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"Time check." Businesslikeagain.
"05-17 hours," Craig told her and looked over side The brown snake of the Tuti road was angling away towards the north, and they were crossing the first line of hills Vusamanzi's village would be out there a few miles beyond the road.
The engine missed again, and Sally-A
"Time?"she demanded again "05.27,"Craig told her.
"We will be out of sight of the airstrip by now. Out of earshot too."
"Fungabera won't know where we are, where we are heading." "They've got a helicopter gunship at Victoria Falls." Tungata leaned forward over the seats. "If they guess that we are heading for Botswana, they will send it down to intercept."
"We can outrun a helicopter," Craig guessed.
"Not with our undercarriage down," Sally-A
It was suddenly eerily quiet, just the whistle of the wind through the bullet-holes in the fuselage, the propeller windmilling softly for a few seconds longer, and then with a jerk stopping dead and pointing skywards likea headsman s blade.
"Well," Sally-A
Engine out. We are going in." And then briskly she began her preparations for a 11n f0fed landing as the Cessna started to sink gently away, towards the broken hilly and forested land beneath them. She pulled on MI flap to slow their airspeed.
"Seat-belts, everybody," she said. "Shoulder-straps also." She was switching off the fuel-tanks, the master switches, shutting down to prevent fire on impact.
"Can you see an opening?" she asked Craig, peering hopelessly through the smeared windscreen.
"Nothing." The forest was a dark green mattress below them.
q will try to pick two big trees and knock Our wings off between them that will take the speed off us. But it's still going to be a daddy of a hit," she said, as she struggled with the panel of her side-window.
"I can knock it out for you,"Tungata offered.
Good, "Sally-A
Tungata leaned over and with three blows of his bunched fist smashed the Perspex sheet out of its frame.
Sally-A
The earth came up towards them, faster and faster, the hills seemed to grow in size, begi
ered. "Keep "Doors unlocked and open!" Sally-A
"Out! yelled Sally-A
Craig caught up with Sally-A
He reached out and put an arm around her shoulders, guided her towards the lip of a dry ravine and they leaped into it and crouched panting on the sandy bottom, clinging to each other.
"Is she going to flame out? "Sally-A
"Wait for it." He held her, and they tensed themselves for the whooshing detonation of leaking gasoline, and the explosion of the main tanks.
Nothing happened, and the silence of the bush settled over them, so they spoke in awed whispers.
"You fly like an angel, "he said.
"An angel with broken wings." They waited another minute.
"By the way, "he whispered, "what the hell is a long thin dog?"
"A
greyhound," she giggled with reaction from fear. "A dachshund is a long short dog." And he found he was giggling with her as they hugged each other.
"Take a look." She was still laughing nervously. They sto ad up cautiously, and'eered over the rim of the ravine.
The fuselage was crashed and the metal skin of the Cessna had crumpled like aluminium foil, but there was no fire.
They climbed out of the ravine.
"Sam! Craig called. "Sarah!" The two of them stood up from where they had taken cover at the foot of the rocky side of the valley.
"Are you all right?" All four of them were shaken and bruised, Sarah had a bloodied nose and a scratch on her cheek but none of them had been seriously hurt.