Dennis Wheatley - The Forbidden Territory

“Say, how is he?” he asked anxiously.

“He is alive,” came the Duke’s quiet reassurance, “we must be thankful that you only struck him with that small marlinspike. If it had been an iron bar his head would have cracked like an eggshell. How did he come to be in Russia, Simon?”

“He came over to look for us. I thought Valeria Petrovna had got you both safe out of it until he turned up in Kiev yesterday. He planned your escape. Is he badly hurt?”

“I can find no cut on his head — his hat saved him, I think — the blood is only from his nose.”

“How on earth did it happen?”

“It was in those darned caves,” Rex explained. “They sure gave me the shivers — stuffed full of corpses propped up against the walls. Our light died on us — then it was hell! I’ll tell the world — so hot we couldn’t breathe, too. I figured we were there for keeps, but we spotted a guy coming down the corridor. I bumped him, and the Duke snatched his light.”

“He must have got worried when you didn’t turn up and gone down to look for you.”

“It was fortunate for us that he did,” commented the Duke. “If he had not we should have died for a certainty. I was afraid, too, that if we got out you would not be there. Leshkin has been to Moscow and seen Stalin; you were to have been arrested again tonight!”

Simon laughed jerkily.

“It’s a fact,” added Rex; “the old baby-killer told us that himself. There was going to be a shooting party for the bunch of us tomorrow!”

“Well, we’re out of that muddle for the moment I only hope he doesn’t run into Marie Lou!”

“Marie Lou? Was she around as well?” exclaimed Rex. “If that’s so, why isn’t she on in this party?”

“She was,” Simon informed him, “but Richard didn’t want her to be mixed up in this — ”

“Say, not so fast! — you wait a minute.” Rex began to slow down the car. “We can’t leave her to get out alone.”

Simon shook his head. “It’s quite all right. Richard made special arrangements for her. She’s got a British passport now; he married her the other day in Vienna.”

“Holy smoke! You don’t mean that?”

“I do. He said that it was so that he could get her back into Russia to act as his interpreter, but if you ask me he’s crazy about her!”

De Richleau leant forward. “If that is so, surely it is all the more reason that he should have been careful for her safety. Are you certain that he meant her to travel alone?”

“Um,” Simon nodded. “Told me so himself — said she was going to leave the country in the proper way.”

“Well — if you are sure of that — but I do not care to think of that child alone in Kiev.”

“She’ll be on the train by now,” Simon assured him.

The car bore on into the night They were beginning to climb now, up easy gradients, to higher ground. Richard began to groan loudly.

“He’s coming round,” said the Duke. “I doubt if he’ll know what he’s saying at first. I wish I had some morphia; sleep is the best thing for him at the moment.”

“Here — take these.” Simon delved into his pocket and produced a small bottle. “They’re sleeping-tablets that Valeria Petrovna got for me — there’s medinol in them, I think.”

Richard swayed forward. He looked dazedly round, then sank back with a moan, shutting his eyes quickly.

“Take these,” said the Duke gently, spilling a couple of the tablets into his palm.

“Where... where are we?” muttered Richard.

Rex turned round to grin at him. “Sorry, Richard — hadn’t a notion it was you — ’fraid I nearly bumped you off!”

Richard moved his head painfully from side to side, groaned again, and tried to put his hand up to his head. It fell back helplessly. “Where are we?” he asked again.

“We’re in the car — you saved us all, Richard — we’re making for the frontier,” said the Duke.

“No... no...” Richard struggled to sit up again. “Stop the car — I’m going by ’plane.”

Rex laughed. “I’d just hate to be a passenger in your ’plane tonight, Richard. You couldn’t push a pram after the swipe I gave you!”

“I... don’t mind leaving... the ’plane,” Richard muttered, “if we... all get away... safely.”

“Don’t you worry, Richard, we’re all here. You take these and have a good sleep till we get to the frontier.” The Duke pushed the tablets into his mouth. He sank back on to the cushions of the car. “Yes... the frontier... make the frontier...” his voice sank into indistinct mutterings — in a few moments he was fast asleep.

“D’you reckon they’ll send out a warning about us?” Rex asked, after a long silence.

“Not about you and me,” the Duke replied. “With Yakovkin on guard, it is unlikely that they will discover our escape till the morning — but I am afraid there will be trouble about Simon.”

“Certain to be if Leshkin meant to arrest me again tonight,” Simon agreed, pessimistically; “they’ll find the car missing, and try and trace us by that — probably try and hold us up on the road.”

“Have you got a gun?”

“Ner, but Richard may have.”

The Duke felt him over. “No,” he said, “he’s unarmed.”

“That leaves me and the marlinspike,” said Rex, thoughtfully. “Maybe there are a few spanners at the back. Guess we’ll have to step on the gas if we’ve got to go through any towns, Simon.”

“Birdichy — that’ll be difficult, biggish town — after that, there’s nothing to worry us till we cross the Bug at Vinnitsa.”

“Is there any way of avoiding Birdichy?” asked the Duke.

“Don’t think so — map I saw wasn’t up to much. Birdichy’s out of the way a bit, but it seemed the only decent road.”

“Better going on the highway,” Rex agreed. “Got to take a chance about the towns.”

They had come into forest country now; the trees showed ghostly in the arc of the headlights. They gave the impression that the car was going at immense speed as they rushed to meet it and were swallowed up again in the darkness behind. Occasionally they passed through a deserted village street, but no attempt was made to stop their headlong progress.

At last the road debauched on to a level plain. “Got the time?” asked Rex.

De Richleau looked at the illuminated dial of his watch. “A little after two,” he said.

“Can’t be far off Birdichy, then.”

Ten minutes later they passed some scattered houses. “This’ll be it,” said Rex, and he was right.

The houses became more frequent, the open road a street. De Richleau tapped Rex on the shoulder. “Try to avoid the main street,” he suggested; “take the first turning that you come to on either side.”

“We’ll sure get lost,” protested Rex.

“No — no, do as I say.”

Rex switched the car sharply to the right They ran slowly down a long hill.

“To the left, Rex, to the left!” came De Richleau’s voice.

Rex obeyed. They ran along the turning for about a hundred and fifty yards, then had to pull up — the road ended in a gate leading into a field.

“Back her out, man — quick — if we’re caught sitting we’re done.” Simon peered behind as Rex backed the great car in a succession of curves and jerks on to the hill road. They took the next turn to the left and ran along it for nearly half a mile; the low houses became less frequent.

“We’ll be out in the country again soon,” remarked Simon, anxiously.

“We have gone too far — there was a turning up the hill farther back — try that!” The Duke moved Richard’s head a little on his shoulder as he tried to make out their position in the darkness.

Rex backed the car once more, and they took the turning up the hill.