Rick Brant 6 The Phantom Shark

by John Blaine

  For long minutes Rick stared at the starry sky. “It couldn’t have been a real shark,” he said finally. “I can’t swallow that.”

  Jack nodded.“Same here. But have you any other ideas?”

  “Diving suit,” Scotty suggested.

  “Never saw one with a fin, or one that traveled along the surface and collected tin cans.”

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  Rick sighed. “Nothing about it makes any sense. Let’s sum up what we know. He collects his money while in the form of a shark as well as in the form of a man. He sells pearls to anyone with money enough.

  He gets them by robbing Kanaka boys. He also gets them from a cache he has at Nanatiki. He doesn’t like ships to go to Nanatiki, so he cuts their rudder cables. Or maybe he swims through pores in the wood into the bilge water and bites the cables in two. His sales area covers the Pacific fromBatavia to Rabaul toNoumea toHonolulu . Maybe even toTahiti . He has an assistant who hides in bushes. He also has a rowboat, probably a ship’s boat off whatever craft he uses to get around in. He gets rid of people he doesn’t like either by biting them or cutting their throats with a knife made of shark’s teeth. Poor people are afraid of him, but rich tourists do business with him.”

  Rick rose and looked at his friends. “And I’m sick of him,” he finished. “I’m going to bed. Good night.”

  He scratched one ankle, and added as an afterthought, “After I get something to put on these bites, that is. Anyway, I suppose I should be glad I got them from mosquitoes and not from the Phantom Shark!”

  On his way to his cabin Rick noticed that light still showed under the door of theWarren cabin. This was a good chance to tell the scientist of the events of the evening. He tapped on the door. Dr. Warren, in pajamas and bathrobe, came to the door.

  “What’s up, Rick?Anything wrong?” he asked.

  As briefly as possible Rick told Dr. Warren what had happened at Anse Vata . His own cabin was dark when he returned to it some fifteen minutes later, and Scotty and Chahda were asleep.

  CHAPTER IX

  Off for Nanatiki

  “THE Shark miscalculated,” Scotty said. “If he wanted to keep us from going to Nanatiki he should have done more than just cut the rudder cables.”

  Rick watched the flurry of activity on the repair barge under the Tarpons stern and agreed. A French firm had sent its men to repair the damage. Already new cables had been attached to the T bar within the hull. Now they were being passed through the stuffing boxes into the water. By midafternoon the new cables would be attached to the rudder and the ship would be ready to sail. It would take that long because the cables had to be spliced in eye splices through the rudder rings.

  “I don’t think he was depending on the cables alone,” he mused. “That was just part of it. Remember the steel boat? I think he planned on us backing into it. We would have stove in the rudder and dented the propellers.”

  “Dented the screws,” Scotty corrected. “Ships are driven by screws, not propellers.”

  “Technicalities,” Bill Duncan grunted.

  Rick smiled at the young biologist. “We’ve been so busy with the Phantom Shark that we haven’t had time for science. How about telling us what we’re supposed to be doing?”

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  Bill Duncan polished his thick glasses. “I’ll sum it up briefly. You know, of course, that about one third of the world population is perpetually hungry? Well, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations hopes to correct that situation. We are one of several expeditions assigned to hunt new fishing grounds. Clear enough?”

  “It’s clear,” Rick agreed, “but how do we go about finding new fishing grounds? Just keep fishing?”

  “I wish that were all. Fish are everywhere, but not in commercial quantities. We know that fish gather at certain places because of a combination of circumstances. Water temperature, food supply, currents, geological formation of the land under the sea ... all those things play an important part. We have to find places where the propercombination of factors occur .”

  “I can understand why Dr. Warren was picked for this job,” Rick said.“How about the rest of you?”

  “I’m interested in the private life of the fish. Paul will chart bottom conditions, temperature, salinity, currents, and so on. I’ll work on food supplies, classify what fish we find, predict fish population, and things like that. Carl Ackerman, the chemist, will help me, and in addition hell analyze the fish we find for possible commercial uses besides food. Fish oil, for instance, is very important. Tom Bishop knows just about all there is to know of fishing methods. He’ll determine the most commercially feasible methods of catching what we find. Mrs. Warren will act as secretary and keep the records up to date.”

