Treasure of the Golden Cheetah (27 page)

She slowed her breathing and listened. Again, only the Una’s ongoing flow came to her, but now the sound took on a murmuring voice, whispering to her, taunting her with menace. Biscuit noticed something, too. He stopped and his eyes searched the woods. A low growl rumbled from his throat. Like an angry house cat, he hissed and spat. Jade felt an icy chill caress her shoulders and brush her spine.

She shuddered and unshouldered her rifle, working the lever to chamber a round. Both of her knees ached from the day’s strain, but the left, the one that always warned her of death, now pulsed with a slight stabbing throb. She heard the old Chagga’s warning repeat itself in her ear.

CHAPTER 16

—The Traveler

“MADDY, NEVILLE, I’M SO GLAD YOU COULD COME.” BEVERLY HUGGED the former and accepted a kiss on the cheek from the latter.

Neville, who was carrying Cyril, shifted the toddler to one side and shook Avery’s hand.

“Let me take him,” Madeline said, extending her arms for her son. “I’ll carry him into the nursery so you men can visit.” She looked around the room. “Where’s Sam?”

“Here I am,” he replied, coming into the parlor from another door. He carried a large brown envelope under his arm.

“I don’t know why you didn’t wait to ride with us,” said Madeline. “Whatever did you need to come into town for anyway?”

“I went to see Dr. Mathews again,” he answered, placing the envelope on an end table. “And I wanted to do a little darkroom work.”

“And we have the better darkroom setup,” said Avery. “But hurry back, Maddy. I want to introduce you to the guest I mentioned earlier, Major Anthony Bertram. He should be arriving any moment now.” Madeline and Beverly left the parlor, taking Cyril with them.

“I thought this chap was staying here, Avery,” said Neville, accepting a scotch and soda.

“He is, but he wanted to drop in on Edmunde Colridge at the Nairobi Club. Seems his father knew old Lord Colridge, Edmunde’s father. Who doesn’t?” he added with a chuckle. “Man’s a living legend.”

“We might never see him then, if the elder Colridge joins them,” said Neville. “His lordship can talk the ear off a deaf man.” Beverly and Madeline emerged from the nursery wing, and Avery indicated chairs to his guests. He sat down on the leather sofa next to his pipe stand, Neville chose a spot on a facing sofa, but Sam continued to stand. The women took seats next to their respective husbands.

“Well, he’d jolly well better come back,” said Avery. “I loaned him the use of my motorcar. Point of fact, I should have considered how long his usual treks off into the unknown take.” He swirled the ice in his glass. “We might never see him or my Hupmobile again.”

“I took a liberty, my love, to ensure that wouldn’t happen,” said Beverly. “I told Major Bertram to bring Edmunde back with him if he wished. Matthew, our
mpishi
, has prepared dinner for seven and there’s already a place set. Besides, I’d like to get to know Edmunde. If my sister, Emily, does visit, I plan to introduce them. Keep her busy.”

“Very clever of you, darling,” said Avery as he set aside his glass. “Well,” he said, taking out his pipe and filling it. “Since we won’t have another opportunity once our guest or guests of honor arrive, tell me how your new invention is coming along.”

“Nearly completed, I should say,” said Neville. “Testing it tomorrow. Looks very promising.”

“Even if the coffee washer only sells within the colony,” said Maddy, “we’ll do very well for ourselves.”

“And then what will you do next, Sam?” asked Beverly. “More inventions? Or another motion picture? You’ll have capital at your disposal.”

“I haven’t decided,” he said. He paced back and forth from one sofa to the other.

“Please stop that, Sam,” scolded Beverly. “I feel I’m watching a tennis match. For heaven’s sake, sit down.”

“No, thanks, Beverly,” he said. “I’m sorry. I will try to stand still.”

“Well, you have to sit during dinner,” she replied. She tried another tactic. “How is your plane? I know Avery so enjoyed flying it. He’s told me—” She stopped abruptly when Avery nudged her ribs with his elbow.

