“But how could they have landed without being spotted by one of our cruisers?”
“They probably took advantage of the hurricane. I heard a few prahus had been sighted sailing off our shore.”
“Such daring!”
“The Tiger of Malaysia will give us quite a fight, Bob. He’s bold and cunning like no other.”
“He won’t escape us this time. If he’s somewhere in the garden, he won’t get out so easily.”
“Enough talk for now. Man your post, Bob. Three rifles every hundred metres may be enough to stop the Tiger of Malaysia and whoever else he has with him. Don’t forget there’s a thousand pounds reward if we kill the pirate.”
“A good sum, by Jupiter,” smiled Yanez. “Lord James thinks highly of you, little brother.”
“They won’t be making plans to spend it just yet,” replied Sandokan.
He stood up, turned his head towards the park, and spotted several bright dots flitting among the flowerbeds off in the distance. The soldiers that had been in the villa had lost the pirates’ trail and were looking about randomly, waiting for dawn to undertake a more detailed search.
“We have nothing to fear for the moment,” he said, crouching back down.
“Shall we try another path?” asked Yanez. “This garden is vast; the entire wall may not be guarded.”
“No, my friend. If they spot us, we’ll have forty soldiers firing at our backs and it won’t be easy to escape them. We’d be better off finding a place to hide.”
“Any ideas?”
“Yes, come. You’ve warned me repeatedly not to act like a madman and now I’ll show you just how cautious I can be. If they killed me, Marianna would not survive my death; let’s not do anything rash.”
“Won’t the soldiers find us?”
“I don’t think so. We won’t stay here for very long. Whatever happens, we’ll be gone by tomorrow night. Come, Yanez. I just thought of the perfect hiding place.”
Keeping themselves hidden among the flowerbeds, the two pirates rose to their feet, slung their carbines around their shoulders and headed away from the wall. Sandokan led his friend across a section of the garden and took him to a one-story building, a hothouse, about five hundred paces from Lord Guillonk’s villa. Without making a sound, he silently opened the door and entered, feeling his way forward to get his bearings.
“Where are we going?” asked Yanez.
“Light a match,” replied Sandokan.
“Won’t they see the light from outside?”
“There’s no danger. We’re surrounded by a thick grove of plants.”
Yanez reached into his pocket, pulled out a small box and quickly lit a match.
The room was full of flowering plants that filled the air with delightful fragrances. Bamboo tables and chairs were visible among the many large vases, stacked in tidy rows.
“We’re going to hide in here?” asked Yanez. “This place doesn’t seem that safe to me. The soldiers will search in here for sure. They’ll check every nook and cranny to earn those thousand pounds Lord James is offering for your hide.”
“I’m not saying they won’t come.”
“Then they’ll catch us.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, Yanez.”
“What do you mean?”
“They won’t look for us in the furnace.”
Yanez laughed as a smile spread across his face.
“In that furnace!” he exclaimed.
“Yes, we’ll hide in there.”
“We’ll come out blacker than coal, little brother. There has to be a ton of soot in that giant oven.”
“We’ll bathe later, Yanez.”
“But… Sandokan!”
“You can face the British on your own if you prefer. There are only two options, Yanez: get in the furnace or get captured.”
“Well, there’s really no choice, is there,” laughed Yanez. “Let’s have a look at our new home then; I hope it’s more comfortable than it looks.”
He opened the iron door, lit another match, paused to sneeze a couple of times, then went into the large furnace. Sandokan followed right behind him.
The furnace was large enough for the two pirates to stand quite comfortably, but though it was spacious, it contained a large amount of ash and soot. Despite their dangerous predicament, the Portuguese, always in good humour, began to laugh hysterically.
“Who’s ever going to believe that Sandokan, the dreaded Tiger of Malaysia, sought refuge in a furnace,” he said. “By Jupiter! There’s no doubt in my mind now, I’m sure we’re going to escape.”
