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releasing her he held her in his arms. Faun knew a simmering of
expectancy, a delicious rioting of nerves.
'Faun ...' The name came softly from his lips and then, startling them
both, came the first brilliant flash of lightning, followed by an
ear-splitting crash of thunder as the violent expansion of air took
place. 'We shall have to hurry!' Clive spoke briskly and it seemed that
the little scene of unexpected intimacy was nothing more than a
figment of Faun's imagination.
CHAPTER EIGHT
IT was only to be expected that Faun felt somewhat shy when on the
following morning she met Clive over breakfast. She had awakened
to a fleeting sensation of sheer happiness, but immediately on this
came the abruptness with which Clive's manner had changed as the
lightning warned them both of the urgency of getting back to camp.
Her happiness faded, replaced by confusion as she freely owned to
herself that what had occurred last evening was not the first occasion
on which she had been deeply affected by the magnetic personality of
the man she had at first disliked so intensely. What was this new and
indefinable jostling of sensations within her mind? Why this feeling
of expectancy one moment and of hopelessness the next? More
important, why was her career no longer the dazzling star that had
shone for so long? Her lovely eyes met Clive's across the table of
bamboo at which they both sat ... and she knew that her star had been
eclipsed by the man facing her, his eyes all- examining, taking in the
dainty colour fluctuating in her cheeks, the tremulous movement of
her lips, the bewilderment in her gaze. She knew what he would say
even before he opened his mouth.
'What are you thinking about, Miss Sheridan?'
She shook her head, frowning a little.
'You wouldn't be interested, Mr Tarrant.' Faun knew a certain element
of dejection that he had called her by her surname. Somehow, she had
taken it for granted that having once used her Christian name, he
would continue to do so.
'I rather think I would be interested,' he argued, and now his voice
carried a hint of sardonic amusement. Faun had the uncomfortable
conviction that he was secretly laughing at her shyness, aware as he
was of the reason for it. She half wished she had not risen quite so
early, as then she and Clive would not be breakfasting alone. But the
dawn streaking across the sky had slanted its rays into her hut, and if
this was not enough to wake her there had been the cry of gibbons,
and the hornbills flapping their ponderous way about, all unconscious
that the huts contained humans. Faun had emerged into a world of
steaming humidity and was soon recalling the tremendous storm that
had occurred the previous night. Rain had lashed at the 'thatch' of
palm leaves that roofed her hut; thunder claps had rent the air over
and over again, and lightning had repeatedly illuminated the black
interior of her shelter. She had lain awake, thinking of Clive, and of
Ingrid who of late seemed to alienate herself more and more both
from him and the other three who were his companions. 'You haven't
answered my question,' said Clive, his quiet voice intruding into her
reflections.
'I was thinking about the storm,' she was now able to answer with
truth, but his expression of amusement mingling with a tinge of
censure told her plainly that he knew she had in fact side-stepped his
original query. However, he made no reference to it, merely stating
that the storm had been one of the most severe he had ever witnessed.
'Did it keep you awake for long?' he enquired, picking up a small
piece of biscuit that was his ration and, she noticed, leaving her the
piece that was slightly larger. The biscuits were like rusks and there
had been an emergency supply of six packets, four of which had
already been used.
C
I did lie awake for some time,' she answered. 'I wonder how
Malcolm went on?'
'I've been in to him; he's sleeping soundly or was, about a quarter of
an hour ago. Tommy was also dead to the world, but then he hadn't
been in bed very long.'
'Did he stay up last night? I can't see the necessity when there's that
kind of storm raging. We'll not have any rescue team in weather like
that.'
'No, but there was no knowing when it would abate. One of us must
stay up,' he added gravely. 'You must know that our position's
becoming a cause for anxiety?'
'I try not to think about it,' she confessed. 'I never can see the sense in
worrying over what I could neither alter nor control.'
'Most sensible,' he agreed, but went on to add, 'I feel we should go out
today with the firm intention of looking carefully for signs of
habitation. If we do find any tracks or other evidence that Natives
might be living hereabouts, then I shall go out early tomorrow and try
to reach the confluence.'
'I know that both you and Malcolm are of the opinion that the Natives
will be friendly, but it could be otherwise.^
He nodded his head in agreement but his jaw was taut and grim.
'It's a risk I shall have to take, I'm thinking. We haven't any means of
communication, with my not being able to get the radio working.
We've seen no sign of an aircraft; in view of these things I consider it
would be wise for me to do something positive. The Natives usually
trade with the peoples of the coast, taking their fruits and other [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]