Far from happy at the thought that sharks might be about, Gregory allowed Aleamotu'a to adjust on his head and shoulders the mask and cylinders of an aqua lung, then put rubber flippers on his feet. He had believed that they were only going to swim on the surface with snorkels which would enable them to peer down at the wreck, and he did not at all like the idea of actually descending to her. But, not wishing to lose face, he followed James over the side without protest.
Through the shimmering waves on the surface he had been able to see nothing below from the boat, but once he was totally submerged, the undersea world became crystal clear for several fathoms down. On the shore side of the gently rocking launch a great cliff of tumbled rock rose up to within six feet of her bottom. Brightly coloured fish darted in and out of hollows among the rocks, fans of coral waved lazily from it as he passed; he saw hermit crabs and sea anemones, a star fish and various kinds of seaweed that formed an underwater garden. On the seaward side of the launch there lay a deep valley. At the bottom of it was the wreck. Her outline was indistinct, as for over a century and a half submarine growths of many kinds had fastened themselves on her timbers. Apparently in some great hurricane she had been thrown right up on the nearby reef, had her bottom torn out, then sunk on her side to become wedged in the long pit between the reef and the cliff of rock.
He found the silent world below the surface fascinating and would have liked to linger ten feet down opposite the cliff face. But James grasped him by the ankle and pulled him further under. Lightly, his flippered feet touched the slowly waving fronds of yellow green growth that edged the broken bulwark of the ship. He then saw that the upper deck had caved in. The stump of a mast protruded from a chaotic cluster of planks, beams, spars and a cannon, all of which were so overgrown with barnacles and seaweed that they seemed to have coalesced into one solid mass.
With an arm that waved in slow motion, James beckoned him down towards a hole in the hillock of broken, slimy timbers, then disappeared into it. Far from happy, Gregory followed. He had always been a little vulnerable to claustrophobia. Now, the thought of being trapped down there, perhaps by another section of the deck collapsing, made the blood pound in his head and his breath come fast. It was almost dark and very eerie. As he pulled himself forward along the uneven passageway, his hand came to rest on a squashy substance that moved under it. His heart gave a lurch, then he realised that he was grasping a large sea slug. Next moment a foot long red fish darted out from a crevice, stared at him goggle eyed for a moment, then streaked over his shoulder, only a few inches from his helmet. Automatically, he had thrown himself backwards. His right elbow came into sharp contact with the end of a small, jutting beam. It gave under the impact and other nearby pieces of the wreck shifted slightly. Deciding that he had had more than enough, he kicked out with his feet, thrusting himself back up the slope and out on to the slanting deck: There he encountered a squid the size of a croquet ball, with long tentacles. More frightened of him than he was of it, the squid discharged its inky fluid and made off, leaving Gregory enveloped in a cloud of blackened water. Jerking himself upright, he kicked and clawed his way towards the surface.
Aleamotu'a pulled him in over the side of the launch. Ripping off his headpiece, he sat panting for a few moments in the stern. He knew that if he had to go down through that dark tunnel to achieve something of real importance he could have forced himself to do it. But not for this, which amounted to no more than a gambling game. Others could play it if they wished, but it was not his idea of fun. Swimming slowly about below the surface of the deliciously warm sea, delighting in the colour and 'beauty of Nature's innumerable marine miracles yes. But crawling about in a submerged wreck where at any moment a dislodged beam might glide down and pin one there for good definitely no.
James stayed down for a further fifteen minutes, then reappeared, the drops of water glistening like jewels on his splendid bronzed torso. He made no comment on Gregory's early withdrawal, except to say, `You were down there long enough to get an idea how much there is to be done before we can reach the treasure. As no work can be carried out during periods of rough weather, even with two fully equipped professional divers it would take many weeks to clear away that mass of broken timber. But with a dozen good native divers to assist by clearing all the smaller stuff, while the crane lifts the big beams, we might do it during a single spell of calm weather.'
By seven o'clock they were back at the bure. When Gregory went to turn on his bath a loud croaking noise came up from the waste. Calling Kalabo, he asked what it was. Grinning, the man explained that it was toads, many of which made their homes in drainpipes.
After dinner they went out into the garden, which was now lit by half a hundred flaming torches fixed to long stakes, to witness the meke. Many people had assembled there, the majority well down the slope; but a number of notables were seated cross legged in a line in front of the house. In the centre of the line two armchairs had been placed for James and Gregory. There were grave obeisance’s from the Elders, and
Gregory noticed that if any of them had occasion to pass in front of their Ratu they did so bent nearly double.
In the left foreground squatted a group of men. Several had guitars, one a long wooden lali drum extended across his knees, another a hollowed out tree trunk to serve as a gong, a third a pair of clappers, while standing in a row behind them were six men holding upright bamboos of varying thicknesses, to imitate the noise of stamping on the ground. In front of the musicians squatted the singers. One of them opened on a high, single note, giving the others the key, then the rest joined in.
Presently the dancers emerged in a long, snake like line from a group of trees. The heads of the women, crowned by their great puff balls of black hair, swayed to the rhythm of the music. So did the leis of flowers swinging from their shoulders, and full skirts patterned in black, white and brown. By then each Elder had beside him a tin of black tobacco and a piece of dried banana leaf for rolling cigarettes. Courteously, they passed bowls of yaggona from one to another.
Now and then there came a precisely measured series of hand claps from the singers, or the guitars temporarily ceased, to allow the lali drum and stumping bamboos to dictate more clearly the intricate steps of the dancers. Like European ballet, each meke demonstrated in dumb show a particular theme; but, being a stranger to their customs, Gregory could not have told what their actions were meant to portray had not James explained to him in a low voiced running commentary.
Later, six young girls came and sat in a line in front of James, then performed a different type of dance. It consisted of swaying their bodies while gracefully gesturing with their arms and outspread fingers. It was a delightful performance and recalled to Gregory the dances he had seen when in Bangkok. But there the Thai dancers had the advantage of displaying their beautiful sinuous bodies in the nude, but for jewelled belts, sandals and breast ornaments, and wore high, pointed, pagoda like gilded helmets.
Shortly before midnight, James stood up. Complete silence fell while obeisance’s were made by everyone. There followed three ear shattering claps as Gregory followed him into the bure.
All the house servants were still outside, joining in renewed singing that had now become universal. In the great, lofty chamber only one benzine lamp had been left burning; so, for a moment, in the dim light, they did not notice a figure seated cross legged on the floor.
The figure rose. It was a man: tall, gaunt, his face painted black, and dressed in barbaric splendour. Round the blackened face there was a complete aureole of white hair. From well back on the forehead it descended unbroken in bushy side whiskers to a rounded beard. The sight of it at once reminded Gregory of the pictures he had seen of King Thakobau.