The street ended and the mud path through the fields began. They walked one behind the other, with Dan in front and Baat behind. The rain poured down. The path was covered with deep puddles. They splashed along as best they could. Dan's lamp was the only light they could see. They moved forward half by looking and half by hearing the splashes of the feet in front of them.
The pain in Garibaldi's leg was so great that it was all he could think about. He forgot to ask Dan to take a rest. He did not even want to take a rest, because he could not even think about resting. He had to take one more step, and another, and another. When he put his crutch down, his wounded leg shuddered, and a stab of pain make him clench his teeth. The pain was less while he swung forwards on the crutch. He put his weight on his good leg and took another step. Now he clenched his teeth and put the crutch down. Another stab of pain. Now another step. Even if he could have thought about taking a rest, he would not have wanted to, because if he stopped, he would feel one long, unending pain from his leg, and that would be worse than walking. He preferred it this way: stab, relief, stab, relief.
Sallina was soaked to the skin. It seemed that no matter how good your rain jacket and trousers were, if you walked around in the rain all night, you would get wet. Her boots were full of water. Her feet hurt. She was sure they did not hurt as much as Garibaldi's leg, but they hurt enough that the pain, and her confusion about Dan and what was going to happen to her and Garibaldi, made her cry quietly all the way down the path to the cliff.
Amid her tears and the cold and her wet clothes and the pain in her feet and her exhaustion, however, Sallina did come to a decision. She decided to talk to Baat about Dan as soon as she could. She would tell him about the gold on the ship, and the things Dan had said, and ask him what he thought. Baat was the son of Sukh. She doubted that Dan would leave Baat behind. And she doubted that Baat would leave Sallina and Garibaldi behind.
Sallina looked up. The wind was roaring ahead of them. The rain was blowing right into her face. A moment later, Dan stopped and shouted.
"We're at the cliff! Come forward." He pointed his lamp at the ground in front of him. "Stand here!"
The five of them gathered in front of him. "I'm going to look over the cliff. Stay here and wait for me."
Sallina grabbed his arm. "Don't leave us alone!"
Dan pointed his light in Sallina's face. The wind blew Sallina's hair out beside her head. It roared in her ears. Dan said something, but she could not hear him.
"What?" she said.
"I have to look at the sea, to be sure!"
Sallina let go of Dan's arm. How could she stop him leaving them if he wanted to? At least Baat was with them.
Dan walked ten steps to the edge of the cliff and looked out. He stood turning his head and cupping a hand over one hear. In his other hand he held his light. He kept the light shining upon the ground.
After a while, he came back.
"Garibaldi!" Dan said. He shone his light on Garibaldi's face. "How are you doing?"
Garibaldi's face was white. He blinked in the light. His lips moved, but they could not hear him. Sallina put and arm around him.
Dan shone the light on the grass beside the path. "Lie him down there!"
Baat and Sallina lay Garibaldi down. Dan took out a knife. Sallina had not seen his knife before. It was slightly curved, with a broad blade sharpened on both sides, and a vein running down the center.
Baat said something in Sallina's ear, but she could not understand him over the roar of the wind. Dan cut off Garibaldi's bandage. Below was a lump of squishy blood. The wound started to bleed again. Sallina could see the blood dripping down Garibaldi's shin. She sobbed in dismay.
"He's strong, Miss," Dan said.
Garibaldi reached up and put his hand behind Sallina's neck. He pulled her gently towards him. She bent over and put her ear to his mouth.
"I have been cut before," he said, "I chopped my leg with an axe. It was worse than this."
Sallina sat up. She held Garibaldi's hand in hers and squeezed it. She looked at Garibaldi's leg. Dan was wrapping another bandage around the wound. Baat had his hand on Garibaldi's knee. Dan pulled the bandage.
"Aaahhh!" Garibaldi yelled.
"There you go!" Dan said, "There's strength in him yet!"
Dan tied the bandage and shone his light upon the ground. "Come close! All of you! Make a circle!"
They made a circle around Garibaldi and Dan. They crouched down and spread out their jackets and cloaks. Their bodies blocked the wind, so they could hear Dan clearly when he spoke.
"I have bad news."
"The waves are over two meters high. The rowboat won't be able to get in to shore."
"How you know waves big?" Baat said.
"I can tell by listening," Dan said.
Chimeg spoke to Boli in Kubla. Dan waited for her to finish.
"The Captain will bring the boat back tomorrow at midnight."
