The Colour of Gold (14 page)

Bogdan drove to
the house. Julia was in the bedroom packing clothes into a large
suitcase. Catherine, the domestic maid helped her.

"Gavin Moore's
secretary, Janet, is arranging your flight for you." Bogdan said.
"Your tickets will be waiting for you at the airport by the time we
get there. I don't have much cash on me so use your credit card and
I'll deposit funds into your account."

"Thanks." Julia
said, her forehead creased with worry. "I just hope that I get
there in time."

"Don't worry.
You will." Bogdan said.

***

Bogdan stood in
the kitchen doorway. Catherine, the black domestic maid stood with
her back to him washing the breakfast dishes in the sink. He stared
at her attractive body under the tight light blue dress. He could
clearly see the strap of her bra and the outline of her panties. He
felt himself begin to harden.

"Catherine,
while the madam's away you only need work until one o'clock." he
said. "I'll arrange my own supper."

"Thank you,
baas." Catherine said turning to her employer with a shy smile.

Bogdan had
great difficulty not staring at the woman's firm breasts as they
pushed against the front of her dress. A noticeable cleavage line
showed between the two mounds of golden brown flesh above the
collar of her dress. He forced himself to turn away and walk along
the passage towards the front door. The image of Catherine's
glowing flesh stuck in his mind. He picked up the receiver of the
'phone in the lounge and dialled his office number.

"Jack? It's
Bogdan." he said. "Instead of coming to the office I'm going to go
straight to Score Engineering to look at those hoppers we ordered
so I'll only be in at about ten."

Bogdan replaced
the receiver and stood listening to Catherine working in the
kitchen. He felt himself growing harder. He'd never had a black
woman before but he'd heard the saying "you've never eaten a real
sweet until you've eaten chocolate" many times from his co-workers
and the guys that he drank with in the mine bar on Friday
evenings.

Bogdan knew
that he would have to be very careful. A white man having sex with
a black woman was a criminal offence in South Africa and Catherine
may object to his advances and expose his intensions. That would
mean the end of his job and his stay in South Africa and probably
the end of his marriage as well. But the urge was too strong. He
turned and walked back to the kitchen.

Catherine stood
at the kitchen sink as Bogdan entered the room. He pulled out a
chair from the kitchen table and sat down.

"So,
Catherine." he said. "How old is your little boy?"

Catherine
turned toward her employer as she wiped her hands with a dishcloth.
She smiled shyly.

"He's three
years old, Baas." she said.

"What's his
name?" Bogdan asked.

"Sibosiso."

"That's a nice
name." Bogdan said.

The black woman
smiled.

"Come and sit
here at the table with me and tell me about yourself." Bogdan
said.

Catherine
smiled coyly and walked closer. She pulled out a chair and as she
sat down her dress rode up her thighs exposing the smooth soft
flesh. Bogdan forced his gaze away although he could see that
Catherine had seen him staring at her legs. He could smell the
delicate scent of her perfume. His heart began to beat faster.

"So you say you
come from Rustenburg." Bogdan said.

"Yes."
Catherine replied staring down at her hands on her lap.

Bogdan could
hardly restrain himself. He was as hard as a rock.

"Come and sit
on my lap, Catherine." he said, his voice husky with lust.

Catherine
smiled shyly and moved onto Bogdan's lap, careful not to sit too
close to his groin. Bogdan moved his right hand onto her left
breast and began to massage it gently. He heard her breath quicken.
He undid the buttons down the front of her dress and slid his hand
under her white bra. He almost gasped at the exquisite softness. He
found her nipple and rubbed it gently. She leant forward and rested
her head on his shoulder gently kissing his neck. Slowly she moved
her hand across his stomach until it rested on his hard penis. She
began to rub gently.

"Let's go to
the bedroom." Bogdan said, his voice hoarse.

Catherine stood
up as Bogdan withdrew his hand from under her bra. He stood up and
walked to the bedroom with Catherine walking slightly behind
him.

