Jack Higgins - Iron Tiger

by Iron Tiger [lit]

  He was seventy years of age, but carried himself well In his London tailored mohair and silk dinner jacket, and the face beneath the turban was still that of a warrior, proud and strong wife the touch of arrogance of one bom to rule.

  He sat at the head of the table, Janet Tate on Ms left, and he turned to her with a smile, speaking in careful, precise English. 'More brandy, Miss Tate?'

  'I don't think so, thank you.'

  "A little more coffee, then?.

  He snapped a finger and a servant came forward quickly. There were five of them at the table besides tiie Khan, Janet, supremely beautiful in her simple

  €2 black silk dress, and Jack Drummond on her left in a white dinner jacket. Father Kerrigan sat on the Khan's right hand next to Mr. Cheung, and Hamid and Colonel Sher Dil, commander of the Khan's small army, faced each other, magnificent in dress uniform.

  'Father Kerrigan has made you comfortable, Miss Tate?' the Khan asked.

  'He couldn't have done more.'

  The Khan sighed. 'It would have pleased me to have had you as my guest here at the palace, but he is a stubborn old man.'

  'And if that's true, then I know another sot a thousand miles from here,' the priest said, speaking with the familiarity of an old friend and reaching for the brandy decanter. 'Would you imagine it, Janet, he wanted me to forsake every other blessed patient I have, close the mission and move in here?'

  The Khan shrugged helplessly. 'What can one do? He even refused the soldiers I sent At this moment, who guards the Hope cf BalptnT he challenged the old priest

  Tell me first who in Balpur would harm him,' Father Kerrigan countered.

  The Khan sighed. 'You see, Miss Tate, I am not even ruler in my own house.'

  'If you must know, old Nerida's sitting at the boy's bedside this very moment,' Father Kerrigan told him. 'She'd cut off her arm rather than move from that spot before I return.'

  "You have seen Keriia today?' the Khan said to Janet 'He is well?'

  She nodded. 'But still a little weak. An injury of this kind is a great shock to the whole system, especially for a child,'

  'A child who will be a man In another itee years, an important distinction. Under oar customs, he must then be presented to the people, ready to take my place if need be. That is why I am anxious that he starts oa the journey to America with as little delay as possible.'

  'We must wait for another few days,' Father Kerrigan said. Tm sure Miss Tait agrees with me.'

  The Khan glanced at Janet and she nodded. 4I think Father Kerrigan is right. And we've time to spare. Kerim can be back within a month of the operation, you know.'

  He threw his arms wide. Then I must bow before flie wind. You play chess, Miss Tate?'

  ®Not very well, I'm afraid.'

  'Father Kerrigan considers himself a master. It is my painful and frequent duty to prove otherwise.'

  'Indeed, so?' the priest said, pushing back his chair and rising, glass of brandy in hand. 'If your Highness would be good enough to lead the way to the usual place, we can get down to tag business of maJaag you eat your words.9

  'A pleasure.' The Khan got to Ms feet and looked enquiringly at the others. 'Gentlemen?'

  Hamid glanced at Drummond and Sher DiL "Billiards?'

  They both codded and Cheiisg smiled across at Janet 'Which leaves Miss Tate and myself. With the Khan's permission, perhaps I could show her some of the treasures of the palace?'

  'Please do. It should take me no longer than aa hour to encompass the downfall of this turbulent priest.

  1g that a fact, now?' Father Kerrigan said in mock anger and they went out

  Hamidj 'Sher Dil and Drammond had their heads together for a moment, something to do willi a report over the radio from Indian Army Headquarters about patrol clashes in the Ladakh area. Cheung joined them and Janet moved to the window and looked into the garden.

  It was very beautiful Great, Grecian-style jars were spaced along the terrace, filled with dwarf iris, and the scent of hibiscus was heavy on the night air. Lower down in the shadows, the slender cypress trees stood like straight sentinels, dark against the sky, and the moon was full.

  Cheung paused beside her. 'A startling contrast, isn't it? In here all the beauty in the world, a garden by night. Beyond those walls, a harsh, sterile land where even mere existence is a struggle.'

  'Has it always been this way?.

  He nodded. 'In the old days, the tribesmen raided into India like wolves. Their name was a byword for cruelty. But those days are gone. Now they must live off the land and the land has little to give.'

  'Can nothing be done?"

  He shrugged. 'Who knows? Brackenhurst may turn up with something in his survey, evidence of mineral deposits worth developing, perhaps. The Khan has his hopes, but I doubt if they will come to much. Bracken-hurst would not be the first geologist to waste his time here.'

  'And yet Hamid tells me the Chinese Government in Pekin has laid claim to Balpur.'

  'And Nepal and Bhutan, even parts of Assam.' He shrugged. 'Words, merely words. But as a matter of interest, there can be little doubt that in other times Balpur was part of the Chinese Empire. Come, I will show you.'