  “Why are we going to Nanatiki?” Rick asked.

  “Because it’s a central point of the area we plan to survey.”

  Dr. Warren came out on deck and called toDuncan . The marine biologist left the boys and went to join his chief.

  Rick consulted his watch. He was getting hungry. “Isn’t it about time Barby and Chahda and the others came back?”

  Barby and Chahda had gone ashore with Mrs. Warren and Carl Ackerman to take some Kodachrome shots. They were due back by lunchtime. Tom Bishop and Jack Pualani were supervising the installation of the new cables. Dr. Warren, after an unsatisfactory consultation with the police officials who had come aboard for a brief time, had gone to work on his records. The boys had elected to remain on the ship and had spent the morning doing nothing.

  Promptly atnoon , the shore party returned, accompanied by the Dutch trader. Van der Klaffens reported to Dr. Warren and the boys. “I inquired about the clerk you mentioned. My truck driver informed me that the man appeared outside the warehouse and begged for a ride to the pier. Once he reached here, he left the truck and my driver didn’t see him again.”

  It was what Rick had expected. He wondered again about the identity of the Phantom Shark. Van der Klaffens was out, because he had been inSuva during a meeting between the Shark and Jerrold. Besides, the Shark had to have a boat to get from island to island.

  “Do you own a seagoing boat, Mr. Van der Klaffens?” he asked.

  “I did before the war. Since then I have discovered it is less expensive to ship on other people’s vessels than to pay for the upkeep of one of my own.”

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  Kenwood owned a boat, Rick remembered. And he dealt in pearl shell. True, he had leftNoumea yesterday morning at dawn, but how far had the Australian gone? He might have stayed inside the barrier reef instead of sailing north. If so, he could easily have rowed to last night’s rendezvous.

  “I wonder if we’ll meet Mr. Kenwood,” he said. “What is the name of his schooner, sir?”

  “The Kookaburra. You recognize the word? It is a famous Australian bird. Possibly you will meet Kenwood if you pass close to theNew Hebrides . He will be working his way northward, from port to port.”

  “Where do you suppose he is now?” Scotty inquired.

  “Probably he is inVila today. That is the capital of theNew Hebrides , located on theislandof Efate . It is not far, perhaps two hundred and fifty miles.”

  “It would be fun to meet him,” Rick said. “Maybe* we could even talk with him by radio.”

  “I’m afraid not. He has a receiver for weather reports, but I think that is all. However, if you do see him, give him my best.”

  “We will,” Rick promised. “You seem to know him very well.”

  “Quite well.We came out to this area at about the same time, and I think we have met at almost every port in the islands. He is much more adventurous than I. Where he goes in his own small craft, I fly or go by interisland steamer. I am the businessman. He is a businessman, but he is also something of an explorer. He delights in odd places where few white men ever go. I think profit means little to him. He does not make much money, but he does enjoy life.”

  After lunch, Van der Klaffens departed, offering his hospitality whe
n they reachedNoumea again. The boys and Barby walked with him to the end of the pier and took a last look at the city. By the time they returned, Tom Bishop and Jack had tested the rudder cables and the repair barge was moved away. This time, nothing would go wrong. The lines were cast off and the Tarpon backed smoothly from the pier, reversed course, and headed out of the harbor toward the barrier reef.

  Rick and Scotty stood together at the rail and watched He Nous slip past. The Phantom Shark had rowed in the direction of the island, but Rick doubted that he had landed.

  “Wonder if he rowed out to a ship,” he said speculatively. He couldn’t get Kenwood out of his mind.

  Kenwood liked adventure, Van der Klaffens had said. If the Australian’s schooner hadn’t actually left the vicinity ofNoumea , Kenwood might very well be the Phantom Shark. He explained his thoughts to the ex-Marine.

  “Why not find out?” Scotty suggested.

  “How?”

