‘If they did, we might be seeing them in a few hours,’ Ben replied. ‘No use crying about it. But it means we’ve got a lot to do in that time.’

That was an understatement. Those next few hours were frantically busy as they crammed as much activity as they could into what might, thanks to Schulz’s folly, be a fast-shrinking time window. While Liebowitz struggled to resurrect their sat phone, surrounded by bits of circuitry and the tip of the stiletto blade glowing red hot in the fire, Ben and Wolf took the Humvee back down to the village where they retrieved the bow and arrow from where they’d left it earlier. Getting the hang of it now, Ben quickly and efficiently added four more of the wandering goats to the menu for the many extra mouths they now had to feed. At this rate their fresh meat supply wouldn’t last long, but they’d worry about that later.

Next they refilled every empty twenty-five-litre water jerrycan they had from the clear, sparkling river, and carried their load back up the orphanage to drop off the goat carcasses before they continued up the hill as close as they could get to the foot of the escarpment. Then came the long, weary job of lugging all the water to the cave, where Madison, Father Bugnolio, Francine and the prince, along with sixty eager children, joined in the task of carrying it inside to the grotto.

Still no sign of any movement anywhere on the horizon.

‘Maybe it was a false alarm,’ Wolf said to Ben, as they stood at the foot of the cliff scanning with their binoculars. ‘We’ve got no real reason to suppose there’s anyone out there within hearing range.’

‘I didn’t think you believed in leaving things to chance,’ Ben said.

‘I don’t.’

‘Neither do I. I think either way, it’d be best if we weren’t at the orphanage any longer, if and when someone does turn up.’

‘You mean, relocate the base camp here to the caves?’

Ben nodded, surveying the lie of the land with a well-practised eye. ‘We have a much wider field of observation from up here, and if it comes to making a stand we’re much better defended on the high ground. It’s a strong position tactically. I propose keeping a double watch from now on, four sentries, changing every two hours. The vehicles will have to be concealed as best we can. Some of the Pathfinders are recovered enough now to be put to work building a rock wall and gathering all the bits of dead tree and brush they can find to make a hide. From a hundred yards away, they should be pretty hard to spot.’