James agreed at once. ‘Of course you are right, my love, and your decision is a wise one. If you were living up on the hill I’d be sorely tempted to pay you a midnight visit; and, although my servants must sleep, at times, somehow they seem to become aware of everything that is going on.’
It was this brief conversation that led James a few minutes later to get hold of Gregory and say to him, ‘Dear friend. You have made no secret of it that Manon is your mistress. How would you wish that situation to be treated while you are here? If I put the two of you in separate bures I take it you will want to join her in hers now and then. I have not the least objection, but the servants will be certain to learn of it, so, although they will be no less respectful, it will be goodbye to her reputation. How much you or she cares about that, I have no notion; but if the thought disturbs you there is an easy way out. During your stay here we could refer to her as “Mrs. Sallust”, then I could put the two of you in a double bure. How does that idea appeal to you?’
Gregory grinned at him. ‘I don’t think Manon is the sort of woman to care much what the servants say of her, but as far as I am concerned your idea is admirable. I have always hated having to leave the warm bed of a girl in the early hours of the morning and make my way back to a cold one. I’ll tell her, and I’m sure she’ll raise no objections.’
Far from objecting, Manon was delighted. To become, even temporarily, Gregory’s official wife, seemed to her a splendid omen. Already, in eager anticipation, she could visualise her slim, short, pointed fingers manipulating the Sallust cheque book.
After lunching on board they all went ashore in the speed boat. When they landed at the harbour Gregory left the others, as he wanted to find out as quickly as possible from Hamie Baker how Lacost was getting on with salvaging the gold from the wreck.
Outside the Bonne Cuisine he found its fat Indian proprietor seated under an umbrella, just finishing his midday meal. Recalling their previous brief meeting, Gregory enquired for his diver. Continuing to munch a mouthful of bread and guava jelly, the landlord shook his head.
‘He’s not here. He’s on the far side of the island, working on the wreck with the French Colons.’
That Hamie should have gone over to the enemy was a disconcerting piece of news, as for Lacost to have the assistance of two professional divers instead of one meant that he would be able to complete operations considerably quicker than Gregory had thought likely. Deciding that it would pay him to secure the good-will of mine host of the Bonne Cuisine, he invited him to join him in a cognac.
The landlord readily accepted and, as they sat over their drinks, Gregory learned that the Pigalle had arrived at Revika early on the morning of the preceding Friday, April 29th, remained there only for a couple of hours to take on supplies of fresh food and collect the two divers, then set off round the coast to the site of the wreck. That meant this was the sixth day that Lacost’s party had been at work there. Naturally, everyone in Revika was taking a great interest in the proceedings, and natives were frequently going off to the Pigalle to offer for sale fresh vegetables and fruit. The accounts they brought back were to the effect that excellent progress was being made. Lacost had been particularly lucky in having an unbroken spell of calm weather. The great beam that had blocked the entrance to the stern cabins had been lifted clear on the second day. Two more days had passed while the native divers cleared away the mass of rotted debris that had fallen in when the beam had been removed and it was reported that on the previous day they had begun to get up the treasure.
All this gave Gregory furiously to think. He now feared that he might have given Lacost too great a start. Leaving the Bonne Cuisine, he hurried up the hill to the Royal bure, told James of the situation and urged upon him the necessity for taking immediate action.
18
Triumph and Disaster
Having listened to Gregory’s alarming report, James said that he had heard much the same from Aleamotu’a, and had sent a message to Commandant Elbœuf, asking him to come to the bure that evening, so that they could learn what steps he was taking to prevent illegal salvaging from the wreck.
By then, Manon, rejoicing in her wifely status, had unpacked for both Gregory and herself, and came jauntily into the main bure, provocatively clad only in a bikini. With her was Olinda, who, at James’ suggestion, had brought ashore a vanity case and swimsuit and had changed at the same time. On their appearance, Gregory and James temporarily shelved the problem of how to deal with Lacost and ten minutes later joined the girls at the pool, where the four of them spent a most enjoyable hour.
