Having listened to these proposed tactics and fully approved them, Gregory asked, `Then what went wrong to cause Roboumo to quarrel with you afterwards? I am amazed, too, that you succeeded in breaking away from six of them and escaping as you did. You must have been born under a lucky star.'
James laughed. `I think I was, but I didn't have to wage any desperate encounter or take on such heavy odds. After showing that he meant business, that his men were willing to fight and the details of the attack having been settled, Roboumo dismissed his five warriors, so that we could discuss in private the terms he asked for his assistance. I agreed to give no more demonstrations of my own powers as a Drunikau, and not to interfere with him, on one condition, namely that in future he should not threaten anyone with the death curse. After some argument he reluctantly agreed. Then I said to him
“'It is known throughout the islands that your power is really vested in the far greater occult powers of the White Witch. Therefore I feel sure you will appreciate that I must also have her word that she will regard our agreement as binding upon her as well as upon yourself.”'
'Ho! Ho!' Gregory murmured. `That was jolly shrewd of you, James. Go on. I can hardly wait to hear what happened, though I'll make a guess. It turned out that he's been fooling everyone and that there is really is no such person.'
`You're wrong. There is, and I saw her. But I had the hell ` of a job to persuade him to let me. He said that, since she has been in Tujoa, no man except himself has ever set eyes on her, and no woman other than his three senior wives, who attend upon her. I took a firm line and told him that unless she became a party to the deal it was off. Even as I made the threat, I regretted it, as I feared he'd call my bluff. But he didn't. After sitting in silence for a few moment he stood up and said, “Very well. Wait here, Ratu, until I return for you.” Then he walked to the far end of his big bure which was completely screened off by heavy tapa cloth curtains.
`He went behind them and remained there for about three minutes; then he opened the curtains a few inches and beckoned to me to come through. You can imagine how intrigued and excited I was, but I managed to keep up an appearance of calmness and walked across he room quite slowly. I had all my work cut out, though not to show my amazement when I saw what lay behind those curtains.
`Apart from a few feet on the far side, the whole space was filled by a huge bamboo and wicker cage. It was about fourteen feet square by ten feet high, and furnished inside as a bed sitting room. At one end there was a large, comfortable divan. The other held a round table, an armchair, 'a single elbow chair, a small desk, and one corner was screened off no doubt concealing a wash place and privy.
`The Witch was seated in the elbow chair facing the front of the cage. I had always believed her to be a fair skinned Polynesian, or a native of the islands who painted herself white. But she was neither. She was a white woman, all right. For her age I put her down to be about sixty she was still remarkably good looking. Her face was very pale and slightly wrinkled; her hair was dead white, very long, parted in the centre and falling straight on either side of her face to her shoulders, hiding them and the upper part of a rich native dress that she was wearing. But her eyes, which were blue, were quite blank; and, although she was looking straight at me, she did not seem to be aware of me.
'Roboumo spoke to her in his own dialect of course, but I understood enough of it to know that he was honestly giving her particulars of our agreement. When he had finished there was a moment's silence, then she replied to him, giving her consent, but in. such a halting, toneless voice that I felt certain that when he had first left me to go behind the curtain he had hypnotised her.
340
`Turning to me, he asked, “Now are you satisfied?” Thinking that nothing further could be got out of her, I replied that I was. Roboumo then turned his back on the Witch and parted the curtains so that I could walk through to the main part of the bure. Just as I reached the curtains, I glanced over my shoulder to take a last look at her. Instantly I noticed a change in her expression. Her face was working. Clearly she was coming out of her trance and struggling to speak. Then, in a hoarse whisper, her voice came:
` “Aidez moi. Je suis prisonniere”:
`God Almighty!' Gregory exclaimed. `This is terrific. What happened then?'
`Naturally, I stepped back towards her, intending to question her in order to learn who she was, where she had come from and so on. But Roboumo, too, had caught her whisper. Swinging round he shouted at her, “Sleep! Sleep!” and made some swift passes at her with his outstretched hands. Her eyelids drooped until her eyes had closed and, her muscles relaxing, she sank back in the elbow chair. I turned on Roboumo and cried:
“'You are a swindler A swindler! This woman has no power of her own. You have just used her as a means of terrifying the superstitious among my people.”
