Read Online Slaves of Elysium by W. S. Antony - Free Book Online Page B

ripe red tomatoes the size of small apples to her bananas and returned to the shore in better spirits. Wherever they were the land was very fertile and they certainly weren’t going to starve.
    Rebecca demonstrated her complete recovery on Jeni’s return by accepted this addition to their diet without comment and asking instead, ‘Did you see any sign of life? I mean, civilised life.’
    â€˜No, miss. I’d say if I had. There were no paths or roads or anything. This must be an uninhabited part of the coast.’
    â€˜Maybe we can signal for help,’ Rebecca said, beginning to think practically at last. ‘You said we could make a fire. Perhaps we can use that.’
    â€˜Maybe, miss.’
    â€˜Well get started, then.’
    â€˜I will, miss, but I have to make a fire bow first.’
    â€˜A what?’
    â€˜You’ll see, miss.’
    A second foraging expedition closer to the camp produced the necessary materials. There was a short springy length of wood, a fist-sized stone with a slight hollow in the middle, a stouter straight stick with a broken roughly pointed tip, a length of pliant vine, a dry piece of log split off a fallen tree and fine dry grass.
    While Rebecca looked on, Jeni platted the vine into a serviceable cord and strung it across the ends of the springy length of wood. She then twisted the middle of the cord once round the straight stick so that the loop was held firmly in place by the tension. With a sharp-edged stone she hacked out a shallow hole in the flat of the log and lined it with crumpled dry grass. Sitting down cross-legged at the edge of the tree line, Jeni braced the log between her feet and placed the tip of the upright stick in the hole, holding the bow horizontally. She kept the upright stick in place by socketing its top end into the hollow stone, then taking a deep breath she began working the bow back and forth like a saw. The looped bowstring turned the lower end of the stick rapidly round in the hole in the log, grinding wood against wood.
    It took ten minutes of vigorous sawing before a thin wisp of smoke rose from the nest of dry grass. Then there was a pop and lick of flame. Jeni quickly added more grass and small twigs and soon there was a steady blaze burning.
    As Jeni wiped the sweat from her brow Rebecca said, almost grudgingly, ‘That was quite clever. But it would have been quicker with matches.’
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    Jeni built a rough lean-to shelter of palm fronds against a tree close to the fire. Rebecca obviously resented the thought of sharing it with her, but was scared of spending the night alone.
    As darkness fell they sat by the fire feeding it dead branches, driftwood and coconut husks while they dined on bananas and tomatoes. Stars came out clear and bright as the electric-blue twilight faded. The flickering fire threw dancing shadows over the sands and tinted the foam caps of the lazily breaking waves.
    Rebecca, who had been silent for some time, suddenly said, ‘That time in the fog, I don’t remember it too well. I think I was ill. But something odd happened. It might have been a dream, of course...’ she was clearly struggling to find the right words, unwilling to admit how clouded her memory was because of the quantity of drink she consumed. Jeni said nothing to help her, but finally Rebecca spat, ‘Did Mark screw you in my cabin?’
    â€˜Yes, miss,’ Jeni said simply. ‘Though he didn’t finish because you changed your mind about it being a joke and kicked me out.’
    Rebecca gawped at her in astonishment. ‘Why, what were we doing?’
    â€˜You were both drunk. I came to see how you were and you told Mr Devereaux how you’d spanked my bottom. You thought I’d enjoyed it and might be a masochist. You ordered me to take off my shorts and bend over to show Mr Devereaux if my bottom was still red. It wasn’t, so Mr Devereaux spanked me again, then started to have sex with me.