Dangerous Inheritance

by Dennis Wheatley

  There were, too, a great variety of birds: kites, falcons and serpent eagles sailing high overhead, green pigeons, jungle fowl and partridges rooting among the undergrowth for grubs, occasionally a strutting peacock and, dashing in and out among the branches, green bee-eaters, parakeets, Paradise fly-catchers, red-backed woodpeckers and brown-headed barbets; all lovely to watch, and, for a time, pointing out the beasts and birds to one another took the minds of Fleur and Truss off their anxieties.

  But not for long. In spite of their ill luck in Douglas being recognised when escaping from the prison and their having had to abandon two cars, they had thrown off the pursuit, evaded the police net spread for them and, for all the police knew, they might now be anywhere in central Ceylon; so for the time being, they were in little danger of capture. Yet that meant only putting off the evil day unless they could leave the country; and from Dambulla they had still the worse half of the journey to do. Unless they could find a much swifter form of transport it was certain that they would not be able to reach the rendezvous on the coast that afternoon.

  Occasionally a car passed them and, as they drove through each of the infrequent villages in the area, they looked eagerly from side to side in the hope that they might see one in front of a bungalow or shop, temporarily unoccupied, with which they might make off. But now full day was come, the villagers were going about their business and very few of them were well-off enough to own even a rattle-trap car.

  By half past seven, having been up all night, they were both tired and hungry, and mosquitoes had begun to trouble them. To pull up and sleep was out of the question, but they halted in a village while Douglas went into the general store to buy honey-cakes, chocolate, fruit and soft drinks.

  While he was absent, a group of small boys, believing the cart to be empty attempted to raid it. They were naked and their protruding stomachs, due to enlarged spleens, showed that the poor little wretches were already the victims of malaria. Fleur and Truss would have liked to give them money, but to do so would have revealed themselves as whites; so Fleur drove them off by shouting at them in Sinhalese, and swiftly drew the back curtains of the cart that they had pulled apart before they could have had more than a glimpse of its dim interior.

  In addition to a supply of food Douglas had bought a tin of quinine pills which, having seen the malaria-ridden children, they took eagerly as a precaution against the mosquitoes infecting them with the disease. He had also bought maize for the horse so, half a mile beyond the village, they pulled up again, beside a stream, where the little animal could be watered and fed and given half an hour’s rest while they picnicked.

  By a quarter past eight they were on their way again. From time to time, to ease the load, Truss and Fleur got out and walked, and during the morning they made two more half-hour halts to rest the horse. By midday they entered the great area of creeper-draped ruins and moribund waterworks that had once been Polonnaruwa.

  In recent years some of the ‘tanks’ had been reclaimed by the Government; while the bottoms of others, since the rains had come, were now shallow lakes from which trees were protruding. On them the bird life was fantastic in its variety and abundance. Pelicans, egrets, spoonbills, herons and kingfishers were to be seen by the score. Flights of rose and white flamingoes skimmed patches of giant red water lilies with bluish leaves. The upper branches of many of the trees about them were solid with the nests of weaver birds; sandpipers, bitterns and jacana pheasants picked for worms on the shores.

  As they continued on their way they now had much more time than they had when covering the stretch of road by car in which to appreciate the nagnitude of Ceylon’s second oldest capital. Weed-choked canals criss-crossed it in every direction, huge mounds of rubble were scattered among the tall trees. Peering through leafy screens or down occasional open vistas, they saw broken gateways, monolithic headless statues and fallen pillars covered with intricate carving: a vast paradise for future arachaeologists.

  With the horse and cart it took them another half-hour to reach the squalid modern shanty town and there they halted only to buy more food and drink. Beyond it there was an equally long stretch of road through acre after acre where for seven hundred years trees and creepers had striven to obliterate the temples, monasteries and palaces that had been the glory of the ancient city.

  Although it was November, as central Ceylon is only eight degrees north of the Equator, for the past two hours they had had no protection from the blazing midday sun except, at intervals, the protection of the covered cart. The clothes of all three of them were soaked through with sweat. Truss, less used to such exposure than the other two, knew that he was getting badly sunburnt, and the whole party had been for so many hours without sleep that it had become imperative that they should have a really long rest.

  About five miles east of the outskirts of the new Polonnaruwa they chose a ruined culvert through which, centuries ago, the flow of water into a ‘tank’ had been controlled. In the shade cast by one of its tall stone sides, they took off most of their clothes, and, taking their little horse with them, on a rein, went down to refresh themselves with a dip. But they dared not go much further out than knee-deep and, even then, had to keep a sharp look-out, for the ‘tank’, as had been the case with all the others they had seen, was inhabited by many crocodiles.

  Even in hollows that had so far accumulated only shallow pools several of these voracious beasts lay, apparently somnolent but watchful, in partially submerged, scaly heaps. Here, from the deeper water, every few minutes an ugly snout and great gaping jaws emerged, either holding a big fish or to seize an unwary teal that had landed on the surface intending to snap up smaller fry.

