‘One day for freighting and not to rouse suspicions, and then straight to Zara. I shall have sad news for our countrymen. They have long been expecting him; they rested their hopes on him.’
‘They rested their hopes on him,’ Elena repeated mechanically.
‘When will you bury him?’ asked Renditch.
Elena not at once replied, ‘To-morrow.’
‘To-morrow? I will stop; I should like to throw a handful of earth into his grave. And you will want help. But it would have been better for him to lie in Slavonic earth.’
Elena looked at Renditch.
‘Captain,’ she said, ‘take me and him and carry us across to the other side of the sea, away from here. Isn’t that possible?’
Renditch considered: ‘Possible certainly, but difficult. We shall have to come into collision with the damned authorities here. But supposing we arrange all that and bury him there, how am I to bring you back?’
‘You need not bring me back.’
‘What? where will you stop?’