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.The Creator of the universe took note of everything—even a simple cowboy with a hurting heart.But did God want Adam to let Emma go, this woman who had been sent to Africa to fulfill a mission? He waited for an answer but heard nothing except the gurgling stream.“Adam, what is this flower?” She drifted toward him, a pink blossom cupped in her palms.“Such a rich perfume.”“It’s a frangipani.”They had shared a kiss, tender words of love.Did that mean nothing? Did God expect Adam to walk away—when even now he struggled to keep from taking her in his arms? But Emma’s holy calling superseded common human passion.Adam knew he must accept that and back away.“Before we go, Adam,” she said, “I want to thank you for helping me.I didn’t know how much I was asking.”“I was glad to do it.” He turned to his horse, but she caught his arm.“And thank you for teaching me about this country.The language and the animals and people.I shall never forget what you did.”“No trouble.I’d have done it for anyone.”“Yes.Of course.”“You’ll always be welcome at my ranch or at the beach house.” He stroked away a strand of hair that had blown across her cheek.“You know that.”“I should like to visit.Your life will be back to normal soon.You can wear your gun again without me protesting.And it won’t be long before Clarissa—”He cut short her words with a kiss.His hands found her arms and drew her close.She leaned into him, her arms twining around his neck, her fingers weaving through his hair.“Oh, Adam, I can’t think of anything but you,” she whispered.“Even poor Cissy is—”“Wait.” He drew back, listening for the tinkling sound he had heard a moment earlier.It came again—a giggle, and then another.“Karibu.” He spoke the word of welcome.Like shy kittens, three African girls emerged from a thicket.Each carried a bundle of sticks on her back.“They’re from the Kikuyu tribe,” he said, stepping away from Emma.“Maybe they can tell us how to find the waterfall with the cave.”He spoke some of the Kikuyu words he knew, using his hands to signal his meaning.One of the girls responded by pointing toward two jagged peaks that jutted into the sky.“Batian and Nelian.The twin peaks of Kenya Mountain.” He fixed his attention on the shimmering vision.“Is the waterfall near?” she asked as the girls slipped away.“If we travel toward the mountain, we’ll come to the Aberdares and the falls.A fig tree stands at the base of a hidden gorge where a stream flows into a pool of water.The waterfall and the cave are above it.”“If the moon isn’t shadowed by clouds,” Emma said, “we can ride most of the night.”“We ought to be there by morning.” He stepped toward his horse.“The girl warned that evil spirits live in the cave.Said we shouldn’t go near the gorge.”“How odd.Tolito insisted that Nicholas Bond had cursed him with an evil spirit.Such a ridiculous notion.”“Maybe.”“You don’t believe in evil spirits, do you?”“I took you for a Bible reader, Emma.” He stepped into the stirrup and mounted his stallion.“Jesus cast out evil spirits everywhere He went.I seem to recall one time He sent a whole gang of them into a herd of pigs.”“Oh,” she said, going pale.“You’re quite right, of course.”“Time to move out,” he announced, turning his horse.“Let’s go find your sister.”After hours of trekking through thick bush, Adam and Emma finally had to dismount and lead their horses.They slogged through ankle-deep mud down steep gullies and into icy streams.Emma began to believe the whole land was cursed by an evil spirit.The rainforest was mostly quiet through the day, but as evening lowered its dusky head, it came to life.Bush babies gaped with huge glowing brown eyes.Birds shrieked and bats fluttered by.A shy dik-dik—the tiniest of antelopes—peered at them with a minuscule face and horns smaller than a pen.Most startling to Emma was the small furry hyrax, whose shrill cry mimicked the wail of an abandoned child.At midnight Adam insisted they stop.They huddled into the curved roots of a huge tree.They spoke little, too tired for the effort.Emma slept on Adam’s shoulder, but he kept watch until dawn.In the early morning when tendrils of mist curled over rocks and between fern fronds, they began the last leg of their trek.The horses struggled for footing in the mud, and Emma could not imagine how Soapy would ever arrive with a chest of heavy gold.The sun had burned away the mist when Adam halted beside a stream.Emma looked up at a towering fig tree.In the distance a waterfall gurgled.“I believe we’re here,” he said.“We’ll camp near the falls.”“Today is a week from the date on the message.They will expect us to make the trade for Cissy.”“There’s nothing we can do until Soapy gets here.If anyone is around, they’ve already seen us.”“Do you still doubt the letter Nicholas brought?”“Do you still doubt me?”She had to look away.“I don’t know what to believe [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]