When the Lion Feeds (#1 Courtney) by Wilbur Smith

Author:Wilbur Smith
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Action & Adventure, Republic of South Africa, Africa, General, Fiction, South, History
ISBN: 9780330473149
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Published: 2009-04-03T06:00:00+00:00

– 17 –

Duff stood with his back to the fireplace in Sean’s office smoking a cheroot while they waited for the carriage to take them up to the Exchange. The fire behind him silhouetted his slimly tapered legs with the calves encased in polished black leather. He still wore his top coat, for the winter morning was cold. It fell open at his throat to show a diamond that sparkled and glowed in his cravat.

‘. . . you get used to a woman somehow,’ he was saying. ‘I’ve known Candy four years now and yet it seems I’ve been with her all my life.’

‘She’s a fine girl,’ Sean agreed absently as he dipped his pen and scribbled his signature on the document in front of him.

‘I’m thirty-five now,’ Duff went on. ‘If I’m ever to have a son of my own . . .’

Sean laid down the pen deliberately and looked up at him; he was starting to grin.

‘The man said to me once “They take you into their soft little minds” and again he said “They don’t share, they possess”. Is this a new tune I hear?’

Duff shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.

‘Things change,’ he defended himself. ‘I’m thirty-five . . .’

‘You’re repeating yourself,’ Sean accused and Duff smiled weakly.

‘Well, the truth is . . .’

He never finished the sentence; hooves beat urgently in the street outside and both their faces swung in the direction of the window.

‘Big hurry!’ said Sean coming quickly to his feet. ‘Big trouble!’ He crossed to the window. ‘It’s Curtis, and by his face it’s not good news he brings.’

There were voices outside the door raised in agitation and the quick rush of feet, then Timothy Curtis burst into the room without knocking. He wore a miner’s overall and splattered gumboots. ‘We’ve hit a mud rush on the ninth level.’

‘How bad?’ Duff snapped.

‘Bad enough – it’s flooded right back to number eight.’

‘Jesus, that will take two months at least to clear,’ Sean exclaimed. ‘Does anyone else in town know – have you told anyone?’

‘I came straight here – Cronje and five men were up at the face when it blew.’

‘Get back there immediately,’ ordered Sean, ‘but ride quietly, we don’t want the whole world to know there’s trouble. Don’t let a soul off the property. We must have time to sell out.’

‘Yes, Mr Courtney.’ Curtis hesitated. ‘Cronje and five others were hit by the rush. Shall I send word to their wives?’

‘Can’t you understand English? I don’t want a whisper of this to get out before ten o’clock. We’ve got to have time.’

‘But, Mr Courtney—’ Curtis was appalled. He stood staring at Sean and Sean felt the sick little stirring of guilt. Six men drowned in treacle-thick mud . . . He made an irresolute gesture with his hands.

‘We can’t—’ He stopped and Duff cut in.

‘They’re dead now, and they’ll be just as dead when we tell their wives at ten o’clock. Get going, Curtis.’

They sold their shares in the Little Sister within an hour of the start of trading and a week later they bought them back at half the price.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.