Sallina squeezed Garibaldi's hand.
Dan looked at her. "We have to hide until then. I think I know of a place. Follow me along the path towards the beach."
Chimeg spoke to Boli. When she was finished, Dan stood up. "Let's go." He pointed to Garibaldi. "Get him up. We need shelter."
And so they made their way slowly along the path on top of the cliff, with the wind roaring around them and driving the rain into their cheeks. Sallina knew that Dan was right about the waves. The wind was what made waves, all the sailors agreed upon that, and this was strong wind, so it would mean strong waves.
She followed behind Garibaldi, who kept limping along at the same speed. What time was it? It must be far past midnight. How long until the sun came up?
They came to the stream where Dan had caught Sallina as she fell on their way out. Now the stream bed was full of noisy water. Dan pointed his light at the water. It was muddy and fast-moving. It flew over the edge of the cliff and down towards the sea, but the wind picked up a lot of it and threw it back onto their faces.
Dan stepped down into the water. It roared around his legs, coming up to his knees. "Garibaldi, come forward."
Garibaldi limped to the edge of the stream.
"Come down," Dan said, "Lean on me."
Dan helped Garibaldi across the stream and up the far bank. He pointed his light back down onto the water. "Now, the rest of you! Come on! Jump across it!"
They jumped across the stream, one after the other. Sallina landed in the water at the other side, but she did not care. Her boots were already as wet as they could be. She crawled up the stream bank on her hands and feet. It was slippery. She was not sure how Garibaldi had managed to go up it.
They continued along the path. Not long after that, Dan stopped. The path was set back from the cliff by about a hundred paces here, so the wind was not as loud. They gathered around him. He pointed his light at the path in front of them. It crossed another stream. This stream bed was wider, and full of pebbles.
"Do you remember this?" he said.
"Yes," Garibaldi said.
Dan pointed towards the cliff. "The cliff here looks out over the beach, at the east end. This stream cuts a ravine in the cliff. I noticed it form the Reliant when we sailed past yesterday. The ravine is deep. We are going to go down the stream bed and hide in the ravine."
Nobody answered him.
Dan looked from one of them to the other, pointing his light at their legs instead of into their faces. "Baat and Sallina, both of you help Garibaldi. Carry him if you have to."
Sallina and Baat stood on either side of Garibaldi.
"Follow me," Dan said. He turned down the pebbly stream bed and walked in the water towards the cliff.
The stream bed dropped quickly. After twenty paces, it had its own banks. Sallina understood why the path was far from the cliff here. The banks were too steep to climb down and up again.
Dan shouted over his shoulder. He had to shout again, because the noise of the wind was getting louder. "Slowly now! Slowly! Step, breath twice, step again!"
Garibaldi stumbled. Sallina and Baat caught him. His crutch was getting stuck between the pebbles with almost every step. Dan was taking one step at a time, moving slowly, just like he had when he came up the stairs from the beach. After each step, he shined the light around him and behind him, so everyone, even Boli and Chimeg at the back, could see where they were going to take their next step.
The ravine became deeper and deeper. Its walls were made of rock, and they rose straight up on either side, twice as tall as Baat. The wind roared above them, but down here between the walls of the ravine, it was less strong, and the rain less heavy.
The ravine turned to the right. Dan stopped and looked down. In front of him was empty space. He turned around and waited for the others to catch up with him.
"There is a drop here. We have to go down. I will go down first." He pointed to Baat and Sallina. "You lower Garibaldi over the edge and hand him to me."
They helped Garibaldi down. Beyond the drop, the ravine bent back to the left again. The stream bed was about ten paces wide here, and filled with rocks and pebbles. The walls were as high as trees on either side. The stream water flowed under the rocks. Sallina could hear it bubbling beneath her feet.
Dan shone his light forward. There was nothing but black night in front of them. The ravine ended in the face of the cliff. Dan shone his light on the right wall of the ravine. He was looking for something. Sallina was not sure what. She liked this place already. Without the wind, she was already feeling warmer, even though her clothes were soaked.
Dan pointed his light at the left wall. "Aha! A bit of luck at last, sailors!"
There was a black hole in the left wall of the ravine. It was about the height of a man and one pace wide. Dan walked to the hole and shone his light into the darkness beyond. He stepped inside. They saw his light flickering off stone walls. He stepped out. He was smiling.
"Come inside! It's a cave!"
