Wealth of the Islands (14 page)

She could see the justice of that.
“
All right,
”
she said.
“
But I
’
m coming with you! I must be able to do something, surely?
”

Gregory nodded his agreement. He was busy eating the eggs and toast she had prepared for him and he was more relaxed than, she had ever seen him before. Lines of tiredness etched out his eyes in his face and she was surprised to notice one or two silver hairs at his temples. He looked too young to her to be going grey, but when she thought about his age, she realised that he must be in his late
thirties. He could probably give her nearly ten years, she thought, not without pleasure, and her a widow-woman with her married life behind her!

When he had finished, he went into his cabin to fetch his hat and an ancient harpoon that was the only weapon he kept on board. Helen, when she saw it, dismissed it firmly as being quite useless, and so it was when she compared it to the sophisticated weapon her father had used.

“
It
’
s better than Na-Tinn
’
s,
”
Gregory told her cheerfully.

“
I can
’
t wait to see what his must be like!
”
she retorted dryly.

Gregory grinned.
“
It barely exists,
”
he agreed.
“
But it
’
s remarkable what they can do to a shark with the tools they have. There aren
’
t many man-eaters which have got away.
”

And this one wouldn
’
t! Helen knew that now. She could see the glint of determination in Gregory
’
s eyes and she knew quite well, that although it was none of her business, the same light was shining in her own eyes. This was something she knew about, something that she could do, and nothing and nobody was going to stop her.

Gregory jumped down on to the jetty and turned to help her follow him. His touch on her arm was firm and did much to stop the sudden nervousness that had overtaken her. He smiled at her briefly.
“
I left the jeep beside the hotel. It
’
s the best way of getting across the Island.
”

She nodded, not trusting her voice not to break if she said anything. The village, as they passed through it, was not the friendly place of yesterday, or even of that morning. The children stood in groups watching Gregory as he strode through the huts towards the hotel. They huddled together in search of comfort and it was obvious that the news
of the shark had just reached them. It was a matter
for the whole Island. Their whole lives were spent in and out of the sea that surrounded their homes. If one of them was taken by a shark, they knew they were all in danger. There was no other way, once a shark had tasted blood he had to die, and they had their own way of going about such things. All of them knew that Na-Tinn and Taine-Mal were the next of kin to the man who had been killed and that Gregory was their blood brother. Awed and frightened, they watched him pass between them, knowing the battle that was to come.

Helen shivered as they climbed into the jeep.
“
Cold?
”
Gregory asked her. She shook her head.
“
Someone walking over my grave,
”
she said lightly.

He looked at her long and seriously.
“
Sure you want to come?
”

She shrugged her shoulders.
“
Just you try and keep me away
!”
she said impulsively.

He grinned.
“
I wouldn
’
t dream of it,
”
he answered mildly.
“
Not if you
’
re set on it.
”

“
I
’
m set on it,
”
she assured
him
.

It was the first time that Helen had been right across the Island. She was surprised by the variation of vegetation that they passed through. In the centre of the Island, there were quite a number of small farms, with pigs rooting through the scrubby trees and shabby dogs lazing in the hot sun. The palm trees, with their valuable crop, edged the Island, but didn
’
t really come very far inshore. Beneath them were a few giant tortoises that must have seen many hundreds of years to have achieved such a size. They staggered forward a few steps and then rested, summoning their strength for the next few feet. Above them exotic birds, dressed in green and lemon yellow, shattered the silence with their hideous screams.

T
here were no proper roads. Tracks ran from one settlement to another, sometimes fading out in the
middle of nowhere. Fortunately the jeep was well able to cut across the rough ground and the four-wheel drive made it less likely to get stuck in the shifting coral sand as they neared the coast on the other side of the Island.

Helen thought she had never seen anywhere so beautiful as the bay where they came out. The green water lapped gently the dead white sands and overhead the languid palm trees nodded gently in the breeze. A coral reef almost completely enclosed the bay, but where the two arms met, a deep channel led out to the ocean beyond. The water there looked dark blue, the water was so much deeper than in the shallows of the bay. It was there, Helen thought, that the shark had entered and had come and gone as he pleased ever since.

Gregory parked the jeep on the edge of the white sand and stepped down on to the tough strands of grass that was fighting for a living beneath the palm trees. At the sound of his footsteps a hundred small crabs darted back and forth across the beach and disappeared into quickly made holes, only to reappear as soon as the danger had passed. Helen scuffed her feet in the sand as they walked across it, a little afraid that a crab might take a grab at her toes, but they were far more scared than she was and ran, with that curious sideways motion which is unique to them, as fast as they could in the opposite direction
.

