'How do you propose to find them?' she asked.
'We'll start today making wide sweeps of the interior. It won't be so easy, like looking for the needle in the haystack, but the thing in our favour is that it's the dry season and they should be living close to known water-holes. I'm hoping Samgau, who's a tame Bushman, that is one who has lived on a farm, will be able to help us in this.'
The camp was astir when they returned, and smells of bacon and woodsmoke and coffee filled the air. Paul Curtis, dapper and looking rather out of place in a silk dressing-gown, was emerging from the shower cubicle and, as he greeted Perry, she caught a waft of some expensive after-shave lotion. He's the kind of man who would change into a dinner jacket in the jungle, she thought to herself. Ken, already dressed in khaki safari suit, was tinkering with the engine of the Land-rover. He grinned cheerfully.
'Must see that everything is in order. Today we do a bit more exploring,' he said.
His eyes wandered from Perry and riveted on to the sight of Samantha drifting out from her tent, yawning noisily and making sure that everyone noticed her. Her lovely hair was tousled and her face shiny and devoid of make-up, and in her blue and white striped dacron pyjamas she managed to look very childish and yet very alluring.
'Heavens, it feels like the middle of the night. Will we have to get up this early every day?' she demanded of nobody in particular, then seeing Fabian and Perry together, she demanded childishly, 'Where have you two been? Why didn't you tell me you were going somewhere, Fabian? I would have come with you.'
'There's always another day,' Fabian assured her good-temperedly. It was surprising, thought Perry, how amiable he could be with the girl, for really she seemed as if she were going to be very exasperating. Though perhaps she was the kind who was irritating to her own sex and not to the other, for here was Ken with a bemused expression on his face, and Fabian with his indulgent smile and Paul, her father, obviously was besotted with the minx. Oh, well, maybe she herself was too critical. Later Samantha made sure that she sat next to Fabian in the truck and Perry found herself next to Paul Curtis in the back. Ken was driving and Samgau, the tame Bushman, was perched upon the back.
It was still quite early, but already the sky was a brilliant blue over the wide plain with its low bushes, its scattered broad-crowned thorn trees and its waving dry grass, fine and golden like the hair of a lion. Fat little ground squirrels were running around near their burrows searching for food. They sat up on their hind legs to look curiously at the truck and whistled to each other softly, their tails waving. Perry would have liked to try to photograph them, but at the moment Fabian seemed to have forgotten what she was there for. His only thought seemed to be to try to find Bushmen. Every now and again they would stop and he would take out his field-glasses and scan the countryside that stretched for what seemed to be hundreds of miles to the far horizon.
Occasionally in the distance they would spy some movement, but it was very difficult to tell whether this was caused by the constant wind blowing vegetation or the swift gallop of an antelope. It was difficult to imagine that there could be other human beings in this vast lonely place. Sometimes a whirlwind of dust arose, spiralling into the air like a living thing, and it was hard not to be deceived into thinking that maybe this was what they sought. Very soon the coolness that had been left over from the night vanished as the burning rays of the sun swept swiftly over the red dusty earth, the parched yellow grass, and the small black bushes that gave little shade now they had left the larger growth near the waterhole.
As the sun rose higher it was difficult to see the landscape in the distance, for the whole desert seemed a uniform colour of yellow shimmering heat in spite of the protection afforded by their sun-glasses. The vehicle bounced and jolted over the rough ground and it was almost impossible to make any conversation, but Samantha seemed to be managing it, sitting in the front seat between Ken and Fabian. Perry could see her vivacious profile and Fabian's turned towards her occasionally in a responsive grin.
