Dr. Fenster began, “I told you he’s—”
But Professor Bullfinch held up a hand and stopped him. “Wait a second, Ben. This isn’t as crazy as it sounds. If Canigou has any metal on him, he’ll have a hard time getting past such a field. And there’s no telling what effect a strong magnetic field might have on the human brain. I don’t know whether it would work, but it’s certainly worth a try.”
Then the animation faded from his face. “Drat! We’ve forgotten. We haven’t any power supply. Our generator’s broken. And even if it weren’t, how could we transport it from our camp to this spot and get it going in time? No, I’m afraid it’s no use. It was a good thought, Dan, but without any electrical power—”
He broke off.
Danny, with a wide grin, was pointing to the lau.
CHAPTER 14
The Invisible Barrier
“We will need,” said Professor Bullfinch briskly, “about fifty feet of copper wire. If we can get back to camp, perhaps we can unwind the armature in the generator.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Dr. Fenster said. “I have a coil of copper wire in one of the boxes. I brought it along not for any scientific purposes but for trading. I find that many people I meet like it for bracelets and necklaces.”
“Fine! You’d better go back to camp and get it. And hurry. We have about fifty minutes left, and it will take you most of that time to get there and back.”
“What if you meet Canigou?” said Irene. “He said he’d wait downstream while we made up our minds.”
“Yes, he might make trouble.”
Cuol said, “I will do this for you—I will show you a quick way on the other side of the river, through the reeds.”
Dr. Fenster gripped the Nuer’s shoulder. “Thank you, Cuol,” he said. “Let’s go. There’s no time to lose.”
He and Cuol shoved off in one of the rubber boats. Professor Bullfinch and the young people could do nothing but wait. The Professor, trailing blue smoke from his pipe, took out a notebook and began jotting down a description of the giant catfish as calmly as if he were in his own laboratory.
Danny said, “Aren’t you afraid, Professor?”
“Of Canigou? I suppose I am. But there’s no point in spending any time over the matter,” said the Professor, “since there’s nothing I can do about it at the moment.”
He began pacing the length of the fish.
“I wish I could be so cool,” said Joe. “But I guess I’m just a fool.” He stopped, and a look of surprise came over his face. “Cool, fool, school. Ha!” He fished in his pockets, brought out a scrap of paper and a pen, and began scribbling.
“So that’s what they call inspiration,” said Irene. “Isn’t it marvelous, Dan? I wish I could do it.”
Joe went on muttering to himself. At last, he read aloud:
The day was very calm and cool,
And I was on my way to school,
When with a loud and wet boo-hoo
A mournful fisherman came in view.
He said, “I went down to the brook;
Into the current dropped my hook.
I hoped for something for a meal
And caught a large electric eel.
And now although I’d like to try him,
I haven’t any place to fry him.”
“Plug his tail into his head
And let him cook himself,” I said.
He gave a sob of utter joy,
And said—
“Here comes Dr. Fenster,” said Danny.
“That doesn’t rhyme,” Joe objected.
“I know. But it really is Dr. Fenster and Cuol. They’re back.”
The two men landed, while Professor Bullfinch looked at his watch and remarked, “That took less time than I thought it would.”
Dr. Fenster had a coil of copper wire and another of the plastic superconductor. He and the Professor at once bent to their preparations.
On the ground, they laid a circle of superconductor about twenty feet in diameter. Parallel to this and just touching it they made a winding of several loops of wire. They led one end of the wire back to the lau.
The Professor said, “Everybody inside the circle, please.”
When they obeyed, he used Cuol’s staff— which, being wood, was a non-conductor of electricity—and carefully pushed the free end of wire up to the lau until it was in contact with the creature’s skin. Then he lifted the staff and gave the lau a sharp poke.
After a few seconds, Joe said, “Well? When does something start happening?”
“I hope it has already happened,” said the Professor. “An electrical charge should have passed from the fish into the copper winding. The winding should have transferred its momentary magnetic field to the superconductor, which should now be functioning as a permanent and powerful magnet. I hope.”
He walked to the rim of the circle with his hand outstretched. At the same time, they all heard the noise of Canigou’s boat.
“It’s all right,” said the Professor hastily. “Now, stand still and stay inside the circle. Let’s hope this works. If it doesn’t—”
“I’m good at surrendering,” Joe mumbled.
Canigou and his men clambered ashore. Canigou’s jacket was open and beneath it they could see a heavy curved dagger on his belt. He rested a hand on its hilt and surveyed them.
“I hope you have decided,” he said.
“We have not decided,” said Dr. Fenster. “But the lau has.”
Canigou looked blank. “The lau—?”
Dr. Fenster said, “The lau is more than a fish. It is a spirit. It is the spirit which has lived in this place for thousands of years. It will not go with us nor will it go with you. We have agreed to leave it alone, and it has promised to protect us. You cannot harm it or us.”
He then rapidly repeated the same thing in Arabic, so that the other men could understand. They shifted uneasily and murmured to each other in low voices.
But Canigou said, “Do you think I’m a fool? I don’t believe you.”
“No?” said Dr. Fenster. “Then tell your men to throw their spears at us.”
