Chapter 11
HE THREW A PAIR OF OLD LEATHER BOOTS at me as he came out of the building. "Put those on," he ordered.
He herded me down another flagstone path and we came to a clearing. A spading fork stuck in the ground stood upright nearby. Stakes had been driven in the ground and heavy cord was taut between the stakes.
"That's goin' to be our new zinnia bed," he told me. "Get to work and spade it up."
I stared at the spade and at the cord running between the stakes. It was damn near as big as the average city lot.
"Start just inside that cord."
I put the spading fork down and stepped on it. I barely moved it an inch. I shoved even harder. The God damn ground was like concrete.
"Put some muscle in it," he ordered.
I finally got the fork down into the ground and leaned on it. I damn near went butt over buttermilk. The fork barely gave.
"Lean on it," he yelled.
I practically jumped on it and broke it free. Then I had to try to lift it and turn the sod over.
"You'll have some muscle before this day's over," promised me slumping down on the ground with his back to a tree and lighting his pipe.
The sun was soon high and was broiling me. I was so dry and thirsty I couldn't spit. My sweating hands were getting blistered. My feet, swimming in sweat, were getting just as blistered skating around in those big boots.
It soon became a nightmare and nothing seemed real around me. It was stab the ground, jump on the fork, lean on the fork, grab the fork and turn the load over. Over and over again.
And then, suddenly, I could push myself no farther. I jumped on the spade and nothing happened. I jumped again and nothing happened. Then I felt everything fading away from me.
I was awakened by a huge splash of cold water. I spluttered and fought my way up. I was back in the swimming pool.
"Have a fast swim and get to work," Ferdie said, standing alongside the pool and puffing on his pipe. "You're soft. But in another week you'll be able to spade up more than that in a half-day."
I rolled over on my back and floated.
"Get going," he yelled. "Either start swimming or get the hell out of there."
I rolled over on my belly and began a breast stroke in a circle. I didn't want to use up all my strength. The cool water felt good, except on my sore back.
"Come on," Ferdie finally yelled, "get out of there and get back to work."
I swam to a ladder and climbed out. The hot sun made short work of the glistening, drops of water as I walked back down the path with Ferdie behind me.
Just before we got back to the torture area, there was a whistle and a shout
"Bring her up here for chow," a rough voice yelled.
"You heard him," Ferdie said. "Get turned around and head back to the house."
I did and was thankful for a chance for further rest
"Get over to that picnic table under that tree," Ferdie ordered.
Once again the old Filipino came trudging out, carrying a tray.
"Put it on the far end of that table," Ferdie yelled at the old man. "She can't hurt you then."
The old man dropped the tray on the far end of the table.
They really fed the prisoners. I had steak for breakfast and steak for lunch. There was also baked potato with sour cream and chives and all the trimmings. It was almost more than I could eat
As I was eating I thought of a dream I had the night before. I could almost feel the warm soft body of the girl I could still see in my mind's eye. Then I slowly realized it was not a dream. This was for real. She had gotten up during the night and fled. But she would be back that night. I was certain of that.
I bummed a cigarette off Ferdie and downed a cup of coffee. Then Ferdie ordered me back to work.
If that morning had been hell, that afternoon was ten varieties of hell. The sun beat down on me like a giant heat lamp. I could feel the skin on my back sizzling and shriveling. Sweat was flooding down over my body and my hands were so raw that I could hardly hold the fork.
From out of the mists around rne, Ferdie stood there with a bucket of water and a dipper.
"Don't drink too much," he ordered. "It'll make you sick. Just swish it around in your mouth and spit it out."
I did as ordered. But I let some of the cool liquid trickle down my dry parched throat.
Ferdie yanked the dipper from my hand and shoved it into the bucket and walked away.
"Get back to work," he ordered.
I knew I was never going to make it for the rest of the afternoon. I could barely see through the thick gray haze around me.
Suddenly everything started spinning around like a berserk carousel. The haze rushed in to claim me.
I was floating and drifting. Far away, my body lay below me, hot and tortured.
I heard a low soft sweet song being hummed. Smooth hands were caressing my body as the cool rag was patted on it.
I opened my eyes. I was lying on my belly on the bed. I twisted my head and looked over my shoulder. Tiki was sitting on the bed beside me, patting a rag filled with ice on my blistered back.
Our eyes met for a moment and within the black depths of her big eyes I saw warning signals. I turned my head a little further and looked toward the foot of the bed.
The ape who had gotten me out of bed that morning stood there, scowling at me. His hand was in his jacket pocket and, from the lump in his pocket, I knew he was gripping the snubnose.
I swiveled my head around and rested it on my forearms. How good that ice felt and how smooth Tiki's hands were. She sloshed cool creamy liquid all over my back. Then her hands once more began to lightly caress, all over my back and over my buttocks and down my thighs.
In time, she rolled me over on my back and splashed more of the lotion all over my belly. Then her hands went to work again, massaging my breasts and rubbing my nipples with the palms of her hands. Her hands moved down on my belly and lightly skated around, with her fingertips lightly brushing my sides. How stimulating it was. I was getting hotter than a brick in an oven.
She rose and sat down again, this time nearer to my feet. She poured lotion on my thighs and pulled my legs apart. Then her hands gently and lightly skimmed around over my thighs and my inner thighs and the back of her hand brushed against my pussy occasionally.