  “Well, if he went toVila , the port authorities there would know it, wouldn’t they?”

  “Could be,” Rick agreed. “We could radioVila and ask.”

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  “Let’s do it,” Scotty said.

  Jack Pualani, in the Tarpons wheelhouse, thought it over for a moment. “I suppose it would be all right, but you don’t want to show too much interest. Tell you what, let’s do it casually.”

  “How?”Scotty asked.

  “Illshowyou.” Jack walked to the radioman who sat at his control board reading a magazine.“Warm ‘ er up, Duke. Then go on the air and test. Send out a CQ and see ifVila answers. Got their call?”

  The radioman consulted his book of calls. “I have, sir.”

  The boys watched as the Hawaiian radioman warmed up his equipment and put it on the air.

  The radioman tapped his key for a few minutes. Rick translated. “He’s sending the ship’s call, and saying that we’re testing.” Another few moments and the clicks changed, developing a steady rhythm.

  “Now he’s sending CQ from our call,” Rick explained.

  The radioman stopped sending and began to tune his receiver. A variety of tones were located and passed over. Once the radioman stopped tuning and jotted down a call on a pad.

  “Calling us,” he said.“But is notVila. Think it is fromAustralia .”

  “Keep trying,” Jack directed. “IsVila on the air now? What does your call book say?”

  “They on, sir.Should hear us.”

  The dial turned, signal giving way to signal. Four times more the radioman stopped to listen, then moved on. None of them wereVila . Finally, as they neared the bottom end of the band, he nodded.“Their call, sir. Should I answer?”

  “Yes. Strike up a conversation. Talk about the weather and ask if they have any late information.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The key tapped out a reply toVila ’s call. In a moment the two stations were exchanging bits of information about the weather in their localities. The Tarpon radioman reported they were just leavingNoumeaHarbor . TheVila operator replied that he’d like to get toNoumea and see a motion picture.Hadn’t seen one in weeks.

  Jack Pualani directed, “Ask him if he has seen a friend of yours-the schooner Kookaburra, due inVila this morning.”

  The radioman did so, while Rick and the others waited anxiously.

  Code crackled in the loud-speaker.

  Rick read it aloud. “Kookaburra came in at dawn, offloaded and cleared forEspiritu Santo . Want me query Espiritu?”

  “Tell him never mind,” Jack said quickly. “Tell him you were just wondering if she arrived on schedule.”

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  The radioman tapped out the message, then signed off.

  “That settles that,” Rick said. “It isn’t Kenwood. Guess it isn’t anyone we know.”

  “Might as well forget it,” Jack Pualani agreed. “We’ll be far out at sea by nightfall, out of reach of your friend. If he leftNoumea last night, we might overtake him, though, before we get to Nanatiki-or we might see him there.”

  CHAPTER X

  The Peaceful Voyage

  The Tarpon rolled gently in the longCoral Sea swells, the ocean miles flowing under her keel at a steady ten knots as she steamed to the northwest. By nightfall,New Caledonia was below the horizon. Bynoon of the following day, the HuonIslands , a trio of uninhabited rocks, had fallen astern. They would make no more landfalls now until Nanatiki came over the horizon.

  Rick had time for his first long chat with Dr. and Mrs. Warren on the subject of the Tarpon’s voyage.

  They sat under a canvas awning on the aft deck and watched Barby, Scotty, and Chahda play a game of shuffleboard with improvised equipment and a court drawn with chalk.

  “What are the plans, sir?” Rick asked.

  “We use Nanatiki as a base point,” Dr. Warren answered, “then shoot the first leg of our survey due north to Indispensable. We should be able to cover the area in a week. That’s the smallest segment we’ll have to survey. When that is complete, we go due east to the

  New Hebridesand make a preliminary survey between theHebrides and Nanatiki. We plan to return toNoumea for more fuel and supplies in about four weeks. That will leave us with a reserve tank of oil for emergencies. I don’t like to cut things too fine.”

  Mrs. Warren added, smiling, “And that is when you get off, Rick.”

