supplies there?"
They did, and described the owner and his brother, mentioning that they tried to avoid stopping there. "Their prices are outrageous for what they have, but there's no one else nearby. But they do have to truck it all out from Nairobi, so I suppose that expense has to be figured into the bargain." Blacklaws was unenthusiastic about the store.
"Yes, well, I have heard some unsavory rumors about that storekeeper, and I happen to know that he lives in Nairobi. Has other business interests there. And he probably knows this fellow Khalid, whom Marguerite and Diana described. I'm almost sure that I know who he is. He runs a hotel and a couple of shops in town, and is one of the largest used automobile dealers." Musgrave was recalling quite a lot now.
"If this Khalid is the man I think he is, he will be frantic to escape with what he can before the ladies reach us and the police. If the women see and identify him, he's going to hang or go away to prison for a very long time. He may be trying to get to Nairobi and then to the coast. Only by going to Amarrah will he probably be able to avoid British extradition long enough for the law to more or less forget him. He'll take ship, himself, not just send the girls he has. He'll clean out his bank account, I'll wager. And he may well be doing business with this Indian fellow who owns that dukka, whom I suspect of trafficking in poached ivory. He may very well ship some slaves from there, too. If the poachers come down from out of the north and have to fence their ivory, he'd be just the lad to do it, for a price. And he'd have the connections that poacher might not, to get the loot aboard a ship in Malindi or Mombasa or into some obscure little inlet, where a dhow can sail in and slip away wthout causing any stir."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 06 2008 : 01:20:30 AM
|
"Well, look," said Ned Malone. "while we're standing here figuring all of this out, SOMEONE has got my wife and is planning to ship her to that Sultan who wants to pay for her. My wife! The mother of our children! What are we going to do about that? Huh?" He was getting very distressed.
Roxton walked over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "There, Ned, we're doing the best that we can. The police will be along soon, and we'll have more options."
Challenger said "It seems to me, Musgrave, that this fellow Khalid would want to keep Veronica with him, even if he sends the black girls and the ivory on via this separate route, headed directly to the coast. Veronica is all he has left of the three white girls, and she'd be a suitable hostage if the police find him. Moreover, he promised the Sultan three women. He wants to deliver at least one, and she is quite valuable to him. Would he send her with the others? I think she's still with him, and possibly, a lesser amount of the ivory. But he can't afford to be burdened with most of that heavy ivory, or with very many of the African girls."
"Good point, George, " agreed Roxton, "but if he kept Vee, he is in a mess if the police stop him. She'd incriminate him, if discovered. She may have been sent with the main body of his caravan."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 06 2008 : 02:34:40 AM
|
"I think that George is right," mused Marguerite. "Diana, what is your sense of this? We saw something of Khalid's nature while he held us. I think he'd want Vee next to him, if only to be sure that his cronies didn't steal her and sell her, themselves. She's blonde, good looking, and those bastards, many of them, have seen her dance. She's very sensual; moves like an houri from their wildest dreams. They might rape her, in spite of their instructions, if he wasn't there. He was told by the Sultan to deliver us unused, as he so charmingly put it."
Diana Hardy brushed a speck of dust off of her borrowed skirt. She liked how it fit, being almost her waist size, if slightly higher on her legs than on the shorter Marguerite.
She looked at Hamilton and her father. "Daddy, Stuart, I'm going to say something. It may upset both of you, but it needs saying. Please don't interrupt. If you want to know more, later, I'll tell you, in private, as family."
She continued. "Marguerite asked my opinion. I will tell all of you what I think. The reason why I am wearing borrowed clothes now is that I stood in chains in front of that man and watched him burn my own clothing, item by item. Right down to my knickers. As each bit was consumed in the flames of his campfire, he looked into my face and smirked. He grinned as he told me that I was now a naked slave, who must not entertain ideas that I was anything more than a girl destined for the seraglio of my future master. That I must see my freedom to be as surely gone as were my clothes. He enjoyed that. He enjoyed seeing me naked, and he enjoyed seeing my terror."
