The White Witch of the South Seas gs-11

by Dennis Wheatley

  Five minutes later, a tall, lean American arrived and took charge. Having examined Gregory's ankle, he said that it was not broken but very badly sprained and it would be some days before he was able to get about again. By the time he had finished dressing it, the under manager brought Gregory a double rum on the rocks that he had ordered and with many expressions of sympathy, they left him.

  As soon as they had gone, he put a call through to Manon. On hearing his voice, she gave vent, in her relief at knowing him to be safely back, to a spate of French, interlarded with many endearments. Then he told her of his hairsbreadth escape and how it had come about that the Macumba priest had seen him in his vision as `dead in a ditch'. She wanted to come to him at once; but he said that he badly needed sleep,., and it was agreed that she should pay him a visit at ten o'clock the following morning.

  When he awoke, apart from some soreness in the lungs, he had fully recovered from his night's ordeal; but his ankle proved a severe handicap in getting to the bathroom and he managed it only with the aid of a chair, which he alternately leant on and pushed in front of him. Back in bed, he telephoned the Wellesleys. Hugo had already set off on an attempt to get to his office in the Avenida Presidente Vargas, so it was to Patricia that Gregory related his adventure. She wanted to bring him books to read while he was laid up, but a glance out of the window had shown him that the rain was still descending in a solid curtain, so the floods must be as bad as ever; and he persuaded her to put off her visit, anyhow until the following day.

  Manon had had the same thought about reading matter; for she arrived with an armful of magazines and three French novels, perched herself on the edge of his bed, embraced him with Gallic warmth, then made him tell her every detail of his near drowning and rescue.

  After a while she told him that she was due to fly up to Mexico, and thence home, on the following day; but many landslides had been reported and she was wondering if she would be able to get out to the airport.

  Gregory said that, even if the road out to the international airport was blocked, she should be able to get a plane to it from the local airport on the waterfront near the city centre. Then he went on to say how distressed he was to think that their romance must end so soon, and he asked whether she could not possibly postpone her departure.

  Screwing her full lips into a grimace, she replied, `Cheri, I have fallen for you completely, so I would like nothing better. But, alas, it is a question of money. I brought with me only as much as I thought I would need, and to get a further grant of currency from Fiji would take a week at least.'

  Patting her hand, Gregory smiled and said, `Then, my sweet, don't give it another thought. You must stay on as my guest.'

  Manon made a pretence of demurring; but she needed no great pressing, then accepted with becoming grace. Meanwhile, she had been thinking: `How right I was to try it on. Now I won't have to sell one of my rings. And the danger to him is past, thank God. His ankle is a nuisance: but no, perhaps it is all for the best. While he is cooped up here I'll be able to find out all his likes and dislikes, and he'll have no chance to become interested in another woman. Oh, if only I can hook him.'

  Her belief that she would have Gregory to herself for several days proved correct. When the American doctor paid him a visit he said that his patient would do far better to remain in bed, or at least in his room, with his foot up, rather than try to hobble about on crutches even if a pair could have been procured and that would have been far from easy, as few shops other than those supplying food had opened for business that morning.

  For his part, Gregory was happy to accept Manon's administrations. It was much more fun to have a pretty woman support him while he shaved and help him have a bath, than to call on the services of a valet. Apart from the siesta hours and at night, when. Manon returned to her own room, she never left him. They had their meals sent up, swopped stories, laughed and made love, hardly noticing the rain which continued mercilessly as though it meant never to stop.

  He had noticed that she wore several rings and that one, on the index finger of her left hand, was an enormous aquamarine, in an old fashioned setting of gold filigree work. On the second morning of the deluge she was sitting on the edge of his bed, enjoying a pre lunch glass of champagne with him, when he asked her where she had found the ring.

  `Ah ' she laughed. `That is my Borgia ring and if you cease to love me I shall make use of it; then you will die in a fit.'

  For a moment he thought she was joking about the ring's containing poison; but, taking it between the first finger and thumb of her right hand, she pressed a secret spring in the filigree work. The stone slid back, revealing a hollow cavity. In it there lay a small, round pill.

  Closing the ring again, she smiled at him. 'Georges, my late husband, gave it to me at the time when the troubles in Algeria became really serious…As I told you the other day, we lived for many months on his estate far up country. Several times the house was attacked and if those devils of Arabs had overcome our people things would have gone ill with me. It is all very well for cynical people to say that if a woman cannot escape being raped she should “lie back and enjoy it”, but after the first two or three times in quick succession there can be no more pleasure in it. Soon afterwards, I am told, it becomes agonising and after about twenty men have had a woman one after the other, she dies from it. As I was the only white woman there, you can be certain that every one of those brutes would have demanded his turn with me, and some more than once. That is why Georges bought the ring for me and made me promise to swallow the pill in it if I was captured. The pill is cyanide of potassium and would have killed me instantly.'

  `And you would have taken it?'

  She shrugged. `Of course. I am not afraid of death, only of pain.'