'Pushing him aside, I advanced to the cage and tried to tear apart the bamboo bars, so that I could free her. They were thick and strong, so that I could do no more than bend them. While I was still straining every muscle to break into the cage, her head began to roll upon her shoulders. Again she partially emerged from the trance into which she had been thrown. Her eyes opened, then dilated. Suddenly her mouth gaped and she cried:
` “Achtlung! ”
`I don't know much German, but enough to understand that to be a cry of warning. Not an instant too soon I swung round and jerked my head aside. Had I not, Roboumo would have bashed in my skull with a big war club that he had snatched from the wall. I then knew that, as I had discovered the White Witch to be no better than a ventriloquist's doll that he was making use of, he meant to kill me rather than give me any chance to disclose his secret.
`It was then, knowing that you were not far away, that I gave my cry for help.
`I made a grab at him, but he eluded me. Before I had a chance to attempt to seize him again he had darted through the curtains. Another moment, and before I could stop him he had snatched up a long stick with a big, round head and was beating wildly with it on a drum.
`I needed no telling that he was summoning his warriors and that if I failed to escape within a matter of minutes I would pay for it with my life.
`A I raced past Roboumo I struck him a savage blow low in the back, somewhere in the region of the kidneys. He let out an ear splitting screech, dropped the great drum stick and fell to the floor.
`Next moment I was out of his bure and running hell for leather through the village to save myself. I need not recount what happened after that. You, dear friend, saved me from being killed or captured and we reached this boat together.'
For a few moments Gregory was silent; then he said, `What has happened tonight has created an entirely new situation. That, through entirely unforeseen circumstances, you failed to secure the help of Roboumo's warriors for an attack on the Pigalle is most unfortunate. But a new factor has emerged that just might turn the tide in our favour. If the White Witch is Roboumo's prisoner, and is being used by him under hypnotism as a helpless stooge, we now have a chance to prove him a fraud and discredit him with his followers. I can't yet see how this can be used against Lacost; but I am sure there is a way that it can, if only we can think of it.'
By then the dinghy was nearing the anchorage outside the harbour at which the Boa Viagem lay. James had the little boat go alongside, so that he could board the yacht, and let Olinda know that he had returned safely from his visit to Roboumo's island. As he went up the ladder to the deck of the yacht, Gregory called after him
`Just tell her that you are all right, James; then come down to the boat again. Tonight is the night when we play the final hand against Lacost. Don't you dare linger with her. I'm not yet clear in my mind about what we ought to do; but we've got to take some sort of action, and without your authority I can do nothing.'
Impressed by Gregory's earnestness, James remained for only five minutes with Olinda, then returned to the boat. Ten minutes later it put them ashore, and a quarter of an ho
ur's walk up the hill brought them to the Royal bure.
The aged doorman had long since gone to his bed, all the able bodied servants were members of the body guard and were still a quarter of an hour's march away. It did not surprise them to see that the paraffin lamps had been left burning in the main bure, but as they entered they were taken aback to see Hamie Baker sitting in an armchair with a glass of rum clasped in his horny hand.
`What the devil are you doing here?' Gregory asked.
Hamie gave a sheepish grin, got to his feet and replied, `I bin left here, baas, as a sort o' go between. Mr. Lacost, he got to know somehow that when I reported sick and slipped ashore I'd spilled the beans to you what were goin' on; so he thought I'd serve as a good sort o' mouth piece.'
That,' replied Gregory, `was quite a sound decision. Well, what has he told you to tell us?'
`You got him worried,' Hamie said, solemnly nodding his head. `He's got friends in the town he pays to let him know what goes on. 'S'evening he learned that a gunboat was being sent from Noumea to collar him an' his pals. The Frenchies wouldn't have had much on him 'bout gettin' up the treasure, provided he'd paid their tax. But you an' the Ratu attackin' the Pigalle lars' evenin' made things very different. Ter keep the stuff he's got he had ter shoot a lot of the islanders an' maybe one or two gendarmes. That 'ull have made the Frenchies mad as hatters. So for him there's only way out. He's got to have that licence wot Mrs. de Carvalho holds transferred to him, and pre dated. Then he could claim that he'd done no more than fight off pirates who were tryin' ter rob him of his legitimate gains. See?