'Fantastic country!' Paul Curtis shouted at her, and she nodded her head in breathless agreement. She noticed he was looking curiously at her and she smiled at him. During a holiday overseas she had watched Paul on television and was naturally interested to find herself in such close proximity with this well-known personality. He was very handsome in a mature way, silver-grey hair, a rather leonine head. Perry had enjoyed his programmes because they featured other well-known people from all walks of life, and yet she had had some reservations about Paul himself. He was too sophisticated, she had felt, often tripping people into statements that made them look a little foolish, seeming to take a delight in pricking the ego of the self-important ones. Ah, now she remembered, she had seen him do a programme with Fabian and had hoped he would do the same with him, but he had not succeeded. However hard she wished to deny it, she had to admit that in that programme, Fabian had emerged as a man of integrity, but she qualified this by saying to herself that this only applied to his work. Paul did not deal with Fabian's private life. But was the television image the true one? Certainly it was hard to project a false image on that frank little screen.
When at last they came to a small grove of bushes in this wilderness of grass and shrub, Fabian decided to stop for a short break. Samantha seized hold of Fabian's hand and clung to him as she leaped down from the high seat.
'I think your desert is too gorgeous, Fabian, even if it is a bit scorching. When are you going to find your little men?'
Her green eyes sparkled up at him and her honey-coloured skin seemed as matt as when they had started on the long drive. Her clinging shirt revealed her lovely young figure in all its perfection and, as they reached the shade of the tree, she took off her sun helmet and her golden-brown hair fell to her waist. No man, Perry reflected, could help looking down at her with lively admiration and she was not surprised that Fabian smiled as he replied, 'I'm afraid you'll have to be patient for a while yet, minx. But I'm hopeful it won't take much longer. If only we could find some indication that they were around, it would give me a bit of hope.'
In the scant shade of the little trees they ate a few rye biscuits with cheese and had some orange drink. Fabian had explained to the party when they first set out that they must not expect to eat much during the day. He thought it best if they had their main meal in the evening. It was too hot to feel hungry now.
'Are you coming back the same way?' asked Paul when Fabian made a move to go.
'Yes, I think so. We'll follow our own tracks back. It will make it easier and quicker,' Fabian replied. 'Why do you ask?'
'Simply because I would like to spend a while in the shade. You can pick me up on the way back.'
Fabian hesitated.
'I don't like to leave you alone, Paul. If anything should go wrong, I feel you should have company.'
'What could go wrong? I can shoo away any lions that cross my path.'
Paul was smiling, the lazy charming smile that Perry had seen on television.
'I'd rather leave two of you together. Samantha?'
She pouted. 'I want to go with Fabian, Daddy. Why not let Perry stay? You'll need Samgau in case we see any Bushmen.'
Perry did not particularly want to stay alone with Paul, but there seemed to be no alternative as Fabian nodded and said, 'Good idea. I won't need Perry for photography yet. The light is too strong at this time of day.'
Perry watched them drive away with some misgiving. Paul had wanted to be alone and she felt she was encroaching on this desire. Oh, well, she could take her camera and explore the little wood while he rested. She knew more about the desert now and would not be caught a second time by the similarity of the landscape.; She could easily follow her own footprints back if there should be any difficulty, for here the ground was sandy and Fabian had told her this morning how the Bushmen watched in tracking for every broken blade of grass and so on. But Paul did not let her off so easily from his company.
'Come,' he said, patting the gro
und beside him. 'Tell me all about yourself…'
Perry laughed. She had flung aside her sun-helmet and her dazzling hair glinted with red-gold lights in the dappled sunlight filtering through the little trees. Her clear amber eyes seemed to complement the golden colours of the desert, it occurred to Paul.
'Mr. Curtis,' then as she saw his protesting frown, 'I mean, Paul, I thought you'd come into the desert to get away from interviewing people.'
Paul grinned. He really was a very attractive-looking man, thought Perry. 'Haven't you realized, or perhaps you haven't seen my programme, that I'm possessed with an insatiable curiosity? I must know all about the people I meet and how they tick. That is, of course, interesting people.'
He looked at her in a mischievous speculating way as they sat together. From the truck he had extricated two small folding seats that were close to the ground and yet remarkably comfortable, He does believe in his home comforts, Perry thought. He had placed Perry's one quite close to his and she was forced to look at his quizzical expression that held a good deal of charm.
'Tell me, what's a nice girl like you doing in a strange place like this?' he said, indicating their surroundings with a wave of his hand.
