Both of them healed rapidly, although her arms, especially her elbows, would probably bear the scars from their brush with death forever. At close to three in the afternoon, the island of Java slowed to a halt. Yet even in the heat and humidity of midafternoon, the workers continued to lay ax and shovel to the road. Graders roared along the bed, smoothing and leveling the gravel for the final pouring of asphalt, which would be the next step in the building phase. Shimmering curtains of heat rose skyward, and the crew consumed water at an incredible rate. Mackenna made sure the gang boss of each team distributed the daily ration of malaria tablets to protect them from the dread disease borne by hoards of mosquitoes. Brock stood by her side, assessing the performance of the work gangs, watching the operators handling the monstrous Cats, graders and trucks, and scribbling notes on the clipboard he always carried under his left arm. Mackenna felt even stickier and dirtier than usual. At this time of day she often felt like driving back to the plantation to take a cooling shower and scrub her skin free of the grime and sweat.
