by John Blaine
Rick had thought about it during the tedious trip back. He had turned over every possibility in his mind and eliminated all but one. What’s more, he wasn’t sure that would work.
“I have an idea,” he explained, “but it depends on a daytime look at the island.”
Zircon nodded.“All right. We’ll take a look. Now, tell us about the village.Any trouble?”
The two boys gave Zircon and Scotty a quick account of their reconnaissance, and both chuckled at Chahda’s trick of feeding the dog.
“He’ll probably be standing on the beach waiting when you get back,” Scotty said with a grin. “Bet it’s the first hamburger the pooch ever had. That pirate you belted with the pistol bothers me, though. Won’t he set off an alarm that will put the whole mob on the alert?”
“I hope not. There’s a chance he might think it was someone in the village who has a grudge against him.”
Zircon shrugged. “One way or another, there’s nothing we can do about it now. We’ll have to assume the whole place is alerted.”
“How about some sleep?” Scotty suggested.
Rick shook his head. The first part of his plan had to be put into operation immediately. “It’s only a little while to dawn. By sunrise we have to be east of the island.”
He explained quickly. For a safe, undetected look at the areas of the island he wanted to see, they would have to depend on the sun for a shield. They could proceed immediately on a roundabout course that would bring them to the east of the island just as the sun was rising. Hidden in the sun’s glare, they would have a few minutes in which to examine the eastern slope of the volcano.
“I’m beginning to see your plan,” Zircon said.“Then what?”
“Then we go into safe waters for the day. At sunset we hide in the sun again, while we look at the island from the west. We’ll wait until the sun is low enough, so no one on the island will be looking into it, then we’ll use it for a shield and take a good look at Shannon’s cliff dwelling through the long glass.”
Scotty shook his head. “But we already know what’s on the eastern and western shores. Why go to all Page 60
this trouble?”
“We don’t know much about the terrain. If it looks possible, you and I go climbing tonight. We land on the eastern shore, climb the volcano, go over the top and down the western side until we come out right above the shelf where the scientists are held prisoner. Then we haul them up on a rope.”
Scotty stared at his pal. “Wow! We take them out by the back door, huh?”
Zircon held up his hand. “Not so fast. The plan is a good one, Rick. I won’t mention my natural dislike of being dismissed from the scheme without being consulted, because you and Scotty are the logical ones to go for a reconnaissance of this kind. But I’ll buy only this: You and Scotty will look over the terrain tonight. If possible, you will deliver a Mega-buck radio unit to Shannon and Briotti. Then you will return without attracting attention. That will be time enough for us to plan the rescue, in conjunction with our friends on the cliff.”
Rick had to admit Zircon’s plan made better sense, even though he disliked the idea of another day’s delay in rescuing their friends. He nodded.
Scottyrose , his pleasure at the plan evident in his wide grin. “Let’s go!”
Fifteen hours later the Swift Arrow withdrew to the open waters to the south as the sun slowly fell below the horizon. The four adventurers gathered around the chart table and studied theislandofShan , comparing notes.
Zircon used a pair of dividers as a pointer. “This cove on the eastern shore looks like the best possibility for anchoring the vinta, and I’d say the climb up the volcano from there is no harder than from any other place.”
Rick agreed. “It looked that way to me, too. We’ll call that cove our back door. The only real puzzle is, does the volcano have a crater? If so, we’ll have to go around it. Climbing down into the crater and up again would use up too much time.”
Zircon shrugged. “We have no way of telling. Did anyone notice a preferred way around the cone?”
“The southern slope looks a little less steep,” Scotty volunteered.
Chahda nodded agreement. “I also think this. To me, big trouble is place right above cliff. Is pretty steep, I think.”
The Hindu boy was right as usual, Rick thought. He had seen through the long glass that the area above the steep cliff was only slightly less vertical than the cliff itself, with an occasional shelf of rock. Not only would that be the hardest part of the trip, he guessed, but the most dangerous, since they would be in sight of the village part of the time.
“It’s steep,” Scotty agreed. “I’d say it’s not a place to pick for a casual stroll, but I can’t think of any other way to get our friends off that shelf. Can you?”
The others shook their heads. They had discussed it at length during the daylight hours while they floated patiently in the waters south of Shan, alternately sleeping and preparing for the night’s work. Since no other plan seemed even remotely feasible, Rick and Scotty were to make the first try in about two hours.
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The time passed swiftly with last-minute preparations. The boys carried rope, heavy spikes to be used as pitons on particularly difficult places, flashlights taped so only a pinpoint of light could emerge, cans of water from the emergency rations, work gloves from the clothing locker, and candy bars for quick-energy rations.
In addition, Rick had Zircon’s pistol, a takedown fishing rod, with reel and line, a radio unit, and the long glass. Scotty had his rifle, a small first-aid kit, and a wooden caulking mallet.
The two boys were having a last cup of coffee when Chahda came down from the upper deck. “Is time,” the Hindu boy told them.“We two miles east of Shan. Good wind. You make good time going in, not so good coming back.”
The boys finished their coffee and went on deck. The four shook hands all around, and Zircon cautioned, “Giveyourselves plenty of time for the return trip. Remember that if you’re late, you’ll have to hide on the volcano all day!”