"He likes white women, but he hates us, too, for we are white, and he is not. That affects how he thinks, I believe. He did see Veronica dance, and I'm sure that Marguerite, who taught her, knows what she says when she describes how she can move. Mr. Malone- Ned- I am so sorry to have you hear this, but your wife is a beautiful woman. You know how other men must want her, as you yourself prize her? Well, Khalid would not want her far from his sight, his grasp. He is allowed to do anything he likes to her, short of actually penetrating her. And he has, and he will."
Diana blushed,and looked shamed as she said this. Finn took her hand and gave her a sympathetic look that expressed all of her feelings and her sisterhood. Finn had herself trained as a slave of the late Avery Burton, and knew what this Kenya girl must feel just now.
Diana looked at her and, as if on signal, both women hugged each other and began crying.
The men looked as if they were fish out of water, wanting to help, but fearing that they would make matters worse if they spoke.
Amanda Musgrave looked at Lady Roxton and said, "Marguerite, I think we should make tea and let these girls rest for a moment before Miss Hardy continues. Do you feel up to helping? I want a word with you, anyway."
Marguerite nodded. She patted Finn on the back as she passed and joined Amanda out of hearing of the men. She called back, "John, will you boys gather some firewood? Tea actually seems a really good idea just now, and perhaps we shall see the soldiers by the time we've drunk it."
"Won't the crooks see the smoke and get wise to us?" Ned Malone looked disgusted and derisive. He liked his friends, but only these damned Limeys would insist on their beloved tea, while his woman was being manhandled or worse, by Arab thugs!
"I shouldn't worry too much, Mr. Malone," said Angus Hardy. "They'll hardly think that any pursuers would stop and make a cook fire. If they see any smoke, they'll fancy that it's a party of Africans. We aren't as stupid as we may seem, to your superior American intellect." He looked a bit put out.
Blacklaws said, "Calm down, Angus. Ned has good cause for worry. If this was my wife involved, I'd be a bit put out, myself But tea will do us all good, and help us to think well."
Finn led Diana over and helped her to sit in a car. She asked Ned and Challenger to join them. "We'll keep each other emotionally together here if you guys will make the tea," she offered. "Diana, my husband will help you heal if you can talk to him. You wouldn't believe what he has gotten me through. I love him to death, and Ned needs us now, too. Can we be strong for him?"
Diana nodded, wiping away tears. "I'm sorry, Mr. Malone. What happened to me and to the other girls nearly shattered me. Stuart and Daddy are going to have to be creative and patient to get me back to normal. But I'll make it. I'm not letting that sodding Arab bastard ruin my soul. Poor Marguerite told us some of what she endured in the hands of that earlier Sultan, and I don't see how she held on to herself. But if she did, I can. I'm a Hardy, and it takes more than this to break me." She sniffled, and held Finn's hand again.
Malone looked baffled. "Marguerite," he called. "Did this guy kidnap you before? When?"
"Never mind, Ned. We'll tell you later. But it was like, 18 years ago, and it was the Sultan's father. Marguerite told us girls one night when we were about to dance in the Treehouse. Vee and I made her tell us where she'd learned to move like she does." Finn wanted to spare Marguerite the need to embarrass herself in front of the other people present.
Malone swung on Challenger and Roxton. "Did you guys know about this?"
Roxton looked down with a touch of embarrassment and nodded. Challenger said, "Well, perhaps, I may have heard a little of it..."
Malone glared at both of them and at Finn. "My wife knew this. My best male friends knew this. Finn knew this. But I didn't know this?"
"Ned, please leave it," called Marguerite. "I apologize most sincerely, but it is intensely embarrassing, and only the girls and I knew, until they convinced me to tell John. My lover and now, my husband. Finn told George with my permission, later, so that he could help her, and me, to get over it. I swear that I'll tell you, too, but not just now, please."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 06 2008 : 03:53:38 AM
|
"It's all right now, Finn," sad Diana. "I agree with Marguerite. Veronica is with that smaller party, with Khalid. He wouldn't trust anyone else to go off by themselves like that, and he wouldn't leave his prize slave with his men. She almost has to be headed to that dukka or to some other rendezvous. With him and, probably, his cousin Ahmed, may a camel piss on the pair of them!" She snickered, and Finn grinned and squeezed her hand. They would get through this yet.
