450 EPILOGUE
Aus prisoner of war camp, the former colony of German South West Africa, now a British protectorate, 1915
On this cold night in the desert I have come to the end of our tale.
Colonel von Deimling heard from the Boer, du Preez, that he had left Blake wounded, to die in pain like a dog in the desert. The colonel was a man driven by efficiency and wanted proof that Blake, the man also known as Edward Prestwich, was dead. He ordered a patrol under his aide, Leutnant Kurtz, to go into the desert to where the ambush had taken place and ascertain that Blake had indeed perished.
As the Landespolizei doctor, I was ordered to accompany the patrol and ensure that Blake did not return alive. Von Deimling was furious that Claire had escaped and Kurtz and I were told that unless we conf