CHAPTER XVI
The Black Cliff
Heavy seas broke against the rocky base of the island. Rick surveyed the cove they had chosen with some misgiving. The vinta wouldn’t be safe if tied to shore. The breaking surf would batter it to bits before they could get back.
Scotty moved to his side.“Now what?”
“Swim,” Rick said grimly. “Around that point looks like the most sheltered place, but it isn’t good. The wind blows these waves halfway around the world, and they’ve got plenty of steam.”
“Have to chance it,” Scotty stated.
They maneuvered the cranky craft into the meager shelter of the point Rick had indicated,then dropped the stone anchor. It dragged along the bottom briefly,then caught in a cleft between two underwater rocks. It would hold unless the rope broke.
The boys took their belongings and bundled them in their clothes, along with shoes and weapons. Then, holding the bundles high with one hand, they slipped into the water. In a few moments the two were rubbing themselves dry and putting their clothes on again.
Rick tried the radio unit while they rested. “Rick to Zircon.”
“Standing by, Rick.Where are you?”
“Ashore.”He described the situation briefly.
“I should have thought of that,” Zircon replied. “The eastern shore is to windward. You were bound to Page 62
have surf. Are you all right?”
“Yes. We’re starting out now. We’ll talk to you from on top, if it’s safe.” He hung the little radio around his neck by its lanyard, and stood up. “Ready to climbMount Everest ,brother Scott?”
Scotty stared up at the slope of the volcano.“If you are, brother Brant.”
Neither boy was an experienced mountaineer, but both knew the principles of operation. They roped together and started the long climb. It was easy at first. The slopes low down were not steep, and the broken lava gave plenty of hand and footh
olds. But as they reached a point Rick estimated to be about two hundred feet above the water, the slope steepened sharply.
“Rest a moment,” Scotty suggested. “We’ll last longer if we take a breather once in a while.”
Rick knew Scotty was right, but he resented the need for sitting idly for even a few minutes. He used the five-minute rest period to report to Zircon that all was well.
Rick led the way again as soon as the luminous dial of his wrist watch showed that five minutes had elapsed. Twice he and Scotty were stalled for a brief time, but finally found a route and improved it by hammering the steel spikes in clefts in the rock. With the hammer padded, the sound was muffled to a point where it couldn’t be heard more than a few feet away. The spikes could be used to belay their rope on the way down.
The last stage of the upward journey was to the top of the cone. It was nearly vertical, but wide cracks made it less difficult than some of the areas below. Scotty was leading now. He reached the top,then waited for Rick to join him.
Silently the two boys looked out over the dark sea, and Rick wished for a moment that he could see the view by daylight.
“Let’s check the crater,” Scotty suggested. He drew his flashlight,then inched forward across the rubble of the rim. Rick stayed beside him.
“Any danger of the beam being seen?”Scotty asked softly.
“No. The angle is wrong. If you keep it directed toward the crater, it will be invisible from the sea.”
Rick watched as Scotty switched the light on. The pencil of light swept downward, and finally lost itself in nothingness.
The two boys stared at each other.
“The whole island’s hollow!” Rick breathed. “I’ll say this thing has a crater!”
“Plenty deep,” Scotty agreed. “Well, that tears it.Nothing to do but go around. You lead the way.”
Rick felt his way down until at last he was standing on the shoulder of the ancient volcano just below the final sweep upward to the crest. In a moment Scotty joined him. Slowly and carefully they started the long journey around, taking the southern slope as previously agreed.
It was hard going. In spots the lava was crumbly and gave under foot or hand. In others it was dense as Page 63
steel slag.
When Rick estimated that over half the distance around the volcano had been covered he called Zircon and reported, then told the big scientist it would be their last contact for a while.
Within a hundred feet the lights of the village came in sight far below. The boys paused to survey the situation, and to examine the western part of the island. Most of it was visible from their vantage point.
Only the cove where the vintas were kept and the section of village closest to the cliff were out of sight.
Rick could see the beach clearly, and wondered if the guards were looking their way.
“Go carefully,” Scotty whispered. “This is no time to start a landslide.”
“Good advice,” Rick whispered back. “But which way do we go now?”
“The slope to the left looks pretty good,” Scotty answered softly. “We can cut back when we get down a little.”
At the bottom of the slope, they found another drift that angled away toward the north. By the time they reached the bottom of it, Rick whispered that they must be directly above the cave. He could see the lighter path of the street that ran from below the shelf toward the western end of the island. Now all that remained was to make their way down to within reach of the scientists.
They moved with extreme caution, fearful that the slightest noise would give them away, or that a wrong step would start a rockslide. It was painful work, going down backward most of the way. Once they reached what seemed to be a dead end, and lay on their stomachs surveying a sheer wall nearly twelve feet high.
Rick solved the problem by finding a lava boulder big enough andstable enough to serve as a rope anchor. They took an extra length of line Scotty carried and made it fast, then went down the rope hand over hand.
The whole village was spread before them now. Rick could even see the cross street that ran below the base of the cliff, and he knew they must be nearly within sight of the shelf on which the scientists were imprisoned.
