Chapter Twenty-SixAli was in turmoil. He had disobeyed an order; confession would be little less than suicide. He had been told to shoot her, but he couldn’t do it: those gentle eyes, so terror-struck, had been too like his elder sister’s. He’d fired the handgun into a sack of grain so that they would hear a shot. She was bound and gagged so she couldn’t make a noise, but the thought that they might check if he had carried out his orders made him shudder. He almost turned to climb the stairs again to where she was but he couldn’t do it. Sheer aversion froze his movements.
He gave the handgun back to his smiling leader – a mocking smile, laughing at his youthful sensitivity. Then they drove off, two on the tractor, two in the trailer and two travelling in an aging Ford behind.
Ali was in
