Cold Dawn by James Ellson

Author:James Ellson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800181601
Publisher: Unbound
Published: 2022-05-26T16:37:36+00:00

30

‘You must be joking,’ said Hunter, halting like a horse refusing a jump. He flopped down beside a rock and took out his cigarettes.

Rick examined the landslide with binoculars. Sticks shoved into the ground marked a vague way across. At halfway there was a safe haven of untouched hillside and then a steeper section protected by a rope. Below the landslide, the ground fell over a hidden edge to the valley floor, a long way below. A slip would be fatal.

Hunter was patting his pockets. ‘I’ve lost my lighter.’

‘Have one of these,’ said Rick, opening a packet of the local biscuits.

Hunter shook his head.

Rick ate a biscuit. A small bird landed in front of them and hopped about. Hunter took out a notebook and began to sketch the landslide. It was almost as if he didn’t want to catch Coniston.

‘I think we should—’

‘Wait for Russ,’ said Hunter without looking up.

‘See if there’s an easier way.’

Rick clambered up the side of the scar, but he couldn’t see one. The slope reached a band of steep rock. He climbed back down.

He stared across and down at the lush forests of rhododendron. Bright pink flowers like rosettes. Millions of them. They had a beguiling beauty: their tentacles snaked through the scrub, took root, and advanced, to the exclusion of other plants. Nothing stopped them.

Nothing was going to stop him.

If Coniston had been the trekker seen by the couple from Bolton, then he must have crossed the landslide.

He stood up, and inched across the scar. Rocks and dirt fell away. He took another small step, dislodging a rock the size of his pack. He fell to his knees, grabbed an exposed root. It pulled out further, but held. He turned round and, heart thumping, shuffled back.

Coniston might have headed for Lukla. Which meant Russell and Uttam should have overtaken him, and taken him back into custody. Or found him and had a fight, injuries on both sides. Or not found him.

Then again, Jiri seemed the better option, and made more likely by the sighting of a solo trekker.

He climbed onto a boulder, and looked again for a route across. Halfway, there was a section of blue rope. If he could reach that.

After a deep breath, he again inched out onto the scar.

‘They’re coming,’ shouted Hunter.

Rick edged back, both relieved and disappointed. If Coniston had managed to cross, then he could. He bent over with his hands on his knees. ‘Do me a favour, Gary, and don’t call Weatherbeater Russ. He doesn’t like it.’

Hunter gave him a two-fingered mock salute.

Uttam arrived first, a smear of perspiration across his forehead.

‘Coniston?’ shouted Rick.

The Sherpa shook his head.

Lok appeared, and Russell carrying the tracker. ‘No sign of him.’ The mountaineer took off his sunhat, drank some water. The Sherpas squatted down and surveyed the scar.

‘We walked all the way to Saklis to be absolutely sure. And we went at it, there’s no way he could have kept ahead of us. We criss-crossed the village with the tracker, then hacked back.

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