“Sure is something on my mind, but not money,” Sam tells him.
“What then?”
“Missing people. Two.”
“Two missing people? That's bad . . . especially round here. Who?”
“A couple of men. Jed Namara and Lazarus Hornby.”
“Hornby . . . Captain Lazarus?”
“Right. You know him?”
“Everybody on Starway knows lazarus. He's been a good customer of mine. What do you mean . . . missing?”
“He came over with Jed Namara a couple of days ago. On a sort of mission. Lazarus's boat was stolen and wrecked in the storm. I picked up the guy who'd stolen it.”
The money lender looks intrigued. “Mission? Like what?”
“To find some diamonds . . . diamonds that were . . . shall we say . . . er, removed without permission from Jed.”
“Latu. Must be to do with Latu.” The money lender looks around nervously. “I happen to know that a man called Vaka, who's had some dealings with Latu, went missing two days ago as well. Seems he hired three donkeys and disappeared without a trace.”
The two mugs of coffee arrive on the counter. The money lender stands and picks them up. “A lot of people think he sold two donkeys to the meat market and went off somewhere on the other one.”
Sam sits up straight. “What! That's got to be it. Where would they be heading on donkeys?”
“Over the mountains. It's the only way you can go. Or maybe in a bullock cart.” He turns and walks back to his client at the table.
Chapter 7
An ancient wooden bullock cart, pulled by two powerful bullocks with a Polynesian man driving upfront, and Sam, Kami, Akolo and Penny sitting in the cart, slowly moves along a ridge, silhouetted in the red sunrise, the wheels squeaking and creaking.
“This contraption lacks any comfort. My backside feels raw.” Penny eases herself around.
“I think Mister Namara and Captain Hornby got sore as well, sitting on their asses for a long time,” Akolo says innocently.
The cart wheels hit a gully and the cart lurches crazily.
Penny winces. “Ouch! How much longer, driver?”
“How far you want to go? To the top or over and down the other side? All the way takes half a day.”
Sam says, “We don't know how far. We're looking for three men on donkeys.”
The cart driver sniggers. “Oh I see. Three wise men at Christmas. Wrong time of year for that . . . and wrong place.”
“Er, the three wise men rode camels,” Sam informs.
Kami grips the side of the cart, peering into the sunrise. “They could be anywhere. It's just mountains all around.”
The driver turns, gives Kami a quizzical stare, shrugs, shakes his head and urges the bullocks on. “Christians. Ha!”
* * *
Vaka, Jed and Lazarus pull up their donkeys on the summit.
“It's all downhill now. I think we've made it,” Jed says, slipping the automatic rifle off his shoulder. “Best to get rid of these weapons. Don't want any trouble back in town.” He dismounts and crosses to Lazarus. “Let's have that pistol, Captain.”
Lazarus hands over the pistol.
Jed walks to the edge of the track, tosses the two guns into a deep ravine, returns to his donkey and remounts.
Vaka leads the way down the track, followed by Jed.
Some distance behind, Lazarus tries in vain to get his mount to move. “This is your last chance, you goddamn lazy critter! Look . . . down there. Carrots! Come on, go get 'em.”
The donkey turns and stubbornly walks off the track into some trees.
“Whoa! Mind that branch! Stop!” Lazarus's voice drifts out from the trees.
A splintering and cracking of timber.
Jed and Vaka pull up, turn and look back.
“Lazarus? You okay?” Calls out Jed.
“That didn't sound good. I think he has a problem,” Vaka states.
Vaka and Jed ride back to where Lazarus left the track, turning into the trees.
“Funny, where is he? Lazarus! Lazarus!” Jed steers his donkey around trees and undergrowth. “He's gotta be here. Go and look over there.”
Vaka heads his animal in the opposite direction.
Jed spots a broken tree branch and Lazarus sprawled motionless under it. He shouts, “Vaka! I've found him. Over here.”
A man with most of his face covered by a scarf drops from a tree, landing on Jed, knocking him to the ground.
