The White Witch of the South Seas gs-11

by Dennis Wheatley

  `Are you alone?'

  `Yes,' she replied. `I dined with him and had the very devil of an evening. I feared every moment that you might turn up and queer my pitch with him by, one way or another, putting your foot in it.'

  `I suppose he will be coming along to you later.'

  `No. That is, I've stalled him off by telling him I am unwell. but we can't be certain that he won't think up some excuse to come to my room. I'm sure he suspects that I put him off only because I was expecting someone else, so he may try to catch me out.'

  `I can't help that. I've got to talk to you.'

  `Listen!' Her voice was sharp with anger and apprehension. `If you come to my room I'll scream the place down. Can’t you realise what his turning up again means to me? It's the chance of a lifetime. If you ruin it I'll kill you! I swear I will!

  'If you made a scene you'd ruin yourself,' he retorted sullenly, `because I'll spill the beans to him about you.'

  `Then I'll spill the beans about what happened on my island,' she snapped back.

  `Grace de Dieu!' he gasped. `Keep a guard on your tongue, girl. Now, look. If you won't let me come to you, you must some to me.'

  `What, and risk his finding my room empty? That would be as bad as if he found someone with me. He'd be certain to think I was keeping an assignation.'

  `There will be no risk if you leave it late enough. Or, better still, make it early tomorrow morning. Ask the office to give you a ring at six o'clock. Then if you meet anyone on your way here they'll think you are going for an early swim. The number of my room is 103.'

  For a moment she hesitated, then she said, `All right. I'll do that.'

  Soon after six, having given a swift glance to either side up and down the passage, Manon opened the door of Pierre’s room and slipped inside. He was lying on his back, snoring loudly. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she gave him a quick shake. The snoring stopped abruptly. With a grunt he sat up, blinked at her, then rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

  Going to the window, she pulled aside the curtain to let in more of the early morning light. Returning to the bed, she perched herself on the end of it and said, `Well, here I am. What do you want to talk to me about?

  'Sallust, of course,' he replied, heaving his great bulk higher up against the pillows. `Where has he been all this time, and what are his latest plans?'

  `He and the Ratu were imprisoned by the French for two months. Apparently they went to Noumea and had a row with de Carvalho. The Ratu half killed him and they were lucky not to have got a longer sentence.'

  `I see. De Carvalho never said anything about that to me, but it explains why he was still pretty groggy when I first met him in Tujoa.'

  `When they were freed they flew to Tujoa,' Manon went on, 'and they meant to start work on the wreck. But the witch doctor there made trouble for them. He threatened to put a curse on the local divers, so they came on here to collect Fijians. The idea was that the Ratu should make a round of the Yasawas to get the divers, while. Sallust put in a week or so with me.'

  Lacost brushed up his long, yellow moustache and grinned. `He's still got hot pants for you, then?'

  `He certainly has, thank God. And I'll hook him yet if you keep your nose out of my affairs and don't mess things up for me.'

  `I wouldn't dream of it provided you behave yourself. What then?'

  'It was lucky for you they didn't land on my island a day ' two earlier or you might not have got away with… with what you did there. Lucky for me, too, that I had the sense to refuse to play hostess to you and the others. If I had I could never have put over my story that I had no idea you were one of the party to whom I had lent my island. Any how, Sallust got there only a few hours after you had left. Joe Joe told him about de Carvalho's death and instead of going after divers he and the Ratu made straight to Suva.' 'To get hold of the luscious Madame Olinda, I suppose.' `Naturally; knowing that, unless de Carvalho had taken the licence with him, she must have it. Even if he had, unless you had entered into an agreement with him for a half share in as his widow she has inherited it and, by right of the registration in Noumea, can dispose of her title to it as she wishes:

  Lacost slapped a hand angrily on his big knee. `What a fool was not to have had a deed of partnership drawn up between myself and de Carvalho. If I'd done that she would be tied to me. But I deliberately refrained, because his heirs could have used the document to claim a half share. And I had counted on being able to twist her round my little finger when I got back here.'