  Douglas said that even elephants and buffaloes were frightened of crocodiles, so would come down to the ‘tanks’ to bathe in the evenings only in herds; but if a crocodile attempted to snatch one of their young, as often happened, both breeds of animal would charge their foes and most terrible battles would ensue. He then pointed out a number of big pits along the foreshore as elephant hip baths, for the great beasts, and buffaloes too, love nothing better than almost to bury themselves in mud.

  Not wishing to leave the shade of the culvert, but aware of the danger that a crocodile might come up out of the water and attack them while they slept, they tethered the horse between the water and themselves, knowing that he would remain alert enough to act as a sentry and give a loud neigh if he found himself threatened. Then they made themselves as comfortable as they could and fell into a sleep of exhaustion.

  It was as well that they had taken precautions, for they were roused from their deep slumber by a terrified whinnying. Jumping up they saw that two big crocodiles and one small one had left the water thirty yards away and were already half-way up the foreshore.

  Grabbing his Sten gun Truss fired a burst at them. The foremost lashed out wildly with its powerful tail for a moment then rolled over dead, exposing its white belly. The small one, evidently wounded, turned and slithered awkwardly back towards the water. The third gave a furious hiss and, with surprising speed, continued to thrust its way forward. Fleur screamed. Douglas seized her arm and began to drag her up the bank. But Truss stood his ground and fired a second burst. The brute’s great jaws with their saw-like teeth had opened wide to seize him. From its mouth there came a sickening stench that almost caused him to vomit. Then, as the bullets ripped through its upper jaw and down its throat, it halted, threshed furiously for a moment, curled up and died.

  By then it was half past four and, allowing for the curves the road might take, they estimated that they were still some forty miles from the coast, so they had long since abandoned hope of reaching the rendezvous that day. But they were hoping that Rex would have landed his aircraft and be waiting for them and, as the heat of the day had declined, refreshed by their three-hour sleep, they decided to push on while daylight lasted.

  Soon after leaving the Polonnaruwa area they entered that known as the ‘parklands’. These, between belt
s of jungle, were large, open spaces said to have once been agricultural land. They were dotted with large single trees and for the greater part of the year were barren deserts; but now the rains had come the grass which grew as tall as a man was already a foot high, and herds of deer, buffalo and buck were grazing peacefully on it.

  Halting to rest their little animal and themselves from time to time they covered another ten miles along the lonely road until at about half past six they came to a branch that led off it. Truss consulted the large-scale map that he had brought with him from his car and decided that they ought to turn off, as the main road they were on led south-east to Batticaloa, whereas to reach their rendezvous they should keep in sight the railway that ran due east to the little town of Kalkudah. It proved to be no more than a track and some way along it they passed another ‘tank’ at which, now that evening had come, many larger animals were watering; so they called another halt there and watched them.

  A score of elephants, belly-deep in the water, were drawing it up with their trunks then sluicing themselves, and their frequent trumpeting mingled with the weird laughter of a flock of hornbills. A herd of buffalo were wallowing in the mud, there were several bears and a couple of sleek handsome leopards drinking delicately from the water’s edge. Every few moments a crocodile surfaced and, with an awful yowl, a pariah dog that had swum too far out was snapped up by one of them.

  After eating and drinking again the little caravan resumed its wearisome march along the pitted stony track only, half an hour later, to meet with a disaster. Having bumped over a big flat stone lying at the bottom of a gully, one of the big wheels of the cart came off with a loud crack. As the wheel spun away that side of the cart hit the ground with a crash and the axle snapped. Fortunately both Fleur and Truss had been walking behind the cart; so neither was injured, and Douglas only rolled off the driver’s seat to regain his feet quickly. But the old cart had not been meant for such rough service and, even had they had the tools, it would have been no easy task to repair it.

  Unharnessing their shaggy little horse, they converted the canvas hood of the cart into rough panniers to go on his back, and put into them their remaining food and bottles of soft drink; then, with him on a lead rein, resumed their way.

  By this time they were in jungle again, but one of a type that differed greatly from the dense lush jungle of the highlands. Here there was much outcrop with, at times, piles of rock rising to fifty feet; and mingled with the deciduous trees, such as wild figs, there were many cacti. Big groups of aloes thrust up innumerable grey spikes and here and there tall euphorbia trees reared up like great hands, their fingers covered with sharp needles.

  With twilight the jungle again came to life, as it had in the early morning. Here, it being some distance from the nearest ‘tank’, the animals were making for their water-holes, which were generally deep, canoe-shaped depressions in the rock, some of them as much as forty feet in length and half that in width. Elephants came to them by the age-old roads that for countless centuries their progenitors had used to travel, often great distances, through the jungle; deer approached the holes with caution, sniffing the air in case one of their enemies, the leopards, chanced to be in the vicinity; brown, woolly bears shambled with their black snouts nosing from side to side across the rocks; a sudden rustle of quills heralded the arrival of a family of large, spiky porcupines and sometimes a cowardly jackal was to be seen, slinking by.