The tea was soon ready, and everyone was enjoying it. Hamilton came to stand near Diana. They looked at one other often, and in time, they began to smile at each other.
Lady Roxton drifted over to her man, and Hardy joined them. "Marguerite, how much do you suppose that rascal was going to get for you ladies? Did he happen to say what your lives and your bodies were worth? I can't help wondering."
Marguerite looked at him. Well, the man's daughter had been kidnaped. It was an honest question, and he had probably been beside himself with worry. "Diana and Veronica were to go for 10,000 pounds each. I was a little more valuable, due to a past grudge. That's more than any of us would usually be worth, I'm sure, but he probably wanted to show off his wealth. And, to get me, he likely had to offfer a premium for the other two."
Hardy nodded. "Just wondering. Ten thousand pounds, eh? I need to renegotiate my deal with Stuart Hamilton. I was prepared to give away my daughter in marriage. I should have driven a harder bargain. Of course, to me, Diana is priceless. Well, I look forward to meeting Mr. Khalid. I may very well help you to shoot him."
Blacklaws saw dust in the distance, about where the canyon merged with higher ground. He raised his binocular. It was the KAR troop, led by Capt. Thorne.
"I say," he announced. "I hate to sound as if I'm narrating an American Western film, but the cavalry has arrived!"
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 06 2008 : 6:07:43 PM
|
The soldiers saw the vehicles, and soon trotted up. They dismounted for a drink and a chance to wander into the bush to relieve themselves. The two officers joined the other whites for tea.
Musgrave showed Thorne and his lieutenant, Giles Featherstonehaugh, where he wanted them to go. The map and the trail from where they sat made it clear where the slavers had gone. Pursuit for a column of well- armed men should just be a matter of catching up to them.
"That pass back there will accomodate my horses, side-by-side. It took their loaded camels, with room to spare." Thorne was certain that he could have his fifty-man troop after the slavers as soon as they'd cleared the pass and gotten out onto the broad savannah beyond.
"Those bastards have a Lewis gun as well as their personal weapons," warned Marguerite. "Don't get ambushed. They can be very dangerous."
Thorne nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, Lady Roxton. We also have a Lewis,and my men know how to employ it to good effect. And my riflemen are probably better trained than the slavers. We have ample ammunition. I think we'll soon have them in the bag, with those black girls and the ivory. We can use their own chains on them. Shall we bring them to your headquarters, Sir John?"
"Yes. We'll begin there, and have the police take them away, after I question them. Take care, Craig. I hope to see you soon on a more social occasion." The DC stood and offered his hand to the two officers. The lieutenant went to mount the men as the captain finished his tea and talked with Musgrave and his entourage.
"How do you suppose that the lieutenant spells his last name?", asked Marguerite. She looked directly at Malone, but the question was open to all.
"Oh, I know this! He visits Daddy and me quite often, and he showed me!" Diana was delighted to have something light to ease her day.
"F-a-n-s-h-a-w, what else," guessed Ned, who had been introduced to the officer. That was how his name sounded. The others shrugged and concurred.
"Nope. Look here." Marguerite wrote out the correct spelling and passed the sheet of paper around to chuckles from some and blank looks from others.
"You tea sippers never cease to amaze me," muttered the American author and journalist. "If that guy ever moves to the States, the immigration people will go nuts over that."
In the background, they heard the orders of the officers as the soldiers prepared to leave.
"TROOP! Stand to horse! Prepare to mount! Ready, MOUNT!"
Capt. Thorne trotted over and shook hands goodbye with Roxton and Hardy, waved to the others, and took his place at the head of his men.
He turned and called, "TROOP! Column of twos by the right. Quick MARCH!"
And the soldiers moved off, their saddles and other gear making the noises associated with a large number of men on horseback. Fortunately, there was little clanking.
Shortly after, as they exited the mountain pass and formed up on the plain beyond, they heard the trumpeter sound, "Trot" and the cavalry were off, after the slavers.
