State of Siege

After a moment she nodded. “Then as long as you are here, I will not think of it.” She gathered up her hair and began to twist it into a bun on top of her head. “There is still water left in the bathhouse,” she remarked; “perhaps we should use it while we can.”

It was such a determined change of subject that it made me laugh.

She raised her eyebrows. “It will not be amusing if we cannot wash.”

“You’re right. It won’t.”

“Do you wish to go first?” She was still uneasy because I had laughed at her.

“No, you go ahead. If you use too much water, I shall beat you.”

She smiled. I had made a feeble joke and she had regained face. All was well.

“May I wear your bathrobe?”

“Of course.”

When she had gone, I ate a slice of papaya, lit a cigarette and went out on to the terrace. The bow-legged officer was standing at the far end, looking out gloomily at the smoke haze. He nodded curtly when he caught sight of me, and I nodded back. We did not speak.

The firing had slackened off considerably and there were only occasional flurries of activity. It was as if both sides were weary of the argument, but could not quite make up their minds to abandon it. I found that a comforting notion. Unfortunately, I could not altogether conceal from myself the fact that what sounds there were seemed to come from very much nearer than they had an hour earlier.

Down in the leaflet-strewn square there was feverish activity. Fox-holes were being dug and the two-pounders were being manoeuvred into sandbagged pits so that they could cover the two western approaches to the square. One of the bomb craters was being used as a headquarters, another as an ammunition dump. Sounds from the Ministry of Public Health next door suggested that it, too, was being placed in a state of defence. Immediately below, beside the crater that had flooded the generator room, some men were unloading three-inch mortars from a truck. There were other men sitting on the ground fusing grenades. As far as I could see, there was only one small group of men in the entire square to whom a tank commander would have given a second thought. They were squatting under the trees, placidly scooping rice out of their bowls with their fingers. Laid out neatly on a groundsheet beside them were two American bazookas.

Someone came into the living room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bow-legged officer turn and then go in quickly. A moment later I recognised Suparto’s voice. There was a lot of firing going on just then and a truck down in the street below was spitting and back-firing as the driver revved it up, so I went back into the bedroom to see if I could hear what he was saying through the door.

It was not much better there. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was giving orders, but that was all. Then, there was a pause, and I heard steps on the terrace. I had just time to move away from the door before Suparto came in by the window.

He nodded to me and glanced quickly round the room.

“She’s bathing,” I said.

He nodded. “That is as well. I have not much time and what I have to say is private.”

“You might be heard in the next room.”

“For the present, there is no one in the next room. Sanusi is shortly transferring his headquarters there.” He sat down wearily and stretched his legs. His cheekbones stood out sharply and his skin was the colour of parchment. I realised that it was probably three days since he had slept. His uniform, however, was as neat as ever.

“May I know what’s happening out there?”

“There will be an official statement issued at the first opportunity. Colonel Roda is writing it at this very moment.”

“No jokes, Major, please.”

He smiled. “My apologies. I was indulging myself. The thought of Colonel Roda, whom I greatly dislike, trying bravely to misrepresent a situation which is already hopeless is very enjoyable.”

“Are you sure there’s nobody in there who can hear you?”

“I can see that you are nervous this morning, Mr. Fraser.”

“Yes.”

“Well, I admit that this waiting is disagreeable. As far as I know, the present situation is this. General Ishak’s troops broke through the outer defence positions without difficulty. Some rebel troops, however, were commanded with more skill than he expected. Instead of waiting to be swallowed up, they moved. As a result, General Ishak’s teeth met on nothing, and he will have to take another bite.”

“You said that the situation was already hopeless.”

“It is. The rebels have postponed defeat by a few hours, that is all. They cannot get out now.”

“Does General Sanusi know that?”