gotten past those land mines, Jamie. They’re scattered all over the field, buried about six inches down. We’re going to have to stay here until the mis lifts and give ourselves up.”
Jamie listened to the cotton-wrapped voices ricocheting around them.
“Kruger! Keep in voice contact…”
“Right, Brent…”
“Kruger…”
“Brent…”
Disembodied voices calling to each other in the blinding fog. Jamie’s mind was racing, desperately exploring every possible avenue of escape. If they stayed where they were, they would be killed the instant the mis lifted. If they tried moving through the field of mines, they would be blown to bits.
“Have you ever seen the land mines?” Jamie whispered.
“I helped bury some of them.”
“What sets them off?”
“A man’s weight. Anything over eighty pounds will explode them. That way they don’t kill the dogs.”
Jamie took a deep breath. “Banda, I may have a way for us to get out of here. It might not work. Do you want to gamble with me?”
“What have you got in mind?”
“We’re going to cross the mine fields on our bellies. That way we’ll distribute our weight across the sand.”
“Oh, Jesus!”
“What do you think?”
“I think I was crazy for ever leaving Cape Town.”
“Are you with me?” He could barely make out Banda’s face next to him.
“You don’t leave a man a lot of choice, do you?”
“Come on then.”
Jamie carefully stretched himself out flat on the sand. Banda looked at him a moment, took a deep breath and joined him. Slowly the two men began crawling across the sand, toward the mine field.
“When you move,” Jamie whispered, “don’t press down with your hands or your legs. Use your whole body.”
There was no reply. Banda was busy concentrating on staying alive.
They were in a smothering, gray vacuum that made it impossible to see anything. At any instant they could bump into a guard, a dog or one of the land mines. Jamie forced all this out of his mind. Their progress was painfully slow. Both men were shirtless, and the sand scraped against their stomachs as they inched forward. Jamie was aware of how overwhelming the odds were against them. Even if by some chance they did succeed in crossing the desert without getting shot or blown up, they would be confronted by the barbed-wire fence and the armed guards at the watchtower at the entrance. And there was no telling how long the mis would last. It could lift at any second, exposing them.
They kept crawling, mindlessly sliding forward until they lost all track of time. The inches became feet, and the feet became yards, and the yards became miles. They had no idea how long they had been traveling. They were forced to keep their heads close to the ground, and their eyes and ears and noses became filled with sand. Breathing was an effort.
In the distance was the constant echo of the guards’ voices. “Kruger…Brent…Kruger…Brent…”
The two men stopped to rest and check the compass every few minutes, then moved on, beginning their endless crawl again. There was an almost overwhelming temptation to move faster, but that would mean pressing down harder, and Jamie could visualize the metal fragments exploding under him and ripping into his belly. He kept the pace slow. From time to time they could hear other voices around them, but the words were muffledby the fog and it was impossible to tell where they were coming from. It’s a big desert , Jamie thought hopefully. We’re not going to stumble into anyone .
Out of nowhere, a large, furry shape leaped at him. It happened so swiftly that Jamie was caught off guard. He felt the huge Alsatian’s teeth sinking into his arm. He dropped the bundle of diamonds and tried to pry open the dog’s jaw, but he had only one free hand and it was impossible. He felt the warm blood running down his arm. The dog was sinking its teeth in harder now, silent and deadly. Jamie felt himself begin to faint. He heard a dull
Jamie listened to the cotton-wrapped voices ricocheting around them.
“Kruger! Keep in voice contact…”
“Right, Brent…”
“Kruger…”
“Brent…”
Disembodied voices calling to each other in the blinding fog. Jamie’s mind was racing, desperately exploring every possible avenue of escape. If they stayed where they were, they would be killed the instant the mis lifted. If they tried moving through the field of mines, they would be blown to bits.
“Have you ever seen the land mines?” Jamie whispered.
“I helped bury some of them.”
“What sets them off?”
“A man’s weight. Anything over eighty pounds will explode them. That way they don’t kill the dogs.”
Jamie took a deep breath. “Banda, I may have a way for us to get out of here. It might not work. Do you want to gamble with me?”
“What have you got in mind?”
“We’re going to cross the mine fields on our bellies. That way we’ll distribute our weight across the sand.”
“Oh, Jesus!”
“What do you think?”
“I think I was crazy for ever leaving Cape Town.”
“Are you with me?” He could barely make out Banda’s face next to him.
“You don’t leave a man a lot of choice, do you?”
“Come on then.”
Jamie carefully stretched himself out flat on the sand. Banda looked at him a moment, took a deep breath and joined him. Slowly the two men began crawling across the sand, toward the mine field.
“When you move,” Jamie whispered, “don’t press down with your hands or your legs. Use your whole body.”
There was no reply. Banda was busy concentrating on staying alive.
They were in a smothering, gray vacuum that made it impossible to see anything. At any instant they could bump into a guard, a dog or one of the land mines. Jamie forced all this out of his mind. Their progress was painfully slow. Both men were shirtless, and the sand scraped against their stomachs as they inched forward. Jamie was aware of how overwhelming the odds were against them. Even if by some chance they did succeed in crossing the desert without getting shot or blown up, they would be confronted by the barbed-wire fence and the armed guards at the watchtower at the entrance. And there was no telling how long the mis would last. It could lift at any second, exposing them.
They kept crawling, mindlessly sliding forward until they lost all track of time. The inches became feet, and the feet became yards, and the yards became miles. They had no idea how long they had been traveling. They were forced to keep their heads close to the ground, and their eyes and ears and noses became filled with sand. Breathing was an effort.
In the distance was the constant echo of the guards’ voices. “Kruger…Brent…Kruger…Brent…”
The two men stopped to rest and check the compass every few minutes, then moved on, beginning their endless crawl again. There was an almost overwhelming temptation to move faster, but that would mean pressing down harder, and Jamie could visualize the metal fragments exploding under him and ripping into his belly. He kept the pace slow. From time to time they could hear other voices around them, but the words were muffledby the fog and it was impossible to tell where they were coming from. It’s a big desert , Jamie thought hopefully. We’re not going to stumble into anyone .
Out of nowhere, a large, furry shape leaped at him. It happened so swiftly that Jamie was caught off guard. He felt the huge Alsatian’s teeth sinking into his arm. He dropped the bundle of diamonds and tried to pry open the dog’s jaw, but he had only one free hand and it was impossible. He felt the warm blood running down his arm. The dog was sinking its teeth in harder now, silent and deadly. Jamie felt himself begin to faint. He heard a dull
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