She reached over to the bedside stand and picked up a towel. She wiped her hands, reached for a can of talcum and dusted me all over, my breasts and my belly and my thighs. Then her hands once more began caressing and rubbing and patting the powder into my skin.
She rolled me over on my belly and I could feel cool powder sprinkling up and down my seared back. She patted and rubbed the powder into my back and my buttocks and thighs.
Once more she rolled me on my back. She took one of my hands and dumped lotion on my palm and gently and carefully began working the cool cream into my blistered hand. She reached for the powder next and sprinkled it and rubbed it in.
She then got up and moved further down and lifted my legs and put my feet on her bare thighs. She put lotion into her cupped hand and began working on my blistered feet. She topped it off with cool powder sprinkled on them and patted and rubbed in.
Her back was to the goon who was standing at the foot of the bed. She was between me and him, so he couldn't see my face.
Her black eves glowed sensuously as she stared into my eyes, still humming, and with a Mona Lisa smile on her oval face. How gentle and kind she was. I wondered how she could be so tender after living for years in the jungle. And then, with a jolt, I realized that she was in love with me.
That was bad. It could be dangerous. Sure, I felt very tender and drawn to her. I was willing to be her lover, but not for life. And that, apparently, was what she wanted. When she realized she could not have that, or me, I wondered how savage and barbaric she would become.
The ape standing by the foot of the bed suddenly whirled and strode across the room to the door, yanked it open, and slammed it shut. I heard the bolt being thrown.
"He is gone now," Tiki whispered to me. "You must relax and rest."
"How did you get in here?" I asked.
"Augie came for me. He said that you had collapsed out in the yard."
"You should have seen what they made me do," I said. .
She nodded. "I saw, from the window. I warned you last night You cannot win with them, so don't try."
"Are they going to make me go back out there and finish that spading tomorrow?" I asked.
She shrugged. "I doubt it. I will keep talking to them. You need to be in bed for a few days to recover. Your hands are in terrible shape."
She got up and moved forward and sat down beside me. She leaned forward on her elbows, smelling fragrant and pungent, and looked down in my eyes. Then her face slowly lowered as we continued to lock stares. Her lips brushed mine. Our breasts were jammed together.
My hands went up and tenderly skated around over her back, with my fingertips tracing erotic patterns. Her body stiffened and she moaned.
Her lips mashed down against mine and one of my hands went to the back of her head and pressed downward. My tongue crept out and cautiously slid along her lips. It got bolder and her tongue met mine and they waltzed together in a slow minuet.
"We must not get ourselves too hot," she whispered. "I doubt if they will leave us alone very long."
The key rattled in the lock. Tiki quickly sat up and began massaging my belly.
A tall tanned guy with a Greek god profile and curly black hair strode in. He wore only gray slacks and T-shirt and his muscles rippled smoothly under it.
Tiki turned her head and looked up at him. Then her head swiveled around and once more she stared at my belly as she massaged it.
"She's okay now," Golden boy said. "Get away from her. I want to get hauled."
His hand tugged at his belt buckle and yanked. A zipper whirred. He kicked off his loafers and got out of his trousers. He pulled down his shorts.
He was hung like a stallion.
His big hand clamped on Tiki's shoulders. "Get the hell away," he ordered. "But hang around. If she can't do the job, I'll let you do it."
His huge jackstaff was now standing erect as he grabbed my ankles and shoved them up and wide apart. He got on his knees and worked his way forward until his cock was jabbing my snatch.
My hand went down to guide his missile. He shoved. I gave a low scream as he ripped into me, pain shooting up to my belly.
I was just a hunk of meat lying on the bed to satisfy his carnal lust. He jumped and he lunged and he rammed and he shoved and I gritted my teeth and lay there wondering if I was going to pass out.
I opened my eyes and glanced at him. His face was lathered with sweat and it was dripping from his chin. His eyes were closed and his features were twisted and contorted by passion unfulfilled. His face actually looked savage.
I glanced over at Tiki, who was standing beside the bed. Her eyes were mournful and sorrowful and yet they seemed to say that I should lay there and take it and not fight back.
He gripped my ankles even tighter. I knew that an explosion was not far away, so I bit my lip and dug my fingernails into my palms as I dredged up every bit of determination to stand the pain a moment longer.
He let out a long wail like Tarzan's mating call and let go of my ankles and fell forward against his hands, on either side of me. His hips rammed me as if they were breaking pavement. He was hitting bottom. Then my buttocks were suddenly wet and I could feel his gush trickling down over them.
He collapsed for a moment. Then he rolled off me and lay on his back beside me and conked out. He lay there breathing deeply and rhythmically with his eyes closed.
Tiki came over and grabbed my hand and tugged. I sat up and she helped me off the bed. She led me toward the bathroom as the flood ran down my inner thighs.
In the bathroom she grabbed a washcloth and soaked it and carefully washed me.
"You are much too cooked and sore to get in the shower," she whispered.
"Yeah," I agreed.
She turned off the water, wrung the rag dry and began patting my thighs.
"That's Tony Minelli," she told me. "He's Frankie's right-hand man. So you'd better be nice to him. When Frankie's not around, he can order you thrown down the well."