Chapter 6 chapter Five

Behind them is the turbulent sea, and in front of them is the continuous desert, stretching from the sea to the distant mountains, which are the steep purple peaks on the edge of the Richter grassland, where the canyons are deep, the peaks are steep, and a pale moon Hanging high in the air.At the foot of the mountain is Hexenxell Canyon - "The Fairy Pot" - a desolate wind valley trap.It is a wild landscape dating back to ancient times.The only sign that anyone had ever set foot in the place was a rough painted wooden sign stuck in the sand, which could be read by moonlight: DO NOT ENTER.

There is no mountain road to escape from the sea.The only direction open to them is the Namib Desert. "We'll have to go through this place and try our luck," Jamie said. Banda shook his head, "The guards will shoot us as soon as they see us, or hang us. Even if we can avoid the guards and police dogs, we can't get around the mines. We are dead." The feeling of fear is just resignation. Jamie glanced at Banda, deeply regretful.He had brought the black man here, but Banda never complained.Even though they had no escape now, he held no grudges. Jamie looked back at the furious waves crashing against the shore, and felt it was a miracle they'd gotten so far.It was 2 a.m., four hours before dawn and the two of them were found. "If I'm going to give up, I'm not human," Jamie thought.

"Let's get to work, Banda." Banda blinked. "do what?" "We're here to dig for diamonds, aren't we? Let's dig." Banda stared at the man with wild eyes.His white hair was clinging to his skull, and his sodden trousers hung in shreds from his legs. "what are you saying?" "You say they'll kill us as soon as they find out, don't you? It's better to be rich than poor. A miracle brought us here, and maybe a miracle will take us out. And if we If I can get away with nothing, I'll be damned." "You're crazy," Banda said softly.

"Otherwise we wouldn't be here," Jamie reminded him. Banda shrugged. "Whatever, I don't have anything else to do until they find out." Jamie took off his ragged shirt, and Banda understood and took off his own. "Hey, where is the big diamond you mentioned?" "It's everywhere," Banda said firmly.He added, "Like guards and police dogs." "We'll worry about that later. When are they coming to the beach?" "After dawn." Jamie thought about it. "Is there any part of the beach they don't come to? Is there somewhere to hide?"

"There's no place on this beach they won't go to, not even a place for a fly to hide." Jamie tapped Banda on the shoulder. "Okay then, let's go." Jamie watched as Banda knelt down and began to crawl slowly along the beach, picking at the sand as he crawled. Within two minutes, he stopped and held up a rock. "I found one!" Jamie also bent down and began to crawl forward.The first two found were small.The third piece was over fifteen carats.He sat there looking at the diamond for a long time.It was unbelievable to him that this kind of treasure could be found so easily.And these treasures belonged to Salomon van der Merwe and his partners.Jamie continued to crawl forward.

In the next three hours, the two recovered a total of forty diamonds, ranging in size from two carats to thirty carats.Morning light began to break in the eastern sky, and it was time for Jamie to leave, time for them to jump back into the lifeboat and escape across the reef.But it's useless to think about it now. "It's going to be light soon," said Jamie. "Let's see how many diamonds we can find." "We're not going to live long enough to spend these diamonds. You're going to die rich, aren't you?" "I don't want to die at all."

They searched on, digging out diamond after diamond without thinking, as if a madness had taken hold of them.Their piles of diamonds increased until at last the priceless sixty diamonds were deposited in their tattered shirts. "Do you want me to take these diamonds?" Banda asked. "No, the two of us—" Jamie realized what was going on in Banda's head.The man carrying the diamond was caught at the scene and was to be tortured to death painfully and slowly. "I'll get it," Jamie said.He poured the diamond into the rags of his shirt and tied it carefully.The horizon has turned gray and white, and the morning glow is reflected in the east.

What to do next?That's a problem!Where is the answer?Either stand here and die, or go inland to the desert and die there. "Let's go." Jamie and Banda walked slowly along the beach side by side. "Where do the mines start?" "About a hundred yards or so ahead." Then they heard dogs barking in the distance. "I don't think we need to worry about running into landmines. The police dogs are coming this way. The morning workers are going to work." "How long will it take them to get to us?" "Fifteen minutes, maybe ten minutes."

It was almost daylight, and what had been a haze now showed the outlines of sand dunes and distant mountains.There is nowhere to hide. "How many guards are there in a squad?" Banda thought for a moment, "About ten." "Ten guards are not too many for such a big beach." "One guard is a lot. They have guns and dogs. The guards are not blind, and we are not invisible." The barking of the dogs was getting closer.Jamie said, "Banda, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have brought you here." "Not you." Jamie understood what that meant.

They heard shouts in the distance. Jamie and Banda reached a small sand dune. "How about we bury ourselves in the sand?" "That's been tried. The police dogs will find us and bite our throats out. If I die, I want to die quickly. I want them to see me and run away. Then they will shoot. I... I don't want police dogs to bite me." Jamie grabs Banda's arm. "We might die. But if we run to die, we're damned. Let them figure out what to do with us." They could already hear voices in the distance. "Come on, you slackers," a voice yelled, "come with me...get in line...you've got enough sleep at night...it's time to work..."