Afterwards, when they were sitting with their drinks, Gregory said to James, These rumours we have heard give a rough picture of how things are going, but we must try to secure really accurate information. Above all, it is important for us to know when Lacost expects to be through with the job and make off with the loot. The only way I can think of to do that is to get hold of Hamie Baker. He is now living with the others in the Pigalle. For you or me to go out to her would almost certainly result in a showdown, and we daren’t risk that in a place where the odds would be so heavily against us. But it is very unlikely that they would do Aleamotu’a any harm if we sent him out with a message; so would you agree to his acting for us?’
‘By all means,’ James replied. ‘He wouldn’t have to go aboard the Pigalle, only hand a letter up for Hamie, and I’m sure he would be willing to do that.’
Accordingly, Gregory wrote a note for Hamie, in which he said that, on arriving back in Tujoa, he had found a letter from Hamie’s boss, Mr. Trollope, which contained certain instructions that were to be passed on to him; so would he come ashore to receive them. Soon after five o’clock he set off in the jeep with the handsome Aleamotu’a, up through the mountain pass, past the great waterfall and down to the bay on the far side of the island in which the wreck of the Reina Maria Amalia lay.
They parked the jeep behind a screen of banana palms and, while Gregory waited there, Aleamotu’a walked on to the beach and had himself paddled out to the Pigalle in one of the boats used by the natives to peddle their wares to the Colons.
Three-quarters of an hour later he returned with Hamie Baker. Gregory greeted the diver with a frown and said abruptly, ‘Well, Hamie. As the other party got in first, it seems that, instead of waiting for me, you decided to lend them a hand.’
Hamie gave a sullen nod. ‘That’s so, baas. I got fed up sitting on my arse doing nothing all them weeks, and me an’ Phil Macauta had become good buddies. Anyways, your contract wi’ Mr. Trollope had run out and I’d heard nothing from either of you, so I didn’t see why I shouldn’t earn a bit o’ extra money.’
‘I gave you some extra money before I left here,’ Gregory remarked, ‘but we’ll say no more about that. I’ve had you brought ashore to let you know that Mr. Trollope’s orders are that you are to co-operate with me, otherwise you’ll be out on your ear when you get back to Fiji. To that I should add that I am ready to make it very well worth your while if you do as I wish.’
At that Hamie brightened a little and said, ‘I didn’t mean no harm, an’ I’ve no wish to quarrel wi’ Mr. Trollope or yerself. What is it you want o’ me?’
‘For the moment only information. How have things been going out there?’
‘We’ve done fine, baas. Got the big beam away much quicker than expected, an’ yesterday started gettin’ up the stuff. My! Yer eyes would pop at some o’ the things we brought up. Crosses and cups wi’ precious stones as big as ‘aricot beans stuck in ’em, an’ lumps of gold coins all bent and fused together as though they’d been half melted in a fire. But come evening we got a nasty jolt—a real nasty one.’
‘In what way?’ asked Gregory.
‘Big part of the deck caved in, jus’ as we was about to knock off for the night. Couple of native boys trapped down there, poor sods; an’ half the hull full of debris. Mr. Lacost had hoped to be through by termorrer night, an’ he fairly blew his top. There’s lots more of th
e stuff still down there and buried deep. He’s kep’ us hard at it all day, clearing a way down.’
‘How long do you reckon it will be before you reach it?’
‘It’s difficult to say. We—Phil an’ I working alone, it ‘ud take us at least a week. But it’s on this sort of job the native boys come in handy. Reckon we’ll be down to the stuff again in another twenty-four hours.’
‘Very well, then,’ Gregory nodded. ‘Now I’ll make the position clear to you. These Frenchmen hold no licence to salvage the treasure. They are, therefore, committing what amounts to an act of piracy. I don’t doubt that Lacost has offered you a pretty big sum for your help, but if you take it that will be regarded as accepting part of the swag, and you will be liable to be sent to prison. Unless you want to risk that, as soon as they do get down to the treasure again you will pretend to be stricken with sudden illness, or think up some other means of having yourself put ashore, and come at once to the Ratu’s bure and let me know. Then you will be in the clear.’
