"Higgins, Jack - Sheba" - читать интересную книгу автора (Higgins Jack)

Til have some food sent up later this afternoon,' Muller told him. 'In return, I shall naturally expect to see some results.' He went outside, leaving them alone.

Cunningham leaned against the wall and ran a hand wearily over his face. 'And who the hell might you be? Are you anything to do with the big fellow they dumped in here this morning? I haven't been able to get a word out of him.'

'That isn't surprising,' Kane said. 'He hasn't got a tongue, but there's nothing wrong with his hearing as long as you can speak either Somali or Arabic.'

Cunningham laughed. 'Well, my Arabic isn't too bad. I'll have to bow out on the Somali question.'

Kane held out his hand. 'My name is Kane,' he said. 'Your wife hired me to find you when she received the letter you'd left with the British Consul in Aden.'

Cunningham straightened and his voice was strained with excitement. 'Ruth sent you? Have you seen her recently?'

'Only a couple of hours ago,' Kane told him. 'She's up above with a friend of mine called Marie Ferret. I'm afraid Muller and Skiros grabbed the lot of us.'

'How is she?' Cunningham demanded. 'Is she all right?'

'She was in good spirits when I last saw her, but very worried about you.'

Cunningham sat down on the pile of rubbish. 'I think you'd better bring me up to date, old man.'

Kane spoke quickly, telling him everything that had happened since his first meeting with Ruth Cunningham on the jetty at Bahrein including what Skiros had just told him.

When he had finished, Cunningham said, 'It's quite a story.'

Kane nodded. 'I suppose it is, but what happened to you?'

Cunningham laughed bitterly. 'I was a damned fool, I can see that now. For various reasons, it was important to me that the discovery of this place should be my own unaided work. When I arrived at Bir el Madani, I realized I couldn't hope to penetrate the desert on my own. I managed to find a Rashid Bedouin brave enough - or stupid enough - to accompany me.'

'Presumably you charted a course across the Empty Quarter from Shabwa to Marib and hoped for the best?'

Cunningham nodded. 'It was surprisingly easy. We had a spare camel and carried plenty of water. On the second day we found that pillar.'

'The one where we discovered the aluminium water-bottle?'

Cunningham nodded. 'We camped there for the night. It was empty and I was cutting down on weight. Frankly, I never expected to find any of the pillars left standing.'

'That was the only one we saw,' Kane told him.

'I did find another one,' Cunningham said. 'It was lying on its side, half-buried.'

'What happened when you got here?'

'It was a bad business. As we entered the gorge, they swarmed all over us. My Rashid was a brave man. He tried to put up a fight, but they shot him down. They put me into cold storage at the bottom of a disused well until Skiros arrived the following day. On two occasions since I've been here, the Catalina you mention has landed on the flat plain outside the gorge. I think Skiros intended to kill me, but then Muller arrived and suggested he might have a. use for me on this job. Skiros let him have his way.'

'I'm afraid you've only postponed the evil day,' Kane told him.

Cunningham shrugged wearily. 'I don't give a damn about myself- it's Ruth I'm worried about.'

Kane nodded. 'I know how you feel, but we're not through yet. We'll think of something. Where do they put you at night?'