Sykes, who had just begun to veer left, turned the wheel, pushing the car as hard as it would go.

Mr. Dell had a bigger car, but he was not racing as if a life depended on it.

In the distance, a train rumbled. The sky ahead filled with new clouds rising from where the train must be. The sound grew louder. Alec saw it first and shouted for him to stop. Afterwards Sykes thought that Alec told him the name of the train, but he wasn’t listening. He only knew that he would have to stop, or drive into the side of a railway carriage.

Carriage after carriage passed by until the train had passed. And then Sykes knew, either he had lost the motor on this road, or they had taken the wrong turn at the beginning of their journey.

“Why did you say “right”?” he asked Alec.

“Well it was one or the other, and you asked me.”

“You picked wrong. We’ve lost her.”

Chapter 56

Chapter Fifty-Six

At first, the darkness seemed total. My head throbbed. I did not move, except for shivering, being unsure how much of me was broken. Something bitter as an ice wind wrapped itself around my body, shooting icicles into my bones. The pain was excruciating. Gingerly, I reached over and touched one arm, one leg. It was when I tried to move my left arm that I let out a yell of pain. So that was the worst. It needed some support. I diagnosed a broken arm, unsure which bone had cracked.

I cringed as I became aware of a soft, scraping sound. Something walked onto my leg. I screamed. The thing quickly moved on.

As my eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, I realised the darkness was not total. Light spilled from what must be one of those half windows some cellars have. Because of the pain in my left arm, the only way to stand was to roll onto my right side and push myself up onto one knee, then both knees, shift one leg, and then the other. Having achieved that, I decided against standing and shuffled to the wall. Sitting with my back to the wall, I brought my left arm close to my chest, pulled off my scarf and took I do not know how long to make a sling.

I could hear the sound of silence, a kind of low hum. By concentrating on minutiae, I would pass the time until Sykes found a way in. He must by now have heard their motor as they left.

Becoming aware of the smells, I thought there must be food here. Cheese, ham, sour milk. Of course there may not be food. Smells linger.

What I could not understand was why Sykes and Alec failed to find a way in, to search for me, to call out. Perhaps they had. Now I wondered had I passed out for a few crucial minutes.