Sword in Sheath Page 8

  “Hiding places” to the south — that Jap trader might have boiled over with a few more facts if they could have cornered him. Maybe Hakroun had something beside a new pearl fishery on his mind. Though Lorens still argued that that was enough to arouse the old shark into trying to keep intruders out of the southern waters. Who could be hiding out? Nazi sub crews? Hold out Japs? Native agitators waiting to descend on Java? There were a lot of fascinating possibilites —

  “As Grant took Richmond!”

  Kane's hands were suddenly vice-tight about the edge of the rail. There was a sweet taste behind his teeth, along his neck the fine hairs prickled. But he did not turn to face the shadows from which that whisper had come. Instead he answered, steadily enough, “Lincoln freed the slaves.”

  A good bit more than a year had passed since he had repeated those same words to identify himself to a jungle fighter who had been a collection of badly articulated bones sketchily covered with rags.

  “Who are you?” he demanded of the night.

  “A friend, Lt. Kane. I had my orders from Capt. Boone to contact you at the first opportunity. We decided that that old password would be my best introduction — ”

  “Fortnight!” He was able to place that soft murmur now.

  “Yes, sir. I have been in the United States’ service for some years — after all, I, too, was born on American soil. This is the first time I have been able to approach you when you were alone, lieutenant — ”

  “You can drop the lieutenant stuff — I’m strictly unoffical now, Fortnight. So you're the contact Boone promised. We might have guessed. Do you have any messages for me?”

  “I was about to ask you the same question, sir. There have been many rumors but no real news. Sailing on the Sumba was a very lucky thing for all of us — there have been no other ships southward bound for weeks. I have been trying to find one for two months and could not get space even in an outrigger — ”

  Kane's eyes narrowed as he stared into the night. “That sounds as if someone doesn't want any visitors. Is it Hakroun?”

  “I think so — yes. But why I cannot discover. He had no love for the Japanese, even though they did not trouble him while they held the Celebes. It is my thought that they were a little afraid of him. He has more power in these seas than your race understands, sir. Not only is he the true descendant of the last great Moro sultan, but his wealth is unreckoned. What he wishes is law to many men. Yet I believe that Hakroun himself is uneasy now. During the past six weeks he has called in a hundred fighting men and is keeping them at his headquarters. The Drinker of the Wind has been armed and cases which could only contain ammunition were transferred to her one night last week.”

  “ Sounds as if he were planning a private war. And you think that's our concern?”

  “So much so, that when I reported the facts to Capt. Boone he ordered me to make contact with you, joining forces on the Sumba. Capt. van Bleeker must be persuaded to hunt out Hakroun's secret — it is of utmost importance. Capt. Boone believes that it may be the focus point of all the undefinable trouble in the Banda Sea.”

  “Van Bleeker won't need any of our urging. He's already angry enough to go after Hakroun. He thinks that the old man is spoiling his chances for trade. There's the affair of the wizard's staff — ”

  “Oh, yes, but — “ Fortnight hesitated.

  Kane thrust his hands into his pockets and swung around to face for the first time that darker shadow which was the Samoan.

  “So — was that a trick played by our side? Why?”

  “We had to delay the Sumba at Jolo and plant a suggestion of foul play in van Bleeker's mind. Capt. Boone knows of the captain's stubborn nature. He thought that the captain should be placed in the proper mood so that you could influence him. It worked out that way, did it not?”

  “So well that I wouldn't care to be around on the bright and sunny morning when it is all explained to van Bleeker. We have listened several times to his plans for dealing with the Guru if he ever lays hands upon the miserable worm. Dutch, Fortnight, is a perfect language in which to swear — ”

  “Certainly, sir. But there is no need to ever inform Capt. van Bleeker of the inside workings — ”

  “Of your plot? Ignorance being bliss. I suppose you won't tell me just who doubled as the black wizard?”

  “I was not informed, sir — ”

  “All right As long as he covered his tracks so well, he's probably safe. I’ll keep mum. But I am not going to make van Bleeker the target for any innocent merriment!”