  Manon's full lips opened in a malicious grin. `That's what owes of trying to be too clever.'

  Ignoring the gibe, he asked, `What do you think the chances are of my persuading her to let me do the job as her nominee?

  'None whatever.'

  `Why are you so certain? When we were together in Tujoa, and later here in Suva before I took her husband off to your island, she was quite pleasant to me.'

  `Maybe. But she was not in love with you, and she is with the handsome young Ratu.'

  `Sacre bleu!' Lacost exploded. D'you really mean that 'That is what Sallust told me.'

  `Nom dun nom! What cursed luck! And I had it all nicely fixed to do the job legally, pay the French their ten per cent, then bilk her out of her share afterwards. Now she'll go in with the nigger and the English swine. Well, there's only one thing for it.'

  `What is that?

  'Get the stuff up before they have a chance to. Jules smuggled himself aboard the Boa Viagem one night and sabotaged her engines. That was so that I could get de Carvalho to come along for the trip with us and away from his own crew. Now that will pay me another dividend. It will be days yet, maybe a week, before the Boa Viagem can put to sea. Another thing. I've got my divers. They haven't any yet and, they can't get any in Tujoa because the witch man won't let the divers there play. With luck we'll have the gold and be off before they even get there.'

  `What about the French authorities?'

  Lacost shrugged his massive shoulders. `To hell with them! The old Resident will kick up a stink, but we have arms and there aren't enough police in Revika to stop us. Afterwards we'll have to disappear. Still, the Pacific is a big place. If there is anything like the amount of treasure in the Maria Amalia that the records in Antigua led me to suppose, it will be well worth lying doggo for a year on one of the islands, to enjoy it afterwards. As for you, mon petit chou, I'll put your share aside for you. Meanwhile, do your utmost to delay Sallust and Co. setting out for Tujoa. And all the luck in getting him to the altar, then giving him half a dozen pairs of cuckold's horns.'

  Manon nodded. `I'll do what I can; but once he is set on a thing, it is next to impossible to dissuade him from doing it.'

  As she stood up, he lurched forward and grabbed her by the wrist. `Not so fast, little one. We've lost a night together, but there is still time to get up an appetite for our petit dejeuuer.'

  `No!' She ? HYPERLINK “file:///C:\Program%20Files\Book%20Designer%204.0\Temp\tmp1\2\which%2039.html0” l “http://tried.to/#http://tried.to/” ?tried to? pull away. `No, Pierre. I'm not feeling like that sort of thing.'

  His good humour restored by his belief that he would be able to get away with the treasure before his enemies reached Tujoa, he gave a great guffaw and cried, `You will, ma belle, in another two minutes, I promise you!'

  Still grasping her wrist, he jumped out of bed, swung her round and pushed her backwards on to it. Her struggle was brief and vain. Next moment his heavy body was pinning her down. Relaxing, she closed her eyes and, submitting to the animal ferocity which was his principal attraction for her, gave herself to him willingly.

  At nine o'clock Gregory telephoned her, and they agreed to meet downstairs at eleven. When she appeared she was, as ever, dressed with exquisite taste and her make up had been so skilfully applied that the sallowness of her skin was not perceptible. Her eyes seemed so large that they detracted attention from her receding chin. Her step was buoyant with the vitality of youth and as, smiling, she extend
ed her hand for Gregory to kiss, he thought again that, dubious as her morals might be, he was lucky as a man no longer young to have acquired such an enchanting companion.

  The weather being warm, but not too hot, they decided to walk the half mile to the town and, perhaps, do some shopping. In a shop run by Chinese they saw some richly embroidered jackets and wraps, so he bought several of them for her. Then, as they came out of the shop, they ran into Mr. Hunt.

  When Gregory had thanked him for the excellent arrangements made by his travel service he said, `If you would like to do something rather special tomorrow I could fix it up for you. The natives on Beqa are doing a fire walk. That does not happen often, and it is unique. The Indian fakirs walk on hot ashes, but these chaps walk over white hot stones a far more hazardous test of faith and will power. I've a boat going over to the island with a party of Americans, and if you like I could arrange for you to go with them.'

