Ellie pitched her words so that they wouldn’t be heard over the constant rush of the waterfall.“But how are you here?”
“It’s a bit of a long story,” Constance whispered.
“Guessing that means it’s a good one.”Adam’s voice was warm with relief.
Worry darted through Ellie.“But where’s—”
She was cut off by a slight crash in the bamboo.The stalks above her swayed violently.
“Bugger,” her brother bit out under his breath.
“Neil!”Ellie exclaimed, her voice catching.
“Hello, Peanut,” he replied feelingly from behind the boulder.
Constance piped in.“We can cut you loose, but we’ll need a distraction.”
Ellie perked up.“It’s possible I might have prepared for that.”
“I know that tone,” Adam said warningly.“That’s your practical chemistry tone.”
Ellie frowned.“I have a practical chemistry tone?”
“What’d you set to blow up, Princess?”Adam pushed back dryly.
“You’re the one who told me to do something with that ethanol!”
Adam’s eyes rose to the churning gray clouds overhead as though looking for strength.“And what did you do with the ethanol?”
“Nothing yet,” Ellie returned pertly.“I only put it aside in a safe place along with a deposit of potassium crystals that I chipped out of the ridge on our way here.”
Adam stared at her.“You just randomly collected a bunch of potassium.”
Ellie stiffened defensively.“Potassium has many useful chemical applications.”
“Like?”Adam prompted.
Her cheeks flushed.“Like creating hydrogen gas when combined with high proof spirits, which is just a little explosive when ignited in a contained environment.”
Adam stared at her.
“What?If there are no proper combustibles on hand, one has to make do.”She directed the rest behind the boulder to Constance.“I emptied out one of the supply trunks and stole a bit of fuse as well.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Constance confirmed eagerly.“I’ll just need Stuffy’s sword.”
Neil’s horrified voice hissed at her from behind the rock.“You can’t use Dyrnwyn for that!”
“Why not?”Constance retorted crossly.
“It’s completely covered in flames!If any of that hydrogen leaks out of the seams in the trunk, you could blow yourself up before you get to the fuse!”
Constance made a distinct noise of dissatisfaction.Ellie couldn’t entirely blame her.
Adam shuffled himself closer to the edge of the rock.“Matches.In my pocket.”
Constance poked her head out to assess the scene.Her hair hung loose and tangled, peppered with bits of leaves.She was missing a few buttons at the top of her blouse, exposing a slice of well-formed cleavage.Satisfied, she plucked the tin from Adam’s trouser pocket and ducked back into her hiding place.
The suspicious sepoy whirled at the flicker of movement, his eyes narrowing.