“What the ...? Vaka! Look out! It's an ambush!” cries Jed.
Jed sits up.
Another masked man drops from another tree, knocking Vaka to the ground.
Jed's attacker stands astride in front of Jed, revolver pointed at his victim's head.
The first masked man demands, “The diamonds. Please.”
Vaka, kneeling in front of his assailant, looks helplessly at the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun.
The shotgun villain threatens with, “Quickly . . . if you want to live.”
Slowly, Jed pulls the bag of diamonds from his pocket.
Jed's assailant snatches it. “You will learn nobody cheats Latu men and wins.”
Lazarus stirs, sits up and shakes his head. A gash on his forehead trickles blood.
The first masked man nods to his accomplice. “Bring our horses and round up those donkeys.”
The other attacker walks off.
The man who now has the diamonds leans low over Jed. “You'll find it a very long, hot walk to the bottom of the mountain. Move . . . the three of you.”
“And you'll find it even hotter where you're going. How can our friend walk in his condition?” Jed points at Lazarus.
“That's your problem. We are going that way.” He points into the dense forest. “You are going down the track. Move!” He waves the revolver in Jed's face.
Jed says, “You'll find your pal a bit tied up with that Mateo and his charming wife down the other side . . . near the winding bit through the cliffs.”
“They have already been taken to explain themselves to Mister Latu. Get going!”
“At least give us some water,” Jed complains indignantly.
“No water!”
Lazarus struggles to his feet and staggers towards Jed and Vaka.
“Come on, do as the man says. Probably safer to walk than ride those deathtrap mules,” Lazarus grumbles.
Jed and Vaka help support Lazarus and the three shuffle off down the track.
“Buddy, I thought it was a bad idea to throw those guns away.” Lazarus hobbles on.
* * *
Both masked men ride big, powerful horses through dense woodland, the sunlight almost obscured by a green canopy. The three donkeys, tied together and roped to the horse ridden by the man with the shotgun, plod on behind, obediently halting when the man pulls up his mount and looks around.
“This doesn't look right. I think the way to town is that way.” The man points to an identical mass of trees and adjusts the shotgun hanging from the saddle.
The other horseman pulls up. “Are you crazy? You said you knew the way.”
“I thought I did. Excuse me. It all looks the same.”
“Well, which way do we go?”
“I think that way.”
The other man pulls his revolver from its holster, waves it menacingly at his sidekick and puts it back. “You'd better be right.”
They veer off in a different direction.
* * *
The bullock cart squeaks and creaks up the hill, hot sun blazing down.
Sam, Kami, Akolo and Penny shelter from the sun under a torn and tattered piece of sheeting.
Sam swigs from a bottle of water and passes it to Penny.
Kami anxiously scans the way ahead.
Akolo, sleeping on cart floor, sits up as the cart jolts and bumps over boulders.
Kami says, “There are trees a bit further up. Can we stop there please?”
Penny agrees. “If I don't get out of this thing
soon I'll not be able to move a limb on my body.”
The cart driver tells them, “We can stop only for a little while. It's dangerous in the forest. Very bad men hide in there.”
“Danger or no danger, I badly need to get behind a tree,” Sam says hastily.
The cart driver reaches behind him, pulls a cloth off a submachine gun and picks it up.
Penny gasps. “A gun! Oh my goodness. I hate the things.”
“Have to be prepared. Anything could happen,” the driver says.
The bullock cart approaches the edge of the forest and stops.
Sam, Kami, Penny and Akolo get out and go off in different directions to the trees.
The cart driver gets off, carrying his submachine gun, and paces up and down the track.
* * *
“Aaahh! Go away! Help!” Penny rushes from behind a tree, shaking a fist angrily.
Sam runs to her side. “What's wrong?”
The cart driver joins them, submachine gun at the ready.
Penny shudders. “A man with his face covered . . . on a horse! He stopped near my tree. I'm scared.”
“Which way?” The driver moves his gun from side to side.