  That same evening their pleasant privacy was temporarily interrupted by a visit from Hugo Wellesley. With the initiative so frequently displayed by British officers when abroad however reluctant to make themselves conspicuous when at home the handsome Colonel had gone to the local circus and hired an elephant and its mahout to transport him about through the floods.

  He had a depressing tale to tell of devastation and distress. Only the higher ground sloping up to the mountains now remained above water. Millions of pounds' worth of goods had been rendered useless by the flooding of countless basements. Still worse, many of the favelas the sprawling shack towns on the hillsides had been swept away by the torrents. Thousands of people now had no roof over their heads, hundreds had been seriously injured and several score were believed to be dead.

  Gregory was anxious to trace his rescuer and asked Hugo's help. Except that he was an exceptionally tall young man and a South Sea Islander, there was nothing to go on, and if a city of nearly four million inhabitants this would be no easy task, but the Colonel promised to do his best. Then, after finishing his second drink, and being satisfied that Gregory lacked for nothing and was in good hands, Hugo took his departure.

  For a further forty eight hours the rain continued without ceasing. It was not until the fifth day that it eased to a drizzle, the low, black clouds remaining overhead. The four days' downpour had resulted in the worst disaster Rio had suffered for over eighty years. The only access to the city is along the coast roads. These had been cut, so it was isolated and food had become short. Over twelve thousand people had been rendered homeless and there were three hundred and sixty dead. The sewers had been disrupted, so there was acute danger of a serious epidemic. But the ever generous Americans had rushed in teams of medicos with a newly invented injection gun, which punctured arms and sterilised itself, so that a queue of a hundred people could be immunised in a matter of minutes.

  As Gregory was rousing from his siesta on the fifth day, a page brought to his room a bouquet of flowers that had wilted a little from the intense humid heat. Attached to them was a card, inscribed Ratu James Omboloku, and beneath that was written: I do hope you are fully recovered, and an address: Hotel Gloria.

  Gr
egory had a vague idea that 'Ratu' was the equivalent in the South Sea Islands to Rajah or Prince. Later that evening, after two unsuccessful attempts, he got on to James Omboloku and asked him to lunch next day; for he had already had the hotel carpenter make him a crutch, and with it was now able to get about without Manon's assistance.

  Taking note of this, Manon had decided that her next, move should be to make Gregory miss her. Actually she knew very few people in Rio; but she invented several whose invitations she said she could hardly refuse, now that the flood was subsiding. Gregory accepted the situation with a readiness that by no means pleased her; but he had become so used to making his arrangements without reference to any one else that he was glad that she had already said she was going out. Feeling no obligation to ask her to join them when he gave lunch to the Ratu, he had not even mentioned his own appointment.

  It was on Wednesday, the 12th January, that the Rata James lunched with Gregory. Jackets had to be worn when eating in the restaurant; but it was air conditioned, so, in spite of the intense heat outside, they felt no discomfort while partaking of an excellent meal.

  On seeing the South Sea Island Prince again, Gregory was more than ever impressed by him. His bronzed features had a noble cast and he displayed the quiet self assurance that is the hallmark of the aristocrat whatever the colour of his skin. Gregory soon learned that his guest was the hereditary Chief of the Nakapoa Group, which lay between Fiji and New Caledonia, but was nearer the former although it had, since 1853, been subject to France.

  When Gregory expressed surprise that he spoke English so well, he smiled and said, `I have many relatives by marriage among the hereditary royalty of the South Pacific. Queen Salote of Tonga was my aunt and the Ratu’s of Fiji are my cousins. So, although I happen to be a French citizen, my family has always preferred to think of itself as British. I was sent to school in New Zealand and afterwards took my degree there at the University of Dunedin.'

  Over their meal they talked of many things and formed an increasing liking for each other. Two hours had sped past very pleasantly and they were sitting over their brandy when Gregory remarked casually

  `I've no wish to pry into your affairs, but you say business brought you to Rio. You don't seem at all like a business man and I'd be most interested to know what your business is.'

  The young Ratu hesitated for a moment, then shrugged his broad shoulders. 'Mr. Sallust, I feel that you are a man I can trust, but this should go no further. Off Tujoa, the main island of my group, there is the sunken wreck of an old Spanish ship. I have good reason to believe that when she went down she had aboard her a great fortune in gold. Should others learn of this, they might forestall me in retrieving it. I have come to Rio because there is a prospect of forming a company here that would finance the salvaging of this gold.'

  Gregory nodded. `I see. You speak of a prospect. Does that mean you are fairly certain of getting all the money you require to finance this venture?

  'I would not say that. My prospective backer is very rich, but he is hesitating to assume the sole responsibility for this enterprise.'

  For a moment Gregory remained thoughtful. For a long time now he had been at a loose end, with no interest to engage his mind fully. The vivacious and attractive Manon had dropped into his lap, but, as far as he was concerned, after Erika no woman was capable of doing more, for any length of time, than assuming the role of a pleasant playmate. The retrieving of sunken treasure offered both activity and excitement. At length he said

  `I happen to be fairly rich. And I owe you a debt that no money could repay. Unless you can get all the finance you require without difficulty, let me know, and I'll consider rowing in with a few thousand.'