  Rick nodded. He had known their vacation would not be a long one. “It’s too bad we can’t be aboard until the survey is completed.”

  Dr. Warren smiled. “It will take us six months, Rick.”

  “We couldn’t be gone that long,” he admitted.

  Chahda left the shuffleboard game and joined them. “Too long for me, too,” he said.

  Rick looked at his friend in surprise. “Why? Do you have plans?”

  Chahda nodded.“Have thought very much. While was inHawaii , Dr.Warren is paying me good salary, Page 47

  for nothings, I think . . .”

  “Nonsense,” Dr. Warren said emphatically. “I paid you a salary because you were an excellent assistant.” He explained to Rick, “Chahda helped with the cleaning and preparation of the Alta-Yuan specimens. He has a definite talent for delicate work of that kind.”

  “Most kind,” Chahda murmured. “But, anyway, I am saving most of my good pay, and now I have plenty moneys for go back toIndia .”

  Rick stared. Chahda go back toIndia ? The thought had never even entered his mind.

  “Do not be unhappy with me,” Chahda pleaded.

  “Remember I tell you once my name means fo’teen , on account of I am fo’teen child my family? Now I am man of world, with plenty knowledge besides what is in my Alm-in-ack . I think better I go home and see all my brother and sister.”

  Rick fell silent, thinking over what Chahda had said. It had never occurred to him that the little Hindu boy might want to return toIndia some day.

  “I can see why you have to go home,” he said finally. “But we’ll miss you, Chahda.”

  “Not for long,” Chahda said cheerily.

  The Tarpon moved steadily toward the atoll.

  Seemingly, everyone had forgotten the Phantom Shark, except Rick and Jack Pualani. Jack had instructed the sailors to keep a sharp watch out for any other craft they might pass. If they did sight another ship, there was a strong likelihood that it would be the pearl pirate, because few legitimate craft had occasion to sail these waters.

  Barby and Chahda sat in the bow, their legs dangling over the cutwater while they studied books from the collection the scientists had brought.

  Rick found them and sat down beside them. “What you looking for?”

  “More information about pearls,” Barby said. “But so far I haven’t found a thing that isn’t in Daughter of the Moon.”

  “You and that pamphlet,” Rick groaned. “When do I get to see it?”

  “On the way home,” Barby said.

  “It’s a silly title, anyway,” Rick grumbled. He wasn’t really anxious to see the
pamphlet, but he had to let Barby think he was. “Whoever heard of calling pearls anything so romantic?Probably thought up by some soap advertisement copy writer.”

  Chahda spoke up. “Not so. I have not seen book, but I can tell you where comes title.”

  “Can you?” Barby looked at him in surprise. “The pamphlet only said it was what the ancient people called pearls.”

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  “That is true, butancient people was my people.Hindus. Name comes from verse in Atharva -Veda, which is a sacred book of my ancestors. Should maybe I quote verse?”

  “Please,” Barby said eagerly.

  Rick nodded.

  Chahda closed his eyes. “Translation something like this:

  “ ‘With shell born of the sea we slay the Rashkas and conjure the Atrins . With the shell we conquer disease and poverty; the shell is our remedy for all things. Thou art daughter of the Moon; bones of gods turned into sea-dwelling pearl.’”

  Rick looked at the Hindu boy suspiciously. “Is that really from a sacred Hindu book? I wouldn’t put it past you to make it up as you went along. Is there such a book?”

  Chahda grinned. “Would not be past me, but this time is true. That is from Atharva -Veda. Look up

  ‘Veda’ in word book.”

  “I think it’s wonderful,” Barby exclaimed. “Write it down for me, Chahda?”

  “Will do.”

  “I’ll remember that,” Barby promised.

  Dr. Warren called from the afterdeck. “Come on, Chahda. Let’s have ?few statistics. How big was the biggest shark caught?”

  Chahda answered readily, “Biggest shark caught on fishing line was man-eater, weighed 1,919 pounds, was 14 feet, 8 inches long.Caught nearAustralia. But bigger shark was caught, Worrold Alm-in-ack says