Chapter 38

That night they camped by a hedge of ‘wait a minute’ thorn bushes, tethering Khan and the mule by it. As N’debi roasted meat David sat on his bedroll with his back against his saddle, looking contently up at the night sky ablaze with stars.

“It does a man good to get away from the Crater at times,” he murmured.

N’debi chuckled from across the fire, “The Bwana is a warrior who misses the battle.”

David thought before replying, “I don’t miss killing men N’debi. It’s just I’ve always been busy in my life but now there is very little for me to do.”

N’debi smiled, “Some would welcome being able to say that Bwana.”

They spent a night at the Maasi village where David gave the chief a bag of salt as they sat around the council fire. He learnt from him that the slavers had not troubled the area for years since the battle at the river. David put that down to the increased naval presence along the coast due to the war.

They left the next day moving back towards the Crater.

They had ignored game that they passed until they got closer to the crater; not wishing the meat to spoil if it was carried for more than a day in the hot African sun.

N’debi spotted the small herd of Eland near the hills leading to the Crater. David dismounted drawing the .275 from the rifle holster. The two of them stooped low in the tall dry grass, as they began to move slowly towards the herd.

They stopped three hundred yards from it, and David brought up the rifle to his shoulder. The rifle fitted like an extension of his body. He took a breath as he concentrated on a young Eland male and then gently squeezed the trigger.

As the herd scattered the young buck fell; dead before it hit the ground.

David and N’debi stood up. “Good shot Bwana,” N’debi murmured as he moved forward towards the kill.

David sheathed the rifle before mounting Khan, and then leading the mule, rode towards the shade of an acacia tree whilst N’debi skinned and cut up the dead Eland sixty feet away.

He had started to swing his leg over the saddle when he heard the snarl, and was knocked completely from it, as a heavy weight hit him. He felt teeth sinking into his shoulder and claws ripping into his back and then heard the bone break in his leg as he struck the ground.

The leopard was catapulted over his head and landed ten feet away. It crouched preparing to leap; its tail swishing violently as its yellow eyes fixed on David. Agony swept through his body from the bite, claws and broken leg, as he struggled to sit up.

The leopard crouched lower coiling itself ready to spring, when with a snort of rage Khan was rearing in front of it lashing out with his hooves.

The leopard changed its target and sprang; sinking its claws into Khan’s neck as it bit into his throat, the back legs racking his chest. Khan screamed and fell to its front knees from the weight of the cat.

David managed to free his pistol despite the waves of white hot agony that flooded his body and somehow crawled towards the stricken horse.

Khan continued to scream as the leopard racked him; blood was issuing from its nose in a bloody froth as it tried in vain to stand.

“Leave him alone you bastard!” David screamed as he finally reached them. He thrust the barrel of the pistol into the leopard’s ear and pulled the trigger ... once, twice, then three times. The leopard collapsed dead,

N’debi arrived taking in the scene before him.

“Bwana!” he cried looking in horror as David tried to push the leopard from Khan’s head.

“Bwana, I must treat your wounds!”

David wasn’t listening. “Khan, oh God ... Khan,” he sobbed.

N’debi picked up the cat and threw it from them.

The horse lifted his head looking at David; its eyes rolling in pain; the bloody froth issuing from its nose. The horse was in agony from the horrendous wounds inflicted by the leopard.

“It’s all right boy,” David sobbed, “I’ll stop the pain.” His voice breaking as he stroked Khan’s head. Khan tried to whinny but only more of the bloody froth appeared. David lifted the pistol and placed it gently against Khan’s head and pulled the trigger.

David collapsed over Khan’s body; his shoulders heaving from the huge sobs that racked his body.

N’debi had started a fire and had placed his spearhead in it. He moved to lift David from the horse’s body but when he tried David screamed in pain then passed out.

When he came to, he was propped up against the trunk of the tree; the smell of burnt flesh heavy in the air. He noticed from blurred eyes that N’debi had made a large fire close by. White hot pain lanced through him from his shoulder, back, and leg which was now sticking straight out with N’debi’s knobkerrie bound to it. N’debi was pulling his rifle from its saddle holster, and he vaguely noticed his saddlebags and water bottle were by his side.

N’debi turned and carried the rifle towards him.

“You are awake Bwana ... good. I must go for help. You must stay awake now; the hyenas and jackals will smell the blood and come soon.”

David nodded ... his eyes on Khan’s body.

N’debi gave him a drink from his canteen, and at David’s request unfastened the saddlebags, and with his instructions loaded the pistol from the ammunition inside. David put it down within easy reach alongside the other pistol N’debi had taken from the saddle.

“I must go now Bwana, but you must stay awake,” he warned and with that he set off running.

David took another swallow from the canteen before placing a pistol in his lap.

At times the pain almost engulfed him but he fought to stay conscious by thinking of Khan.

The mule had bolted at the first snarl of the leopard. He knew Khan should have too but instead he stayed to protect him. His mind began to wonder thinking back to the days and nights they had been together. He was on the verge of slipping back into unconsciousness when the insane laugh of a hyena pulled him back.

“They were not going to have Khan,” he vowed to himself; forcing himself awake as the pain lanced through him ... again and again.

Patar reined in along with three Gurkhas at the tree, jumping down from his sweat-encrusted horse.

“David!” he cried, rushing over to where David sat against the tree.

David lifted his head, and slowly he smiled. “Don’t let them get Khan,” he said weakly as his head fell forward into unconsciousness.

Patar looked at the dead around the tree; the leopard, the horse and two hyenas.

For two weeks David hung by a thread to life as the fever raged within his body. Sometimes he would see faces above him but they were blurred, and then he would sink back into oblivion.

Finally the day dawned when the fever broke. He was conscious of his leg itching and tried to scratch it but his fingers encountered something stiff covering it. Then suddenly, Susan’s face was above him, her eyes bright with tears as she smiled down at him.

“Susan,” he mumbled. She placed her finger across his lips, “Shush, don’t excite yourself,” she murmured, bending and kissing him.

Over the next few days he learnt that they had arrived back from England over a week ago. Slowly as his strength came back he was allowed to sit up out on the stoop for a few hours each day, whilst Susan changed his dressings with his son Guy watching on.