76. The Encounter

Donavan realizes that the two of them probably have just as good a lookout as his sharpshooter position from where they can spot him at a distance. It might well be that they hide and hope he passes. He tries to walk close to the left side rock face in the shade where he will be less obtrusive. He scrutinizes the rock walls on both sides above the flood level because their hideout must be above it. Slowly he moves through between shallow pools and boulders. He simply must find them before the sun goes down. Probably they are Eldrich’s last hope of survival. Donavan sees a cavity in the rock face of the opposite cliff and stops abruptly. He aims with his telescope. It is definitely above the flood level but it is too high from where he is to now make out how deep it is. Maybe it is only a small alcove or maybe it could be a hidden cave. If it is their shelter, how the hell do they reach it? It is high up against the vertical rock face and it looks as if one had to rock climbing to reac