He did not wait for Canigou to do so, but pointed at the nearest of the man’s ragged followers and barked a command in Arabic.
The man raised his spear uncertainly. At an angry word from Canigou, he drew back his arm and hurled the weapon.
Straight at Dr. Fenster it flew. But it never reached him. It stopped in mid-air. It hung there for a moment, and then its shaft slowly sagged. It sank down, butt first, until it lay flat on the ground.
A second man threw his spear. It, too, stuck fast in the air and seemed to float to the ground.
The others dropped their weapons. They uttered a groan of terror and dismay.
With a snarl, Canigou whipped out his dagger. He rushed at Dr. Fenster. His men saw him run and then come to a dead stop. It was as if an unseen barrier were holding him back.
He tried to force himself forward. He looked like a man leaning against a high wind. The explorers, staring at him, saw his face change from fury to bewilderment. Then, as he bent over, trying to push his dagger against the invisible shield, he came into the full power of the magnetic field. A strange expression came over his features. As Joe later remarked, “He looked as if he had his head caught in a lemon-squeezer.”
He let go of the dagger, which remained hanging in thin air. He staggered backward, fell, and lay still.
“Is he—?” Irene began fearfully.
“Just unconscious,” said the Professor. “I can see him breathing.”
Dr. Fenster spoke sternly in Arabic to the other men, who were huddled together, their eyes wide with alarm. Two of them came nervously to pick up Canigou. They dragged him to the boat, rolled him in, and jumped in after him.
The mot
or started. As the boat pulled away, one of the men pointed back to shore and shouted something.
“I think that’s the last we’ll see of Canigou,” said Dr. Fenster in a pleased tone. “We’ve given him and his men something to think about.”
Danny grabbed him by the sleeve. “Look, look!” he yelled.
A deep gurgling rumble made the zoologist whirl.
The tranquilizer had worn off. The lau was waking up.
CHAPTER 15
Farewell to the Lau
The great fish reared high. Its long barbels, or whiskers, waved like branches in a breeze.
The explorers shrank back. There was no time to flee.
But they need not have feared. The lau heaved itself around. Its immense tail flapped over their heads, just missing them. With a couple of giant wriggles, it reached the river. In it went with a splash that showered the little group.
“Gone!” said Danny.
He started to follow, but the Professor caught his arm. “Don’t move,” he warned. “Have you forgotten when happened to Canigou? We don’t know what the magnetic field actually did to him, but it couldn’t have felt very pleasant.”
He took Cuol’s staff. “I must ask a great favor,” he said. “Do you mind if I break this in half?”
“No,” said Cuol. “Break it if you must.”
The Professor put it across his knee and tried. After a moment, Cuol took it back and with one sharp movement snapped it.
Professor Bullfinch kept one piece and gave the other to Cuol, explaining what they had to do. They reached out, each with his piece of wood, and managed to push the two ends of the circle of superconductor apart.
There was a violet flash and a crack as the spark jumped the gap. Then the Professor picked up one end of the superconductor and began coiling the strand.
The three youngsters ran to the river’s edge. There was no trace of the lau except for a few widening ripples.
“And you never even got a chance to photograph it,” Danny said to Dr. Fenster. “No one will believe we really saw it.”
“That doesn’t matter, my lad,” said the zoologist cheerfully. “Professor Ismail will believe me. He and I will come back with the proper equipment for studying the creature. Meanwhile, Cuol, perhaps you and your people will keep an eye on this spot. And when I do return, perhaps you will help me find the lau again.”
Cuol nodded. “You have done a strange thing,” he said. “I do not understand it. Is the lau indeed a spirit?”
“No, it’s all perfectly natural. I just can’t explain it to you at the moment.”
“I see. Well, when you come again, look for me here or at the village of Yakwak. And,” he added, “don’t concern yourself about Canigou. If he ever shows himself here again, I and my brothers will send him on the wrong path.”
They collected the cameras and the lights and loaded them into the dinghies. They were all sobered by the excitement of the past few hours. They paddled slowly and quietly down the river until their tents came in sight.
“It’s funny,” Danny said, when they stood on land once more. “I’m going to miss this place. It’s all so strange, and we’ve only been here a short time, yet it seems familiar and sort of homelike.”
Irene looked out across the river at the feathery fronds of papyrus. “In a way,” she said, “I hope they don’t catch the lau. It wouldn’t be happy in a zoo or anything. It would miss this place, too. It belongs here.”
“Yes,” Dr. Fenster said. “We will try to observe it if we can, rather than catch it. Because it is so large, and so dangerous, there can’t be many of them. It will be important to preserve them. That’s another reason we must try to keep Canigou from returning. I’ll discuss the matter with Professor Ismail. I’m certain he can get the authorities in Khartoum to do something.”
Professor Bullfinch puffed thoughtfully at his pipe. “Long ago,” he said, “a great naturalist wrote, ‘Out of Africa always come new things.’ We’ve seen one of the strangest of them today.”
Joe nodded. “Yes, well, when we get home, we’ll see a new thing that came out of our country—something Africa can’t match.”
“What do you mean, Joe?” asked the Professor.
“Ice-cream sodas,” said Joe with a sigh of anticipation.
Danny Dunn and the Swamp Monster Page 7