"I hope they shoot the whole bloody lot of them, " said Marguerite, and Diana nodded enthusiastically.
"It would seem like a public service," agreed Lord Roxton. "Rather like having the exterminator in if your castle has rats."
"I wouldn't know," joked Ned Malone. "Veronica and I don't live in a castle. But I did kill a boa constrictor in the living room of the Treehouse the week before we left for England."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 06 2008 : 6:40:23 PM
|
They made ready to leave, cleaning up and being sure that everyone had ammunition for their personal weapons. The safari members who had been out hunting when the slavers struck hadn't taken a great deal with them, only a few boxes. Ned was limited to the cartridges in his wife's Colt .32, but Roxton was also wearing a Colt .45 automatic, and shared 20 cartridges with Ned for his .45.
"Use them sparingly, but well," he cautioned.
Hardy and Musgrave had .455's, Hardy a Webley and Musgrave a Smith & Wesson that he had carried in the late war. They each gave Marguerite six rounds for her captured Webley. "But don't get into a situation where you have to fire that gun, if possible," warned the DC. "I don't want you women in any more danger than absolutely need be. And Lady Roxton, remember what I said about shooting this Khalid fellow and that man Ahmed. Let the law deal with them."
Marguerite nodded, looking down a bit to hide her pique. She would have been delighted to kill both men. Like her husband had said, it would be a public service to do so.
She wore a brown Australian Akubra hat like she had worn in the Amazon, with a white shirt and tan riding breeches. Her taller boots, needed to go right with the breeches, had been brought by Finn, who knew the difference in ladies' boots. She wore similar ones, herself, feeling rather glamorous and dashing in that outfit.
Marguerite thrust the slimmer of the Arab daggers into her belt, in its embossed silver sheath, and handed the other to Diana Hardy.
"Here," she said. "Keep that and the Luger, Diana. You deserve souvenirs of this awful experience. I'll probably give Roxton this knife later, for his collection. You know boys and their toys. He's easily amused." She hugged her husband, who laughed.
"I need amusement to be married to Marguerite," he teased. "It makes up for the arguments." He tipped up her chin and kissed her lips, stopping her raunchy reply before it began.
"Lets' get this show on the road," pleaded Malone. "Those Arabs may be raping Veronica as we speak."
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 07 2008 : 09:26:27 AM
|
Miles ahead, Khalid and his men stopped for tea, also, confident that they were well ahead of any pursuers. They were still puzzled by who had taken the missing women, but had seen no sign of any foe.
"The sultan will not be pleased, especially when we have to tell him that we have no idea of how the girls vanished, leaving two of us dead," Ahmed was glum. "He will think that we sold them elsewhere."
"Perhaps," conceded Khalid. "Although who would have paid more, especially for Marguerite, I cannot guess. She is pretty, but in her late thirties, and not exceptional, as women go. She is crafty, but that will hardly add to her price. It just makes her more risky to own. No, we would not get as much for them elsewhere as he would have paid. I hope that he will still give a good price for Veronica. If not, I know others who surely will buy her, but for less. Still, she will bring a good fee."
"But, cousin," he continued. "I have become uneasy. The friends of this girl will by now have the police hot on our trail, and if they pursue our smaller group on this path, it will surely lead them to the dukka of our Indian friends. They know far too much about us. They cannot implicate us without revealing their own complicity, but with those girls loose somewhere, I fear that the British may persuade them to talk. I wonder if we should silence them when we leave the dukka."
"It is wise to do so," confirmed Ahmed. "And we may find it unwise to go to Nairobi. If the police know who you are, they will raid your busineses there and block your bank account. I think we should get the remaining girls at the dukka, kill the Indians, and leave directly for the coast. We should avoid returning to Nairobi until we can assess what damage has been done. I will feel far safer once we are at sea, en route for Amarrah."
Khalid concurred. "Then, let us kill them and burn the store, after taking the money and what goods we need. That will destroy most evidence. Even if the police guess who did it, proving that in a court of their law may be difficult. Unless they catch us with the girls, they will have nothing beyond what Marguerite and Diana tell them. And there are many Arabs who look like us."
