Dennis Wheatley: The White Witch of the South Seas

`Yes, he's a clever devil,' Gregory admitted; then he added, `How comes it that he told you so much about his plans?'

She raised her eyebrows and spread out her hands. `Why not? It was natural that he should, since he meant to use me as his emissary. How could I give you a clear account of his intentions unless he told me of them? His spies have informed him that James is in love with Olinda, so he is counting on that to bring the two of you to heel and send a transfer of the licence out to him as her ransom. Of course, he knows nothing about how you and James have been away for a good part of the night attacking Roboumo's island. But he has given you a few hours to think it over. Either you send out the licence to him before dawn or he means to up anchor and make off into the blue with Olinda. I am most terribly sorry to have to tell you all this, darling. But there it is. I had no option.'

`What has he done with the Pigalle?' Gregory asked.

`When he had me put ashore he was about to tow her out to the far side of the mole, then, after he had transferred the treasure and his stores to the Boa Viagem, scuttle her. The Colons must have been working on shifting their cargoes from the Pigalle for the past hour.'

It was at that moment that James burst into the room. His handsome face expressed a queer mixture of triumph and concern.

`We've done it!' he exclaimed. `It was all over in ten minutes. We had to shoot half a dozen of Roboumo's men then he arrived on the scene himself, and urged them to greater efforts. Aleamotu'a brought him down by a bullet through the thigh. It has always been a custom in the islands that immediately one leader or the other is rendered hors de combat his followers should cease fighting. That is what happened. His men surrendered.

`Then your two messengers reached me with the news that you had got away with the White Witch. When I announced it Roboumo's men went down on their knees and grovelled to me begging for mercy. I assured them of my forgiveness and protection, provided they obeyed me without question.

My first order to them was that they should tie Roboumo to a tree and shoot him. It was a tense moment, but they did; so summary justice was done on him and he will give us no more trouble.

`Next I told them that I required them to show further their loyalty to me by aiding in an attack on the Pigalle. There were more than a score of them unwounded and still fighting fit. Unhesitatingly they beat their chests and cried, “Bole! Bole!”, their challenge to an enemy, and followed me down to our boats.

`From your two men I learned that you were on your way back to the harbour, so we went there to pick you up. I expected to find that you had taken the White Witch to the Boa Viagem. But the yacht was not there. She has gone. I was amazed and filled with fear. What has become of her?'

As quickly as he could, Gregory told James of the new and menacing situation.

When he realised what had occurred James let out a wail of grief and cried, ` Olinda! My love; my sweet one! She is in the hands of those devils. We must go at once. I will transfer the licence to this brute Lacost. it is the only way to save her.'

`No,' said Gregory firmly. `I'm damned if I'll let you throw the sponge in now, when the odds are in our favour. With the body guard and Roboumo's men to give them a lead, we'll have the upper hand. Lacost is there waiting for us; but by now the moon must have set. Under cover of darkness we will be able to approach the yacht unseen. The Colons number half a dozen at the most. We will have ten times their numbers. With twenty ruthless, well armed fighting men, backed by forty others, they won't stand a chance against us.'

Manon, wide eyed, cut in. `You'll not pull it off. I beg you not to try. I don't think I told you, but Lacost said I was to let you know that if more than one motor boat with three or four men in her approached the yacht he would open fire with his machine guns. Such an attempt could not possibly succeed. It would lead only to a massacre.'

`You are right,' muttered James miserably. `Oh, you are right! The only way I can save Olinda is to go out and transfer the licence to Lacost.'

`Pull your wits together, boy!' Gregory snapped. `Haven’t you the sense to see that transferring the licence will not now be enough? Possession of it might just be sufficient to excuse Lacost having fired upon us and those French gendarmes yesterday. But not for this act of piracy in having boarded and seized the Boa Viagem. If he is caught, and he certainly will be, the only way in which he can clear himself of that is by coercing Olinda into writing a series of letters, purporting to show that you had been detaining her here against her will, and begging him, as her late husband's partner, to rescue her. Convincing letters of that kind cannot be thought out and written in the space of half an hour while we lie alongside the yacht in a motor boat. Lacost will take the licence from you, then tell you to go to hell and carry Olinda off with him. How could you possibly prevent him from doing that? If you mean to save Olinda the only chance you've got is to go in and get her.'

`You have reason on your side,' James muttered unhappily. `I suppose that is the only hope of saving her. But if Lacost intends to fire on us should we approach the yacht with more than one boat, how can we possibly hope to get the better of him?'

`God knows! I don't,' Gregory said with a shrug. `But with luck I'll think up some way to trick him.'

Turning towards the white haired woman who still lay unconscious on the sofa, he looked at her, then added, `At the moment the last thing I want to do is to leave here. I want to bring our pseudo Witch round and hear her story. But it is up to you, James. If you want to get your girl back I can't let you down, so I'll come with you. But dawn can't be far off, and we'll stand no chance at all unless we can attack under cover of darkness. So if we are going to make the attempt we must leave at once.'

James nodded. `Thank you, dear friend. Yes; let us go.'

Gregory took another long look at the Witch, then he said to Manon, `I don't think for a moment that Roboumo would have been such a fool as to give her a deadly poison, because he would have thought there was a good chance of his warriors successfully defending the village. But he must have made her swallow something pretty potent for her to have fallen into such deep unconsciousness, and the sooner it is out of her system, the better. Get some mustard from the kitchen mix it with hot water, then force it down her throat. Even if she doesn't come lo, it will make her sick. And remember, she has never been our enemy, but an unhappy prisoner; so if she does come round, treat her with the greatest kindness and get her to bed.'

`Of course I'll look after her,' Manon promised.

Then

Gregory turned and followed James out of the bure.

Directly they were outside James said, `The whole of our force is down on the harbour. I brought Roboumo's men back with me in our boats, so that they would be with us to receive our instructions about attacking the Pigalle. I came up to the bure only because I was told that you had taken the White Witch up here; and I would not have dreamed of launching the attack without your counsel.'

`We've not lost much time,' Gregory replied. `The moon cannot have set much more than a quarter of an hour ago; and instead of having to go right round to the site of the wreck, where the Pigalle was anchored, we now have to go only a mile or so on the far side of the mole.'

James, who was in great distress, then began to give vent to his fears for Olinda, but Gregory cut him short by saying, `Dear boy, I know how you must feel, but please don't talk about it now. I've got to think to think hard of a way in which to trick Lacost, and I've got little enough time to do it in.' So, for the rest of the way down the long slope of the garden, across the open space in which the Meeting House stood and through the sleeping town, they walked in silence.