Scofield thought it was the same dog he had come across so suddenly, so frighteningly, in the fields. He said as much to the woman.
"Probably, signore. We were there for many hours. I was looking for you and I let him roam, but he was always near in case I needed him." "Would he have attacked me?" "Only if you raised your hand to him. Or to me." It was past midnight when they reached a flat stretch of grassland that fronted what appeared to be a series of imposing, wooded hills. The low-flying clouds had thinned out; moonlight washed over the field, highlighting the peaks in the distance, lending grandeur to this section of the mountain range. Bray could see that Talaniekov's shirt beneath the open jacket was as drenched with sweat as his own; and the night was cool.
"We can rest for a while now," said the woman, pointing to a dark area several hundred feet ahead, in the direction the dog had raced. "Over there is a cave of stone in, the hill. It is not very deep, but it is shelter." "Your dog knows it," added the KGB man.
"He expects me to build a fire," laughed the girl. "When it is raining, he takes sticks in his mouth and brings them inside to me. He is fond of the fire."
The cave was dug out of dark rock, no more than ten feet deep, but at least six in height. They entered.
"Shall I light a fire?" Taleniekov asked.
"If you wish. Uccello will like you for it. I am too tired." "'Uccello'?" asked Scofield. "'Bird'?" "He flies over the ground, signore." "You speak English very well," said Bray, as the Russian piled sticks together within a circle of stones obviously used for previous fires.
"Where did you learn?" "I went to the convent school in Vescovato. Those of us who wished to enter the government programs studied French and English." Taleniekov struck a match beneath the kindling; the fire caught instantly, the flames crackling the wood, throwing warmth and light through the cave.
"You're very good at that sort of thing," said Scofield to the KGB man.
"T'hank you. It's a minor talent." "It wasn't minor a few hours ago." Bray turned back to the woman, who had removed her cap and was shaking free her long dark hair. For an instant he stopped breathing and stared at her. Was it the hair? Or the wide, clear brown eyes that were the color of a deer's eyes, or the high cheekbones or the chiseled nose above the generous lips that seemed so ready to laugh?
Was it any of these things, or was he simply tired and grateful for the sight of an attractive, capable woman? He did not know; he knew only that this Corsican girl of the hills reminded him of Karine, his wife whose death was ordered by the man three feet away from him in that Corsican cave. He suppressed his thoughts and breathed again. "And did you," he asked, "enter the government programs?" "As far as they would take me." "Where was that?" "To the scuola media in Bonifacio. The rest I managed with the help of others. Monies supplied by the tondos." "I don't understand." "I am a graduate of the University of Bologna, signore. I am a Comunista.
I say it proudly." "Bravo... " said Taleniekov softly.
"One day we shall set things right throughout all Italy," continued the girl, her eyes bright. "We shall end the chaos, the Christian stupidity." "I'm sure you will," agreed the Russian.
"But never as Moscow's puppets; that we will never be. We are independente.
We do not listen to vicious bears who would devour us and create a worldwide fascist state. Neverl" "Bravo," said Bray.
Ile conversation trafled off, the young woman reluctant to answer further questions about herself. She told them her name was Antonia, but beyond that said little. When Taleniekov asked why she, a political activist from Bologna, had returned to this isolated region of Corsica, she replied only that it was to be with her grandmother for a while.
"Tell us about her," said Scofield.
"She will tell you what she wants you to know," said the girl, getting up.
"I have told you what she instructed me to say." "'Ile whore of Villa Matarese,"' repeated Bray.
"Yes. They are not words I would choose. Or ever use. Come, we have another two hours to walk."
They reached a flat crown of a mountain and looked down a gentle slope