PART THREE

They managed a pretty good meal, with all the ingredients they'd salvaged and found, then picked several parts of the dentist's house as bedrooms. Cliff went out after supper and found an old but serviceable mule that needed a bit of work to get going. He and the other Maori with the exception of Hori set to mending it and trying to make it run. Jayne lent a hand, but his speciality was guns and explosives; he was a bit lost on transport. When it came to fuel, he was better placed to help. He and the Maori managed to make the mule accept alcohol as a fuel and most of the contents of the bar's cellar were put into service to help keep the vehicle going.

In the morning, they piled in and set off. the mule was a bit sluggish with six on board. When two tamed horses were found wandering free a day's ride out of town, Jayne and Cliff got off the mule and rode behind. The horses were a little skittish to start with, not having had human contact for some time, but they soon trotted along amiably enough, even if Cliff and Jayne had to ride bareback and with makeshift reins.The party skirted back close to the coast, trying to pick up the trail of what they hoped had been Redbeard.

After another couple of days, Cliff gestured ahead, "There's a small fishing village ahead with a hostelry and a whorehouse. Called Auckers, after Auckland in NZ, eh."

Jayne grinned eagerly, "Whores?"

Cliff fixed him with a look and motioned him to stop a moment, "Jayne, don't even *think* about it."

"Them's not clean whores?"

"It's not that. You've got a yearning to get inside Vera's clothes, eh?"

"Wuh de ma; I ain't blind! But she told me I didn't stand a chance, Cliff!"

"As sure as I know my name, if you even touch one of those ladies in that whorehouse, you won't ever get your chance with Vera."

"Thought I didn't have none."

Cliff grinned, "She likes you, idiot. May not show it, but it was similar with Maaka, eh. Tested him a while to check his mettle. He told me when he finally got her in bed, it was more than w