“How do I know which way? Over there somewhere.” Penny flaps an arm.
“Quick! We get out of here.” The driver turns and runs.
Kami and Akolo run from different directions.
* * *
The man with the revolver gallops through the woods, crouched low in the saddle. He pulls the horse up near his companion, waiting with his horse and donkeys.
“We must be near the track, you stupid fool! I just saw a woman . . . er . . . behind a tree.”
“Ah! So we must go that way.” Revolver man points behind him.
* * *
Jed, Lazarus and Vaka slowly continue walking down the track.
Lazarus, with a strip torn from his shirt tied around the wound on his forehead, manages without assistance from the other two. Jed, with another strip of torn-up shirt rolled in a ball in his hand, dabs at blood seeping through Lazarus's makeshift bandage.
Jed says wearily, “There's a sort of forest not much further down. We'll try and find a stream or something.”
“I reckon a drop of water will taste like best Scotch right now,” Lazarus admits.
“You must be desperate then, Captain,” says Jed.
“No need for sarcasm, buddy.” Lazarus adjusts his eye patch.
Vaka warns, “We mustn't go very far in the forest. It's where Latu's deserters hang out. They know every twist and turn. Others would get lost.”
* * *
The bullock cart continues uphill, the driver resting the submachine gun in his lap.
The cart stops.
“Uh-oh! Get down. We have company.” The driver raises the gun and points it ahead.
Sam, Kami, Akolo and Penny sink low in the cart.
Sam cautiously raises his head and peers round the driver. “Three of 'em. Looks a bit suspicious.” He wipes his eyes and looks again. “No! Can't be. Yes it is! It's Jed and the others! Yippee!” He stands up, waving his arms.
Kami, Akolo and Penny scramble up.
“Jed! Jed! Oh Jed!” Kami jumps up and down. The cart jerks into motion and Kami falls flat on her back. She leaps up, hanging on to the cart side.
Jed waves, cloth in hand, and starts running.
“He's alright, he's okay!” cries Kami.
The gap between the cart and Jed closes.
“Look! He's waving the diamonds! He's got the diamonds!” Akolo shouts excitedly.
“So, the three wise men but no camels. What did I tell you?” remarks the driver acidly.
A masked man on a horse bursts from the trees and pulls up abruptly, staring at the bullock cart and Jed, then at Lazarus and Vaka. “You!” He reaches for a revolver.
The cart driver opens fire. A rattle of submachine gun fire.
The masked man's horse rears as bullets smack into the ground near it. The rider tips off and rolls on the ground.
Jed drops the cloth, makes a dive for the revolver on the gunman's waist belt and snatches it.
Another masked man, on his horse, three donkeys in tow, emerges from the forest with a sawed-off shotgun pointing to the sky. A single shot rings out.
A rattle of submachine gun fire.
Bullets pepper the trees near the second man. He drops the shotgun and raises his arms in surrender.
“Very smart.” The cart driver nods and grins.
Jed stoops beside the man who lost his revolver and pulls the bag of diamonds from his pocket. “Well, well, not really your day, is it?”
Lazarus crosses and picks up the shotgun.
The man who lost the diamonds looks at the submachine gun, scowls at Lazarus with the shotgun and winces when Jed shoves the revolver in his face. “Okay, but we'll be back.”
“If you don't get lost in the woods,” Jed says with satisfaction.
Kami leaps from the cart, runs to Jed and hugs him. “I knew you'd get the diamonds. I just knew. I love you, Jed Namara.”
“I did have a couple of doubts a while ago. Hi honey.”
Penny alights from the cart and goes to Lazarus. “Here, let me take a look at that.” She inspects the wound on his forehead. “That's a nasty gash. I'll clean it up a bit. Come and sit down. How did it happen?”
“Oh, some fool ass took me on a proper ride.” Lazarus walks over with Penny to the cart.
Akolo stands in the cart, cheering and clapping.
Sam jumps from the cart. “Well done, Captain!”
