The Man in the Brown Suit Agatha Christie (i read books .TXT) đ
- Author: Agatha Christie
Book online «The Man in the Brown Suit Agatha Christie (i read books .TXT) đ». Author Agatha Christie
âBeira,â I said meditatively.
âYes, Anne, itâs Beira for you. This is manâs work. Leave it to me.â
We had had a momentary respite from emotion whilst we talked the situation out, but it was on us again now. We did not even look at each other.
âVery well,â I said, and passed into the hut.
I lay down on the skin-covered couch, but I didnât sleep, and outside I could hear Harry Rayburn pacing up and down, up and down through the long dark hours. At last he called me:
âCome, Anne, itâs time to go.â
I got up and came out obediently. It was still quite dark, but I knew that dawn was not far off.
âWeâll take the canoe, not the motorboatâ ââ Harry began, when suddenly he stopped dead and held up his hand.
âHush! Whatâs that?â
I listened, but could hear nothing. His ears were sharper than mine, however, the ears of a man who has lived long in the wilderness. Presently I heard it tooâ âthe faint splash of paddles in the water coming from the direction of the right bank of the river and rapidly approaching our little landing stage.
We strained our eyes in the darkness, and could make out a dark blur on the surface of the water. It was a boat. Then there was a momentary spurt of flame. Someone had struck a match. By its light I recognized one figure, the red-bearded Dutchman of the villa at Muizenberg. The others were natives.
âQuickâ âback to the hut.â
Harry swept me back with him. He took down a couple of rifles and a revolver from the wall.
âCan you load a rifle?â
âI never have. Show me how.â
I grasped his instructions well enough. We closed the door and Harry stood by the window which overlooked the landing stage. The boat was just about to run alongside it.
âWhoâs that?â called out Harry in a ringing voice.
Any doubt we might have had as to our visitorsâ intentions was swiftly resolved. A hail of bullets splattered round us. Fortunately neither of us was hit. Harry raised the rifle. It spat murderously, and again and again. I heard two groans and a splash.
âThatâs given âem something to think about,â he muttered grimly, as he reached for the second rifle. âStand well back, Anne, for Godâs sake. And load quickly.â
More bullets. One just grazed Harryâs cheek. His answering fire was more deadly than theirs. I had the rifle reloaded when he turned for it. He caught me close with his left arm and kissed me once savagely before he turned to the window again. Suddenly he uttered a shout.
âTheyâre goingâ âhad enough of it. Theyâre a good mark out there on the water, and they canât see how many of us there are. Theyâre routed for the momentâ âbut theyâll come back. Weâll have to get ready for them.â He flung down the rifle and turned to me.
âAnne! You beauty! You wonder! You little queen! As brave as a lion. Black-haired witch!â
He caught me in his arms. He kissed my hair, my eyes, my mouth.
âAnd now to business,â he said, suddenly releasing me. âGet out those tins of paraffin.â
I did as I was told. He was busy inside the hut. Presently I saw him on the roof of the hut, crawling along with something in his arms. He rejoined me in a minute or two.
âGo down to the boat. Weâll have to carry it across the island to the other side.â
He picked up the paraffin as I disappeared.
âTheyâre coming back,â I called softly. I had seen the blur moving out from the opposite shore.
He ran down to me.
âJust in time. Whyâ âwhere the hellâs the boat?â Both had been cut adrift. Harry whistled softly. âWeâre in a tight place, honey. Mind?â
âNot with you.â
âAh, but dying togetherâs not much fun. Weâll do better than that. Seeâ âtheyâve got two boatloads this time. Going to land at two different points. Now for my little scenic effect.â
Almost as he spoke a long flame shot up from the hut. Its light illuminated two crouching figures huddled together on the roof.
âMy old clothesâ âstuffed with ragsâ âbut they wonât tumble to it for some time. Come, Anne, weâve got to try desperate means.â
Hand in hand, we raced across the island. Only a narrow channel of water divided it from the shore on that side.
âWeâve got to swim for it. Can you swim at all, Anne? Not that it matters. I can get you across. Itâs the wrong side for a boatâ âtoo many rocks, but the right side for swimming, and the right side for Livingstone.â
âI can swim a littleâ âfarther than that. Whatâs the danger, Harry?â For I had seen the grim look on his face. âSharks?â
âNo, you little goose. Sharks live in the sea. But youâre sharp, Anne. Crocs, thatâs the trouble.â
âCrocodiles?â
âYes, donât think of themâ âor say your prayers, whichever you feel inclined.â
We plunged in. My prayers must have been efficacious, for we reached the shore without adventure, and drew ourselves up wet and dripping on the bank.
âNow for Livingstone. Itâs rough going, Iâm afraid, and wet clothes wonât make it any better. But itâs got to be done.â
That walk was a nightmare. My wet skirts flapped round my legs, and my stockings were soon torn off by the thorns. Finally I stopped, utterly exhausted. Harry came back to me.
âHold up, honey. Iâll carry you for a bit.â
That was the way I came into Livingstone, slung across his shoulder like a sack of coals. How he did it for all that way, I donât know. The first faint light of dawn was just breaking. Harryâs friend was a young man of twenty odd who kept a store of native curios. His name was Nedâ âperhaps
Comments (0)