‘This is the way they came,’ the man shouted. They couldn’t see him as he was on the same side of the river as they were, but the other guards could see him. ‘They’ve kil ed Ben. The bastards have got a rifle.’
‘Think they’ve got a boat?’ one of the guards cal ed back.
‘Don’t see how, unless they’re get ing outside help. It’s my bet they’ve swum over to your side.’
‘The dogs won’t be long,’ the guard on the far side of the river said. ‘We’l soon pick up their scent.
Have you checked the old cabin? Maybe some of them have holed up there.’
‘Jed’s doing that. I’m staying with Ben until they get a stretcher down to him.’
The three guards waved and moved off down stream.
‘We stay right here,’ Baird whispered. ‘The dogs can’t get through the bush, and as long as we’re on the water they won’t get our scent. We’l give them a couple of hours to cool off, then we’l try and make a break.’
He took off his wet trousers, and sitting naked in the bottom of the boat, dried himself carefully. He hung the jacket and trousers over a branch to dry, then uncorked a bottle of whisky and took a couple of shots.
Rico sat motionless, staring with frightened eyes at the opposite bank. He could hear the distant barking of dogs and men shouting. There was a lot of activity going on in the bush.