In awful suspense Gregory waited, holding on to the prow of the boat with one hand. He heard the sounds of curses and a struggle only a few feet above his head. Excited, angry shouts came from the stern of the yacht. Then James' voice came clear and loud
`I have your Captain! Now I've got him, I'll kill him unless you do as I say. Bring the Señhora
. Bring her and lower her into the boat and I'll give you the papers and him in exchange.'
James' inspiration for making the best use of his captive was an improvement on Gregory's hastily made plan, and he gave him full marks for it. The offer must result in creating just the delay needed for the flotilla to make the greater part of its way from the harbour. And, in making the offer, James must know perfectly well that if he had to carry out his promise to give up Lacost and the documents, he would get both back after his men had captured the Boa Viagem.
A heated argument broke out up on the stern deck of the yacht. Evidently all the other Colons were assembled there. One cried, `Don't shoot! Don't shoot! You will kill Pierre.'
Another was for abandoning Lacost and making off.
Lacost's voice came from close overhead in a furious bellow, 'Felix, you are an imbecile! Without me as your leader you would be captured in a week.'
The others, too, shouted down the man who wanted to cut and run.
`No I No! Pierre has the brains. And we must have the licence.'
`Yes, we dare not sail without the licence.'
`The licence! Yes, it would be as much as our necks are worth to leave without it.'
` Pierre is the only one among us capable of marketing our haul.'
`What does the woman matter? Once we get the money we'll have scores of the bitches.'
Again Lacost's voice broke in urgent, commanding. 'Alphonse, go and fetch the Señhora
The excited shouts fell to swift murmurings. Now that the, Babel had subsided, Gregory, his face only just above water, listened intently. At once he caught the purr of motor engines. Down there at sea level was the best place to catch distant sounds, but he knew that in a few minutes the men above him must also hear them.
Another two minutes passed. Again the voices up on the stern deck grew louder. Then came James, his voice vibrant with relief and delight. ' Olinda! Olinda! Thank God you are all right. I have been worried out of my wits.'
She called back to him, `James! My James! How wonderful! I… I can hardly believe I am not dreaming.'
Racked with anxiety Gregory continued to listen. He could now hear the approaching flotilla more distinctly.
Suddenly one of the Colons cried, `Listen! Motor boats are coming in our direction.'
Another laughed. `You fool. It is only the fishermen going out to spear fish.'
`Not at this hour,' the first man snapped. `Listen, I say! Listen! There are many boats heading towards us. I swear it!'
A sudden silence fell. The roar made by the engines of the flotilla could now be heard by everyone. One of the Colons shouted, `Look! I can see them! Four! No, six eight a dozen.'
The man who had wanted to abandon Lacost yelled, `We are betrayed. We are betrayed. I sensed it. We should have left at once.'
Another, more resolute and commanding, voice took over. `Keep calm. Provided we can prevent them from boarding us, we'll get away.'
Lacost's voice came urgent, pleading. `For God's sake, save me. Throw the woman down into the boat and I'll climb aboard somehow.'
James cut into his plea by shouting to Olinda in English, `Pretend you have fainted. Slide down on the deck and lie there, then none of these brutes will harm you.'
Ignoring Lacost's appeal, the man who had taken charge bellowed, `Jean! To the bridge! Run! Give her full speed ahead and we'll outdistance them. Raoul! To the forward capstan! Get the anchor up. We drag it till it's in.'
In spite of the almost total darkness beyond the area lit by the light of the yacht, the phosphorescent bow waves, churned up by the leading boats of the flotilla, could now be seen as they rushed swiftly towards the prow and midships of the Boa Viagem.
Suddenly her engines began to throb. But she made no movement. Gregory's strategem had worked. Both her propellers turned, but, clogged by a mass of netting and wire, were unable to force her forward.
As the boats came alongside, the men in them were shouting war cries that had not been used for a generation. Throwing their grapples on to the rails of the yacht, they swarmed up the ropes on to the deck. A machine gun opened fire, Sten guns clattered, the staccato crack of dozens of rifles pierced the din.
Gregory grasped the bow of the motor boat and hauled himself, dripping, into it. James had been holding Lacost in front of him, one hand round his waist, the other clutching his throat. Letting him go for a moment he pulled a pistol from his pocket and, as Lacost lurched forward, hit him a hard blow with it on the back of the head. The Frenchman gave a gasp, staggered for an instant, then fell forward, unconscious, on the deck.
At Gregory's appearance, James cried, `Well done Well done! It must be your work that prevents the yacht moving and getting away from us.'
Gregory nodded. `Yes, I fouled her propellers. Now our chaps are aboard, the Colons don't stand an earthly chance.'
`Praise be! A thousand times I bless you!' James responded in great excitement. `But Olinda is up there on deck. I must get her. And my men are fighting. I must show myself to them.'
With a gesture that embraced the coxswain, Kalabo and Gregory, he added, `Come, all of you. Up on to the deck and show these swinish Frenchmen that we are not afraid of them.'
Jumping at the stern rail of the Boa Viagem, he seized it low down and scrambled up. Kalabo and his coxswain followed him. But Gregory did not. He was no longer young and his efforts to foul the propellers of the yacht had exhausted him. Staggering to the stern of the boat, he collapsed on to a seat and remained there, his head in his hands and lolling forward so that it was only a few inches above his knees.
As he strove to regain his breath and still the violent beating of his heart, he thought, `We've got Lacost, the yacht can't move and it's certain there won't be any serious resistance. This is James' show. He no longer needs my help. I'll leave him to handle it now, then he'll get all the credit for rescuing Olinda.'
From Olinda his thoughts drifted to the White Witch. Instantly he jerked erect and, sitting rigid, stared wide eyed into the darkness. A sudden flash of memory had recalled to him the occasion when he had first heard the White Witch mentioned.
It had been in Brazil at the beginning of the Great Rain on the night that he had first met Manon. They had gone to the Macumba ceremony, then taken refuge in the Macumba priest's bungalow. He had cast the bones for Manon told her that she would have a new lover and was already involved with one with whom she was concerned in a financial transaction. He had gone on to ask her if she had ever killed anybody, and she had admitted that she had. Then he had told her that a White Witch would cross her path and that she must kill again. Unless she killed the White Witch when she had the chance, her life and all her hopes would be ruined.
His brain reeling, Gregory forced himself to his feet. He had left the White Witch unconscious and in Manon's power. He must return at once. But would he be in time to save her?
21 ?A Fateful Dawn
His tiredness forgotten, Gregory made for the bow of the boat. To get to it he had to step over Lacost's unconscious body which lay sprawled face downward on the deck. On reaching the bow, he fumbled frantically to undo the painter that kept the nose of the boat close up under the Boa Via gem's stern. As he was no seaman, he found the knots intricate and the pull from the rocking boat had tightened them. Moreover, splashes of water had made the rope wet. Cursing, Gregory tore at the knot. A good three minutes passed before, at the cost of two broken fingernails, he had managed to undo it.