Despite his big talk, Jamie found himself cringing too.He turned and took another look at the sea. Wouldn't it be easier to drown?He was watching the hideous reef breaking the waves one by one, when suddenly he saw something else, behind the waves.He doesn't know what it is. "Banda, look..." From far out on the sea, an impenetrable gray wall was closing in on them, pushed by a strong westerly wind. "It's sea fog," Banda exclaimed. "This wind blows two or three times a week." While they were talking, the sea mist drew nearer, and it swept across the horizon like a great curtain, covering the sky. The voice of speaking is getting closer. "Damn sea fog. Another strike. Bosses hate this stuff." "We've got something," Jamie whispered. "any solution?" "Sea fog! They can't see us." "It's no use. It's always going to pass, and we're still here then. If the guards can't get through the minefield, we can't either. You try to get across the desert while the sea fog blows, but you can't go ten yards, and you'll be shot." Torn to shreds. You are waiting for your miracle again." "Damn it, you're right," Jamie said. ※※※ It was getting dark gradually.The sea fog came closer, covering the sea and engulfing the coast.The sea fog rolled towards them, making people shudder.But Jamie thought happily.It will save us. Suddenly, there was a cry: "Hey, you two, what are you doing there?" Jamie and Banda turned around and saw a guard with a rifle standing on a sand dune about a hundred meters away. There.The sea fog came more quickly. "You! You two, come here." The guard yelled, raising his rifle. Jamie threw up his hands. "I sprained my foot," he answered loudly. "I can't walk." "Stay there," the guard ordered, "I'll get you." He put down his gun and walked towards them.Jamie glanced back quickly and knew that the sea fog had come to shore and would be here soon. "Run," Jamie said softly.He turned and ran quickly towards the shore, Banda closely following him. "stop!" In an instant, there was a burst of gunfire, and the sand in front of them creaked and splashed.They ran on, into the vastness of the fog.Another burst of gunfire, followed by another.Then they had run into the thick fog that could not be seen.The sea licked them and made them shiver and breathless, as if they were wrapped in cotton piles, and could not see anything. Now the sound is muffled and far away.Blocked by the sea fog, from all directions, they heard the voices of some people calling to each other. "Kruger...this is Brent...can you hear me?" "I heard you, Kruger..." "There are two of them," cried the first voice, "a white man and a black man. They're on the beach. Spread your men out. Shoot them." "Catch me," Jamie said softly. Banda grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?" "Let's try to get out of here." Jamie held the compass up to his eyes and looked at it.He can barely see it.He turned until the compass pointed east. "This way..." "Wait! We can't go. Even if we don't run into guards or dogs, we'll hit mines." "You said the mine was over a hundred yards away. Let's get off the beach." They moved slowly, staggeringly toward the desert, like blind men groping their way through a strange land.Jamie measured them yard by yard, and each time they stumbled in the quicksand they picked themselves up and kept going.Every few feet Jamie stopped to look at the compass.When he estimated that they had traveled almost a hundred yards, he stopped. "This should be the place where mines are mined. Are there any rules for their mines? Do you think there is any way to help us?" "It's just luck," Banda said. "No one ever gets past those mines, Jamie, and they're scattered all over the mine, buried about six inches deep. We'll have to stop here until we reach the sea." The fog lifts, then rises again to throw itself into the trap." Jamie heard the humming of voices echoing around him as if stuffed with cotton. "Kruger, keep in touch with your voice." "Understood, Brent." "Kruger..." "Brent." Indistinct, voices calling to each other echoed in the thick fog.Jamie's mind was spinning rapidly, racking his brain for every possible way of escape.If they stayed where they were, they would be killed as soon as the sea fog cleared.If they tried to cross the minefield, they would be blown to pieces again. "Have you ever seen a landmine?" Jamie said softly. "I helped them bury a few." "What would make them explode?" "The weight of a man. Anything over eighty pounds will make them explode. That way their police dogs won't get killed." Jamie took a deep breath. "Banda, I have a way that might make us escape. It might not work. Would you like to take a risk with me?" "what idea?" "We crawled across minefields on our stomachs. In this way, it was possible to spread our weight over the sand." "Oh, God!" "What are you thinking?" "I'm thinking I'm crazy to leave Cape Town." "Are you coming with me?" He could barely make out Banda's face beside him. "You just don't leave room for people, do you?" "Then come on." Jamie carefully stretched himself against the sand.Banda glanced at him, took a deep breath, and followed him.The two began to crawl slowly across the sand, toward the minefield. "When you climb," Jamie said softly, "don't push down with your hands and legs, but crawl forward with your whole body." Banda didn't answer, he was highly concentrated and wanted to save his life. They were in a vacuum created by a suffocating, gray fog, and they couldn't see their fingers.At any moment they could bump into guards and dogs, or trigger land mines.Jamie forced himself not to think about it all.Their movements are slow and painful.Both were topless.Inch by inch they crawled forward, the sand grazed their bellies.Jamie knew how dangerous this