Dennis Wheatley - Unholy Crusade

His having slept for so long was not Hunterscombe's tragedy alone; it was also his. All too well he realised that, with the failure of the search, his one hope of proving his innocence was gone. Now, only his wits and endurance could save him from years of imprisonment, or perhaps death.

CHAPTER 21

A Bid for freedom

ON His way down the mountain Adam had had ample time to consider the bleak prospect that now confronted him. When warning him of the situation in which he might possibly find himself, Hunterscombe's advice had been to make for the coast. To do so and hope to get aboard a ship certainly seemed the best bet; in fact there appeared to be no promising alternative. But Adam had no illusions about his poor chances of keeping clear of the police. His height and red gold hair alone were a complete giveaway. Something must be done about them, and he would need a number of things for his journey.

To secure them presented a major problem, as he dared not show himself in the village. On further thought, too, he felt that he would be unwise to remain in the farmhouse, even for another night. During the morning, the wrecked helicopter might well have been spotted from a searching aircraft. If so, the authorities would assume that he and Alberuque were somewhere not far off and already, perhaps, police and troops were being mustered to scour the whole district.

Obviously, if he set out as he was, he would stand no chance at all, so he decided to enlist the help of Juanita.

When he reached the farmhouse, he found her sitting with Chela, who had come out of her drug induced sleep that afternoon. But to his considerable annoyance he learned that the old woman, after feeding her with some broth, had given her another potion from which it was unlikely that she would wake until early the following morning. As he must be on his way long before then, that meant he must go without being able to tell her why it was imperative that he should leave her, what he planned to attempt and say good bye to her. But the chance had gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

While he had been feeling Chela's pulse, Juanita had left the room and now returned with a noggin of tequila which, bobbing respectfully, she offered him. Tired after his hours of climbing, he drank it down gratefully, then said to her:

'Juanita, you are a sensible girl and I can talk frankly to you. I expect you have heard rumours about my return to earth to

lead a movement which would overthrow the present government and restore the land to the descendants of its original inhabitants?'

She nodded, and he went on, `The coup was planned to take place last night. It failed. As a result the government people are now hunting for me everywhere to capture and, perhaps, kill me.' Giving him a puzzled look, she said, `But, Lord, if you really are a god, surely…?'

He cut her short. `No. Matters are not ordered like that. I am not a god but a Man God. It is decreed that I should spend certain periods on earth and I am not permitted to shorten such Visits by a single second. During that time, as I told you last night, I am subject to all the weaknesses and needs of an ordinary man.'

`I understand,' she said gently. `You are like our Lord Jesus, end while on earth must suffer without complaint.'

At the comparison he had unconsciously led her to suggest, he felt profoundly ashamed; but, knowing that his life might depend on securing her help, he forced himself to respond. `Yes; that's it. But… well, I have work to do here, and I'm not willing to allow myself to be put to death yet. I've got to get away.' Her face glowed and in a low voice she said, `I should be proud, Lord, to have helped you.'

Again he felt shamed at taking advantage of her belief in him, but he said, `You can, Juanita. At present my appearance would give me away to the first policeman I ran into. To stand any chance at all, I've got to have my hair cut and my beard shaved off. Have you a pair of scissors, and is there a shaving kit in the house?'

`I have scissors with which I could cut your hair. The men of my family shave on Sundays and on the days of the great feasts of the Church. I will borrow their razor for you.'

He smiled at her. `Bless you, my dear. Then I'll need some sort of haversack and a good supply of food to carry in it, because for several days I don't want to enter any village in case someone identifies me. I mean to make my way through the fields and 'forests. For that my present clothes are far from suitable. Do you think you could get me some spare clothes which your men folk gave worn, and maybe a hat? Of course, I would pay for them.'

Juanita returned his smile. `All these things I will get for you, Lord. But how soon do you need to have them?'

He heaved a sigh. `After last night and the hours I spent on the mountain this afternoon, I'm very tired. I must have a few hours' rest, but I ought to leave here by about two o'clock in the morning.

There is one other thing, though. Your parents and brothers have not your education. It might prove difficult to explain my situation to them; so it would be better if they knew nothing about it. Do you think you could get the things I need without their knowledge, stay awake to give them to me and cut my hair in the middle of the night, then afterwards keep the secret of what you have done for me?'

Suddenly she knelt down, seized his hand, kissed it and, her eyes shining, exclaimed, `Dear Lord, even torture would not drag a word from me. All my life I shall remember this day with joy, and be so very proud of having had the privilege of serving you.'

Again Adam felt a qualm at being treated as though he really were a divinity. For such a situation to occur in the age of space travel seemed hardly believable. Yet the lives and mentality of the Zupangos differed little from those of a farming family living in Palestine in the first century A.D. Just as the Jews had been brought up to expect a Messiah, so the Mexican Indians had long believed that Quetzalcoatl would return to them. And Adam could not doubt that young women similar to Juanita had shown equal joy and devotion when serving Jesus of Nazareth.

Their conversation had taken only a few minutes and, as Adam had passed through the living room, he had seen that the evening meal was ready; so he and Juanita went through to join the others. Normally, he felt sure, the Zupangos would have eaten earlier and their supper consisted of a few tortillas and a beaker apiece of acid, home made wine; but the dishes provided were again a feast.

Not knowing when he would again have sustaining food, he tucked in heartily; with the result that the heavy meal, taken while he was still tired after his climb, gave him an overwhelming desire to go to sleep. But he resisted it, for he had another matter to see to before he could allow himself to rest.

After his failure to find Hunterscombe, he had to consider what to do about Chela. While he was fully confident that the Zupangos would give her every possible care, and thought it probable that the old crone's treatment of her wound would prove as efficacious as any she might receive from a proper doctor, he was most averse to leaving her with them for longer than was absolutely necessary. The fact that the bone of her leg was not broken at least meant that there was no urgency about getting it properly reset; but the Zupango household was far from sanitary and the palliasse on which she was lying would prove anything but comfortable when she was no longer under drugs; so he must get her taken to hospital as soon as possible.

The snag was that, in order to do so, explanations would have to be given; and as soon as it became known, if it was not already, that the helicopter had come down on the nearby volcano, the whole area would be alive with police. After much thought, Adam had decided that Chela's wound would not be adversely affected if he gave himself twenty four hours' start, and he could be reasonably certain of gaining that time if he sent a telegram that would not reach Mexico City until late the following afternoon.