As Bogdan got
to the bed he bent down and removed his shoes and socks. He removed
his tie and turned towards Catherine. She moved closer to him and
began to undo his trouser belt. He slid his hand down her dress and
moved it up the inside of her naked thigh. He gasped as his
trousers fell to the floor and Catherine wrapped her fingers around
hid throbbing penis. His hand moved to her panties and he pulled
them down. She stepped out of them as Bogdan pushed her slowly onto
the bed. He stepped out of his pants, pulled off his underpants and
as she opened her legs he moved onto her. He felt himself slide
into her warm wetness. They both gasped with pleasure. He found her
mouth with his. They moved rhythmically together. Gradually their
pace increased and then, with a hoarse gasp and a small cry of
pleasure, the two lovers climaxed in an ecstasy of
gratification.

***

Isaiah began
working on his plan to become a dealer in explosives stolen from
the Deep Reef Gold Mine. He was convinced that he could do very
well as a dealer in stolen explosives but to do so he needed to
have people on the mine steal for him while he spent his time
selling the stolen dynamite.

He knew that he
had to be extremely careful though. Dealing in stolen explosives
was a very serious criminal offence with jail sentences in excess
of fifteen years. The police and the mine itself were offering
large cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and
conviction of those involved in the theft and distribution of
stolen explosives. Isaiah's attitude though, was "nothing ventured
- nothing gained".

To find
potential sources for the stolen explosives Isaiah began
frequenting illegal shebeens, the mine's recreation centre and the
numerous government beer halls in the nearby townships. He listened
to the men whose tongues had been loosened by the alcohol that they
consumed. He paid special attention to those miners who expressed
bitterness and anger at the dismal financial situations that they
found themselves in. These men usually had a grudge against their
employers and authority in general and were more likely to do
something that was anti-establishment and at the same time soothed
their animosities and eased their financial burdens.

At the same
time Isaiah approached some of the leaders of the gangs that mined
the remaining gold in the abandoned mines to see if they would
support him. He didn't tell Paul about his plans though. The other
mining gang leaders were very sceptical about Isaiah's plans
warning him that the other dealer's wouldn't easily let him take a
share of their market.

"You're playing
a very dangerous game." one leader told him. "The other dealers
could quite possibly kill you and throw your body down a mine
shaft. They don't like competition and why should they share their
market with you? I think you're making a big mistake."

But Isaiah
wouldn't listen. After six weeks he had a list of three potential
recruits for his venture. All three were in desperate financial
straits, were angry with the establishment and their inability to
solve their problems and urgently needed to ease the pressure that
they were experiencing. Isaiah also felt sure that they had no
contact or relationship with the authorities and were unlikely to
go to the police or the mine management after he had approached
them with his plan. The first man that he approached was a fellow
"lasher boy" by the name of Solomon.

Isaiah and
Solomon sat on two large rocks deep underground. They were eating
their lunch near the rock face that was being prepared for
blasting. Isaiah's ears still rang from the shattering clatter of
the compressed air drill that were used to drill the holes in the
rock face into which the dynamite would later be packed. As the two
men sat in the dim light and the relative quietness Isaiah could
see the worried expression on Solomon's face.

"You look
worried." he said to the big black man.

Solomon took a
bite of the thick sandwich in his dirty hand and, as he chewed, he
nodded his head.

"I am." he
said. "I received a letter from my mother a few weeks ago. She and
my father live on their small farm in the Transkei where they have
some cattle and grow vegetables and maize for their food. They are
very poor and that's why I'm working here and not on the farm.
Without the money that I'm able to send them they would not be able
to survive. Now my mother tells me that my father is very sick and,
not only can he not work, but the medicines that he needs are too
expensive for them to buy. The problem is that I'm already sending
them everything that I can. I must find a way to get more
money."

Isaiah
nodded.

"I was in a
similar position." he said. "But I have found a way to make more
money. It's illegal though and very dangerous. I could go to jail
for more than fifteen years if I'm caught. But like you, I have to
have more money. Would you be interested in doing something illegal
to get more money?"