  “Perhaps no such sacrifice will be required of you, sir. Capt. van Bleeker's temper is co-operating with us very well now. And remember, sir, this is wholly between us — this — this — ”

  “True confession session? Okay. Only Sam must be in on any future plans. He's one of Boone's bright boys too, you know.”

  “ Of course Sgt. Marusaki must be told. That is understood. Only it would be best for us not to be seen together any more than is necessary. The men of the Sumba are loyal to their captain. And they are also for the most part both intelligent and curious. Then there is the other gentleman — the Jonkheer van Norreys — ”

  Kane snorted. “There you are off the beam, Fortnight. Lorens van Norreys has been playing our game for years — only on the other side of the globe.”

  “Perhaps he has played it too long, sir — ”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Only what you yourself must have noticed, sir. The Jonkheer van Norreys has been living on his nerve for a long time. Such men are sometimes dangerous, to themselves and to others. The end comes in two ways — either they are burnt out, dead in spirit — or they lose all control and become chronic hysterics. Watch Your friend carefully, sir — ”

  Kane rammed his fists deeper into his pockets. “I don't believe you,” he said flatly. “Lorens may seem nervous, but when he is serious about something he changes, is more quiet and alert. I have seen him change when he faced both Lao and Hakroun — ”

  “But still I ask you, sir, do not speak to him of our connection — ”

  “I have no intention of doing so. Anyway the poor guy has enough on his mind now. Why break it to him that the war may not be over? What's your next move? Any orders from Boone?”

  “None except to continue with the Sumba and do all we can to keep her sailing south. There may be further instructions waiting us at Besi.”

  “All right Good night, Fortnight.”

  “Good night, sir.”

  Kane crossed the deck. There were many shadows and little light, but the round eye of an uncurtained porthole brought the American straight to the cabin he wanted. He tapped on the slatted inner door and was glad to hear, “Come in.”

  Lorens was curled up on the lower bunk, several cushions under his head. As the American stepped in he laid aside the book he had been reading.

  Kane regarded the dully-bound volume with a quizzical eye.

  “Catching up on your homework?” He picked it up and glanced at the heavy print on the time-brittled page.

  “In a way. Just looking up the legend of the Forbidden Place in the memoirs of one of the old sea rovers who explored these seas. Luckily van Bleeker has a taste for such literature and a collection of it in his cabin. The legend is here all right An island of the golden age, with a genial despot for a ruler and all the wealth of the Indies showered upon its people. No illness dared to strike there, no evil fate invade its shores. But so jealous were they of their immunity from the common lot of the rest of the world that they would hold no commerce with outsiders, and they put to death all those who tried to come to them.”

  “And the truth of the story?”

  “Perhaps some petty rajah found him an island and set up a court there. He might have gone to the extent of murder to preserve his sovereignty. Whatever the story was, it came to an end long ago. Only there is the Nararatna — ”

  “That's the third time you've spoken about that necklace. What is it anyhow w
hich makes it so important?”

  “It's a powerful talisman, about the most powerful you can find in the East, and its value is fabulous. It must always be constructed of certain precious stones set in a very definite pattern. The chain from which it hangs is the Mani-mala and is made thus — “ On a slip of paper the Netherlander began to sketch. “Diamond, ruby, cat's-eye, pearl, zircon, coral, and emerald on the left as you face the wearer. On the right will be rock crystal, quartz, carnelian, garnet, chrysoberyl, sapphire, and topaz. From between the emerald and the topaz is suspended the Nararatna itself.

  “In its center is the ruby which stands for the sun. Direct east is Venus, a diamond; southeast, the moon, a pearl; south, Mars, coral; southwest, Rahu, jacinth; west, Saturn, sapphire; northeast, Jupiter, topaz; north, the descending node, a cat's-eye; and northwest, Mercury, an emerald. Always the same pattern without change. And that one Hakroun showed us was very old. If it was taken from our trader and he brought it from the Forbidden Place — well, then I am wondering whether that island is one with Lemuria and Atlantis after all!”

  8

  SOELA LANDFALL

  “How about a buffalo in your game bag?” Sam gave an extra swab to the stock of his rifle with the old silk handkerchief he dedicated to that honor.