Dan stepped back into the cave. Boli and Chimeg walked quickly to the opening and went inside. Sallina and Baat helped Garibaldi over the rocks. When they reached the mouth of the cave, they found that it was wide enough only for one person to step in at a time. Sallina went ahead, walking backwards so she could hold Garibaldi's arm. Baat came behind Garibaldi, ready to catch him if he fell.
They stood together on the cave floor. Dan shone his light slowly around the walls. The cave was five paces wide and ten paces deep. At the back, it grew narrow. The floor sloped up towards the ceiling until the cave closed to a narrow crack. The ceiling itself was high enough in the center that Sallina could not reach it.
The cave floor was smooth rock in places, and flat, packed dirt in others. At the back of the cave, where the floor started to rise, was a black patch of rock with a circle of stones around it.
"Place for fire!" Baat said.
In one corder was a pile of small logs, planks and rope. The pile was waist-high and two paces wide. The logs in the pile had no bark. The planks were bent and white. They looked as if they came from a wrecked ship.
"Wood for fire!" Baat said.
There were many different ropes tangled with the wood. All of them were thick, strong, heavy ropes. Some were tied in rope ladders, which must have once been the shrouds of a sailing ship.
"And rope for climbing," Dan said.
Sallina looked at Dan. This seemed to good to be true. "Did you know this was here?"
Dan smiled at her. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Either way, it's here, and I think your man could use some hot water and a fire." He turned to Boli and said something in Kubla. Boli nodded and sat in the mouth of the cave.
Baat looked at Boli and at Dan. "Why he watch? Why I not watch?"
Sallina helped Garibaldi to an open space on the floor. He lay down with a sigh. She put her hand upon his forehead. Behind her, Dan said, "Two reasons. First, I don't trust you to obey orders. Second, children see well in the dark."
She turned to watch Baat and Dan. Dan stood beside the pile of wood and rope. In the darkness near the front of the cave, Baat clenched his fists. "I fight like man! You fight like snake!"
"Baat!" Chimeg said.
Baat stopped talking and looked at her. He pointed at her and said one word. She put her head in her hands. Baat watched her. He looked at Sallina. He saw Garibaldi lying on the ground and walked over to them. He kneeled down and whispered.
"I sorry I am angry."
"It's okay," Sallina said. "I understand." She put her hand upon his knee.
Baat stared at Garibaldi's face. Garibaldi's eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply. He had the knee of his injured leg raised up and his hands upon his tummy.
"He brave man, and strong."
Sallina put her hand upon Garibaldi's forehead again. She pressed her lips together to stop herself from crying. "I am scared, Baat."
He looked at her. "Why scared?"
Before Sallina could answer, Dan said, "Baat."
Baat did not turn around.
"Baat," Dan said again, "Don't shout again."
Baat said quietly, "I not scared of stupid lashes with whip."
Sallina stood up. Dan had placed his light on the ground between two stones so that it shone upon the ceiling. The light on the ceiling lit the cave well enough for Sallina to see Chimeg sitting near the cave mouth and Boli crouched just outside. Chimeg was watching Baat and Garibaldi. Boli was staring out into the darkness of the ravine.
Dan picked pieces of wood out of the pile and placed them beside the fire circle. He made a pile of rope strands, large splinters, and broken planks. He knelt beside the fire and rubbed his hands together. He picked up some rope strands and put them in the circle. He placed splinters around and on top of the rope. His hands moved quickly. Once he put a piece of wood on the pile, he did not touch it again. He reached immediately for the next piece. Sallina watched him with her head tilted to one side. It was strange to her, the way Dan did not stop to look at his pile of wood and move some of the sticks. She would have looked at the sticks and moved them to better places, just like her father, and just like Garibaldi.
Dan put a last piece of wood on the fire. He reached into his pack and took out a small box. From the box he took a match. He struck the match upon the stone floor next to his pile of wood. It burst into flame. He pushed the match between the sticks of his pile of wood and into a ball of something yellow that he had placed inside. Sallina guessed that it was straw. Dan must have carried the straw in his pack, wrapped in something water-proof along with his matches.
As soon as he had pushed the match into the straw, Dan turned away from the pile of wood and picked up a cloth bundle he had set beside his pack. He unwrapped the bundle and held up a metal pot with no handle. The metal of the pot was shiny and thin.
With the pot held in one hand, Dan knelt down and blew into the center of his fire three times. The flames leapt up. He stood and held out the pot to Sallina. "Go outside and fill this with fresh water."
