scavengers to their dinner. We’re not going to find any living elephants walking this trail.”
Chiumbo nodded slowly. “The elephants will shun this path for a long time.”
A mile and a half from camp, Jade halted abruptly and listened. She placed her hand to her ear and then pointed to the forest. Chiumbo replied to the unspoken question by holding up one hand, fingers spread. Jade nodded. At least five people, maybe more, approached from the south. If the poachers still stalked about in the woods, she and Chiumbo could be in danger. Jade slipped behind a stout tree and waited. Her headman did the same.
The noisy footfalls came closer. Whoever it was needed a lesson in woodcraft, Jade decided. They made entirely too much noise for anyone on the hunt.
“Verdammt!”
A stern shush followed this exclamation and exacted some silence, but the spell was broken. Jade had already identified the new arrivals. Blast! Hascombe’s crew. She waited until they were within twenty yards before she stepped out in front of them.
“Your people must not be very interested in spotting game,” she said. “You make enough noise to scare everything away.”
Harry Hascombe touched the brim of his hat in a salute. “Why, Jade. What a pleasant surprise. Nice to see you, too.” He pointed to the rear of the group. “But we’ve already been successful. Herr Vogelsanger bagged a nice young bull earlier this afternoon. The boys are bringing up the ivory.”
The Prussian stood at attention, eyes focused above Jade’s head, a sneer across his face that the white scar only emphasized. Mueller stood behind him with an annoyed pouting expression, eyes rolling, mouth turned down. Dung coated the sole of his left boot, and he scraped it off on a bunch of nearby greenery. Von Gretchmar merely patted his damp forehead with a pocket kerchief. All the men wore broad-brimmed hats snugly clamped on their heads, hiding their ears from Jade’s attempted inspection.
“Indeed,” she replied in as noncommittal a voice as she could muster. She wondered how von Gretchmar had fared. He certainly looked done in by the exercise. Apparently having such wonderful rifles didn’t guarantee success. None of the women had come along, but their absence didn’t strike Jade as odd.
“ Ja, but I am surprised in the jungle alone to see you, Fräulein,” said Vogelsanger.
Jade nodded to her headman. “I’m not alone. Chiumbo is with me, and I’m quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you.” When she saw Chiumbo’s face, her eyes opened wider. The tense lines of his mouth, the furrowed brow, the crossed arms: all spoke volumes about his anger and loathing. Well, she thought, he had reason enough to hate Germans, and she decided it would be best if the two of them left now. She turned to go when Harry put out an arm to stop her.
“An askari runner brought a message from Captain Smythe earlier today,” he said. “Seems there’s been trouble in this region.” He searched her face for signs that this was news and found none. “But then, you already knew that.”
Jade’s lips opened a fraction, and her green eyes stared straight at Harry as if to indicate that he was trouble enough. “We told you we saw Smythe the other day, not to mention the murdered askari and the Abyssinians that Chiumbo and I spotted.” She pointed back down her trail. “Besides that, there are several carcasses a few miles down there, where someone’s been very busy.” She paused and studied Harry’s face for an admission of guilt.
He frowned. “It wasn’t us,” he said.
“Didn’t say it was. Guilty conscience? What did this runner say, specifically?”
“I got the message secondhand myself,” Harry admitted. “I was bagging a bird or two for dinner, so von Gretchmar told me about it.”
“Oh. Well, thank you for the information.” She smiled at the three men, flashed a bigger smile at their gun bearers, and once again turned to go. Harry stopped her
Chiumbo nodded slowly. “The elephants will shun this path for a long time.”
A mile and a half from camp, Jade halted abruptly and listened. She placed her hand to her ear and then pointed to the forest. Chiumbo replied to the unspoken question by holding up one hand, fingers spread. Jade nodded. At least five people, maybe more, approached from the south. If the poachers still stalked about in the woods, she and Chiumbo could be in danger. Jade slipped behind a stout tree and waited. Her headman did the same.
The noisy footfalls came closer. Whoever it was needed a lesson in woodcraft, Jade decided. They made entirely too much noise for anyone on the hunt.
“Verdammt!”
A stern shush followed this exclamation and exacted some silence, but the spell was broken. Jade had already identified the new arrivals. Blast! Hascombe’s crew. She waited until they were within twenty yards before she stepped out in front of them.
“Your people must not be very interested in spotting game,” she said. “You make enough noise to scare everything away.”
Harry Hascombe touched the brim of his hat in a salute. “Why, Jade. What a pleasant surprise. Nice to see you, too.” He pointed to the rear of the group. “But we’ve already been successful. Herr Vogelsanger bagged a nice young bull earlier this afternoon. The boys are bringing up the ivory.”
The Prussian stood at attention, eyes focused above Jade’s head, a sneer across his face that the white scar only emphasized. Mueller stood behind him with an annoyed pouting expression, eyes rolling, mouth turned down. Dung coated the sole of his left boot, and he scraped it off on a bunch of nearby greenery. Von Gretchmar merely patted his damp forehead with a pocket kerchief. All the men wore broad-brimmed hats snugly clamped on their heads, hiding their ears from Jade’s attempted inspection.
“Indeed,” she replied in as noncommittal a voice as she could muster. She wondered how von Gretchmar had fared. He certainly looked done in by the exercise. Apparently having such wonderful rifles didn’t guarantee success. None of the women had come along, but their absence didn’t strike Jade as odd.
“ Ja, but I am surprised in the jungle alone to see you, Fräulein,” said Vogelsanger.
Jade nodded to her headman. “I’m not alone. Chiumbo is with me, and I’m quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you.” When she saw Chiumbo’s face, her eyes opened wider. The tense lines of his mouth, the furrowed brow, the crossed arms: all spoke volumes about his anger and loathing. Well, she thought, he had reason enough to hate Germans, and she decided it would be best if the two of them left now. She turned to go when Harry put out an arm to stop her.
“An askari runner brought a message from Captain Smythe earlier today,” he said. “Seems there’s been trouble in this region.” He searched her face for signs that this was news and found none. “But then, you already knew that.”
Jade’s lips opened a fraction, and her green eyes stared straight at Harry as if to indicate that he was trouble enough. “We told you we saw Smythe the other day, not to mention the murdered askari and the Abyssinians that Chiumbo and I spotted.” She pointed back down her trail. “Besides that, there are several carcasses a few miles down there, where someone’s been very busy.” She paused and studied Harry’s face for an admission of guilt.
He frowned. “It wasn’t us,” he said.
“Didn’t say it was. Guilty conscience? What did this runner say, specifically?”
“I got the message secondhand myself,” Harry admitted. “I was bagging a bird or two for dinner, so von Gretchmar told me about it.”
“Oh. Well, thank you for the information.” She smiled at the three men, flashed a bigger smile at their gun bearers, and once again turned to go. Harry stopped her
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