第79节

reached the

matting roll and got his hand on the butt of his rifle. It was as if

the earth was being ripped open by a giant invisible knife.

Before he could catch his breath, a narrow, jagged fissure suddenly

opened up right across the plateau, separating him from his

now-terrified attackers. There was another deafening explosive roar of

earth-thunder. The ground shook violently, throwing Steve onto his

back. Rolling over onto his stomach he saw the edge of the blufftear

itself loose from the rest of the plateau. The whole strip of earth on

which Motor-Head and his clan-brothers were standing just fell apart

and went sliding down the steep slope, carrying the bodies of the three

Mutes with it in a dust-laden torrent of rocks, pebbles and earth.

Badly shaken, Steve got cautiously to his feet, clutching his rifle.

Close I he thought. If the 'quake had run a few yards further in, he

and the glider would have gone the same route. He raised the visor of

his helmet and made a quick inspection of Blue-Bird. The trestles

under the wings and the now useless engine had fallen over but the

craft itself was undamaged. Steve put the three trestles back in place

and hurriedly loosened the last two bolts holding the engine in

place.

He found that his hands were shaking and he had to stop to try and get

a grip on himself. He untangled the harness straps and satisfied

himself that he was ready to go.

It was much lighter now. Broad bands of purple, crimson, orange and

yellow lay along the eastern horizon. Faint, confused cries floated up

from the direction of the settlement.

Within seconds of their arrival Mr Snow and Cadillac were quickly

surrounded by a shocked and still panicky crowd of Mutes seeking

reassurance. When he had recovered his breath, Mr Snow dealt with them

firmly, telling them that if it had been the end of the world - as some

of them obviously thought it was - he would have announced it in

advance. If they really wished to follow his advice they should all

stop runnin about like headless turkeycocks and go back to the normal

business of the day. That said, he brushed aside all further questions

and pushed his way through the crowd, shooing away those who attempted

to follow him.

Clearwater sat upright on her talking mat, her face deathly pale under

the patterned blacks and browns. Her eyes were dilated, and she kept

biting her lips to stop them trembling.

Mr Snow surveyed the wreckage of his hut, his scattered possessions and

the deep narrow fissure that ran away towards the bluff. 'Was this

your doing?"

Clearwater nodded silently then found the strength to speak in a

whisper. 'I did not wish it. It was Talisman who called." She held

out her hands to Cadillac. He put an arm round her and helped her

up.

She wavered slightly then gained control of her legs and held herself

erect without his support.

Mr Snow's face softened. He placed his hands on her shoulders. 'You

have true power. You will make a worthy adversary of the

sand-burrowers." He took hold of her elbow and gestured towards the

bluff. 'Come... walk with us."

Holding his rifle at the ready, Steve advanced to the new edge of the

bluff. He wanted to make sure that, when he made his leap to freedom,

there would be no last-minute surprises. He was relieved to discover

that there was now a good steady breeze sweeping up from the plain.

Spitting the dust from his mouth, he saw that there were two bodies

lying twenty or thirty yards down the slope, half-buried under rocks

and earth. He looked for the third but was unable to spot it. It went

completely against his better judgement, but some perverse urge made

him slither down towards the corpses in the hope of discovering that

one of them was Motor-Head.

Pushing aside the rubble with the toe of his boot, Steve uncovered

enough to recognise Black-Top and Steel-Eye.

He looked them over but couldn't be sure if they were dead.

It didn't matter. Dead or not, neither of them were going anywhere.