"Do not be too sure," Ahmed retorted. "If they put us in a lineup, those women will surely pick us out. I think you are right: we need to get out of Kenya for awhile. Maybe we should even get rid of the girls. We can burn them in the store. Although it might be more fun to bury them alive, out in the bush."
Khalid smiled grimly. "I think not just yet, cousin. If we are pressed, we can kill them later. Or, they may be useful hostages. I think that after we are well clear of the store, we can reach friends near Malindi who can arrange for our transport to Amarrah with our lovely cargo. We will need the money from their sale, for we will not get a great deal from that store. If I know the owner as well as I think I do, his funds will be well hidden."
"We can sell the guns that we do not need," suggested Ahmed. "Those are all expensive items, and there are men on that coast who will pay well for them. Or, some will pay more in Amarrah. The Sultan, even, for those guns are as fine as can be had. Even he would like to get them for a good price."
"Hey! " called Veronica. "May I have some of that tea?" Not speaking Arabic, she had no idea what they had been discussing.
Khalid agreed, to her surprise. "But your hands will remain tied, Mrs. Malone. I do not wish to have tea thrown in my face while you grab for my gun. Your friend Marguerite is not the only enterprising slave, I fear. Soon, you will be terrified to even think of doing such a thing to a man, but you are not yet broken. By this time next year, you will be fully submissive, I think. But for now, I do not trust you."
"I don't care if you trust me or not, if I get the tea," she said wearily. "And I'll do what you want. I don't want to feel that whip again any more than I have to. Are any other white girls going to be on that slave ship?"
"Such things are none of your business!," snapped Ahmed. "You will be told what we wish you to know, when we wish you to know it. No more, slave!"
Khalid was more open. "Cousin, let her know. Veronica, we will soon pick up two more white girls. Each of you will strive to be the most pleasing. I think you may do the best. I certainly think your dancing will be the best. You must show them what to do. If you do not, you will all be punished. But if you try, you will be well treated. And you are married. You will be better at some other things than they will. I will have them watch as you please me. Do well, and you may be given candies and fruit. Defy me, and you will feel the lash and other hardships, and so will they. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Master. I will strive to please. I want to be the best slave that you have sold. I may as well get used to the idea that I'm just a piece of female property now. I want to do the best that I can within the range of what I can hope for. I don't want the Sultan mad at me because Marguerite and Diana got away. Maybe if he thinks I'm hot enough, he won't take their escape out on me." She hoped that she sounded believable, for that might give her a chance that would be denied her, otherwise. And, if all failed, she planned to do what Marguerite had years ago: become a favorite girl, and see what opportunity might come, in time. If Marguerite got away, maybe she could.
Khalid made her kneel at his feet and drink her tea from his cup. Then, he made her pay for it with a certain service which he found amusing to compel of a pretty blonde white girl. She was forced to please him while the others watched and cheered and called her names that shamed her. She blushed, but some of her color was from suppressed rage. If she saw a chance to kill Khalid and the others, she would. But that was unlikely.
She cried as she serviced her captor, and as they placed her again in the hammock dangling from the back of a camel. I can't believe this is happening to me, she wept. A slave girl, and doing that to get a cup of tea. Oh, how will I ever face Ned again? Not that I'll likely have the chance to beg for his understanding...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 08 2008 : 10:03:18 AM
|
Susan Wilson and Holly Delaterre felt the truck stop. Nothing happened for a while, save that the back door opened, and the men with them chatted in Hindi with whoever was outside.
Finally, their feet were untied, and they were made to exercise their legs to restore full circulation until they could walk. Then they were hobbled and each was led down a ramp that had been run out of the bed of the truck. On the ground, they were taken indoors. They barely sensed that, for their gags, blindfolds, and hoods remained in place. But there was a sense of being within enclosed walls, and the breeze that they had felt on their nude bodies ceased as they were herded indoors and taken to a room in the back of the dukka.
The store had just closed for the night, it being late afternoon. No customers had come for an hour or more, anyway.
The hoods and other impediments to their seeing and hearing were now removed, and as they struggled to regain normal sight, each was given water. Holly was untied and allowed to exercise her cramped arms.
