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continued to examine me. “Where’s O’Brien?”
    Just then there was a hell of a bang and the two horses shied, nearly over-throwing the negro who began struggling with them. I could see he was in trouble and I slid past her and caught the reins of the biggest horse and by sheer brute strength brought him to a standstill. The negro had all he could do to handle the other horse.
    “No place for horses, ma’am,” I said. “We’re blasting.”
    She came to me, snatched the reins out of my hand and swung herself onto the saddle. The horse reared up, and she gave him a flick of her whip and brought him down to stand trembling but mastered.
    The negro swung himself onto his horse.
    “Take him away, Sam,” she said, “before another bang.”
    The negro rode of fast, leaving her looking down at me.
    “You know something about horses?” she asked.
    “No, ma’am. I don’t dig anything without brakes.”
    She smiled.
    “You handled Borgia well enough. Thank you.”
    Then the mother of all bangs went off it sounded as if a five hundred pound aerial bomb had exploded at our feet.
    She was under the impression she had the horse under control so she was relaxed. The bang shook me and shook her.
    What it did to the horse was nobody’s business. It reared and snaked and she hadn’t a chance to stay on. She was thrown heavily as the horse took off. There was nothing I could do in that split second she hung in the air, then I started forward, but was much too late. She landed on her shoulders and her head hit the tarmac and there she remained, still gorgeous to look at, but out to the world.
    As I knelt beside her, a ring of gaping negroes formed. I didn’t know if she had broken her back and I was scared stupid to touch her
    “Get O’Brien!” I bawled “Get me a jeep!”
    The snap in my voice brought action. Four or five of them ran wildly down the tarmac towards the blasting site. Two others rushed into the dust.
    Gently, I touched her and she opened her eyes.
    “Are you hurt?”
    Her eyes closed.
    “Mrs. Essex! Can I move you?”
    Again her eyes opened She shook her head and the glassy look went out of those wonderful violet eyes “I’m all right. She moved her arms, then her legs. “God! My head!”
    “Take it easy.” I looked around. A jeep skidded to a standstill.
    A big buck was at the wheel, his eyes rolling. “I’ll take you to hospital.” I gathered her up in my arms and she moaned a little.
    I carried her to the jeep and got in beside the negro, holding her across my knees. “Get to the hospital,” I told him. “Not fast . . . be careful.”
    The negro stared at the woman, let in the clutch and began a slow drive along the tarmac. It took ten minutes to reach the airport’s hospital. Someone must have phoned Two interns, a couple of nurses and a grey-haired man in a white coat surrounded the jeep as it stopped.
    There was a stretcher and everything was very efficient.
    They had her of my lap and onto the stretcher and inside the hospital in seconds.
    I sat there wondering if by moving her I had done damage and the thought made me sweat.
    A jeep came roaring up and O’Brien tumbled out. I told him what had happened.
    “Hell!” He wiped his sweaty face. “What did she want to come down there for? She’s always sticking her goddamn nose into anything that doesn’t concern her! This could lose me my job when Essex hears about it!”
    I shoved by him and entered the air-conditioned coolness of the hospital. There was a nurse at the reception desk.
    “How is she?” I asked
    “Dr. Winters is examining her now.” She regarded me as if I were a bum begging a dime.
    I hesitated, then seeing one of the interns who had handled her come out through a doorway, I went to him. “How is she? Did I do wrong moving her?”
    “You did dead right,” he said and smiled. ‘Nothing broken, but concussion. She’s asking about her horse.”
    “Okay. Tell her not to worry about it. I’ll take care of the