“Tough section below,” Scotty whispered so low that Rick could barely hear him. “I think it drops off sheer.”
Another dozen feet of slow progress proved that Scotty was right. There was a small shelf,then the slope dropped away abruptly. Both boys lay flat, and slowly inched up to the drop and looked over.
Rick felt Scotty’s hand grip his arm like an iron clamp at the same moment that he realized that another shelf was directly below, a tiny campfire burning on it.
But that wasn’t what Scotty had seen. At a point off to their right, and only slightly below them was a second, smaller shelf. On it sat a pirate guard, rifle across his knees, staring out to sea.
Rick swallowed his heart, which had climbed into his throat. They were in plain sight of the guard, or at least their heads were. He backed away as rapidly as the rough surface allowed, until the guard was no longer in sight. He and Scotty held a whispered exchange, their voices no louder than a zephyr.
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“Keep your eyes off him,” Rick said. “He may feel someone looking at him.”
“Right.He’s in a wonderful position. He looks down on the shelf where the fire is located. Did you see the ladder?”
Rick hadn’t.
“It leads from his perch to the shelf. I suppose ladders lead down to the ground from there.”
The guard was an obstacle Rick hadn’t expected. He wondered if the guard on duty last night had seen him slug the pirate, and he decided it didn’t make much difference. As Zircon had said, they had to assume the whole colony was alerted.
“Let’s look out one at a time,” he whispered. “I didn’t see anyone on the ledge.”
He inched forward once more and put his head over the edge of the drop. The fire on the rocky shelf was a small one, probably only a cooking fire.
There wasn’t anyone in sight. He guessed the scientists must be in a cave under the rock on which he crouched. He could only hope they were awake.
Rick estimated the situation. It was perhaps thirty feet down to the shelf. The guard was ten feet below, and twenty feet to his right. He noticed that the guard didn’t look down at the shelf. He was awake, but his attention was focused outward. In all probability he was a lookout rather than a guard, watching for signs of ship movement to the west, the direction from which danger to the pirates might be expected to come.
The boy withdrew and joined Scotty. “No sign of anyone on the shelf. I’m going to lower the radio unit, anyway.”
“Okay. Let’s get the rod out.”
Rick had carried the rod-section case on his back, tied to shoulders and belt with line. He untied the line swiftly and assembled the rod. Scotty helped him put the reel in place and feed the line through the guides. Then Rick carefully wrapped the radio unit in his handkerchief, and put the whole thing in a black denim ditty bag borrowed from Chahda for the purpose. He secured the drawstring of the ditty bag to the end of the fishing line and inched forward again. Scotty moved forward, too, his rifle un-slung and ready for action.
Rick hadn’t even bothered with a note. Both Shannon and Briotti would recognize the radio unit instantly. There were no others like it outside of Spindrift. They would immediately put it to use and be talking to Zircon before the two boys had moved away from the position over their heads.
Carefully Rick pushed the tip of the rod out far enough so the ditty bag would clear all obstructions on the way down, then he swung the bag clear and began to feed out the line.
The bag went down an inch at a time, while he concentrated on keeping the motion slow but steady. A sudden jerk might attract the guard’s attention, but very slow motion probably wouldn’t.
He was sweating profusely by the time the bag got within reach of the shelf below. He began to worry.
>
He had seen no one. Had the pirates removed the scientists, leaving the lookout in his usual position?
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He kept the bag moving until suddenly strain went off the line and he knew it was down. He could see it in the faint glow from the fire, lying motionless on the rock below. Long moments ticked by and he felt the trickle of sweat down his face, the sweat of apprehension. Why didn’t someone show up?
And then, as though in answer to the frantic thought, a man stepped into viewbelow, and casually dropped his coat over the ditty bag.
Rick almost sobbed with relief. Tony Briotti! The familiar crew cut had grown long, but it was Tony!
Swiftly the boy drew his knife and cut the line, letting the loose end tumble down. Then, careful of the fishing rod, he withdrew from the edge and touched Scotty to indicate he should withdraw, too.
A sudden jerk would attract the guard’s attention
For a few seconds they just lay there, weak with relief. Then Rick disassembled the rod and restowed it.
Scotty reslung his rifle. On hands and knees, the two started their retreat. Not until they were certain that the guard could no longer see them did they stand upright and begin to move more rapidly.
Their mission was a success, but perhaps the plan was not. Rick was no longer filled with enthusiasm for his scheme. The guard had changed all that.
How were they going to get the scientists out with a guard watching them?
CHAPTER XVII
The Radio Link
Dawn was showing its first pale light in the east when Rick and Scotty tied the vinta at the stern of the Swift Arrow and climbed aboard. Hobart Zircon and Chahda greeted them with relief.
“We thinking you lost or caught,” Chahda said happily. “Glad we wrong.”
Zircon added, “We were about to make a run toward shore, hoping to see you.”
“It was the wind,” Scotty said wearily. “We had to beat to windward all the way back. Did you ever try tacking a vinta for hours against a stiff breeze?”
Rick slumped down on a convenient bench. “Save the talk for later. We’d better get out of here. It’s nearly daylight.”