“Don’t talk so loudly, my friend,” whispered Sandokan. “They may hear us.”
“Bah! They’re probably still far off.”
“They may be closer than you think. As we entered the hothouse, I spotted two men poking about the flowerbeds just a few paces from us.”
“They were coming towards us?”
“I’m certain of it.”
“Hell!… What if they check the furnace?”
“We won’t give up easily, Yanez. We’re armed and can fight off any sudden attack.”
“We don’t have so much as a biscuit, Sandokan. I hope you aren’t intending to eat this soot. And another thing, the walls of our fortress don’t appear to be all that sturdy. You could probably smash through them with a couple blows of a shovel.”
“We’ll attack before they can put a dent in these walls,” said Sandokan, who, as always, had great confidence in his cunning and ability.
“We should get ourselves some food.”
“We’ll get some, Yanez. There are a few banana and pomelo groves nearby; we’ll go raid them.”
“When?”
“Quiet! I hear voices.”
“You’re making me nervous.”
“Draw your gun and be ready for anything. Listen!”
Muffled voices reached their ears, growing louder as they drew nearer. Leaves rustled and the pebbles on the path to the hothouse crunched beneath the soldiers’ feet. Sandokan blew out the match, told Yanez not to move, then cautiously opened the metal door and peered into the room. The hothouse was still dark; however, a couple of torches were visible through the glass, burning among the grove of banana trees growing along the path. As they drew nearer, he managed to make out six soldiers and two torchbearers.
“Are they planning to visit the hothouse?” he whispered anxiously.
He closed the hatch and reached Yanez’ side just as a beam of light lit the interior of the little building.
“They’re coming,” he whispered to his friend, who almost dared not breathe. “Stand ready to attack on my mark. Is your gun loaded?”
“My finger is on the trigger.”
“Great, draw your kris as well.”
The troops entered the hothouse, bathing every corner of the room in light. Sitting by the hatch, Sandokan watched as the soldiers moved the vases and chairs, searching every inch of the room. Despite all his courage, he could not suppress a shiver. If the soldiers were searching so meticulously, it was unlikely they would overlook the furnace’s great size. The hatch could open at any moment. Sandokan quickly moved towards Yanez, who was huddled in a corner, half covered in ash and soot.
“Don’t move,” whispered Sandokan. “They may not find us.”
“Quiet!” whispered Yanez. “Listen.”
“Can that damned pirate have escaped?” said a voice.
“Well, he couldn’t have dug himself a tunnel out of here,” replied another.
“That man is capable of anything, my friends,” said a third. “He isn’t mere flesh and blood; he’s one of the devil’s own.”
“I agree, Varrez,” replied the first voice, a slight tremble betraying its owner’s fear.
“I saw him once and it was enough. He’s no ordinary man, he’s a tiger! He attacked fifty of our men and wasn’t so much as grazed by a single bullet.”
“You’re scaring me, Bob,” said another soldier.
“Who wouldn’t be afraid?” replied Bob. “I doubt Lord Guillonk himself could best that demon spawn.”
“However that may be, we’ll capture him; he can’t escape. The garden is completely surrounded, and if he tries to climb the wall, he’ll lose his hide. I’d wager two months’ pay we capture him before sunset.”
“You can’t catch a ghost.”
“He’s no ghost, Bob. Didn’t the men who sunk his two prahus shoot him in the chest? Lord Guillonk had the misfortune of curing the pirate’s wounds, and he assured us the Tiger bled just like any other man. Are you telling me ghosts can bleed?”
“No.”
“Then that pirate is nothing more than a ruffian, cunning and brave admittedly, but still a scoundrel that deserves to be hanged.”
“Wretch,” murmured Sandokan. “If I weren’t in here, I’d show you who I was.”
“Now,” continued the first voice, “if we want to earn Lord Guillonk’s thousand pounds, best we continue our search.”
“He’s not here. Let’s look somewhere else.”
“Wait, Bob. What about that furnace in the corner? It’s large enough to hide a couple of men. Draw your weapon and check it out.”