'I'm merely a substitute, and not a very popular one at that,' Perry replied.
'Oh, yes, I heard the story from Fabian. But what makes you think you're not popular? If you don't object to my saying so, you seem to have all the attributes of a highly successful member of the party. In fact you could be a winner in one of those programmes about whom you'd like to be left with on a desert island, if you see what I mean.'
'Heavens, don't say that! I'm quite sure Fabian would be horrified if you suggested he should be left on a desert island with me.'
'Fabian's not such an ogre. You have the wrong idea of him. He's highly popular with women when he has his short spells in civilization, I understand. But he's a bit preoccupied in the desert. Here he's like a man with a dream.'
'You mustn't think I want Fabian to notice me as a woman,' said Perry. She seemed to be saying more than she intended, possibly because Paul had such a persuasive manner. That would be due to his long experience of wheedling their secrets from people. But she had no intention of telling him why she disliked Fabian.
'No woman as beautiful as you can tell me that,' Paul said. 'I should have thought somebody as remarkably lovely would be used to being noticed. In fact she should regard it as aright.'
Perry shook her head. She had no idea whether she should take him seriously or not. 'I'm not interested in what any man thinks of me,' she asserted.
'Don't tell me you're one of these emancipated females... Women's Lib and all that.'
'Perhaps I am.'
'This is remarkably interesting.'
His keen eyes that were green, not as emerald as Samantha's but with darker hazel flecks in them, were regarding her as if she were some particularly intriguing specimen of wild bird he had found in the desert.
'Tell me, you say you're not interested in men, but surely you must have had men in love with you.'
'Some have said so.'
'And what about yourself? How many times have you been in love?'
'Paul, you're not doing your television programme now. I don't have to answer that.'
'Ah, well, I must amuse myself somehow. What if I start to tell you the story of my life?'
'That should be interesting,' Perry said with a demure smile that still held a hint of mischief.
'So... where shall I begin? Would you like to hear of my first wife, my second, or my third?'
'You're teasing me,' Perry accused him.
'No, it's true enough, and at the moment I'm between wives, so take care, young lady.'
Perry thought to herself that she did not need any warning.
'Samantha is my only child, the daughter of my first wife. I'm afraid she's had a rather chequered upbringing. She became a rebel at an early age, but these days I don't see any harm in that. She seems to be able to cope with life.'
Perry thought that if by coping with life Paul meant that Samantha knew how to get her own way he was certainly right.
'I adore her,' Paul said unexpectedly. 'She's the only woman who's really meant anything to me. And I know she doesn't care a damn for me. She looks on me as a source of supply, that's all. Sad, isn't it?'
'Oh, Paul...' Perry felt helpless to give any comfort. She began to like him better because she suddenly felt sorry for him. Here he was with the world at his feet, highly successful in his profession, famous, popular, witty, wealthy, and his affections were bound up in that selfish little creature who thought only of herself.
'That's partly why I joined this expedition. It was the only way I could get my daughter to myself. I thought that in the desert we might get to know each other better. I was between wives and Samantha was between boy-friends, so she seized at the idea of coming with me because she was bored with London life for the moment. And of course she was interested to meet Fabian. Who wouldn't be?'
'Yes, I suppose so,' Perry said. 'But apart from that why did you want to come on this particular expedition? Why the desert?'
'Oh, you have no idea, or perhaps you can imagine it, how difficult it is to travel anywhere where one is known. People always wanting something, pressing in on you. If we'd gone to somewhere like Majorca or the South of France I would scarcely have seen Samantha at all, for she would have been seized up into the local smart set and met all the wrong type of men. Not that she isn't used to that. She's had some most disastrous love affairs already. I've had some difficult times with her, I can tell you.
'No, this was ideal. I wanted to get her right away on her own. And she seems attracted to Fabian. So if anything came of that it would give me the greatest joy. I have a great respect for the man and feel he's just the kind of fellow Samantha needs to get some control into her life. But here I am talking like a maiden aunt. Why, coming to think of it, it's quite possible that you may have similar ideas about Fabian.'