Being the bolder of the two, she demanded, "Who are you men and where have we been taken? Why? This is a serious crime, and I demand to be freed! If not, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
The Indian man looking back at her smiled. "Oh, truly, we fear that you shall be arresting us and putting the long arm of your English law upon us. Not! Miss Deleterre, you are a prisoner, destined to be sold in Arabia as a slave, and you had better begin to conduct yourself as such. From this time on, address me and any other man in charge of you as Master. Failure to do so will be punished. You understand?"
"I most certainly do not!" She slapped him so quickly that he had no chance to flinch back. "Do you know who my father is, you filthy Wog? You will be lucky not to hang for this outrage! Release us now in Nairobi and return our clothing, and I may ask for mercy on your behalf."
The man, whose name was Gupta Vishnarabad, was furious. "Seize her!," he snarled. Two men leapt to hold Holly's arms.
Gupta had her wrists bound, crossed, then suspended from a ring in the ceiling. "Wait there, Holly, my dear," he said gallantly. "I have a small surprise for you in a moment. First, your friend will be untied and watered, then chained before I demonstrate my reaction to your outburst."
Susan was terrified, and offered no resistance as she was unbound, allowed to exercise a bit, then watered. Then, her wrists were locked behind her as Diana's had been, and locked to the slim steel chain that they fastened around her waist. Her ankles were hobbled with chains that allowed about six inches between them. She could stand, but not really walk. She was then half carried to the back of the room and made to kneel, facing Holly.
"Behold, Miss Wilson," said a second man. "Let this be an object lesson to you. You will both later be whipped with the full slave whip several times during your voyage to your new home. Tonight, our little room is a bit cramped for that. However, we have this item." He showed the girls a whip with five broad leather blades about five feet long.
He held it up to Holly and asked her how many blades it had. "Five, you imbecile!," she snapped. "Can't you bloody count?" But she didn't feel as confident as she pretended. These men were not showing her the deference that those of their kind had since she was a small child.
"Five it is, young white lady," he confirmed. "And you are about to feel the impact of each of them until you have screamed enough that I am satisfied that reality has arrived for you. Spread your legs, widely. Or, we will tie them open."
Hesitantly, Holly spread her feet, only to have them pulled open wider by the second man.
"When you are told to spread your legs, girl, do it in a meaningful way. That applies whether you are being whipped, or being used for another purpose." The men laughed, and Holly blushed scarlet all over.
"If you close your legs, Holly, the whipping will begin all over. I suggest that you spread as widely as you can and hold the pose. You will receive ten lashes if you scream convincingly and beg for it to end. If you need more strokes, to say, 'Master, I beg mercy!', you will receive as many strokes as it takes to get those words from you. If you faint, you will be revived and we will begin anew. You must learn a vital lesson tonight, before we turn you over to those who will convey you to the coast."
She looked defiantly at him, and he grinned. "You think you are bold, slave girl, but I have seen many such as you. You will break and beg to please men. This is the first of the lessons that will teach you your new place in the world."
He backed up and raised the whip. Susan gasped with horror and fear. Good! thought the slaver. Her fear will communicate itself to the bolder girl, and help to frighten her, too.
He gave Holly the ten strokes, waiting a few seconds to a full minute between lashes. By the seventh stroke, she was sobbing so badly that she could barely manage to say the words that he had demanded from her. By the tenth stroke, she was screaming and bawled, "Master, I beg mercy!"
He made her repeat that three times, each more desperately and beseechingly than the first. Then, because she had danced from one foot to another at times as she writhed in pain, he had her spread her legs widely once more, and delivered two additional strokes.
Finally, he said. "Very well, slut. Hang in your bonds for a time. My friends and I shall retire to another room to drink tea and discuss your transport. When we return, Susan will take your place and feel the lash. Then, you two will be fed and settled down to wait until it is time to pass you on to those who will take you to a slave ship later tonight."
"I don't need to be whipped," pleaded Susan. " I will be good, I swear that I will!" She was shocked and scared by what Holly had endured.
Gupta leered at her. He walked over. "Are you are an obedient girl?"