  While on the road to Batticaloa now and then a car, lorry or cart had passed them; but since they had left it, only an occasional glimpse of the railway line gave evidence of man’s existence. The animals were so tame that even a leopard a few yards off paused in his seeking only to stare with unblinking eyes at them for a moment through a gap in the foliage, then moved on about his business.

  Darkness fell but stars soon lit the heavens, giving sufficient light for them to see the rough places on the track; so they continued on until nine o’clock, when they came upon further evidence of Ceylon’s ancient civilisation. This was a great mound of rubble which, perhaps, had once been a monastery; for on its summit a row of skeleton walls that had enclosed small spaces suggested monks’ cells. At the base of the pile there were several caves which had later probably been inhabited by hermits. Nearby there gurgled a shallow stream.

  They were very tired again now, so Truss suggested that the caves would make a good place to doss down in for the night; but Douglas would not hear of that, saying it was certain they would be the homes of vampire bats, tarantulas and centipedes, or perhaps even a leopard. However, he agreed that they were unlikely to find a better place to sleep than on the mossy bank beside the stream.

  Having tethered the horse, they ate again, then decided to freshen themselves up with a dip. Some twenty yards away from the place where they were sitting a dam made by otters had formed a deeper pool; so, with Fleur setting an example which she felt to be justified by the semi-darkness, they stripped and, with little exclamations at the comparative coldness of the water, went in.

  Suddenly Truss gave a shout, and went over backwards. He had stepped on something that moved beneath his foot. The water broke and churned as a four-foot-long reptile broke the surface. For a moment they thought it was a small crocodile and scattered in confusion. But the beast was as frightened of them as they were of it and swiftly slithered away into the undergrowth. Douglas, on getting a better sight of it, said that their fears had been groundless; it was only a giant lizard known as the armour-plated cabaragoya.

  On resuming their bathe, they found their legs being deliciously tickled. Truss stepped out, fetched his torch and shone it down into the water. It showed that Douglas’s dark legs, as he stood waist deep, had become powdered in a film of what looked like flour by some substance that was being carried downstream. Fleur’s legs were also covered with it, although on them it did not show so distinctly, and hundreds of minute fish were feeding on it.

  The night air had become a little chilly so, on emerging from the water, they ran up and down to dry themselves, then got into their clothes and made themselves as comfortable as they could for the night. But they were destined to sleep for less than two hours.

  They were woken by a neigh that mounted to a scream. The moon had risen and, starting up, they saw by its light that, thirty feet away, a leopard had sprung on to the haunches of their little horse. Fleur was nearest this heart-rending sight. With a courage inspired by mingled horror and excitement, she grabbed a big stone that lay near her, jumped to her feet, ran forward and hurled it at the leopard.

  The stone struck the great spotted cat on its flank. Instantly it dropped from its prey, bounded forward and crouched to launch itself at her. Douglas was immediately behind her. He gave her a violent push that sent her reeling into the stream, then tensed himself to spring aside. He was too late. Its yellow eyes gleaming in the moonlight, the lithe, twelve-stone streak of muscle and sinew came hurtling through the air. Burying its claws in his shoulders it knocked him like a nine-pin to the ground.

  Truss was only a few feet away. He raised the Sten gun but for a moment did not fire from fear of killing Douglas. Then, as the leopard’s claws tore his muscles, Douglas screamed. Taking the only chance to save him, Truss pressed the trigger. The barrel of the weapon spurted flame but only two bullets issued from it. After the other bursts that Truss had fired they were all that were left in the magazine. The bullets smacked into the leopard’s back and one broke its spine leaving it far from dead and only partially paralysed. Snarling fiercely it twisted about, continuing to maul the screaming Douglas. Clubbing the gun Truss ran forward and beat the animal on the head with all his strength until it lost consciousness and sagged motionless upon its victim.

  Panting and horrified, Truss and Fleur rolled the great beast off Douglas and into the stream to drown. Either from shock or agony Douglas had been rendered incapable of coherent speech and remained writhing on the ground. As gently as they could they got his clothes off. Both his should
ers and his thighs had been badly lacerated and he was whimpering with pain.

  The only possession that Fleur had been able to retain was her beauty box. It was still in one of the panniers that they had left beside the horse when they had tethered him. The terrified animal was making the night hideous with almost human wails and trembling as though it had the ague, but she could not now give time to soothing him. Snatching her beauty box from the pannier, she ran back.

  Truss had pulled off his shirt and was attempting to staunch the blood that was seeping from Douglas’s wounds. Fleur quickly looked through the contents of her box. The only things that might be of use in it were a mild disinfectant and a soothing cream. When the flow of blood from the deep rips in Douglas’s flesh had eased, they washed them carefully with the disinfectant and applied the cream. Then, with strips from their undergarments and his, they bound up his wounds as best they could.

  The little horse was still whinnying pitifully, but they succeeded in calming him and found that, although there were nasty lacerations on his haunches, made when the leopard had leapt upon him, the brute had not had time to tear the flesh severely.