Part 1 (1/2)

Cry Wolf

Wilbur S” And he turned back to face the crippled anie into the bed of the river It was only then that Jake realized that he still carried a full bottle of Scrubbs Ah the shallow stagnant pool towards him Despite the wounds, it folloith lithe and sinuous menace it was so close that he could see each stiff white whisker in the curled upper lip and hear the rattle of air in its throat He let it come on, for to turn and run was suicide At the last moment he reared back like a baseball pitcher and hurled the bottle

Jake Barton is an Alishman with a nose for a quick deal Both have always moved from one escapade to another Now, as Mussolini prepares to annihilate the people of Ethiopia, the two adventurers coainst Vicky Ca their cause Striking a bargain with a beleaguered Ethiopian prince, the trio dares to run gauntlet guns and a batch of run-down aramble for freedom

To Jake Barton, machinery was always feminine with all the female's fascination, wiles and bitchery

So when he first saw thee of the o trees, they became for hi aloof from the other heaps of worn-out and redundant equip for sale Although it was June and the cooler season between thein Dares Salaa like a force-fed furnace and Jake went thankfully into the shade of the in his exalanced around the enclosed yard, and noticed that he seemed to be the only one interested in the five vehicles

Theover the heaps of broken shovels and Picks, the rows of battered wheelbarrows and the other mounds of unidentifiable rubbish

He turned his attention back to the ladies, as he slipped off the light tropical o tree

The ladies were aristocrats fallen on hard times, their hard but rakish lines were dulled by the faded and scratched paintwork and the cancerous blotches of rust that showed through The foxy-faced fruit bats that hung inverted in the , and oil and grease had oozed frohtly black streaks and blobs

Jake knew their lineage and their history and as he laid aside the s that held his tools, he reviewed it swiftly Five fine pieces of craftsanyika The bodies and chassis had been built by Schreiner the stately high cupola in which the open lared like an eine housing, with its heavy armour plate and the neat rows of rivets and the steel shutters that could be closed to protect the radiator against inco enemy fire

They stood tall on the metal bossed wheels with their solid rubber tyres, and Jake felt a sneaking regret that he would be the one to tear their engines out of theallant old bodies

They did not deserve such cavalier treat iron ladies who in their youth had chased the wily German commander von Lettow-Vorbeck across the wide plains and over the fierce hills of East Africa The thorns of the wilderness had deeply scarred the paintwork of the five arlanced off their ar the distinctive dirandest days, strea, dust billowing behind theas and ant bear holes, theirand the terrified Gerinal engines had been replaced by the beautiful new 6 litre Bentleys, and they had begun the long decline of police patrol work on the border, chasing the occasional cattle raider and slowly being pounded by a succession of brutal drivers into the condition which had at last brought them here to the Government sale yards in this fiery May of the year of our Lord 1935 But Jake knew that even the savage abuse to which they had been subjected could not have destroyed the engines completely and that hat interested hiin his exairls, ”hebony frame that was cramped in the confined area of the armoured car's body, but he worked with a quiet concentration so close to rapture that the discomfort went unnoticed Jake's wide friendly mouth was pursed in a whistle that went on endlessly, the opening bars of ”Tiger Rag” repeated over and over again, and his eyes were screwed up against the gloo the throttle and ignition settings of the controls, tracing out the fuel lines fro the cocks under the driver's seat and grunting with satisfaction He scrah side of the vehicle, pausing to wipe aith his forearm the thin trickle of sweat that broke from his thick curly black hair and ran down his cheek, then he hurried forward and knocked the claine-cover

”Oh sweet, sweet!” he whispered, as he saw the fine outlines of the old Bentley engine block beneath the layer of thick dust and greasy filth

His hands with the big square palers went out to touch it as almost a caress

”The bastards have beaten you up, darling,” he whispered

”But ill have you singing again as lovely as ever, that's a proine suers

”shi+t!” he grunted with disgust, as he felt the grittiness, and he thrust the stick back into its slot He pulled the plugs and, with the pro the crank for hiainst the pal the line of ar, and when he reached the last of theain for certain and four maybe

One was shot beyond hope There was a crack in the engine block through which he could have ridden a horse, and the pistons had seized so solid in their pots that not even the combined muscle upon the crank handle of Jake and his helper could move them

Two of the, but he could cannibalize from the wreck That left hiloo another in Dares Salaam

Three, then, he could reckon on with certainty At one hundred and ten pounds apiece, that was 030 Less an estiave him a clear profit of two hundred and thirty pounds for surely he would not have to bid more than twenty pounds each for these wrecks

Jake felt a warlow of satisfaction as he tossed his African helper the proreat deal of lance at the fob-watch he hauled from his back pocket showed him there was still over two hours before the advertised tiin work on those Bentleys not only for the money For Jake it would be a labour of love

The one in the centre of the line see on the aruard and selected a Yth-inch spanner

Immediately he was totally absorbed

After half an hour he pulled his head out of the engine, wiped his hands on a handful of cotton waste and hurried around to the front of the car

The bigthe crank handle, spinning the heavy engine easily with a steady whirring rhythm After a minute of this, he released the handle and wiped off his sith the cotton waste that left grease htly

”I knew you for a temperamental bitch theto do itYou really are” Once ine cowling and there was the clink of the spanner against ” in a low off-key whistle for another ten ain Jake went to the crank handle

”You are going to do itto like it” He spun the handle and the engine kicked viciously, back-fired like a rifle shot, and the crank handle snapped out of Jake's hand with enough force to have taken his thurip

”Jesus,” whispered Jake, ”a real little hell catV He scrambled up into the turret and reached down to the controls and reset the ignition

At the next swing of the crank handle she bucked and fired, caught and surged, then fell back into a steady beat, quivering slightly on her rigid suspension, but co, flushed, but with his dark green eyes shi+ning with delight

”Oh you beauty, ”he said ”You bloody little beauty”

”Bravo,”

said a voice behind hiotten that he was not the only person left on earth, in his complete absorption with the h he had been observed in solowered at the figure that was leaning elegantly against the hole of the er, and the voice was sufficient to stir the hair upon the nape of Jake's neck It was one of those pricey Limey accents

The man was dressed in a cream suit of expensive tropical linen and two-tone shoes of white and brown On his head he wore a white straw hat with a wide brim that cast a shadow over his face But Jake could see themanner He was handsoular features, a face that had flustered many a female's emotions and that fitted ith the voice He would he a ranking governular regiments stationed in Dares Salaam

Upper class establishonal stripes by which the British advertised at which seat of learning they had obtained their education and their place in the social order

”It didn't take you long to get her going” The o, his ankles crossed and one hand thrust into his coat pocket He se in the eyes ly This was not one of those cardboard erous as the glint of a knife in the shadows

”I have no doubt the others are in as good a state of repair” It was an enquiry, not a state of dismay It was absurd that this fancy lad could have a real interest in the five vehicles but if he did, then Jake had just given hienerous demonstration of their value ”This is the only one that will run, and even her guts are blown Listen to her knock Sounds like aand earthed the ine died, he said loudly, ”Junk!”

and spat on the ground near the front wheel but not on it He couldn't bring hi his jacket over his shoulder, hefted the carpet bag and, without another glance at the Englishates of the works yard

”You not bidding then, old chap?” The stranger had left his post at the o and fallen into step beside him

”God, no” Jake tried to fill his voice with disdain ”Are you?”