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movements in the mud became feebler and more erratic.
Kelly waded to the bank and crouched there, watching in fascinated horror.
Suddenly a rush of slow fat bubbles rose out of the red ooze and burst upon the surface as Cheng's lungs emptied. Only Daniel's head was clear of the mud. He lay there for a long time, never relaxing his grip on Cheng's submerged throat.
He's dead, Kelly whispered at last. He must be dead by now. Slowly Daniel released his grip. There was no movement below the surface.
Daniel dragged himself to the bank, like an insect moving through treacle.
Kelly helped him up the bank. His injured leg trailed behind him.
On the top the two of them knelt together clinging to each other. They stared down into the river bed.
Slowly something rose to the surface like a dead log. The mud coated Cheng's corpse so thickly that it almost obscured the human shape.
They stared at it for fully five minutes before either of them spoke.
He drowned in his own cesspool" Daniel whispered. I couldn't have chosen a better way.