“One for the books, lad,” Dolan said. “He came up roaring, yelling for Tom and me. Thank God, Tom was closer and got out first. By the time he tried to swing toward me I was halfway down his throat. I tumbled him over and I don’t remember much after that.” He glanced over at Branch. “Dead, eh?”
Temble still could not speak above a whisper. “And you should be dead too, Dolan. Both of you should be side by side. No power on earth is going to cheat me out of what’s mine.”
“I happen to be a power on earth at the moment,” de Beauharnais said briskly. “Kindly get on your feet, Doctor, and walk back to my bungalow.”
Temble got up. He walked with the extreme care of the grievously near-sighted deprived of glasses.
“You will come also,” de Beauharnais said to Dolan. “Appoint one of these men in charge. Tell them no one is to leave this encampment.”
The boys were not in evidence during the long walk back down the beach to the bungalow. Mr. Gopala sat alone at the table, the revolver beside his plate.
He smiled. “I sent the lady to her room. I thought she might be safer there, as I’ve never discharged a firearm in my life.”
De Beauharnais said, “Kindly remain seated, Mr. Gopala. Doctor, please sit where you were before. Mr. Dolan, pull that chair over to the end of the table and sit there. And you, Mr. Atkinson. Kindly take your place.”
The Frenchman sat down at the head of the table and delicately dusted his hands. “Now then, we must talk sense. A great deal of sense. I am, by hobby a mathematician. This equation contains an unknown factor and until I know what it is, I cannot solve it. The unknown is a random factor leading to unpredictable variations in the behavior of this small group.”
“It’s time to talk business,” Dolan said. “I agree.”
The Frenchman looked down the table toward Dolan. “Proceed, please.”
“It’s pretty clear, isn’t it, that the doctor here is a murderer, M’sieur. I mean there's no way for him to get out of paying a penalty.”
“Just a moment,” Roger Temble said, peering at Dolan. “Don’t go too fast. De Beauharnais is a man who will understand my rights to...”
“Be still!” the Frenchman said. “I am listening to Mr. Dolan. And kindly do not tell me what I will and what I won’t understand. I shall make a complete report of this affair, including the statements of all witnesses, and I shall turn the report, the statements and Dr. Temble over to the authorities so that he may be taken from here and given a proper trial.”
Dolan pursed his lips. “Now I wonder if we couldn’t persuade you to take care of the justice angle yourself, the way you did that first morning we were here.”
“That was a case affecting my people. This doctor killed one of you. I cannot regard the two affairs in the same light, obviously.”
Dolan rested his big freckled fists on the edge of the table and leaned forward.
“I want to make a deal, M’sieur. You know the doctor is a murderer. If you can kill him, or have one of your boys kill him while trying to escape, I can make a dream of Paris come true for you. I can put a million dollars right in your hands, no questions asked. How does that sound?”
“Wait, wait!” Roger Temble said shrilly.
“Be still!” de Beauharnais said. No boy swung the overhead fan. The black shadow of the hanging blade was sharp and clear on the white cloth, as clear as the blade of a guillotine. The seconds passed, one by one.
“And what,” said de Beauharnais, “if I should prove to be exceptionally greedy?”
Dolan did not answer. Mr. Gopala’s eyes were like black buttons. Mal stirred restlessly. De Beauharnais had neglected to relieve him of the heavy revolver. It was in the waistband of his trousers, digging into him uncomfortably.
“Once Temble is dead,” Dolan said soothingly, “we can discuss terms more carefully.”
“Once Temble is dead, you would have a lever to use against me, Mr. Dolan. Is that not true? I would have exceeded my responsibilities. The price might go down rather than up.”
Gopala, like a spectator at an intriguing game, shifted his eyes back and forth from one speaker to the next.
“If you wanted to be very greedy,” said Dolan, “it wouldn’t be much of a trick for you to... eliminate Temble, me, Gopala, Atkinson and the woman. I suspect that you might not be willing to stomach such a wholesale procedure.”
Mal heard Sara’s light step approaching. As the others looked toward the door he eased the revolver out of his belt and laid it between his thighs, moving his chair a bit closer to the table so as to conceal it from Gopala on his right.
Sara was pale. She halted in the doorway and he could see the gladness in her eyes as she saw him. “I... heard your voices,” she said hesitantly.
“Sit down, my dear,” Dr. Temble said in a husky whisper. “Sit down and listen to these gentlemen bargain over me. Dolan has offered de Beauharnais a million dollars as a fee for killing me.”
“He shot and killed Branch,” Dolan said, his tone indicating that it was ample explanation for everything.
Sara slid into her chair. “I... I don’t understand.”
De Beauharnais smiled at her. “Madame, these men are most amusing. I gather that there is a treasure of some sort on that ship. The ship rests in my bay, at my island of Dakeet. They are stupid to think they have any bargaining power at all. If it is there, I shall find it and I will handle it as an honest official should. There is no question of killing your husband, no matter what Mr. Dolan may have thought.”
“As an honest official, you will see that it is given to me,” Temble said.
“It is yours?” the Frenchman asked politely.
Mal caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see that Dolan had moved his big feet under him for balance. The hands were tight on the arms of the heavy chair. Dolan leaned forward, a slow inch at a time. The intent was clear. If he could spring the length of the table those massive hands could snap the Frenchman’s neck like a twig. And it would be, in a sense, an answer to all Dolan’s problems.
Mal felt the awakening inside him, the sudden urge to stop being a spectator. Across from him was the woman who would give point to any direct action he took.
He slipped his finger through the guard and said, “Dolan!”
The big man stopped his slow movement. In the silence Mal thumbed back the trigger of the double action revolver. The click was surprisingly loud.
“Sit where you are, Dolan. Don’t move. You too, de Beauharnais. And don’t call your boys. All of you sit still. And don’t look so pleased, Mr. Gopala. I want some answers from you. Where were you when Welling fell or was thrown down the ladderway?”
De Beauharnais looked puzzled. Gopala reached out and butted his cigarette in a saucer. “I believe I was attending Dr. Temble in his illness.”
“And where were you when Gina Farrow’s throat was cut, Mr. Gopala?”
The slim brown hands placed another cigarette in the filter holder. “If I remember correctly I must have already reached the bridge. I was ahead of her. I am glad to know precisely how it was done.”
“Throat cut!” Dr. Temble whispered. His eyes were wide. Sara shut her eyes and leaned her head back against the back of the high chair. Her full underlip trembled.
“Dolan!” Mal said, “Did you and Branch have an outrigger canoe hidden away?”
Dolan looked dully at Mal. “Hidden? Hell, no! Drawn right up on the beach near the encampment. We used it to get out to the Star.”
Mal smiled at Mr. Gopala. “Now maybe you’ll explain a bit to us. I think it had better be a pretty good explanation. I think that it had better be good enough to clear yourself of Gina Farrow’s death.”