“Are you serious?” said the soldier. “Who do you think is in there? Not even a couple of pygmies could fit in that thing.”
“Still it’s best we make sure.”
Sandokan and Yanez moved as far back from the hatch as they could, crouching among the ash and soot to better conceal themselves from the soldiers’ eyes. Seconds later the metal door swung open and a ray of light lit up part of the interior.
A soldier poked his head in, but pulled it out immediately, sneezing uncontrollably, his face as black as coal. Sandokan had quickly cast a handful of soot at him, blinding the young man before he could spot them.
“To hell with whoever suggested I stick my head in this thing. Happy? There’s nothing but soot in there!” he exclaimed.
“It was rather silly,” added another soldier. “We’re wasting valuable time. The Tiger of Malaysia has to be in the garden, he’s probably trying to climb the wall as we speak.”
“Let’s go,” said Bob. “We aren’t getting any closer to that thousand pound reward by staying here.”
The soldiers quickly left the hothouse, noisily closing the door behind them. Their voices and footsteps could still be heard as they walked up the path back to the garden. Once silence had returned, the Portuguese let out a long sigh of relief.
“Bloody hell!” he exclaimed. “I feel like I’ve aged a hundred years in the past few minutes. I wouldn’t have given a rupee for our hides. That soldier almost found us. All he had to do was peer in a little further and he’d have seen us for sure. We should light a candle in honour of the Madonna of Pilar.”
“Yes, that was a close one,” replied Sandokan. “When I saw that head a short distance from me, I saw red and I do not know what kept me from firing.”
“That would have been pure madness!”
“There’s nothing more to fear. They’ll scour the garden looking for us and soon convince themselves we somehow managed to escape.”
“And when exactly are we going to leave? You aren’t thinking of spending a year here, are you? Our prahus may have already returned to the bay.”
“I do not plan to stay here for much longer. We’ll wait until the British call off their search, then we’ll make our escape. I too am dying to know if our men have arrived, without their help it’ll be impossible to free Marianna.”
“Sandokan, my friend, let’s go see if we can find something to chew on, or at least wet our throats.”
“Right behind you, Yanez.”
Almost suffocating in that ash-filled furnace, the Portuguese pushed his carbine forward, crept to the hatch, and jumped onto a nearby vase so as not to leave any sooty prints on the floor. Sandokan copied those cautious manoeuvres and leaping from vase to vase, the two men reached the hothouse door.
“Do you see anyone?” he asked.
“It’s still too dark outside.”
“Excellent! Let’s go raid those banana trees.”
They headed towards the small grove that grew along the path and quickly picked enough bananas and pomelos to satisfy their growling stomachs and quench their arduous thirst.
They were about to return to the hothouse, when Sandokan halted suddenly.
“Wait here, Yanez,” he said. “I want to see where the soldiers are.”
“That wouldn’t be wise,” replied the Portuguese. “Let them look wherever they want. What does it matter to us?”
“I have an idea.”
“To hell with your ideas. We’re not going to do anything else tonight.”
“I’ve got to try,” replied Sandokan. “We may not have to wait until tomorrow. I’ll only be gone for a few minutes.”
He gave Yanez his carbine, drew his kris and quietly went off to explore his surroundings, taking great care to keep to the shadows. When he reached the last grove of banana trees, he spotted a row of torches off in the distance moving towards the wall.
“It seems they’re getting farther away,” he murmured. “Let’s see what’s happening in Lord James’ villa. Ah! If I could see my love, even if only for an instant, just to know she’s safe…”
He stifled a sigh and headed towards the path, darting among the trees and bushes. When he was in front of the villa, he stopped in a grove of mango trees and quickly looked about. His heart raced at the sight of Marianna’s window; it was still lit.
“If I could take her away,” he murmured, fixing his eyes on the light shining through the metal grating.
He took three or four more steps, keeping close to the ground so as not to be spotted by any soldiers lurking nearby. Then he stopped again. A shadow passed in front of the light. It could only be Marianna! He was about to move forward, when he lowered his gaze and spied a figure standing before the entrance to the villa, a guard resting on his carbine.
“Has he seen me?” he wondered.
He hesitated for only a minute. Seeing the young woman’s shadow pass behind the grate a second time, he abandoned all caution and headed towards her. He had gone ten paces when the guard suddenly levelled his weapon.
“Who goes there?” he shouted.
Sandokan froze.
Chapter 19
The Red Coats
THE GAME AT this point was irreparably lost. In fact, it threatened to become even more dangerous for the pirate and his friend. It was not to be assumed that the guard, given the darkness and the distance, had caught a distinct glimpse of the pirate, who had readily dived behind a bush, but he could have left his post to look for him or gone off to summon a few other soldiers. Sandokan knew he had put himself in danger, but instead of fleeing, he lay silently behind that refuge of leaves.
The guard repeated his challenge but got no response. He took a couple of steps forward and checked to see if anyone was hiding in the bushes. Thinking he had been mistaken, he headed back towards the villa and returned to his post in front of the entrance.
Fighting the urge to attack, Sandokan began to slowly back away, taking a thousand precautions, moving from one tree to the next, crawling behind bushes, his eyes fixed on the soldier, who continued to keep his rifle levelled, ready to fire. When he arrived among the flowerbeds, he quickened his pace and rushed into the hothouse where the Portuguese had been anxiously awaiting his return.
“How do things look?” he asked. “I was starting to worry.”
“Not good,” replied the Tiger, stifling his anger. “The villa is guarded and the garden is teeming with soldiers. We won’t be able to attempt an escape tonight.”
“Great, then I’ll take a nap. It’s unlikely they’ll come back here to bother us.”
“Who can guarantee that?”
“Are you trying to make me nervous, Sandokan?”
“Another platoon could easily come in here and make a new search.”
“Our little adventur
e appears to be going badly, little brother. If only your sweetheart could get us out of this tragic situation.”
“Poor Marianna! Who knows how she may be guarded! How she must be suffering, not knowing what’s happening to us! I’d give anything to let her know we’re still alive.”
“No need to worry, whatever her situation, she’s in better straits than we are, little brother. I think we should take advantage of this lull and get some rest. A little sleep would do us both some good.”
“Yes, but it’d be best to sleep with one eye open.”
“I wish I could sleep with both eyes open. Come, there’s a spot behind these Chinese roses that should do nicely.”
Though not completely at ease, Sandokan and Yanez stretched out behind the vases, hoping for a few hours sleep. But despite their intentions, they could not close an eye; the fear of Lord James’ soldiers suddenly reappearing keeping them awake. They got up several times to calm their ever-increasing nervousness then left the hothouse to see if the enemy was still nearby.
When dawn broke, the British were still searching the grounds. Their ranks had swelled; there were soldiers everywhere, looking among the mangroves, bamboo groves, bushes and flowerbeds. They appeared certain of finding the two cunning pirates who had had the temerity to scale the wall. Assured the enemy was still far off, Yanez and Sandokan quickly raided a pomelo tree laden with succulent fruit the size of an infant’s head. Then, after carefully cleaning up the soot they had left on the floor, they climbed back into the furnace once again.
Though the hothouse had been searched, the British could quite easily return to look for the pirates with the light of day. Having devoured their meagre breakfast, Sandokan and Yanez took out a couple of cigarettes and sat down among the ashes, planning to wait for nightfall before they attempted their escape. They had been hiding in there for several hours when Yanez thought he heard several footsteps advancing towards the hothouse. The pirates immediately stood up and drew their krises.
“Someone’s coming!” whispered the Portuguese.
“Are you sure?” asked Sandokan.
“Yes, someone’s walking down the path.”
Sandokan: The Tigers of Mompracem (The Sandokan Series Book 1) Page 15