Hamie shifted his feet uneasily, looked down at them and muttered, ‘That’s all very well, baas; but Mr. Lacost is treating me very decent. Thirty pound a day he’s promised me, an’ a whackin’ good bonus when the job’s finished.’
Gregory gave a laugh that had no humour in it. ‘If you are counting on that, you don’t know the man you are dealing with. He is a crook and a murderer. When he has no more use for you the odds are that, rather than cash out, he’ll cut your air-pipe on your last dive and leave you to feed the fishes. I need to have twelve hours’ warning before the Pigalle is likely to sail. Bring it to me and you will not only be out of trouble but I’ll pay you two hundred pounds.’
Obviously shaken by the picture Gregory had drawn of Lacost, Hamie cleared his throat, spat and said, ‘O.K., baas. Anyways, I know yer on the level. I’ll get ashore somehow an’ give you the tip-off.’
Back at the Royal bure, Gregory found James and Olinda drinking rum-on-the-rocks. James had just finished showing her over her future home and, delighted with it, she was enthusing over its suitability to such a climate and its beautiful vistas. Gregory told them about his arrangement with Hamie Baker, then asked if Commandant Elbœuf had yet put in an appearance.
‘He sent to say that he would come here after dinner,’ James replied, then added with a laugh, ‘I don’t doubt the old boy picked his time so that he could get a good swig at my old brandy.’
As the dinner hour was approaching, Gregory knocked back the drink James had poured for him and went across to the twin-bedded bure that had been assigned to him and Manon. She was seated at the dressing table, putting the last touches to her hair, and, as he kissed her on the nape of the neck, he was struck by the warm domesticity of the scene. To go to bed with a woman was one thing, to live with her quite another, and, although the room was not her own, her possessions scattered about it gave it a delightful intimate atmosphere.
When he had shaved in the bathroom that had been built on to the bure they rejoined the others and afterwards sat down to dinner. As the Resident was expected, they did not linger over the meal, but moved to the other end of the long room for their coffee and liqueurs.
They had hardly settled themselves there when Elbœuf was announced. Limping forward with his stick, he gallantly kissed the hands of the ladies, condoled with Olinda on her husband’s death, then accepted a large ration of old brandy. Contrary to South Seas custom, James got down to business right away, and asked him what steps he had taken to prevent the Colons from attempting to salvage the treasure in the wreck.
Raising his grey eyebrows, the old man replied, ‘None, my dear Ratu, and I have had no reason to suppose that any such steps should be taken. Monsieur Lacost arrived here on Friday last, and that evening he paid a courtesy call upon me. He told me of Senhor Mauá de Carvalho’s most regrettable demise, that Madame here now held the licence to salvage from the wreck, that she would be arriving in Revika shortly and had asked him, in the meantime, to go ahead with the work on her behalf. When he and the de Carvalhos were in Revika some weeks ago, de Carvalho showed me the licence he had secured in Noumea and told me that he had entered into a partnership with Lacost. So I naturally accepted Lacost’s account of matters, and have not attempted to interfere with his operations.’
‘Then, Commandant, I must acquaint you with the true situation,’ said James. ‘There was no legal partnership entered into between de Carvalho and Lacost. The Senhora intends to make the licence over to me. Lacost is a crook and his salvaging operations are illegal. They must be stopped at once.’
‘Dear me! Dear me!’ Elbœuf exclaimed with a sudden show of agitation. ‘While I am happy for you, Ratu, that you should have met with such good fortune, the situation now created may result in much unpleasantness. First thing tomorrow morning I will send Sergeant Marceau off with a couple of his gendarmes to the Pigalle to tell Lacost that he must desist from further salvaging and hand over any valuables that he may have already recovered. But what if he refuses?’
‘He will,’ Gregory put in. ‘I am sure of that. So you will have to back up your order by a show of force.’