  4 ?Spanish Gold

  The Rata gave Gregory a look of pleased surprise. `You really mean that?

  'Yes, providing there is a reasonable prospect of getting my money back. What evidence is there that the ship does hold a cargo of gold?'

  `She is in fairly deep water, but not too deep for our best native divers to have gone down to her many times during the years, and several of them have brought up gold coins. Last year I bought an aqualung and went down to her myself. In one of the stern cabins I could see several chests. One of them had broken open and had spilled on the floor a crucifix, a chalice and other items, which undoubtedly are treasure. But I could not get at them because part of the roof of the cabin had fallen in, blocking my way. To move those heavy beams without endangering the lives of the divers will require special machinery: powerful cranes and so on.'

  `That certainly sounds promising. What share are you prepared to give your backers for providing the machinery and expert divers?'

  `Forty per cent.'

  Gregory gave a sudden smile. `In the event of success, the other sixty per cent might make you a very rich man.'

  The Ratu shook his head. `It is not for myself that I wish to do this, but for my people. For many centuries they lived happily, the produce of our islands supplying their simple wants. But that is so no longer. As is the case in many Pacific islands, we are being swamped by immigrants from India. The Hindus are clever and industrious. Already they have bought up much of my people's agricultural land. This has led to the dispossessed then being exploited by the Indians, and having to work for a pittance which buys them barely enough food to live. Still worse, the Hindus breed like rabbits. Soon they will outnumber the islanders and by their majority vote have laws passed that will turn us into an underprivileged minority.'

  `Indeed! That really is a bad business. It is quite shocking that an immigrant race should become the masters. Surely the French Government will give your people some form of protection?

  'No. I have pleaded with them to give us a new Constitution, similar to that which the British are about to institute in Fiji, but they have remained deaf to my appeals.'

  `What sort of Constitution are the British giving the Fijians?'

  `They have been faced with the same problem as my people… The Indians there already outnumber the natives. But in future, however the population may vary, the Indians and the Fijians will have the same number of representatives in the Assembly. In addition, half a dozen or so representatives are to be elected by the British and members of other races living in the islands, and that small block will hold the balance of power; so, however much the numbers of the Fijian natives decline, their rights will always be protected.'

  Gregory nodded. `That seems very sound. But, tell me: should you succeed in raising a fortune from the galleon, how would that enable you to prevent the Indians from exploiting your people?'

  `I would use the money to modernise our native industries,' Ratu James replied eagerly. `There are good markets in Australia, New Zealand and America for many of our products. But at present most of them are still made by hand. Given money, I could buy machinery which would greatly increase the quantity that could be turned out. That would lead to a greater demand for raw materials and so provide employment at a fair wage for natives who would otherwise be exploited by the Indians. I would also like to build a fruit canning factory and a refrigeration plant for the export of prawns and other shellfish with which our coasts abound.'

  Regarding the handsome young man with admiration, Gregory said, `I think your ideas laudable and your plans for carrying them out excellent if only that treasure can be raised. Perhaps you would care to tell me now about the man you have come to Rio to see, in the hope that he will finance you.'

  `Why not? He is Valentim Maua de Carvalho. His second name comes from his mother a descendant of the great industrialist and associate of the Rothschild’s, who flourished in Dom Pedro II's reign. The Emperor made him a Viscount and the whole family in still extremely rich. Senhor Valentim owns many properties and he likes the South Seas, so he keeps a fine yacht at Fiji in Suva harbour. From time to time he cruises among the islands. A few months ago he visited the Nakapoa Group and I entertained him and his wife in Revika, the capital of Tujoa, our largest island.' Rat
u James paused to raise his eyes and give a sigh. `The Senhora de Carvalho is a most lovely girl or perhaps I should say woman although she is not much older than myself.'

  Much amused, Gregory asked, `And how old are you?'

  `I am twenty three. But to continue. Some weeks ago, this idea came to me of helping my people by salvaging the gold. I searched my mind for a means to raise capital, but could not think of one. Then the wealth of de Carvalho recurred to me and I wrote to him. He replied that I should come to Rio, and we would discuss the matter. I came. He was greatly interested, and we have had several talks. The last was three days before the beginning of the flood. He said then that those of his financial associates whom he had approached had not proved enthusiastic, but he would think the matter over. He was shortly leaving Rio on a business trip to Guatemala, but he will be back at his country estate, up at Vassouras, by now. He and his charming wife live there for most of the hot season and he invited me to spend Saturday night up there with them. By then, he said, he would be able to give me a definite answer.'

  I see,' said Gregory thoughtfully. `Then, if his pals are reluctant to come in with him, he might welcome the idea of taking me as a partner.'

  The young Ratu leaned forward eagerly. `Exactly. The thought came to me immediately you said that you might be prepared to put up some of the money. Your offer might even make the difference between his turning me down or agreeing to back me. You see, he was very keen to start with, and has only become doubtful because others have poured cold water on the idea.'

  `How far from Rio is Vassouras?'

  `About sixty miles, I think.'