30
Jasmine could feel the heat as she crossed the padang and drew closer to the factory and stores. Through the acrid smoke she could see two or three white men organising the tappers into lines to form a human chain and pass along buckets of water. Presumably Godfrey and Howard were among them. Her vision was distorted and blurred by the intensity of the heat. She turned away to cough.
A hand grabbed her by the wrist and jerked her away. Stumbling, she looked up, expecting it to be Howard about to tell her to return to the safety of the bungalow.
Her heart stopped. It was Bintang.
She gave a little cry of surprise. ‘I saw you,’ she said. ‘Earlier. Running through the trees. I knew you’d come to find me.’
He didn’t answer. Holding her wrist in a painfully tight grip, he pulled her awa