'Yes, I see,' Gregory agreed. `He has let himself and his friends in for the death penalty if they are caught. And, believe me, he will be. You'll be for it, too, since you failed to take my advice, and rejoined him.'
`No: Hamie gave a twisted grin. `Not me, baas. I were still malingering' at the hospital when the attack on the Pigalle took place… I rejoined her only this mornin' ter claim the money wot they owed me. And my! You should see wot they got up. Gold is worth sixteen pounds an ounce these days, an' they've salvaged half a ton of it, not ter mention crosses, crooks, mitres an' whatnot, stuck all over with jewels like plums in a Christmas puddin'. But no one's got anything on me. That's why Mr. Lacost left me here to be his mouthpiece.'
'O.K., then; you are in the clear. But why should Lacost suppose that we would persuade the Senhora de Carvalho to make the licence over to him?'
Hamie's mouth twisted into a toothsome grin. `Because, baas, he's kidnapped your missus. He an' his pals come here an' took Mrs. Sallust off to their yacht. I bin left ter tell yer that unless yer goes aboard the Pigalle by two o'clock this mornin' an' hands him that licence dated three days back, he's goin' ter pull her toenails out an' slice off them pretty ears she's got. You still has two hours ter work in, but you'd better get on wi' this job.'
`The swine,' James burst out. `My God, if I could only get my hands on him! And as for you, I'll…' Breaking off, he strode towards Hamie, obviously intending to seize him by the throat.
Whipping a pistol from his hip pocket, Hamie snarled, `Keep off, Ratu! Another step an' I'll drill yer full o' holes.'
As James halted, Gregory said to him, `There is nothing to be gained by trying to take it out on Baker. He is simply a go between. Lacost left him here to deliver his ultimatum only because if he had set it down on paper it would have incriminated him. Of course he is right that, had the licence really been transferred to him three days ago, he would have had fair reason to assume that our attack on the Pigalle was an attempted act of piracy; and that, somehow, we had managed to fool the gendarmes into putting up a front for us. After all, anyone who thought he was about to be robbed of
many thousands of pounds' worth of treasure and had only a handful of men to protect it against a force of three score armed natives could plead justification in firing to drive them off before giving them a chance to come alongside and swarm aboard.'
`Perhaps you are right,' James agreed reluctantly. `But when the gunboat from Noumea arrives and we tell our story, with Elboeuf to support us, the warship will give chase.'
`If we do let Lacost have a pre dated transfer of the licence how can we prove that we did not make a secret deal with him without Elboeuf knowledge? Lacost, too, is quite shrewd enough to leave a letter for Elboeuf, giving a guarantee that he will pay up the ten per cent tax to the French Government as soon as he has had time to dispose of the treasure.'
`In any case, the gunboat will pursue the Pigalle. The Government in New Caledonia could not ignore the killing of a gendarme and a number of my people. They will regard it as essential to hold a full inquiry, and that could not be held without the interrogation of the men responsible.'
Gregory nodded. `About that I 'entirely agree. But you have to catch your hare before you can cook it. If Lacost sails tonight he may disappear for good. Even if he and his pals are caught such an inquiry would take weeks. If he has said that he will pay the tax and he holds the licence I think the odds are against the Colons being convicted.'