  They went back inside, moved into the central hall, and he opened another door. The room was in dark- ness. Janet heard the click of the switch, but was totally unprepared for what followed.

  On every side a row of glass showcases, each with its own illumination, sprang into view to float la the darkness. But it was their contents which drew from her aa involuntary gasp of admiration. They contained the most superb collection of pottery she had ever seen.

  There were alabaster jars, pale, translucent and delicate, glazed urns in red and black, their colours as vivid as on the day they had been fired.

  Most were unmistakably Chinese and others showed a distinct Chinese influence. There was also a collection of figurines like the one she had seen at Drummoad's bungalow.

  'Jack has one of these,. she said,.He told me it was Greco-Buddhist.'

  That's right. As you're probably aware, Alexander the Great invaded India. Amazing to what extent Greek culture penetrated the entire border area and yet ia India, their literature doesn't evea mention his name.'

  She reached out and touched a delicate and beautiful wine jar which had been painstakingly put together piece-by-piece to judge by tias network of fine lineg that covered it.

  'Where was this discovered?.

  'A burial mound south of the city near the river. There are many such sites. You must visit some of them wMle you are here. There is a most interesting ruin of a Buddhist temple not far from the mission. Breathtaking by moonlight I can recommend it.'

  He smiled charmingly and Jaaet, hesitating, was saved by Hamid who entered at that moment 'There you are.'

  'I thought you were playing billiards?' she said.

  'A variation of our own, a sort of kaodc-oet GOSJ- petition. Jack and Sher Dfl were too good for me..

  'Mr. Cheung was showing me the Khan's collection. I had no idea the Chinese had so much influence in this area in ancient times.'

  'God knows why,' he said. The damned place must have beea an economic liability even in those days..

  Cheung glanced at his watch. 'It's getting late. I really think I must be going. I leave Miss Tate in your capable hands, Major.'

  He went out quickly and she turned to Hamid with a sigh. 'I feel rather sorry for him. We've been standing here talking about the splendours of China past and he isn't even permitted to be a part of China present It must be a terrible thing to be an exile from one's own country.'

  The tragedy of the twentieth century,' Hamid said. 'Did you like him?'

  'It's difficult to say. He puts himself out to be pleasant, but I feel that he's looking at me from behind his eyes if you know what I mean.'

  'An excellent description. What about Sher Dil?'

  'A wonderful man. He's so beautifully correct, so....

  She hesitated and Hamid chuckled. 'So positivel
y British? The Imperial taint still lies heavy upon us. Sher Dil was a Sword of Honour man at Sandhurst in his day. He was also a colonel in the Indian Army as long ago as 1945..

  'What went wrong?'

  'For many years we tried to follow the way of peace in India. Nehru was sure that such a neutrality would be respected by all. Many men like Sher Dil, high ranking regular army officers, were not so sure and said so. When the army was reduced, they were the first to go..

  'And so Sher Dil came here?'

  To command an army of seventy-five men for the Khan, most of them recruited in India. The locals don't take kindly to uniforms.' He laughed. 'But a night like this.is made for love and laughter and nothing else. I will show you the delights of the garden..

  'Which Mr. Cheung has already done.'

  'Not with my superb efficiency.'

  They left the display room and moved out to the terrace, pausing at the top of a flight of shallow steps for Harold to light a cigar.

  The moon was caught in the dark meshes of the cypress trees, the night air heavy with the scent of flowers and a fountain splashed into a fish pool amongst the trees as they went down the steps, her hand on his arm.

  The Hour of the Dove they call it.. He waved a hand theatrically. The time for lovers to unburden their hearts to each other..

  They came to the fountain in the centre of the garden and she sat on the low wall that ringed the pool, dabbling her hand in the water, and somewhere a bird called sweetly through the night.

  This place is like rinding the Garden of Eden In the wilderness. How does he do it?'

  'An army of gardeners and careful cultivation and the walls keep out the winds, remember.' Hamid breathed in deeply and sighed. 'And the strange thing is that it can all die in a single night. When winter comes here, it strikes suddenly, like a sword biting into warm flesh.'

  She gazed down into the moonlit water, watching the fish nibbling gently at her trailing fingers, 'Jack told me about what happened in Korea.'

  Hamid raised her chin with one hand and looked into her eyes. 'You like him, don't you?'

  'Very much. I've never met anyone quite like him. He's a strange man, violent and bitter, and yet he can be the gentlest person Fve ever known..

  'The story of my life.' Hamid sighed, "What would you like to know?'

  "We stopped at his bungalow this afternoon. There was a girl there. Famia, I think he called her..

  .His housekeeper's daughter..

  She seemed to hesitate and then plunged oa, sls she his mistress T

  'So that's it?' Hamid chuckled gently and took her hands. 'He's a grown man, Janet, not a boy. There would be something strange if he didn't feel the need for a woman occasionally, now wouldn't there?'