Sallina walked forward and took the pot. She looked down at it and felt its edges with her fingers. The walls and bottom of the pot were thin. It was light in her hand, no heavier than an egg. She had never seen such a pot before.
"Go," Dan said.
Sallina frowned and turned towards the cave mouth. "And while you're out there," Dan said, "Have a pee, or have a pooh if you need to. If you have a pooh, cover it with with rocks. We don't want anyone stepping in it by accident when they go outside. And whatever you do, wash your hands carefully afterwards in the water."
Sallina nodded and walked towards the cave mouth. Boli moved aside and she stepped out into the night. She stood in the rain, waiting for her eyes to become used to the dark. How dare Dan tell her to wash her hands after she did her toilet? What did he think she was, some kind of barbarian? She took a deep breath. There was no point in getting angry at him.
She still could not see. It was too dark. But she did need to pee. She moved slowly along the wall of the ravine, down towards the end. She leaned upon the wall with her left hand and held the pot in her right. After five steps, she stopped and looked back. She could not see the cave mouth, but she could see some light from it shining upon the wet stones of the stream bed.
She pulled down her trousers and squatted against the ravine wall. The rain fell upon her head and upon her knees. She closed her eyes. She forgot her worries, and was glad to be alone and peeing.
She pulled up her trousers and walked a few steps to the middle of the ravine, where she could hear water running underneath the rocks. She moved some rocks aside until she felt cold, fresh water rushing around her hand. She washed her hands and her face. It was dark, but she did not need to see to wash herself. She washed the pot, too, and filled it with fresh water. She drank the water and filled the pot again.
Sallina spilled some of the water from the pot as she walked back to the cave entrance over the rocks, but not enough to make her go back and fill it again. She stepped past Boli and into the cave.
"Good," Dan said, when he saw her carrying the pot of water.
He was kneeling beside Garibaldi. Garibaldi's eyes were open. He was staring at the circle of light upon the ceiling. Dan's fire was burning brightly, and its warm orange light filled the cave.
Dan stood up and took the pot from Sallina. He picked up a metal handle. Somehow, the handle fitted onto the edge of the pot. He used the handle to place the pot right on top of his fire. It sank down onto the burning sticks. He picked up a metal plate and put it on top of the pot.
"Baat, go outside and to whatever you have to do. After that, Chimeg, you go, then Boli."
"What about Garibaldi?" Sallina said.
"He gets to go at the back of the cave, or if he can't move, he can pee in his helmet."
Sallina looked down at the policeman's helmet. It lay next to the broken spear on the floor beside Garibaldi. She kneeled down beside him and stroked his hair. She hoped very much that he did not have to pee in the helmet. She was sure that Garibaldi would be ashamed about that later.
"How are you?" she said.
"Cold," he said.
Behind her, Baat said a word in Kubla. Boli answered. Sallina looked over her shoulder. Baat stepped out of the cave and into the darkness. Boli moved back into his place, looking out.
Sallina took off her wet jacket and lay it over a stone nearby. She unbuttoned Garibaldi's jacket and opened it. She could not hug him properly, because she did not want to touch his leg, with its knee up in the air. So she lay sideways upon him, with her head next to his neck, and put her arms on either side of him. "How's that?" she said.
"Good," he said, quietly, "I'm not going to die yet. But when I do die, I would like it to be like this."
Sallina closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his.
While Sallina lay upon Garibaldi, trying to keep him warm, Baat came back into the cave. Chimeg went out, then Boli after her. Sallina could hear all this going on, but she could not see it.
Baat said something to Chimeg. She did not answer.
"He's right," Dan said, "Sit by the fire, Chimeg, you're shivering."
Chimeg walked to the fire. It was crackling, and Sallina could feel the warmth of it on her back. She sat up.
"Can we move him nearer the fire?"
Dan lifted the pot of water. It was boiling. Sallina could see the steam rising.
"No. Leave him where he is." He poured some water into a metal cup and stirred the water with his short, curved, double-bladed knife. He took the knife out of the water. The water slipped off the knife, leaving no drops on the blade. Sallina thought that was strange.
Dan looked up at her. "Sit him up." He held up the cup of hot water. "Lean him against that rock there. I want him to drink this."
Baat left the cave entrance and walked to the fire. He and Sallina lifted Garibaldi until he was sitting up against a large rock, facing the fire.
Dan gave Garibaldi the metal cup, wrapped in a handkerchief. Garibaldi took the cup in both hands and held it against his chest.
"That's good," he said, "Thank you, Dan."