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were with the caravan might start comparing notes with the others.…” She hesitated just a moment, frowning. “They might realize we weren’t killed after all. They—they might send some men back to finish the job. We’ve got to take that into consideration, Miss Lauren. Might as well face the facts. The Thugs never leave witnesses—”
    â€œAnd that’s what we are,” I said.
    â€œIf one of those five men happens to mention the two English girls, if they.…” Again she hesitated, her eyes dark and troubled. “They’d probably only send two or three men back to finish the job,” she continued, “and this pistol is fully loaded.”
    â€œIt’s something we’ll just have to face if—if the time comes,” I replied. “They probably traveled all night. They’re bound to be dozens and dozens of miles away by now.”
    â€œWe’ll just have to persevere,” Sally said. “It won’t be so bad. We have a lot of walk ing ahead of us—”
    â€œThat won’t hurt us. The caravan was just two days from Dahlkari. If we just keep moving—”
    â€œIt will be a bit warm, that sun’s already fierce, but—I know what we’ll do, we’ll make parasols from those big green leaves I saw back there, and that’ll help. We’ll carry lots of this fruit.”
    â€œAnd maybe we’ll find some water. I—I think there are wells along the way. I’m not nearly so thirsty now, not after eating that fruit. We’ll skirt the edge of this jungle and head due east. Thank goodness both of us are wearing kid boots.”
    â€œIt’ll be fun !” Sally exclaimed.
    And then, realizing how ridiculous her exclamation was under the circumstances, we both burst into gales of laughter, for all the world like two schoolgirls. There was a slight edge of hysteria to the laughter, but I felt much, much better for it. Each of us was being resolute and optimistic for the sake of the other, realizing that any show of weakness would be fatal. It wasn’t a lark, far from it, but we had to keep up our spirits somehow. It would be all too easy to panic, and panic could only lead to defeat.
    â€œYou go gather more fruit, Miss Lauren, lots of it, and I’ll get those leaves and make our parasols. The fruit trees are just down the pathway, on the right. You can’t miss ’em. Watch out for the monkeys, though. They’re greedy little demons, will try to snatch it out of your hands.”
    She smiled, tossing her head, long tarnished gold locks spilling about her shoulders, brown eyes sparkling. If I had to be stranded in the middle of nowhere, I was glad it was with Sally. I hated to think of how one of the girls from the academy would have reacted under the same circumstances. Sally bounced down the path, gold and brown sprigged yellow skirt fluttering over her petticoats, a merry creature, full of verve and vitality and not about to admit defeat. She disappeared, and I could hear her scolding back at a monkey. I took heart, telling myself that things weren’t nearly as bad as they might seem.
    Spirits rising, I brushed a smudge of dirt from my skirt, and then I saw the ground and realized that I was standing in almost exactly the spot where the bearer had been murdered last night. I could feel the color leaving my cheeks, feel my pulses leap, and a wave of weakness swept over me. Remembering the horror, I had to brace one palm against a tree to keep from falling. I closed my eyes, and for a moment the hideous nightmare replayed itself in my mind. I bit my lower lip, praying for strength, and after a moment it came. It had been a nightmare, yes, and … and that was how I had to classify it, a shimmering illusion of horror, dreamlike, unreal, something that had never really happened at all. If I let myself dwell on it I wouldn’t be able to go on.
    Poor, boastful Yasmin Singh,