Dennis Wheatley - The White Witch of the South Seas

Turning to the pilot, Gregory said, `You will now fly us to Tujoa.'

`Fly her yourself,' the man replied truculently. `I'm not going to risk facing a court martial for having helped two dangerous criminals to escape from justice.'

Gregory had many times parachuted from an aircraft and knew a considerable amount about them, but; in spite of what he had implied when first threatening the pilot, he was not a trained airman; so he snapped back, `I could fly her, but I'd probably crash her on landing. Like it or not, unless you want to risk being burned to a cinder, you'll do the job for us. You've got your orders and you'll bring us down at Tujoa.'

The pilot gave a harsh laugh. `Like hell I will! I haven't enough petrol to get her half that distance.'

`You're lying. Tujoa is quite a bit closer to Yuloga than Yuloga is to Noumea, and you would have had to make the return hop.'

`That's so, but I would have taken on fuel at Yuloga.'

Gregory swore under his breath. The petrol gauge told him nothing, because he did not know if the pilot was already using the reserve tank or if it was still full. He might be bluffing. On the other hand, if he was telling the truth this was a really nasty one.

After a moment's thought Gregory said, `The Ocean in these parts is peppered with small islands. You are to keep going for Tujoa as long as you can. If you do find the petrol getting low you are to bring us down on the nearest island. But I'd like you to be clear about one thing. Should you do that and when we have landed I find that there is more than one gallon of petrol in the tank I'll blow your brains out.'

`If you'd ever tried to land an aircraft on a coral atoll you'd not be such a fool as to ask me to,' the pilot replied in a surly voice. `She'd rip her bottom to pieces and we'd end up like strawberry jam.'

`Then bring her down in a lagoon, or near enough for us to swim ashore.'

`You're crazy. Force me to do that and we'll either drown or the sharks will get us. I know you'll be clapped into jail if we land at Yuloga, but surely that's better than killing yourself and us as well? For God's sake let me turn back to Yuloga.'

It was a terrible decision to have to take; but knowing the Russians were not given to showing mercy to escaped prisoners who were recaptured, Gregory thought it more likely that if he and James did land at Yuloga they would be shot out of hand. Again he remained silent for a few moments, then he said

`No I prefer to risk the sharks and a chance of freedom to the certainty of prison and the possibility of having to face a firing squad. Just let me know when the petrol looks like running out and I'll tell you what to do. Given a little luck we may be near a fair sized island with a beach that we could land on.'

His decision was followed by a period of agonising suspense. Now and then they flew within sight of islands, but they were further apart than Gregory had expected, and nearly all were composed of cruel coral reefs, against which the surf was breaking in great swathes of white foam. Only two were large enough to have risked a landing, but even on them groups of palm trees would have made an attempt to land highly dangerous. Leaning forward across the semiconscious Major, Gregory kept his eyes fixed on the petrol gauge with steadily mounting anxiety.

After twenty minutes it showed the tank to be nearly empty. As another patch of white waves crashing on land came into sight ahead, he grimly made up his mind that they must now risk their necks by coming down in it. Gruffly he said to the pilot

`Down you go. I'm sorry that I've let you in for this. But if you can manage to save our necks and we can get back to civilisation you'll not regret it. As I happen to be a rich man, I'll give you a year's pay. Now, circle that island, then do your best for us all.'

The pilot gave a harsh laugh. `Thanks for the offer, but you'd never live to pay up or I to receive the money. We're not going down. You win, damn you!'

As he spoke, he leaned forward and pressed a switch. The needle of the petrol gauge began to lift. The reserve tank had been full and he had switched it on.

James gave a great sigh and laid a hand on Gregory's back. 'That was the worst twenty minutes I've ever lived through. But thank God you called his bluff. After the way we made fools of those Russians I'd have bet any money they would have shot us.'

While the aircraft droned on through the night they were now able to relax and savour to the full a wonderful relief at not having had to crash land among the great waves pounding on what, as they passed over it, they saw to be no more than a crescent of barren rocks.

When they sighted Tujoa the sky was lightening in the east. Except for a once weekly service and an occasional private plane no aircraft came down on the island, so it had no more than an airstrip, and that was manned only when information had been received that a plane was to be expected. But James was able to direct the pilot and by that time, with the suddenness usual in the tropics, full dawn had come. Having circled over the airstrip twice, the pilot made a good landing.

Pleased as Gregory was to have reached Tujoa, he needed no telling that he and James were as yet far from out of the wood; for the Tujoa group was French territory and they were wanted by the French authorities. Having double crossed them, Ribaud must realise that Gregory would no longer feel bound to keep his promise to remain silent about the Russian rockets on Yuloga so, as soon as he learned that they had escaped; he would do his utmost to have them rearrested. There was also the question of what was to be done with the Major and the pilot. In no circumstances should they be given a chance to communicate with the French Resident or his gendarmerie, otherwise the fat would be in the fire right away.

Keeping the two Frenchmen covered with the pistol, Gregory looked quickly about him. At the far end of the airstrip there were a small one storey building and two medium sized hangars. Turning to James he asked:

`Are those hangars likely to be occupied?'

James shook his fuzzy head. `I doubt it. No one on the island owns an aircraft. They are used only by visitors who come here in private planes, and that doesn't happen often. I take it you are thinking of hiding the aircraft?'

`That's it. You go and open one of them up; or, rather, both of them, if both are empty.'

Squeezing past the Major, James jumped down and ran along to the hangar. As soon as he had it open, Gregory made the pilot taxi the aircraft into it. Ordering the two Frenchmen out, he got out himself, then made them walk in front of him into the other hangar, where he told James to free the Major's wrists.

`Now,' he said, `I fear that for a day or two you will have to suffer some discomfort. I'll treat you no worse than I have to; but until I have made certain arrangements you must remain prisoners. What are your names?'

The Major, who had remained sullenly silent ever since James had knocked him half senseless, now burst into a furious spate of words. Cursing Gregory and James for a pair of villainous crooks, he went on to say that if they thought they had got away they had better think again. The fact that the aircraft had not landed the prisoners on Yuloga would have been reported to General Ribaud. By now the General would have sent a signal to the Resident on Tujoa and as soon as they showed their faces they would be arrested. Then he flatly refused to give his name or cooperate in any way.

`You may be right, but not necessarily,' Gregory replied. `The General cannot know that we overpowered you. Even if he suspects it, we might have doubled back to the Loyalties, or made for any one of a dozen uninhabited islands. But he will probably believe that the plane got out of control, came down in the sea and that we were all drowned. As to your name, I expect you have papers on you which will give it to me. About that we will soon know, for you are now going to strip. Get your clothes off.'