By four o’clock the sounds of men and dogs had died away. The silence was broken now only by the drone of mosquitoes and the lapping of water against the side of the boat.
A river snake slid from under the boat and went swimming swiftly downstream, startling Rico. He took another drink from the whisky bottle, then reached over and shook Baird.
‘What’s up?’ Baird asked, instantly awake. His hand automatical y reached for the Winchester.
‘Isn’t it time we did something?’ Rico asked uneasily. ‘It’s after four o’clock.’
Baird sat up slowly and stretched. He touched his wrist with a grimace and shook his head.
‘I guess you’l have to do some work. This wrist of mine doesn’t feel so good. I doubt if I can use the paddle.’ He looked towards the opposite bank. ‘Seen anything?’
‘Nothing for the past hour. I haven’t heard anything, either.’
Baird took a drink from the whisky bottle, then lit a cigarette.
‘We’d better stay here until it’s dark,’ he said. ‘We might run into them on their way back. Now we’ve got so far, it’d be crazy to take any more risks than we have to.’
Rico shrugged. He wanted to get moving, but he realised what Baird said made sense.