"Are you
talking about stealing explosives?" Solomon asked. "Because, if you
are, I don't think that I want to do that. Explosives are very
dangerous. What if they go off while they're hidden up your
backside?"

Isaiah smiled.
He pointed to the red metal box lying on the floor of the tunnel
near to where they were sitting.

"If dynamite
was so dangerous the mine wouldn't leave it lying around in big
boxes like that one." he said. "You see, Solomon, Explosives like
dynamite can only explode if the receive a charge of electricity.
You've seen the wires that the white miner puts into the dynamite
in the holes in the rock face. Well, those wires go to an
electrical generator and only when the electrical charge from the
generator is sent to the dynamite does it explode. The dynamite
cannot explode without the electrical charge so it's quite safe to
put it into your backside to get it out of the mine."

Solomon looked
dubious.

"Are you
absolutely sure?" he asked.

"In the time
that you've been here at the mine have you heard of anyone being
blown up by explosives that they were carrying?" Isaiah asked. "In
fact, have you ever heard of anyone being blown up by dynamite that
wasn't connected to an electrical source?"

"No, I
haven't." Solomon replied. "I've often wondered why the white
miners put those pieces of wire into the dynamite and why it only
explodes when there's nobody in the mine. But now that you've
explained it to me I would be prepared to steal explosives for more
money."

"Okay." Isaiah
said. "We won't start just yet. I need to make a few more
arrangements but that won't take long. It's very important though,
that you don't say anything about this to anybody."

Isaiah went to
speak to Paul.

"I'm thinking
of approaching the other dealers with a plan to form some kind of
alliance." he said. "That way we can share the market and control
the price."

"You're crazy."
Paul told him. "Why should these guys share their market with you?"
It would be easier for them to kill you. Besides, what about our
deal? Rather sell explosives to me and find another market outside
the mining world that's not so dangerous?"

"Where?" Isaiah
asked. "Who else uses explosives and are prepared to buy them
illegally?"

"I've heard
that Umkhonto weSizwe, the military wing of the A.N.C., is looking
for explosives." Paul said. "They're having great difficulty
bringing in explosive devices from overseas and are keen to make
their own here. However, they are reluctant to deal with the known
illegal explosives dealers because many of them are known to the
police. Perhaps, as a new-comer, they would talk to you and you
could become their exclusive supplier."

"That sounds
like a good idea." Isaiah said. "I'd then also be helping to free
our people from the white government. Do you know how I can get in
contact with them?"

Paul shook his
head.

"I'm only a
simple gold miner." he said. "I can't help you with that"

***

Isaiah had no
success in trying to make contact with Umkhonto wiSizwe or with any
organisation related to it. The fear of him being an agent of the
South African government was too strong and as he had no references
or any record of supporting the A.N.C. in any way he was viewed
with extreme suspicion. But Isaiah also had to be very careful
himself. By trying to make contact with the organisation Isaiah
also laid himself open to attracting the attention of the security
police who were constantly on the lookout for people trying to
become part of the struggle for freedom. It eventually became
obvious that the only way that he could make contact with the
liberation movement was to approach them directly in one of South
Africa's neighbouring countries where the A.N.C. had training
bases. He decided that the country that would suit him best would
be the tiny enclave of Lesotho, a mountainous independent country
completely surrounded by South Africa. As he wasn't looking for
military training he believed that he was more likely to get a
quick response here than in the other countries such as Botswana,
Mozambique or Swaziland.

As Lesotho was
about five hundred and fifty kilometres South by road from where he
was in Johannesburg Isaiah calculated that he would need two weeks
to make contact with the A.N.C. personnel, come to a satisfactory
arrangement regarding his supplying them with explosives and return
to Johannesburg. As he needed his job on the mine for his plan to
work he arranged for a literate miner to write a letter purporting
to come from his uncle saying that his mother was desperately ill
and that he should urgently return to Natal before she passed
away.