  Momentarily, her hands tightened on his as anger swept through her like an 'uncontrollable fire, and Hamid touched her gently on the right cheek.

  'Poor Janet India makes a harsh taskmaster.'

  'I think I love him, you see,' she said in a low voice. 'It's as simple as that.'

  'It's never as simple as that,' he said solemnly and pulled her to her feet 'I think we'd better go back while I can still remember that fact'

  'Just one more thing,' she said. 'Is he as embittered over this Korean business, as he appears to be sometimes?.

  Haiaid shook Ms head..Not really. He's too intelligent to blame himself for what was really aa accident of war, but he loved the Navy. That was Ms greatest loss.9

  'And what does he believe in aowT

  'Nothing. At least this is what he tells himself, and spends his time living dangerously, working for the highest bidder to amass a fortune/ He chuckled gsntiy.

  'Only to end by betraying all his hard won principles when he looks upon the face of suffering, as he did in Ladakb. during the Chinese invasion.'

  'You like him a great deal, don't you?.

  .I value real friendship,' he said simply. 'Jack Drum-rnond has shown that to me many times.'

  They walked back through the garden in silence. As they mounted the steps to the terrace, Drummond came through the windows.

  "There you are. Father Kerrigan tMnks he should be going. He doesn't like leaving Kerim for too long. Ill run you back in the jeep.'

  Til get your coat,. Hamid told her and went inside.

  "Did you win your game?' she asked.

  'No, did you?'

  Janet smiled faintly..You couldn't be more wrong..

  She brushed past him and went inside and Drummond stood there in the half-darkness, listening to the rise and fall of the voices, a cold finger of excitement moving inside him, leaving his stomach hollow and empty.

  She sat next to him on the way back, Father Kerrigan on the other side, and now and then the wind lifted the edge of her silken headscarf into Drummond's face.

  He was aware of her warmth, the softness of the thigh against his, the delicate perfume, and gripped the wheel tightly, inhaling her sweetness, aware of feelings he had not experienced for a very long time.

  The old priest kept chuckling to himself. 1 wish you could have been there, the pair of you. And didn't I show him? It'll be many a long day before he comes crowing over Terence Kerrigan again.'

  Drummond glanced at Janet and grinned as he turned the jeep into the courtyard of the mission. 'I think he must have won.'

  'Ah, get away with you!' The old man snorted as he got out of the jeep and then smiled, his face dear in the moonlight. 'A fine night for a drive.'

  Drummond hesitated and Janet said calmly, 'Mr. Cheung mentioned the ruins of a Buddhist temple not far from here. He seemed to think they were worth seeing by moonlight'

  'And maybe he had a point there.' Father Kerrigan slapped the side of the jeep with his bare palm. 'OS with you, now, and don't be late.'

  Drummond took the jeep out through the entrance and turned across the moonlit plain beside the river. He had taken down the canvas tilt earlier and the wind was sharp and cold, carrying with it the sceat of wet earth. A few minutes later, they came over the edge of an escarpment and the ruins of the temple lay before them in the centre of a small plateau, bare and windswept, crumbling with the years.

  He braked, switched off the engine and they walked the last few yards. The full moon touched the scene with a pale luminosity and the dark shadows of half-mined pillars fell across the mosaic floor like iron bars.

  The statue of the Buddha was at the far end, chipped and cracked by time and the weather, one arm missing, but the great, serene face was still complete, hooded eyes staring blindly into eternity across the river.

  Janet walked towards it slowly and Dnimmond paused to light a cheroot. When he raised his head, she was standing at the edge of ths crumbling terrace, staring pensively into the night

  The moon was directly behind her, outlining her shapely limbs through the thin silk of the dress, and when she turned and looked at him, she looked unreal and ethereal like some dark goddess of the night who anight % away at any moment

  They stood like that, trapped by a moment of time, looking at each other, and then she came forward slowly, reached up and gently touched his face.

  Drummond turned his head, brushing her palm with his lips and slipped his arm about her waist. She leaned against him, trembling a little and in the distance, thunder rumbled menacingly.

  She glanced up quickly. 'What was that?.

  .Storm on the way.' He pointed to where sheet lightning nickered over the mountains. 'We'd better get moving.'

  She was conscious of the unnatural stillness. A blanket of dark moved in from the horizon, blotting out the stars as it came. Drummond took her hand and they ran back towards the jeep.

  He pressed the starter and moved away immediately, and in the same moment, great heavy drops started to splash against the windscreen. He pressed his foot flat against the boards, but it was no good. There was a tremendous clap of thunder overhead and the skies opened.

  There was no time to put up the canvas tUt and he crouched behind the wheel, eyes narrow
ed against the stinging, ice-cold rain and Janet huddled at his side.

  He drove into the courtyard at the mission, braked to a halt and they scrambled out and ran up the steps to the porch.

  The thin silken dress was plastered to her body like a second skin and she shivered uncontrollably, laughing at the same time.

  "That was marvellous, simply marvellous..