  “Buffalo — on an island this size — ?” Kane nodded shoreward at the long earthen finger which was Besi.

  “ Oh, even the buffalo came fitted for size hereabouts.” Sam's cleaning equipment was going back into its box. “I'm thinking about the anoa — they stand about three feet or so at the shoulder and live in pairs rather than in herds. And you have to be pretty good at trailing before you're able to bring back their horns and hides.”

  Kane squirmed lower in the deck chair. “If an anoa or buffalo hunt means honest labor of any sort, you may count me out. This is no climate in which to go clambering around through a jungle. None of that for me — ”

  Sam's scorn was open.” You’ re getting fat, fat and soft! Wish Ironjaw could see you now.”

  Kane jerked erect — as erect as one can get in the grip of a pre-war deck chair. “Perish that thought and speedily. Why try to raise horrid visions? Hi, Lorens.” He hailed the man coming up the deck. “Sam is panting to go buffalo hunting — are you in a bloodthirsty mood too?”

  The Netherlander dropped down on the footrest of Kane's chair. “Not particularly. Should I be? This is a good day on which to do something though — ”

  “Lt. de Wolfe, the government agent here, has sent a message that there is a turtle hunter in port just now, and Capt. van Bleeker is going to smoke him out. Tortoise shell is a good investment. There is also a tierhander camping out in the guesthouse — ”

  “A what?”

  Kane waved an admonitory hand at Sam. “Don't display your vast ignorance so plainly, chum. You mean one of those three-inch spiders, don't you? I've seen the permanent inhabitants of guesthouses in this particular corner of the world many times before.”

  “Hornhoven would not care to be referred to as a spider,” observed Lorens. “No — a tierhander is a hunter, but he does not use weapons such as these.” He patted Sam's rifle almost affectionately. “He uses nets and ropes and traps of his own devising. Live animals for circuses and zoos are his stock in trade. He may try to persuade van Bleeker to ship some of his current catch. And if the commercial aspects of Besi are as unrewarding as were Manado and Jolo, perhaps he can talk our captain into it Then we shall head straight for Australia.”

  Kane's eyes met Sam's. “By all means then let Hornhoven fail in his hopes,” both Americans were thinking.

  “Do you believe van Bleeker would agree to that?”

  “He needs the money which such a charter would bring,” Lorens pointed out. “On the other hand such a cargo is unpleasant and difficult to handle. Then, too, our captain has a stubborn desire to defeat Hakroun, whom he now blames for his trading disappointments. You know what virtue the world accords my nation — that of stubbornness. We have a way of refusing to let go, even after all reasonable men would admit themselves beaten — ”

  “And so you usually win,” Kane commented. ‘I’d say that was a useful virtue. What sort of a cargo does this tierhander have ready to ship?”

  “You should ask that of de Wolfe — he is quite unhinged in his mind over the matter since twice specimens have broken loose and disrupted local life. There is a pair of your anoas, I believe, and some flying squirrels, black apes, and something of a large collection of snakes — ”

  Sam got to his feet “Hornhoven is not going to ship those on the Sumba!” There was iron determination in his voice, and Kane laughed.

  “If they move in, you move out, eh? This sounds interesting. Does he allow visitors to inspect his catch?”

  “As long as they don't meddle with the cages. I have heard that he suspects part of his recent juvenile audience of loosing the apes twice. The trouble was, that instead of running into the brush, the apes went into the guesthouse and made themselves at home with Hornhoven's most cherished belongings. One of them ate soap and foamed in the most suspicious way — there were several threats of shooting.”

  “I think that a visit to mijnheer tierhander's display is clearly indicated. If we are going to have them for fellow passengers, we should be formally introduced. After all, how can we tell, they may feel the same distaste at having to share traveling accommodations?”

  Kane drew a long questing sniff as they came into the guesthouse grounds.

  “Yes, monkey house in Central Park all right. What a mug this guy has!”

  The occupant of the designated cage moved closer to the bars, thrusting his face against them. He was studying his visitors intently, his protruding eyebrows arcs of surprised interest. Lorens gave a little hoot of laughter.