The shrewd grey-green eyes bored into Perry, but she shook her head.
'No, you can be sure, Paul, whatever your plans for Samantha, I won't interfere. Fabian has many good qualities, I'm sure, but he isn't my type.'
'I'm glad of that,' said Paul. 'You're an intriguing girl, Perry, something of a mystery with that passionate mouth that belies its own declarations that men don't interest you.'
Perry rose and reached for her camera.
'I think I'll wander into this little wood and see if there's anything to photograph,' she declared firmly.
Paul smiled.
'I know when I'm not wanted. I'll stay here. Don't lose yourself or be eaten by a strange beastie. If you need help just scream loudly and I'll coming running.'
He tilted back his chair to a more reclining angle, arranged his hat over his eyes and looked as she left him a picture of relaxation. It must be wonderful to be as self-possessed as Paul - and yet even he was vulnerable in his love for his daughter.
CHAPTER FOUR
It was so quiet here in this little part of the Kalahari, almost eerie. The wind rustled through the grass, but there were no bird calls. Was she wasting her time looking for subjects for photography? Just as she was thinking this, she was startled by a slight movement ahead of her and, standing beside a clump of tallish thorn trees, there was a giraffe. It was such a surprising sight to Perry that she stayed motionless, which was just as well, because at one moment there did not seem to be anything there and then in the next she discerned three giraffes wonderfully camouflaged with their coats like checked brown and gold velvet against the brown and gold of the thorn trees, stretching up long mobile mouths to bite any soft shoots they could find. They were so amazing with their long necks and slanting bodies that she felt like the old lady who, when taken to the zoo and confronted by an elephant, said she did not believe it. Cautiously she advanced her camera and managed to take a good shot of them, but the sound of the shutter made them uneasy and they stroll
ed gracefully away, trying to escape from the strange noise.
Perry's heart was beating fast with delighted excitement and she thought of going back for Paul, but decided he would not appreciate being disturbed from his rest, so she would go on with her exploration alone. The ground here was grassy but with patches of sand and there were footprints of small buck criss-crossed in the soft ground. Suddenly Perry froze. There in front of her was the imprint of a human foot, small and perfect. It must be, it could not be anyone else but one of the Bushmen that Fabian was seeking. How wonderful it would be if she could find them. Fabian would not think it had been useless to send a woman on the expedition if this happened. She tried to follow the footprints, but found it very difficult to decipher them because there were so many tracks of animals as well and she was quite unused to this kind of task.
A little troupe of ground squirrels ran chittering away from her, then sat at a safe distance perched on their haunches. She stopped to take photographs and it took longer than she had expected to get them in the right position, for she was remembering Fabian's warning about not wasting film. Then she went back to her tracking. How she wished she could tell whether the tracks were new or old, but she was not experienced enough to know. The sand was so soft that they did not look very distinct now and often she lost them, but every now and again she was heartened to see one more clear than the rest.
At last she came to a little clump of bushes and the prints seemed to lead towards this. Softly she stepped towards it. She did not know what she was to do if she found some of these small people Fabian had described, but she was so excited that she did not feel nervous. Round the last bush now, and into a small level sandy arena. She stared at the scene.
It looked almost as if children had been at play and then had left to do something else. Beside the bushes there were three tiny grass huts, fragile little dwellings like the small tumbled nests of birds. In front of the huts were the remains of small fires, but there was nothing but grey ash and when she put her hand towards it she found it was cold. Small bones scattered the ground and a tiny broken sandal made of antelope leather hung from a stick. Perry felt like a giantess towering over the little huts. She wondered whether brown eyes were watching her from some vantage point in the bushes - but no, one could tell that nobody had lived here for a while, because the whole place had an abandoned air. Feeling disappointed, she nevertheless took some photographs and then started to walk back. She must have gone further than she realized, for it seemed to take a long time and when she was only about half-way back she was startled to hear shouts. She called back and in a little while heard footsteps hastily coming towards her. Odd that Paul should be so concerned as to come for her. She would have thought he would just leave her to it.
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