“Ahoy there! Is my boat still okay at the wharf, Sam?”
“Your ferry? Well . . . er . . . how can I put it?”
Epilogue
Chief, resplendent in ceremonial headdress and costume,walks down steps from his house, sits on a chair next to Hafoka, and claps his hands. “Begin!”
Polynesian musicians belt out rhythms on drums, guitars and bamboo flutes as young women in colorful costumes gyrate their hips and make graceful arm movements. Men with headbands and tassels round their waist and legs stomp around. School-age children play together while elders and mothers with babies look on from the shade of doorways. A withered old lady carrying a battered bucket hobbles to an antique cast iron pump on the edge of the recreation area and pumps water from a well. Chickens and roosters scratch and peck in the dust, ignoring a few pigs and goats looking on disinterestedly. Dogs and cats lie panting in the shade.
The dancing ends.
Jed, with a hatbox beside him, Kami, Akolo, Penny and lazarus, his head wound completely healed, sit in a group in the shade.
Hafoka stands up.
Lazarus picks up a bottle of whiskey and swigs. “Here we go again.”
“Quiet please!” Hafoka waits while crowds gather round him and Chief.
Sam runs across the recreation area and sits with Jed and friends. “Sorry I'm late. Had a radio call to make.”
Hafoka begins. “It's been a long wait but finally I'm happy to bring you some good news. Mister Namara was successful in selling his diamonds for very big money and ...” His voice is drowned out by loud cheering. He holds up his arms for silence. “And, he's been extremely generous. I'm happy to announce on behalf of the government that a new school will be built here on Goodway. Miss Markham, I hope you'll agree to stay on as teacher.”
Penny clamps her hands to her mouth, turns to Jed and bursts into tears. “No! I mean . . . yes! Jed, why didn't you tell me? I can't believe it. What can I say?”
“Don't need to say anything. You'd better go and sort out those kids.”
Happy and excited schoolchildren converge on Penny, dancing round her, clapping.
Chief stands up. “Quiet! Mister Hafoka hasn't finished yet.” He sits.
Hafoka cups his hands to his mouth. “Also, Mister Namara has donated more than enough to provide a new ferry to operate between here and Rockyway. Captain Hornby, on the condition you act responsibly and avo
id drinking alcohol while in charge, you remain in control of the service.”
Lazarus stops swigging whiskey, wipes his mouth, grabs Jed's hand and shakes it vigorously. “You didn't? Did you? Well I'll walk the plank! Buddy, that's one mighty big favor. I can't find the words.”
Jed grins. “Just take care of it like the man says.”
“What about you?” asks Lazarus.
“Me? Oh I guess I'll be happy just swaggering about in this.” Jed opens the cardboard box and takes out a new straw cowboy hat. He removes his old one, pokes a finger through a bullet hole, tosses it away and puts the new one on. He cuddles Kami. “Thank you, honey. It's the best present I've ever had.”
“Just make sure you take care of it then,” Kami says with a giggle.
Rapturous cheering and clapping breaks out as Kami and Jed kiss passionately.
###
About the author:
Sitting on the sand outside a beaten-up camper-van in the middle of the Registan Desert in Afghanistan happened to be the place where I wrote my first published travel article. The next dispatch, penned in a Mumbai slum, winged its way from India back home to the publisher’s UK offices. Eventually I arrived home in England and wrote a couple of crime novels, a few short stories and a comedy script for BBC television before sailing off to Australia for a few years. In 2010 a novel written under a pen name, and set in Thailand, was published in the USA with a second edition published in Thailand in 2011. A comedy/action adventure feature length screenplay, Last Boat To Banston Bay, set in the west Pacific Ocean is complete and ready to roll, along with a screenplay of the story you've just read, Dicing With Diamonds.
These days I live in a remote jungly area in the far Northeast of Thailand with my Thai wife and two stepsons.
Connect with me online:
My Blog: https://www.gerryskoyles.blogspot.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gerryskoyles
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