Sam’s entire body stiffened and his lips clamped tightly. “The plane is fine, Beverly. I’m out of fuel, though, and it doesn’t appear that this shortage will end anytime soon.”

“I believe you’re wrong there, Sam,” said Avery. His pipe dangled from one side of his mouth, and he puffed at it between sentences. “Governor Northey is taking steps to ensure the resolution. Give it a month perhaps.”

“I hope not that long,” added Neville. “Deucedly hard on the farmers coming into town. Have to go back to ox wagons otherwise.”

“What’s in the envelope, Sam?” asked Madeline. “You said you’d been doing some darkroom work. Are those photographs?”

“I didn’t know you took stills,” said Avery.

“They’re some of Jade’s. I was hoping to spot that crazed native in one of them. See if one of the actors had been seen with him.”

“Oh, my,” murmured Madeline.

“And did you find him?” asked Avery.

Sam shook his head. “No.”

“Then why—” Avery broke off when he heard his car pull into the porte cochere. “Ah, our guest has arrived.” He set his still-smoking pipe in a tall ash stand and went to the door.

“Is he alone, or did he bring Edmunde with him?” asked Beverly.

“He’s not alone, but he didn’t bring Edmunde,” replied Avery as Farhani opened the front door.

“Then who?”

“Point of fact, he brought his lordship.”

 

 

“WHERE IS IT, Biscuit?” Jade whispered.

Biscuit stared into the forest and hissed again. Jade followed his line of sight and saw the yellow eyes before anything else.

“Biscuit, to camp!” she ordered. Biscuit gave one parting growl before racing down the trail. Jade raised her rifle and, keeping her eye on the leopard, inched slowly backwards. She wanted the cat to just slip away, to decide she was too big to be prey. But for every step she took back, the animal took one forward, head low, eyes locked on hers. The vegetation hid his vital spots. Jade remembered some advice her father had given her in case a black bear followed her. “Make a lot of noise and make yourself look as large as you can.”

She stood up straighter, still keeping her rifle trained on the cat. “Shoo! Get out of here!”

The cat hesitated just before emerging from cover, but it didn’t back down. Jade didn’t want to kill it, but she wasn’t going to have a choice. She could shoot at the ground just in front of the leopard as she had with the lion, but if she didn’t scare it away it would be on her before she could fire again. Her best chance for survival was to kill it now. The cat took another step. Its head and chest were exposed. Jade took a bead on the chest and squeezed the trigger.

Nothing.

She tried to work the lever and chamber another round, but the mechanism wouldn’t move. It was as if someone had glued it into place. The full danger of her predicament dawned on her in the same instant it did the leopard, for the cat took two quick steps forward onto a flat rock before freezing again.

Jade slung the useless rifle over her shoulder and pulled her knife, holding it ready to meet the inevitable attack. The leopard wriggled its hindquarters, bunching its muscles for the brief charge. Jade knew she’d have only one decent chance. There would be no deflecting it now. Wounded, the cat would only fight harder. She gripped the knife’s hilt with both hands and braced herself.

When the shot came, she jumped backwards, colliding with a tree. The leopard ran off.

“Jade!”

“Harry,” she answered. She heard his heavy tread as he ran forward to meet her. He held his Mauser at the ready, anticipating an attack.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“I’m fine. Thanks. I think you scared it.”

“Scared what? I couldn’t see anything, so I shot right into the forest in the direction you were looking.”

“It was a leopard.” She pointed to the rock. “Right there. It may have smelled that goat I’d brought along and followed me. Or it may have smelled carrion. I found Rehema, Harry. Her body’s lying in that hidden cavern that the Chagga used to use as a hideout.”

Harry didn’t seem to notice her last revelation. He scanned the area for tracks. “A leopard tailing you?” He scratched the back of his neck. “Be damned if I can see any sign. You’d think there’d be a wet paw print on that rock, at least. The men will really think you’re jinxed now. Why didn’t you shoot it?” He continued to study the ground.