  “Perhaps he sees as little beauty in us,” suggested the Netherlander. “If he is considered a handsome specimen of black ape, which he probably is or Hornhoven would not have him here, we must seem masterpieces of ugliness to him — ”

  As if Lorens had been entirely right in his surmise, the ape snorted and withdrew to the center of his barred domain. Selecting a fruit from a cache there, he began to eat, turning his back on the outer world so that only the long hair on his head, his hunched shoulders, and rudimentary tail remained in full view.

  “Such rudeness!” Kane glared. “I’ll never come and see you in your future home. And you needn't think that you're going to be a shipmate of mine either. Van Bleeker will have a full report on your manners.”

  Sam had wandered on to a much smaller cage and was now bent nearly double before it, chirruping to what looked like a very untidy wad of brownish-yellow knitting wool someone had negligently stuck into the fork of a branch.

  “This thing's asleep or something,” he said as the other two came up. “What is it anyway?”

  It was Lorens who identified the exhibit. “That's a tarsier. Clever little chap. But he always sleeps in day-time. He lives in trees and gets around as a sort of combination squirrel and monkey.”

  “If he sleeps all day I don't see what good he is going to be to a zoo. Who's going to sit up at night and watch him do his stuff? Whee — what a stink? The grandfather of all skunks must be in here!” Kane, dismissing the uninteresting tarsier, had gone on to its neighbor. “Glory be, it's a cat!”

  “Malay civet really. Looks more like a fox about the head, doesn't it? They can be tamed — ”

  “Not as long as they smell like that,” Kane interrupted.

  “Ho, do I have visitors?” A tall man, a thick mat of reddish beard across his wide chest and a Malay turban twisted about his head, came down the path between the cages, walking with the quiet tread of a trained woodsman.

  “Mijnheer Hornhoven?” Lorens held out his hand. “Hearing of your collection we took the liberty of coming to see it. My friends are new to the islands, and these animals are the first of their kind which they have seen. We are off the Sumba — ”

  The
tierhander shook hands vigorously with all three. “This is good, heeren. You have come to see your future shipmates, ja? It is my hope that Capt. van Bleeker will take pity on me and let me ship them on the Sumba. The freighter I chartered is now two weeks overdue, and since we have had no message from her, I am beginning to fear the pirates have gobbled her up.”

  “Pirates?” Kane broke in.

  “Ja, pirates! Within the past six months five ships are gone. Like that!” He snapped his fingers. “And all in the southern waters. Not big ships, you understand, and not government or European ships, only large praus or native-owned craft. Mine was a Chinese trader. So she is gone too.”

  “Storms, reefs, floating mines,” Lorens suggested.

  “For one or two such disappearances, I would answer ja — but not for five! Five is too many to vanish because of such natural causes. So do I hope that the Sumba will take my cargo. When van Bleeker finds his turtle hunter then perhaps he will have time to listen to me also. But while we are waiting upon that happy event let me show you my treasures! For I have treasures here, indeed I have. And zoos which have lacked fresh blood now for six years will be glad to see them. The market is goedt, very goedt! Come, heeren, this way, if you please. Apes, civet, tarsier — they are — as the Americans are so fond of saying — ‘old stuff’. Here is my new stuff.”

  The line of cages to which he led them was a shorter one. Sam glanced into the first, then stood still, an awful sort of fascination mirrored in his eyes. Matching him stare for stare was a lizard, reared on its hind legs in a man-like stance. It hissed, and from its light brown shoulders expanded a nine-inch frilled ruff of orange-yellow speckled with red, as if gouts of fresh-spilled blood winked there.

  “Good Lord! A miniature dinosaur!” exploded Kane. “And it must be more than two feet tall too!”

  “A variable lizard, mijnheer. And it is large for its kind, being about two-and-a-half feet by your scale of measure. These run on their hind legs when pursued, and the natives say that when so running they can actually cross a stream by striding on the surface of the water. But that I have never seen Ja, he looks a proper devil, that one, does he not? But it is more bluster than fight; he is out to scare you with his ruff and his hissing. Be still, devil one.” Hornhoven tapped the netting across the cage front, and the lizard went down upon four feet, its frill falling in dull folds across its neck once more.