mes amisThe waiting begins, and half an hour passes, then an hour and later two hours…
Le Clerq stands on the battlement next to the two special guards, listening closely to hear something specifically. The searchlights stay off and have been that way for the last hour on Le Clerq’s orders.
Then they hear it to the east of them. Two shots are fired close together, like a message. There is nothing special about the shots because it could have been two rifles that had shot at someone or something. Le Clerq turns around, runs down the steps, puts on his cap, touches his revolver, and tells Petrof. “Close the gate the instant we are out, and stay ready.”
The colonel gives a soft order and leads his men out of the fort.
* * *
When Akbar Tamar wakes up from light sleep, he imagines tha
