Free The Last Place God Made by Jack Higgins Page B

calmly, "I suggest we walk back to the plane quietly and get inside with the minimum of fuss. I think we're being watched."
     
     
"The foxes?" I said.
     
     
"Aren't foxes - not at this time in the morning."
     
     
The walk to the plane was an experience in itself and I ex-pected an arrow in the back at any moment. But nothing happened. We all got inside without incident and I took the controls.
     
     
I taxied to the end of thecampo. As I turned into the wind, an Indian emerged from the jungle and stood on the edge of the clearing watching us, face painted for war, magnificent in a head-dress of parrot feathers, a spear in one hand, a six-foot bow in the other.
     
     
Hannah picked up one of the machine-guns and reached for the window. Alberto caught his arm. "No, leave it Our turn will come."
     
     
As we moved past, another figure emerged from the forest, then another and another. I don't think I have ever felt hap-pier than when I lifted the Hayley over the trees at the edge of thecampo, stamped on the rudder and swung north.
     
     
There was no landing strip at Forte Franco for the simple rea-son that the post had been built on an island strategically situ-ated at the mouth of the Negro about a century before the Wright brothers first left the ground.
     
     
We radioed the bad news ahead the moment we were in range, just to get things moving, then put down at Landro. Alberto wasted little time in getting under way. He ordered his men to prepare the launch for a quick departure then went into Landro with Hannah to see Figueiredo. I was waiting at the jetty with Mannie when the colonel returned. Hannah was not with him.
     
     
"What happens now?" I asked.
     
     
"There should be a reply to my message from Army Head-quarters by the time I reach Forte Franco. I would imagine my instructions will be to proceed up-river at once with my command. All thirty-eight of them. 'I've a dozen men down with fever at the moment."
     
     
"But surely they'll send you reinforcements?" Mannie said.
     
     
"Miracles sometimes happen, but not very often, my friend. Even if they did, it would be several weeks before they could arrive. This kind of thing is an old story as you must know, Senhor Mallory." He looked out across the river to the forest. "In any case, in that kind of country, a regiment would be too little, an army not enough."
     
     
"When we landed, you said we'd be safe on that side of the river," I reminded him. "That they never crossed over."
     
     
He nodded, his face dark and serious. "A cause for concern, I assure you, if it means they are moving out of their usual ter-ritory." The engine of the launch broke into life and he smiled briskly. "I must be on the move. Senhor Hannah stayed at the hotel, by the way. I'm afraid he has taken all this very hard."
     
     
He stepped over the rail, one of the soldiers cast off and the launch moved into midstream. We stood watching it go. Alberto waved, then went into the cabin.
     
     
I said, "What about Hannah? Do you think there's any point in going for him? If he runs into Avila in the mood he's in..."
     
     
"Avila and his bunch moved out just before noon." Mannie shook his head. 'Best leave him for now. We can put him to bed later.'
     
     
He turned and walked away. A solitary ibis hovered above the trees on the other side of the river before descending like a splash of blood against the grey sky. An omen, perhaps of worse things to come?
     
     
I shivered involuntarily and went after Maiffiie.
     
     
SIX
     
     
The Scarlet Flower
     
     
In the days which followed the news from up-river wasn't good. Several rubber tappers were killed and a party of diamond prospectors, five in all, died to the last man in an ambush not ten miles above the mission.
     
     
Alberto and his men, operating out of Santa Helena, didn't seem to be accomplishing much, which wasn't really surprising. If they kept to the tracks the Huna ambushed them and if they tried to hack a way