`My! You're a cool customer.' Hamie shook his head.
Gregory smiled. `I've had quite a lot of experience in dealing with bad men, and I'm very sensible of the fact that he has Mrs. Sallust in his power. But there is nothing I can do about that for the time being. When you are as old as I am, Hamie, you will know that it is only asking for trouble to hit out at your enemy until you are certain you can strike him down.'
At that moment James re entered the bure. He said that his body guard was ready and eager to be led against Roboumo and, once and for all, destroy the power of that evil man who, had for so long terrorised and blackmailed so many of their friends and relatives.
Hamie was told to move from the armchair in which he was lounging to a stout upright one; then, unresisting,, he allowed himself to be lashed securely to it with a score of strips of stout tapa cloth which James produced from one of his handsome wooden chests. That done, the two friends poured themselves stiff drinks, drank to the success of their expedition, then went out to join the reassembling body guard.
This time, instead of taking the circuitous track through the jungle, they marched straight down to the harbour. There they piled into the six speediest motor boats available and, with James leading in his own cabin cruiser, set a course round the coast for Roboumo's island.
In accordance with instructions that James had given before they set out, when the boats were within half a mile of the island they separated, so that each crew would land at some distance from their nearest neighbours. Then the engines were shut off and paddles used to bring them inshore.
As they neared the beach, no lights were to be seen through the trees and no sentry challenged them; so evidently Roboumo and his men had no suspicion that they were about to receive unwelcome visitors. The boats dropped anchor in the shallows; jumping from them, the crews waded to the beach and the six groups, with weapons at the ready, cautiously made their way across the beach to the screen of vegetation. The moon was still well up, but the palms, magnolias, breadfruit and bau trees threw heavy shadows and in places where they were close together there were areas to which only a very faint light penetrated.
It was in the group Gregory was leading that the accident occurred. They had proceeded no more than a hundred yards among the trees when one of the body guard tripped on a protruding root. He was within a yard of Gregory and clutched at him for support. Most unfortunately, in the darkness he grabbed the hand on a sub machine gun Gregory was carrying at the ready. He had his thumb on the safety catch and his finger on the trigger. The sudden, unexpected pressure on both thumb and finger caused the gun to go off.
The eerie silence was shattered by the burst of fire that followed. Fortunately, the bullets whistled through the trees, harming none of his companions; but the swift series of explosions raised an appalling clatter.
Next moment a furious barking of dogs sounded in the village. But it was only three or four hundred yards away; so, although all hope of achieving complete surprise was now gone, Gregory still hoped that the attacking force might reach it before any serious defence could be organised. Yelling to his men to follow him, he dashed forward through the trees.
Before they had covered half the distance they heard the deep booming of Roboumo's drum sounding the alarm. Then, on reaching an open space, they saw the village, the, roofs of its bures clearly outlined in the moonlight. But to Gregory's consternation he also saw that they were heading for a six foot high cactus hedge. Earlier in the night when he had covered James' visit to the witch doctor they had both approached the village by the path up from the beach. It had never occurred to him that only by that way could one enter it. Now they were faced by this apparently impenetrable barrier.
He had to take a swift decision. Should he turn left and run in along the hedge until he struck the path, or should he attempt to force a way through the spiky barrier of cactus? It vas a foregone conclusion that, apart from the group led by James, which he had elected to lead in by the path, all the other four groups would come up against the hedge and, most probably, make their way round to the unprotected entrance. It was there the fight would rage for possession of the Village and every one of Roboumo's men would be engaged in it. If, therefore, Gregory could force a way through the hedge the odds were that he would be able to reach the witchdoctor’s bure and rescue the witch without opposition. On looking over his group before they had left harbour he had seen that, in addition to firearms, four out of six of them had machetes slung at their waists. Only two of them could speak a few words of English; so, instead of trying to explain his intention, he snatched the machete from the man nearest him, ran forward and began to slash frantically at the wall of cactus. The others similarly armed, shouting their war cry and waving their sharp blades, immediately came to us assistance.
By then pandemonium had broken out in the village. Yells A defiance mingled with the barking of dogs and the screams of terrified women. Single shots rang out in swift succession, but no bursts of machine gun fire, as James had been anxious to avoid a massacre and had given orders that the few men so armed should not use their weapons except in an emergency.
Five minutes, which seemed an age to Gregory, went by before he and his men had succeeded in hacking a gap in the cactus wide enough for them to get through without their limbs being torn or pierced by the hundreds of three inch long spikes as stiff as steel needles.
Leading the way again, he dashed between several smaller bures until he reached the rear of Roboumo's big, high roofed house. A single sharp push on the back entrance door showed that it was not locked or bolted. Thrusting it open, he almost fell inside, to find himself at the back of the White
Witch's cage. She was lying on her big divan, her face turned away from him and half hidden by her long, white hair.
Three elderly native women were seated cross legged on the floor on the far side of the cage. As Gregory burst in, they sprang to their feet. For a moment they stared at him in terror and amazement. He lifted his Sten gun as though about to fire at them through the cage. Screaming they turned and, tumbling over one another, fled through the tape cloth curtains.
Gregory had supposed the White Witch to be asleep; but, to his surprise, the screams of the women did not rouse her. Raising his machete, he slashed at the bamboo bars of the big cage until he had cut a hole large enough to get through. On a low table beside her divan stood a mug. Picking it up, he sniffed. It had a strange, strong odour and still gave off faintly the type of fumes one associates with neat spirits. That confirmed his guess that before Roboumo had left the bure, fearing that the attackers might break in and question his prisoner, he had forced her to swallow some potent drug that would cause her to fall into a coma.
Turning towards her, he looked down into her face. His eyes widened. For a moment he held his breath, then let it go with a sharp, rasping sound; but for a full minute he remained there, staring at the lined but still beautiful features framed in long, dead white hair. Suddenly pulling himself together, he stooped, swiftly wrapped her in the light rug under which she lay, picked her up and carried her out through the hole he had cut in the cage.
Their eyes wide with astonishment and awe, his men gaped at the limp body of the woman whom, with Roboumo as her mouth piece, they believed to have terrorised the people of Tujoa for so long. To the two of them who understood a little English, Gregory said quickly: