12 Cannibal Adventure

by Willard Price

  ‘Hunt and his brother Roger wanted to help the natives so they let me go along with them in their launch from the big island of Ponape to the small islands farther north. I wanted to get the bearings of the pearl island so that I could go back there later with a lugger and steal the pearls. I took a look at the log every day. Hunt got suspicious and began putting down false bearings in the log.

  ‘We got to the island - not a soul living there - and I sneaked away in the Launch and left the boys to starve to death. Well, those were the two killings that didn’t quite come off. When I thought they must be dead, I hired a lugger and went back to get the pearls. But I couldn’t find the island because that crook had put down false bearings in the log. I nearly died myself before I got back to Ponape. In the meantime the boys had built a raft and when I reached Ponape, there they were. What a disappointment!’

  ‘They gave you a rough time,’ said Butch. ‘They double-crossed you. Crooks like them ought to be where we are right now.’

  ‘Right,’ exclaimed Kaggs. ‘I’ll never forgive them. Here I am on a life sentence and they go free. But I’ll get them yet. And their captain - because he wouldn’t let me steal his ship.’

  Butch’s eyebrows went up. ‘You’re planning on leaving here?’

  ‘Soon as I can get away. Then I’ll make for New Guinea. Saw in the shipping news that the Hunts are headed there. I’ll find and kill them. They’ve cheated me for the last time.’

  Butch was puzzled. ‘How did they cheat you?’

  ‘Why, I’ve just been telling you. And there’s a lot more I haven’t told you. They cheated me by not dying on that island. They cheated me with their false bearings. They cheated me by blabbing to the police that I was no missionary. I got a job as minister of a church in Undersea City -they cheated me out of that. They cheated me by stepping out of the way when I tried to bury them under a landslide. They cheated me when I tried to grab that ship loaded with enough gold to put me on Easy Street for the rest of my days. They cheated me by letting Brisbane police grab me for killing a pearl diver on Thursday Island. And they’re cheating me right now - leaving me to rot for the rest of my days in this filthy hole. Cheat, cheat - nothing but cheat. Such people don’t deserve to live in this God-fearing world.’

  ‘I see what you mean,’ said Butch, a little doubtfully, as if he did not quite see. ‘But are you really serious about getting out of this joint?’

  ‘Sure I am.’

  ‘On your honour?’

  ‘On my honour. Why - do you know something I don’t know?’

  Butch hesitated. ‘Can I trust you?’

  ‘Now that’s a fine thing to say to your buddy. I’ve told you everything. If you have anything to tell, spill it.’

  ‘Well, it’s pretty much of a secret.’

  Kaggs’s face darkened. He kicked Butch viciously. ‘Spill it - or I’ll flay you alive.’

  Butch spoke almost in a whisper. ‘A bunch of us are going to make a break for it tomorrow night. Do you want to join up?’ Kaggs grinned. ‘Do I want to! There’s nothing I want more.’

  ‘All right. But keep mum about it. Not a word, not a look, that would tip off anybody that this is going to happen. Promise?’

  ‘Of course. I promise - and I’m a man of my word. But how do you expect to pull this off?’

  Chapter 10

  The Noble Kaggs

  ‘In the next cell they’ve been digging for months. Didn’t have anything but a jackknife to dig with, but now they have a hole big enough to crawl through into the prison yard.’

  ‘How about the guards?’

  ‘There’s only one stationed near there. We’ll do away with him. Then make for the outside wall. Of course there’s a guard in the tower on top of the wall at the corner and another at the other corner. They’re both about five hundred yards off. Before they can do anything we’ll be over the wall and away.’

  Very simple, thought Kaggs. Too simple. But he said, ‘Sounds great. I’m with you.’

  ‘Cross your heart? Do or die?’

  Kaggs crossed his heart. ‘Do or die,’ he said. But he did not say who was to do and who was to die.

  The more he thought about it the more he was disinclined to do, or to die. He wanted to escape, but this was not the way to do it. The first man through that hole would face the guard. He couldn’t kill the guard quickly enough to prevent him from blowing his whistle. That would raise a general alarm. Guards would rush in from other parts of the yard. The searchlights would be turned on the prisoners and the guards in the towers would open up with machine-guns. Any man trying to get over the wall would be riddled with bullets.

  No, this was not the way to do it. He thought hard. Then a slow smile spread over his face.

  Butch was pleased. 1 see you like the idea,’ he said.

  ‘Yes indeed. A brilliant plan. It’s bound to work.’

  But he was thinking of his own brilliant plan. It would work for him, but not for these fools.

  ‘Do they keep us penned up in here all day?’ he inquired.

  ‘Not quite,’ Butch said. ‘They let us out a few at a time for exercise.’

  “What exercise?’

  ‘Just a walk up and down the yard.’

  ‘When will they get to us?’

  ‘About eleven.’

  A little after eleven a guard opened a door in the iron grating with a loud clatter of key and lock, and said, ‘You two. Out.’ Butch sprang up but Kaggs didn’t move.

  ‘Come on,’ said Butch.

  ‘I’m not feeling well,’ Kaggs said. ‘I think I’ll skip the exercise.’ After his cellmate had gone Kaggs called the guard.

  ‘I want to speak to the warden.’

  ‘Oh you do, do you? The warden is busy. He doesn’t have time for scum like you.’

  Kaggs straightened up to his full height and put on his most important manner. ‘You will speak to me civilly or I will report you. I’m not one of your common jailbirds. I have something of the greatest possible importance to say to the warden. Important to him, not to me.’

  ‘What is it that’s so blasted important?’

  ‘I will explain that to him, not to you. Now get along, before I lose my patience.’

  The guard went. He came back in a few minutes and .opened the cell door. ‘All right, high and mighty, the warden will give you just one minute.’ He led the way to the chief’s ‘

  office.

  The warden was almost hidden behind the piles of papers that covered his desk. He gave the prisoner a grunt, then went on with his work. Kaggs stood waiting five minutes for his one minute interview. Then he looked around for a chair. The guard caught his arm. ‘Stand up,’ he hissed.

  The guard himself had other matters to attend to and left. Kaggs stood for another ten minutes.

  Then the warden looked up and seemed to notice Kaggs for the first time.

  ‘Well, well,’ he said impatiently, ‘what do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy? Complaints, complaints -1 hear nothing but complaints from you fellows. What’s the matter now - the food, the heat, out with it and get along.’

  ‘No complaint, sir.’

  ‘You’re all the same. You say you have no complaint and then you begin to whine. Your time is up. Get out. I know you coots.’

  Kaggs was not an Australian but he knew that ‘coot’ was Australian slang for a fellow of no account.

  ‘Sir, I didn’t come here to be insulted.’

  The warden glared. ‘I’ll put you in solitary if you say anything more like that. Hurry up - tell me what you have to grizzle about.’

  ‘I tell you I’m not here to complain. I’m here to do you a favour.’

  The warden laughed. ‘Fine day when I have to accept favours from a jailbird. What’s your name anyhow?’

  ‘The Reverend Merlin Kaggs.’

  ‘I remember your case. You’re no more a reverend than I am. You had a criminal record, and you’d seen the inside of San Quentin. Now you’re in for a murder on
Thursday Island. You, a preacher! You’ll find a guard outside the door. He’ll take you back to your cell.’

  ‘Before I go,’ Kaggs said, ‘I want to drop a bomb on your desk.’

  The warden leaped up and retreated. He had turned pale and was shaking with fright.

  Kaggs grinned. ‘It’s not that kind of a bomb. It’s just that you’re going to have a jail-break. If it comes off, you will probably lose your job. I thought it was my duty as a good citizen and a Christian to warn you.’

  The warden’s manner changed. Now he was all sweetness and light.

  ‘You came to tell me that?’

  ‘Yes, and now I’ve told you.’ He started for the door.

  ‘Wait,’ said the warden. ‘My boy, I’m afraid I’ve misjudged you.’

  ‘Apology accepted,’ said Kaggs grandly. ‘And now I beg you to excuse me.’

  ‘Stop - please. Tell me more about this. You are quite right - I would lose my position if I allowed such a thing to happen. You have done me a great service. When is this break to take place?’

  Tomorrow night.’

  ‘How many prisoners are involved?’

  ‘That I don’t know. A good many, I think. I was invited to join them.’

  ‘Who invited you?’

  ‘A very low fellow who shares my cell. His name is Butcher.’

  ‘How do these crooks expect to escape?’

  They’ve dug a hole from the next cell out to the yard. They’ll kill the guard who is stationed outside, then climb over the outer wall.’

  ‘And you could have gone along with them. Instead you came and told me. You have a life sentence hanging over you. You could have gone free tomorrow night, but you did the right thing. It was fair dinkum of you, very noble.’

  ‘Yes sir,’ agreed Kaggs, graciously accepting the compliment. ‘I thought it was my duty.’

  ‘But you haven’t thought much about your duty in the past.’

  ‘I am sorry to say that that is true,’ said Kaggs, bowing his head in shame. ‘But since I have been sentenced to life imprisonment, I have done a good deal of thinking. In fact, I am a changed man. I have seen the error of my ways. I pretended to be a man of the Bible. Now I really am. I’ve returned to my mother’s knee. In memory of my saintly father who also was a clergymen I only want to do good from now on.’

  The warden swallowed it, hook, line and sinker. After all, the man had proved himself. He had chosen the path of righteousness rather than the path of freedom.

  ‘We’ll have a surprise waiting for those devils when they come out of that hole. Instead of one guard, there’ll be a reception committee of a hundred. And if all you tell me proves true, I’ll make you a trusty.’

  Kaggs looked up and blinked to give the impression that he was fighting back the tears. ‘I can’t thank you enough, warden. I told you I didn’t want anything. But I do have one request.’

  ‘What is it, my good man?’

  ‘That you will lend me a Bible. It will give me comfort during the long years in my cell.’

  Here was a changed man indeed, thought the warden as he went to his bookcase and pulled out a small Bible. Kaggs took it as if it was a precious jewel.

  ‘You don’t know what this means to me,’ he said, and his voice quavered a little. He went out the door, holding the book close to his heart.

  As he went down the corridor with the guard he burst into laughter. Oh it was rich, just rich! He had accomplished what he had set out to do. The jail-break could not have succeeded, not with those guards in the towers using their machine-guns. But he had succeeded. He had pulled the wool over the warden’s eyes. He was to be a trusty - a convict considered trustworthy and entitled to come and go about as he pleased. That would give him a chance to escape.

  When Butch came back from his exercise he found Kaggs where he had left him, still ailing.

  ‘Never mind,’ he said .sympathetically, ‘you’ll feel better when you put this pest house behind you tomorrow night.’

  ‘You have a great plan,’ Kaggs said. ‘And I want to tell you how grateful I am to you for letting me in on it. Thanks to what you’ve told me, I’ll soon be on my way to New Guinea.’

  Chapter 11

  Escape that failed

  A night and a day, and then it was time for the jail-break.

  ‘We go to supper as usual,’ Butch said, ‘but instead of coming back to our cells we’ll sneak into the cell next door and go out the hole.’

  Kaggs was twisting and writhing on his bed.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ said Butch.

  ‘Awful pain,’ Kaggs said. ‘Afraid I can’t go with you. Feels like appendicitis. Sorry to lose my chance, but you’ll just have to go without me.’

  ‘Perhaps you’ll feel better after supper.’

  ‘I don’t want any supper. I can’t move without great pain. Go along to the big freedom, buddy, and leave me to my suffering.’

  As soon as Butch left, Kaggs felt better at once. He waited impatiently for the party to begin. Would those fellows ever get done eating?

  After supper the convicts were always allowed to go back to their cells on their own or, if they preferred, to spend some time in the social room. The guards never came around to lock the cells till later.