`I suppose they are.' James gave a heavy sigh. `The question is, what do we do now? We can't possibly leave Manon to be subjected to hideous tortures. As I think I told you, Olinda made the licence over to me two nights ago. So we can go off to the Pigalle right away and ransom Manon with it. On the other hand, to attack the ship during the hours of darkness would be very different from exposing ourselves again in daylight. So I feel sure my body guard would jump at the chance to avenge their comrades. When they get back we could set off with them at once and, with luck, both rescue Manon and capture these filthy Colons. But there is the risk that if we attack they may kill Manon before we can get her. So it is for you to say. My feeling is that we must throw in our hand and let Lacost have this accursed licence:
`Maybe you're right,' Gregory muttered. `We have to bear in mind that if we attack, although we'd have the cover of darkness, we won't catch the Colons napping. They will anticipate that we may, so be ready for us. In any case, even if they don't think we'll dare risk it they will be up and about, waiting for us to arrive with the licence. But since you told me about your dust up with Roboumo I've been toying with an idea, and I've still got to think a little. Meantime I want to pump ship, so I'm going to my bure:
Leaving James and Hamie staring at each other in silent hostility, Gregory walked out of the big room and across the few yards to the smaller bure which he had shared with Manon. As he entered the bathroom his glance immediately fell on a piece of paper lying on the lavatory seat. Picking it up, he saw a few pencilled lines hurriedly scrawled by Manon. They read
On no account come off to the Pigalle. If you do I feel certain Lacost intends to murder you. But, provided he gets the licence, I'm sure he won't vent his spite on me if you don't bring it yourself. Send Hamie Baker with it, then they will let me go.
Evidently, before the Colons had carried off Manon, they had allowed her to use the bathroom, and she had seized the opportunity to leave this message. It confirmed certain ideas that Gregory had already, formed and decided him to take the course he had been contemplating. With a grim smile he pushed the paper into his pocket, had a quick wash to rid his hands and face of the dirt he had picked up on Roboumo's island, then returned to the main bure.
James was still glowering at Hamie. As Gregory appeared, he turned to him and asked, `Well, what have you decided? My body guard is back. You can hear them singing outside, as they are getting down to the food and kava which I ordered to be left ready for them. Do we lead them in another attack, or do you and I go off to the Pigalle and sign away the licence?'
`We do neither,' Gregory replied quietly. Manon left a message for me in the loo. She's convinced that Lacost will not take it out on her if I fail to turn up with the licence. But all the same I want you to go out and get your boys on parade again before they've drunk too much kava.'
`You do mean us to attack the Pigalle, then?'
`No. We are going to attack Rob
oumo's island.'
James' eyebrows went up. `In God's name, why?'
`Because, with the Colons on the alert, your body guard might not be sufficiently strong to get the best of things. We've got to have Roboumo's toughs with us to make certain of overwhelming Lacost and his pals.'
`But damn it, man, after what happened an hour ago he'd never allow them to become our allies:
`I mean to put him in a spot that will render him powerless. The fact that you got away from him unharmed will both have shaken his own men's confidence in him and stiffened the morale of yours; so I don't think we need fear very serious opposition. And after you told me about what happened in his bure I hit on the key to the whole situation.!
'The key to the situation?' James repeated in a puzzled voice.
`Yes; it's the White Witch. She is a prisoner. We are going in to rescue her. And she will be on our side. Without her, Roboumo will be a busted flush and his men will take your orders. With their aid the Pigalle and the treasure will be in our hands before morning.'
20 ?Death in the Dark Hours
As the body guard had arrived back from their hour's march only ten minutes earlier it was decided that they should be given a further quarter of an hour to rest and refresh themselves. James went out to warn them that he meant to lead them on another expedition and to tell Aleamotu'a of the new plan, leaving Gregory alone with Hamie.
The half caste diver had been a silent listener to all that had passed, so now Gregory said to him, `I am afraid you are in for an uncomfortable time these next few hours, Hamie. I can't risk your making off as soon as we have gone, getting back to the Pigalle and warning Lacost of our intentions. As there are no locks on the bure doors, I'll have to tie you up securely until we return.'
Hamie grinned. `That's all right by me, baas. Warnin' Mr. Lacost wouldn't prevent you attacking the Pigalle, an' I wouldn't care ter be aboard her when that happens; not wiv half a hundred of them fuzzywuzzies swarmin' on to her bangin' off rifles an' yellin' murder. I ain't done so bad, wot wiv the two hundred quid you give me an' the nice little wad he were fair enough ter pay me for me divin', before he left me here. Though I guess that were really so I'd feel it were up ter me ter stick around an' give you his message, 'stead of makin' off while no one were about. But ter my mind you're actin' stupid.'
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