"Yes," stammered Susan. "I will do as you demand." She flushed crimson all over her body, feeling shame and fear to her bones. She had never felt so ashamed and frightened in her life. She tried to stop shivering, wanting to appear braver in front of Holly, but knew that she would scream sooner than the brunette slave had done.
He wrote down some words on a white card and held it before her. "Then, obedient girl, read these words aloud. Be sure that everyone present hears each syllable." He held out the card to her.
She whimpered, but did as ordered. "Please whip me, Master. I do not want Holly to be the only girl who gets to feel your lash tonight, lest I be jealous of your attentions to her." She looked at him, terror in her eyes.
"I will shortly grant your wish, Susan, my little pretty. Try not to become impatient. You will feel my leather soon enough."
They chained the girl's hobbled feet to a ring in the floor and left, leaving the light on.
Holly sniffled and whimpered, ashamed to look at Susan. The other girl asked softly, "Does that hurt as much as it looks like it does?"
"Yes," Holly managed. "Susan - that's your name, isn't it ? - you have a real treat coming. And you deserve it, for trying to whine your way out of it! If we get out of this, I plan to let my father know what a brave little blonde teller he hired."
"I can't help it," admitted Susan. "Trying to act brave to them will just make it worse for both of us. I think we'd better try not to upset them."
"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Holly was angry, and ashamed that her bluff had been called by the Indians. She was Susan's social superior, and this had been a humbling experience. She had far rather have been whipped before men only than with another woman in the room. Susan sensed that.
"Well, do things your way, slave, and I'll do them mine. We'll see who has the roughest time. But I really think it won't be long before they have both of us doing just what they want. We'd be better off being friends, I think. Maybe we'll be sold to the same master. It would be sort of nice not to feel all alone, and look out for each other, to whatever degree we can."
Holly seethed, then thought it over. It wasn't like she was going to be the debutante of slave girls this season. She and Susan were in the same boat now. And there was no First Class or Second Class passage. Only Slave Girl Class...
"Very well, Susan. I'll be friends. You may be right. And I am more scared than I'm letting on. That damned whip hurts like fire. When it's your turn, beg early and often for it to end. Maybe they'll laugh, but they may also let you down sooner. And if it helps any, I'll be feeling this all over again when they whip you. If that other whip they mentioned is any worse than this, we're both going to be begging pretty fast to do whatever they want." She sobbed in spite of herself. "Oh, Susan: whatever will become of us?!"
"I don't know, Holly. But if we face it together, maybe it won't be so bad. I want you to know that I'm here for you. We'll talk when they let us. Just hang on. I'm sure that other girls have gone through worse. I hope..."
Holly realized that if Susan was more compliant than she was toward their captors, she was also compassionate, and a realist. And Holly did not want to face slavery alone. Besides, Susan was blonde. Maybe she could wheedle some favors from their masters. For the first time in her life, Holly saw a practical side in being friends with a blonde girl. Maybe they weren't all bad, after all...
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Explorer
976 Posts |
Posted - July 08 2008 : 11:46:26 AM
|
Musgrave fidgeted, looking at his watch. "Those police should have met us here by now. That rock outcropping that Challenger wanted to blow should have been a good landmark. Perhaps they've been delayed. Mr. Malone is right: we need to get underway."
Roxton had an idea. "Used to be that if a white man had to leave a note for others, he'd put it in a cleft stick and pound that into the ground where someone might find it. It beats leaving without trying."
"Right you are, Lord Roxton...John." Musgrave felt foolish for not recalling that. He sent a gunbearer to cut a suitable stick and sat to write a note to the police column commander. When he was done, the stick was ready, and Hardy's shovel pounded it firmly into the ground, with the white paper of the letter evident to anyone who might pass this way.
"Well, that's that," said Marguerite. "We had better try to catch up to those rotters."
"Yes," said a grim-faced Ned Malone. "That would be really nice. If they've hurt Veronica..." He didn't have to complete the sentence. Everyone knew how he felt, what he meant. And they felt the same way.
"There is nothing quite so exhilarating as to be shot at without effect." Sir Winston Churchill |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
|
|
On Safari