The elderly Frenchman sighed. ‘I fear you are right, Monsieur. It seems that a situation has now arisen similar to one we envisaged some time ago. You will remember, Ratu, that I called upon you to enquire if I might count on your bodyguard to support my few gendarmes in the event of an illegal attempt being made to salvage any treasure in the Maria Amalia.’
‘I do,’ James smiled. ‘And I don’t mind admitting now that I was secretly amused, because your request implied my using force against myself. I have always maintained that this treasure is mine by right of inheritance, and I was quite prepared to defy your government on those grounds. But now, thanks to the Senhora, my position is fully legalised and I will give you all the support of which I am capable to prevent Lacost robbing me of my property.’
Elbœuf nodded. Then, Ratu, my duty and your interests are now one. But I understand that the Colons are armed, and I am most averse to provoking a conflict. So I think it best first to send off Sergeant Marceau, as I suggested, and only concert stronger measures should they refuse to obey the order he will convey to them.’
That having been settled, the old Resident began to talk of other matters, and would have stayed there until midnight, happily imbibing brandy, had not James, soon after ten o’clock, said that he must escort Olinda back to her yacht.
When they had gone, Manon did her best to persuade Gregory to come to bed; but, as he was anxious to talk to James about the morrow, he resisted her blandishments. In vain she pointed out that James might take hours in saying good night to Olinda on the yacht, but Gregory insisted that, however late James got back, he must see him again before morning; so, after a last drink, she went off in a huff to their bure.
Having settled down with a book, in anticipation of a lengthy vigil, Gregory was agreeably surprised when James returned after an absence of only three-quarters of an hour. Throwing the book aside, Gregory said:
‘About tomorrow. Lacost will tell Sergeant Marceau to take a running jump at himself and we’ve no time to lose; so we’ve got to be prepared for the next act. D’you think old Elbœuf will agree to order his gendarmes to arrest Lacost and Co.?’
James nodded, ‘I think he will, provided they have the backing of my body-guard.’
‘Yes. But how much confidence have you in your chaps? Do you really think they will go in and fight? That is what has been worrying me.’
‘It would have worried me, too, had the question arisen this time last week,’ James replied with a smile. ‘But not now. This afternoon I sent word to my Council of Elders that I intend to do a fire-walk. When they have seen me do that, my people will follow me anywhere. It was so that I could be up early in the morning, to supervise the making of the pit, that I denied myself the pleasure of a prolonged good night to Olinda, and left her as soon as I had seen her aboard the yacht.’
‘Well done,�
� Gregory smiled back. ‘I’m proud of you, James. We’ll get the better of that gang of thugs yet.’
‘Thank you. It is going to be a close call, though, because I’ll have to spend twenty-four hours preparing myself to go down into the pit, and I can’t start my vigil until I’ve seen the pit made. While the work is being carried out tomorrow morning, I intend to write two letters: one giving authority over my people to Aleamotu’a while I am out of action, and the other nominating you as my representative with the Resident. So that, if Lacost refuses to comply with the old boy’s orders, as it’s pretty certain that he will, you can exert pressure on Elbœuf to call on the authorities in Noumea to send him support.’
Gregory agreed these to be sound measures, and it warmed his heart to find again how, now that the young Ratu was back in his own island, he readily took decisions and assumed the leadership.
When they had wished each other an affectionate good night Gregory went to his bure, to find Manon sitting up in bed waiting for him, in anticipation of a night of connubial bliss. But in that she was to be disappointed. Firmly, Gregory told her that the next day might, prove an unusually hectic one, so he meant to get all the sleep he could; but, kissing her fondly, he consoled her by saying that he had good hopes that the future held for them many happy nights together.
In the morning they walked down the lovely, flower-filled slope of garden to the Meeting House. Outside it, James was directing the preparations for his fire-walk. One gang of natives had already nearly completed the digging of a deep pit some twenty feet in diameter; another, under Aleamotu’a, was bringing up from the beach a number of carefully-selected large, smooth stones, and a third had been sent to collect the best type of logs for heating them.
The White Witch of the South Seas Page 33