  Gregory and Manon at once agreed that they would like to see this extraordinary performance. They then strolled on past the market, down to the harbour and went on board the Boa Viagem.

  James and Manon greeted each other pleasantly, as old acquaintances, but it was the first time the two women had met. As they exchanged courtesies, Gregory was amused to see them sizing each other up. Olinda’s eyes, he noted, swept over Manon's clothes, that singled her out, even in the tropics, as a Parisienne. Manon's first glance was at a solitaire diamond which Gregory estimated to be worth several thousand pounds that Olinda was now wearing on her engagement finger,

  After a few minutes the four of them were at ease together and soon enjoying well iced drinks. James was positively glowing with happiness, and Olinda kept glancing at him with obvious delight and pride. Gregory mentioned the expedition to Beqa, and asked if they would like to come, too. James said he had seen it before, when in his teens, but Olinda was enthralled by the idea; so Gregory rang up Mr. Hunt, who obligingly said that he would somehow manage to squeeze two more people into the party.

  Olinda insisted that her visitors should stay to lunch, and it proved a merry meal, Manon contributing, by her wit and charm, an outstanding share to their gaiety.

  Afterwards Gregory took Olinda aside and asked her if she would do him the kindness to invite Manon to accompany them when they left for Tujoa, and Olinda readily agreed.

  Half an hour later Gregory and Manon drove back to the Grand Pacific in a taxi, went to their rooms for their siestas, then met again to swim in the late afternoon. Drinks and dinner followed. Having nothing more to fear from Lacost, she talked and laughed as though spring instead of blood coursed through her veins, so that Gregory was enchanted by her. Later that night, with her lovely body in his arms, he felt as though twenty years had dropped from him, and that from her soft, rich mouth he was drawing the Elixir of Life.

  Back in his own room in the early hours, he thought again what a delightful travelling companion she would make. She had charm, wit, vivacity, was well educated and invariably soignée. No one could ever replace Erika for him, but Manon had everything bar one thing.

  Wondering about the future, he dropped asleep, but slept only for three hours, as they had to make an early start for Beqa, and both of them had put in a call for six o'clock.

  He had ordered a car for seven o'clock, as it was a drive of some twenty miles to the place where they were to take a boat out to the island. After picking up Olinda and James, they drove west out of Suva, passing the picturesque cemetery, and right round the bay into the flat, cattle country. From a lonely landing stage a small boat took them off to a tubby motor yacht some way out. The party of Americans was already on board and after exchanging polite greetings with some of them, they settled down for the ten mile sea trip.

  The sea was choppy and the ship far from comfortable. They were told that it had formerly been Queen Salote's yacht, but found that difficult to believe, as the one lavatory could be entered from the cabin only by climbing a steep ladder and through a narrow door; so how so large a lady could have reached it with dignity it was hard to imagine. Manon made Gregory laugh by whispering bawdy comments on the possibilities.

  The yacht anchored a good mile off the island, and the water was so shallow that a motor boat could not have taken them more than halfway to the shore. Two native rowing boats came off; but they had to make several trips before the twenty odd people in the party had all been landed by big, laughing fuzzy headed men carrying them through the shallows. Even then, as the tide was out, there was a quarter of a mile or more of muddy sand to be crossed between the water and the tangles of exposed mangrove roots that fringed the coast.

  On dry land at last, they entered the village. Like all the others they had seen, there was no trace of squalor. Each bure stood well apart from the others, with neat rows of small, white stones marking the path to the door and here and there a palm to give a patch of shade.

  There they were greeted by the Vunivalu and his Council of Elders. The Chief, a very old man, explained to them in good English that, as he had recently been ill, he would not be presiding at the ceremony. Then, showing special deference to James, he said that he would explain the proceedings

  to his party and led the way with them up a steep, grassy slope just beyond the village.

