Night in the Open

Meanwhile, as a gentleman, Fred's first thought was that he must find a way to protect Astra from the rain. But short of lying on top of her, which was of course out of the question, it was not at all obvious how this could be achieved. "We must find a way to keep you dry," he said.

"Thank you, Fred, but I am more concerned about you. Getting wet might hinder your recovery. You had better put your overshirt back on. It isn't much, but it will be better than nothing."

Fred put his shirt back on, trying not to wince when he had to manoeuvre his right arm back into the sleeve. "One of those outcrops of rock that we passed earlier might have provided us with some shelter," he said, "but it's too dark now to find our way back to them."

"And even if we could, by the time we got there we should already be soaked." This was obviously true. Though the rain had begun only a minute or so before, it was very heavy and they were already getting quite wet. For a solution to be of any use at all, it would have to be hit on very quickly.

1. Fortunately, they came up with one.
2. But they could not think of anything.
3. Belboz can hardly object to my protecting his patient, Astra thought. "Lie down on the driest spot that you can find," she told Fred. "I'm going to lie on top of you to try to keep you dry."

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