situation was.Even if they did get lucky enough to crawl across the desert without being shot and blown to pieces, there was barbed wire and armed guards at the entry posts in front of them.Moreover, it is hard to say how long the sea fog will last. It may stop at any time and expose them. They crawled on, mind blank, until they lost all sense of time.Inches add up to feet, feet add up to yards, yards add up to miles.They did not know how far they had climbed.The head was forced to the ground, the eyes, ears and nose were covered with sand, and it was difficult to breathe. In the distance, the voices of the guards still echoed. "Kruger...Brent...Kruger...Brent..." Every few minutes, the two stopped to rest for a while, checked the compass, and then continued to crawl forward, and began to crawl endlessly again.There was an almost irresistible instinct to crawl faster, but that would mean pressing down harder, and Jamie could imagine the metal exploding beneath him and burrowing into his belly.He keeps a slow pace.From time to time, they could hear the surrounding voices, but the voices were still shrouded in thick fog, and they couldn't tell where they came from.It's a big desert, Jamie thought hopefully, and we're not going to run into anyone. Out of nowhere, a big, hairy black shadow came towards him.It came so fast, Jamie was caught off guard.He felt the wolfhound's teeth sink into his arm.He put the diamond bag aside and tried to pry the dog's mouth open, but it was impossible with only one hand.He felt the blood rushing out of his arms, and the dog's teeth sank deeper, soundlessly.Jamie felt like passing out.He heard a muffled sound, and then another sound, the dog's mouth loosened, and his eyes rolled white.Through the mist in pain, Jamie saw Banda smashing the police dog's head with a diamond.The dog whined and lay dead straight. "Are you okay?" Banda whispered anxiously. Jamie was speechless.He lay there, waiting for the bursts of pain to go away.Banda tore a corner from his trousers and tied Jamie's arm tightly, stopping the bleeding. "We still have to climb," Banda warned. "If there is a dog around, there will be a gang." Jamie nodded.He moved his body slowly, fighting back the sharp pain in his arm.He couldn't remember how he got there.He was in a semi-comatose state, like a robot.Something outside directs his movements, arms crawling, dragging...arms crawling, dragging...arms crawling, dragging...simply nothing In the end, there is only unbearable pain.Now it's up to Banda to hold the compass.When Jamie crawled the wrong way, Banda gently pulled him back.Surrounded by guards, dogs, and mines, they are kept safe only by sea fog.They continued to crawl, crawling for their lives, until neither of them could crawl an inch longer. They fell into a drowsy sleep. Jamie opened his eyes, and something changed.He lay in the desert, stiff and sore, trying to remember where he was.He saw Banda sleeping six feet away, and memories flooded his mind.Lifeboat smashed against rocks... sea fog... But something is not right.Jamie sat up, trying to figure out what it was.His heart tightened.He could see Banda.That's what's wrong.The sea fog lifted.Jamie heard voices around him.He glimpsed through the fading mist that they had crept closer to the mine's entrance.There were the tall pickets and barbed wire that Banda had described.About sixty black workers were leaving the diamond mine and heading for the gate.They're off work, and it's time for the next shift to start.Jamie stood up, crawled next to Banda, and kept shaking him.Banda sat up and immediately woke up.His eyes turned to the picket post and the gate. "Damn it," he said ruefully, "we almost made it." "We did! Give me those diamonds." Banda handed him the shirtbag. "what do you have……?" "Come with me." "Those guards at the gate have guns," Banda whispered. "They'll know we're not from here." "I'm thinking about it," Jamie told him. The two approached the guards and squeezed their way into the line of commuting workers.They were yelling at each other and exchanging friendly boos. "You've got to work hard, guys. We just had a really good sleep in the sea fog..." "How did you come across Shanghai Fog? You lucky bastards..." "God listens to me. He doesn't listen to you. You're bad..." Jamie and Banda walked to the gate.Two burly armed guards stood there herding the off-duty workers into the cabin, waiting for a thorough search.The guards stripped the workers naked and looked up and down every hole in their bodies.Jamie gripped the diamond bag tighter.He pushed past the line of workers and walked over to a guard. "I'm sorry, sir," said Jamie, "we're looking for work. Who should we see?" Banda stared at him stupidly. The guard turned around and said to Jamie, "To hell with you, what are you doing standing inside the barbed wire?" "We came in looking for work, I hear there's a vacancy here for the guard, my servant can dig diamonds, I think..." The guard looked at the two shabby and unseemly people. "To hell with you, get out!" "We're not going out," Jamie protested. "We're going to work, and I heard..." "This is a restricted area, sir. Didn't you see the wooden sign? To hell with you, get out, both of you!" He pointed to a large bullock cart parked outside the barbed wire, full of people off-duty workers. "That car will take you to Port Nolosi. If you guys are looking for a job, go to the corporate office there and apply." "Oh, thank you, sir," Jamie said.He nodded to Banda, and the two of them walked out of the gate into the world of freedom. The guard muttered behind their backs: "Idiot." ※※※ Ten minutes later, Jamie and Banda were on their way to Port Nolosi.They carried half a million pounds worth of diamonds with them.