“My rifle jammed.”

Harry scowled. “Jammed? Haven’t you cleaned and oiled it recently?”

“Of course I have. And I don’t leave it lying around, so no one could have gotten to it.”

“What happened to it?”

“It didn’t fire the first time. And I know it was loaded. I tried to throw that first cartridge out and load another but the lever wouldn’t budge.”

Harry studied her with an expression of concern, his brows lifted and his head cocked. “Are you certain you saw this leopard? Maybe you had a hallucination and thought you did. You imagined that you’d fired.”

“No! It was right there. Biscuit saw it, too. And my rifle jammed. Look.” Jade put her knife back in her boot’s sheath and took hold of her Winchester. She aimed up into the forest and squeezed the trigger. The rifle went off, snapping a small branch off a tree. “What the . . . ?” She pulled down the lever and it moved smoothly, ejecting the spent cartridge and inserting another.

“I don’t understand. It was completely locked before. If you hadn’t shown up when you did . . .”

Suddenly it dawned on her that he’d just run up to her rescue before Biscuit could have made it back to camp. She heard more heavy footsteps and considerable panting. McAvy and Murdock, each carrying Remingtons, stumbled into view.

“Ah,” said Murdock, “you found her.” He leaned against a tree to catch his breath.

Jade nodded to them both and turned back to Harry. “How did you get here so soon? Were you hunting?”

“No. That native stowaway of yours, Jelani. He ran into camp about twenty minutes ago claiming you were in danger. I thought the Chagga had you. We came on the double quick.” Harry twitched his head towards the still-panting McAvy. “Well, I did, at least. Then I met Biscuit on the way. Sent him back down with Jelani.” He took off his hat and scratched his head. “The entire affair doesn’t make a great deal of sense. It’s as if he knew there was trouble before it happened.”

Jade didn’t comment. She had no answers to give. “Let’s get back before there’s more trouble in camp.”

 

 

“LORD COLRIDGE,” SAID Beverly as she hastened to her husband’s side. “What a lovely surprise.” If her smile seemed a touch forced to Sam, at least she managed one.

“Major Bertram,” Beverly said as Avery’s former school-mate followed the old settler into the room. “Please come in.”

Bertram laughed. “You’re the essence of politeness, madam. Most hostesses would simply kill me for bringing someone else.” He handed his hat to Farhani.

“I trust I’m not intruding,” said Colridge. “Edmunde wanted me to meet young Bertram, but he had a prior commitment this evening and had to decline your gracious offer for dinner, Lady Dunbury. Knowing that would disappoint you, I came in his stead. Must represent the family, you know. Of course you do.” Each edict was punctuated with a puff of air that sent Colridge’s bushy white mustache fluttering like a banner.

Colridge headed straight towards the Thompsons, who’d risen from their seats as soon as they saw him enter. “Mrs. Thompson, lovely as ever. Africa agrees with you. Of course it does. Why wouldn’t it? Thompson,” he said, shaking Neville’s hand and clapping him on the shoulder with his left hand. “By thunder, I’ve heard tremendous things about you. Tremendous! Inventing a new machine. You do Kenya proud. Er, what does it do?”

“Thank you, Lord Colridge. It—” Neville was too late in adding any explanation. Colridge had already turned to Sam.

“By thunder, I know you. American. Making some sort of motion picture. Filming that fair. Of course you were.”

By this time Avery had sufficiently recovered. He cleared his throat, signaling for attention. “Yes, well. Allow me to introduce everyone. I believe you all know Lord Colridge.” He next indicated his friend with a slight turn of his hand in his direction. “And please allow me to present Major Anthony Bertram. These are our friends, Neville and Madeline Thompson, and Sam Featherstone. Sam is a pilot. He flew for the Americans in the war.”

Colridge, who hadn’t known about Sam’s flying, puffed through his mustache and studied Sam as the latter shook Bertram’s hand.