The Man in the Brown Suit by The man in the brown suit

Author:The man in the brown suit
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2010-06-27T08:54:50.548000+00:00

"Can you load a rifle?"

"I never have. Show me how."

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.

"Who's that?" called out Harry, in a ringing voice.

Any doubt we might have had as to our visitors' 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.

"That's given 'em something to think about," he muttered grimly, as he reached for the second rifle. "Stand well back, Anne, for God's sake. And load quickly."

More bullets. One just grazed Harry's 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.

"They're going - had enough of it. They're a good mark out there on the water, and they can't see how many of us there are. They're routed for the moment - but they'll come back. We'll have to get ready for them." He flung down the rifle and turned to me.

"Anne! You beauty! You wonder! You little queen! As brave as a lion. Black-haired witch!"

He caught me in his arms. He kissed my hair, my eyes, my mouth.

"And now to business," he said, suddenly releasing me. "Get out those tins of paraffin."

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.

"Go down to the boat. We'll have to carry it across the island to the other side."

He picked up the paraffin as I disappeared.

"They're coming back," I called softly. I had seen the blur moving out from the opposite shore.

He ran down to me.

"Just in time. Why - where the hell's the boat?"

Both had been cut adrift. Harry whistled softly.

"We're in a tight place, honey. Mind?"

"Not with you."

"Ah, but dying together's not much fun. We'll do better than that. See -they've got two boat-loads this time. Going to land at two different points. Now for my little scenic effect."

Almost as he spoke a long flame shot up from the hut Its light illuminated two crouching figures huddled together on the roof.

"My old clothes - stuffed with rugs - but they won't tumble to it for some time. Come, Anne, we've got to try desperate means."

Hand in hand, we raced across the island. Only a narrow channel of water divided it from the shore on that side.

"We've got to swim for it. Can you swim at all, Anne? Not that it matters. I can get you across. It's the wrong side for a boat - too many rocks, but the right side for swimming, and the right side for Livingstone.

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