  During this brief interval of liberty Kaggs could hear the shuffling of feet in the corridor as the men drifted back after supper. But he knew they were not on their way to their own quarters but to the cell next door where a hole just big enough to crawl through offered the promise of freedom.

  He held his breath and listened. The walls were thick and he could not hear what was going on in the next cell. He would not learn until later how they had stepped out through the hole without encountering a single guard. When all had gone through and were ready to make a run across the yard to the wall that separated them from the world, guards rushed out from hiding places and surrounded them. The rays of powerful searchlights swept down from the two towers. Some of the convicts broke through the circle of guards and made a run for the wall. Machine-guns in the towers roared and the runners fell in their tracks. The other men were herded back into the prison to be put in solitary confinement.

  Half an hour later a guard came to Kaggs’s cell, looked in through the bars, and locked the door.

  ‘Where’s Butch?’ said Kaggs.

  ‘Killed,’ replied the guard, and went on his way.

  Kaggs smiled. He was well content to have the cell to himself. Butch and those other idiots had got just what was coming to them. Kaggs considered himself much smarter than they had been. They had tried to escape and had bungled the job. He would try to escape and would succeed.

  In the morning he was called to the office. The last time he had been here the warden had received him coldly. This time he no sooner got inside the door than the warden rose and came forward with outstretched hand. As they shook hands he said, ‘Mr Kaggs, I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for me and this institution. I know that being a man of honour you must have been very reluctant to tell on your fellow prisoners.’

  Kaggs brushed his eye as if wiping away a tear. ‘My heart bleeds’, he said, ‘for what has happened to them, the death of my good friend Butcher and many others, and the punishment that awaits all the rest. It was only a high sense of loyalty to you that forced me to expose their evil plans.’

  ‘I appreciate that,’ the warden replied. ‘And although I know you did it without any thought of reward, I want to be allowed to reward you just the same.’

  ‘No, no,’ protested Kaggs. ‘I deserve nothing. I only did my duty.’

  The warden smiled. ‘I knew you would say that. You’re a fine fellow and I’m proud to have you as my friend. You have proved beyond a doubt that you can be trusted. There’s no reason any longer to keep you penned up in a cell. I want you to move into the office next to mine. I want you not only to act as a trusty, but to be my personal assistant. I cannot change the fact that you will still be a prisoner
, but you will have liberties not enjoyed by other prisoners. I shall want you at times to go outside the prison to perform certain errands in town. I know you will always come back - you have already proved that by not escaping when you had the opportunity. Now, let me show you your new quarters.’

  He opened a door into the next office and stood aside to let Kaggs walk in.

  The room was smaller than the warden’s office but two or three times larger than Kaggs’s cell. The windows were not covered by bars. There were paintings on the wall and a carpet on the floor. There was an electric heater, and a radio, and a hot-plate for coffee. There were easy chairs, and a swivel chair behind a good-sized desk. Adjoining the office was a small but comfortable bedroom and a tidy bathroom.

  ‘Like it?’ inquired the warden.

  ‘It’s too good for me,’ said Kaggs modestly. ‘I don’t need all this.’

  The warden swelled up like a pouter pigeon. This man’s, gratitude pleased him, ‘Is there anything more I can do for your

  ‘Nothing at all,’ said Kaggs. ‘Except one thing.’

  ‘Name it.’

  ‘I should like to have the privilege of preaching now and then to my fellows. They need the good word and, although I am not an ordained minister, I can perhaps give them some inspiration and comfort from this book.’ And he took out the Bible that the warden had given him.

  ‘Of course,’ said the warden heartily. ‘And your own high character will be a valuable example to these thieves and cut-throats.’

  Satisfied with himself and his faithful retainer, the warden returned to his own office. He put in his head again to say, ‘By the way, you’ll find a button on your desk. Use it if you want to call a guard. They have already been instructed to carry out your orders.’ The door closed. Chuckling softly, Kaggs went to his desk and sat down in the swivel chair. He pressed the button. In a moment the door into the corridor opened and a guard appeared.

  ‘I’ll have my breakfast here,’ said Kaggs.