Na-Tinn was waiting for them. He was seated in a dug-out canoe that had a rather fragile outride strapped on to the edge of the boat. With the help of a shaped plank of wood, he could make it go where he would, darting through the calm green water and stopping just as suddenly.

“
It
’
s still here, Boss,
”
he addressed Gregory.

Gregory grunted. Some of the men had dropped a net across the entrance to the bay, but he knew that if the shark was determined to break out the net
would not be much use. The channel was, too deep. He stared in silence at the dark shape of the giant fish as it glided backwards and forwards across the bay. One black fin rose to the surface adding a touch of drama to the occasion. The men yelled and Na-Tinn waved his harpoon over his head, uttering some blood-curdling incantation as he did so.

“
Well, what do you think?
”
Gregory said to Helen.

“
I still think the cage is the best bet,
”
she answered thoughtfully.

He nodded. He waved to Na-Tinn to come ashore
and explained what they were going to do.

None of the Polynesians were happy with the idea. They had always dealt with sharks in the same old way, with one of them as bait and the rest of the family as hunters. It was a personal thing between the shark and themselves. There was a demon in the shark and there was an age-old ritual for gaining power over that demon. Who knew if
the
new way would
be
as effective? Who knew if the demon would be appeased, or if he would go straight into another shark and then there would be another death, perhaps another after that?
C
ould they take the risk
?
“Y
ou are our blood brother,
”
they protested to Gregory.

“
That is why I am going to help you,
”
he replied imperturbably.
“
We tried the other way for most of the night, didn
’
t we?
”

The crowd that had gathered at the edge of the sand muttered amongst themselves and, for a moment, Helen thought they were going to refuse to make the cage that Gregory was asking for. But there was an old man there who could remember that once before, a long time before, they had dealt with
s
harks by, using a cage. His tired eyes surveyed Gregory with the calm of old age and then fell on
Helen. He pointed at her excitedly and she nodded, grasping his hands in greeting.

“
He must remember my father!
”
she exclaimed.

“
Very likely,
”
Gregory agreed. He talked to the old man and the old one grinned at Helen. In a few minutes the men had started to make the cage, binding bamboo sticks together with twine. At best it was a rather ramshackle affair, but Helen thought that it would serve its purpose and give the shark something to tangle with before it reached the bait inside. She had few illusions however at what the shark could do with its wicked jaws and the shattering blows it could deliver with its tail. No cage would last long if the shark had other ideas.

“
I wish you
’
d let me be the bait,
”
she sighed to Gregory.
“
I
’
d feel a great deal happier if you were around with a harpoon in your hand
!”

Taine-Mal heard her and grinned. He turned quickly to his brother, but Na-Tinn was adamant.
“
It
’
s a family matter!
”
he insisted.

“
I told you so!
”
Gregory said in an undertone to Helen.

“
If you can become a member of the family, I don
’
t see why I shouldn
’
t!
”
she retorted.

The Polynesian men had a lengthy discussion while they were finishing making the cage. Helen couldn
’
t understand a word of what they were saying, but she did understand the sideways looks they gave her, considering her proposal and what it would mean.

“
It looks as though you
’
ve persuaded them,
”
Gregory said to her.
“
Sure you want to go through with it? There
’
s still time to change your mind!
”

“
I
’
m quite sure,
”
she said seriously.

The men nodded their agreement.
“
You must be family,
”
Na-Tinn told her.

Helen nodded. She didn
’
t mind the prick in her wrist. She had her eyes tight shut and was hardly
aware of when they did it. When she opened them again, she was surprised that it was Gregory who was standing beside her, and Gregory
’
s wrist that they bound
cl
ose against hers so that their blood would mingle, joining them together for all time. The place where they had cut her smarted for a few seconds and then they cut her loose.

“
You now family,
”
Na-Tinn said with satisfaction.

Helen flexed her fingers to restore her circulation. They had tied her very tightly to Gregory and she had pins and needles in her hand.
“
I
’
m glad,
”
she smiled at them.

“
I never thought to have you as my sister,
”
Gregory commented, an amused smile hovering round his lips.

“
I hadn
’
t thought to have a brother either!
”
she retorted.

“
Don
’
t take advantage of my brotherly feelings,
”
he warned her.
“
I
’
m still your employer, don
’
t forget.
”

“
As if I could!
”
she answered demurely.

He helped her into the cage. She was surprised to see that he was far more nervous than she. She had a strong urge to comfort him, to tell him that nothing was going to happen, but she was tongue-tied and stupid and couldn
’
t think of anything to say that he might not misunderstand. Na-Tinn and Taine-Mal made a da
s
h for the frail-looking outrigger canoes, pushing them out from the silver shore.