  Halfway up the slope there stood what amounted to a small grandstand, with two rows of chairs shaded from the sun by a palm thatch awning. The Chief bowed Olinda and Mason to chairs on either side of him, and when the rest of the party had taken their places he clapped his hands for the `welcome' ceremony to begin.

  The usual yaggona drinking followed, the coconut shell bilo being first presented to James. Then, to the accompanying hollow hand claps, everyone else drank in turn.

  About fifty feet below them, where the slope flattened out on to level ground, there lay a circular pit some twenty feet in circumference. The surface consisted of smouldering logs from which smoke was rising. Using careful English, in a low voice the old Chief told Olinda and Mason about this ancient custom of his country.

  The big pit was three quarters full of large stones. By a log fire lit at seven o'clock that morning they had been made red hot. Shortly now all the unburnt wood would be removed to expose the stones… The fire walkers would then step down into the pit and walk once round it. Today there were eight of them. For twenty four hours they had been fasting and in seclusion. Several of them had made the fire walk before. Every healthy man born on Beqa did it at least once, when he reached maturity, otherwise he left the island. Some of the men, including the Chief himself, had done it many times, because doing it brought the favour of the gods and strengthened the spirit.

  At a signal from the Chief's deputy, a dozen natives approached the pit in pairs, each holding one end of a long, very tough, rope like liana. Throwing these across the pit, they ran from it parallel to each other, so that the middle of the liana formed a bight and, as it narrowed to a loop, caught round one of the smouldering logs; then, hauling on it, they dragged the log out of the pit:

  This procedure took about a quarter of an hour. When the big stones had been cleared of the layer of wood the natives again approached the pit, this time carrying long poles.

  Standing round the edge, they used the poles to prod at the stones, pushing them a little over so that above the roughly level surface no jagged points should be left, upon which a fire walker might trip.

  As they were doing this, one of the poles snapped and the end, about two feet long, fell on the stones. It had not been there for more than thirty seconds when it burst into flame. A murmur went up from the audience, some of whom had been convinced that they were about to witness only some clever trickery, for the flaming pole end was incontestable evidence that the stones really were intensely hot.

  From a nearby bure the eight fire walkers now emerged in single file. They were naked to the waist, but wore short sulus of what looked like leather; their legs and feet were bare. Carrying themselves very upright, they walked with slow, dignified
steps to the pit, down on to the stones, once round it, then out again. Not one of them faltered, made a murmur or showed any change of expression on his face.

  There came a burst of applause from the onlookers. As usual on such expeditions, most of the Americans had been taking photographs every few minutes. Now several of them went down the slope to get close ups of the men. Two of the fire walkers lay down on their backs and raised their legs in the air, to show that there was not even a blister on the soles of their feet.

  The old Chief then personally escorted James and his party back to the beach. Most of the villager’s men, women and children came too. There was much hand shaking and laughter, then the visitors were rowed back to the tubby, ill found yacht. The Americans had spent the previous night at Korolevu, but now they were going on to Suva; so instead of returning to the landing stage, the cruiser set a course for the capital. The distance was more than twice as far, and it proved anything but a pleasant voyage. Halfway there a squall blew up, it rained in torrents, and the yacht bucked about abominably.

  Several of the passengers were seasick, and Olinda and Manon prevented themselves from succumbing only with difficulty. Fortunately, the weather eased when they were within a few miles of the harbour; but on landing they all felt the need of a good, strong drink, so they walked the few hundred yards to the Boa Viagem.

  On board, good news awaited them. The one piece of machinery which had been holding up the complete repair of the ship's engines had been delivered that morning. Captain Amedo reported to Olinda that the engineers had been working on the job all day, and that if a trial run in the forenoon next day proved satisfactory he could sail in the afternoon.

  Lacost's Pigalle, they now learned, had left harbour the previous morning and he had been seen on the bridge when she sailed. This made it clear that, realising he had no chance of doing a deal with Olinda or of eliminating her, he had decided to make all speed for Tujoa, and attempt to get away with the treasure illegally before they could follow and stop him. But now that the Boa Viagem should be able to sail with twenty four hours, he would then have only two and a half days' start.