Wealth of the Islands (17 page)

“
Why don
’
t you go now?
”
Anita whispered to her.
“
I
’
ll look after Mr. de Vaux
”

She was probably right, Helen thought diffidently. She gazed helplessly at Gregory, but he was not interested in anything further that she might have to say. She thought she would remember for ever how tenderly Anita hung over his bed and just how he looked in a pair of Peter
’
s pyjamas which were far too small for him. And yet what did
she
care if Anita was better for him at the moment? What was it to her? Gregory de Vaux was no more than her employer and one, moreover, who had been around when her husband had been killed! She would do well to remember that!

Miss Corrigan was sipping a cool drink out on the verandah. Helen noticed with amusement how straight she sat in her chair, despite her plump figure and eager manner.

“
May I join you?
”
she asked her.

“
Why, of course, dear! What will you have to drink? Where
’
s that Anita of yours? Is she coming down too?
”

Helen forced herself to look cheerful.
“
I think she
’
s cheering up Gregory,
”
she said.
“
She has a gentle approach that he likes.
”

Miss Corrigan blew noisily down her nostrils.
“
Nonsense!
”
she exclaimed finally.
“
I
’
ll grant you she
’
s a very feminine girl, but she
’
ll annoy Gregory soon enough. That man is no fool, and there are mighty few that one can say that about!
”

“
At least she doesn
’
t annoy him as much as I do,
”
Helen sighed.
“
Miss Corrigan, do you mind if I
ask you something? What are you going to do with the shark
?”

Miss Corrigan smiled.
“
You
’
ll see, at my party,
”
she promised.
“
I
’
ll have the teeth turned into a necklace for you.
”

Helen shivered.
“
I don
’
t think I
’
d like that,
”
she said.
“
I
’
d remember what those teeth did to Gregory every time I looked at them.
”

Miss Corrigan looked at her thoughtfully.
“
You
’
ll be telling me next that you
’
re in love with the man!
”
she said obliquely.

Helen blushed.
“
But that wouldn
’
t be true!
”
she said in such a rush that the words ran into one another and she didn
’
t think that the old lady had understood her properly.
“
How could you think such a thing? You forget! I
’
m only here because it was here that Michael died. I haven
’
t any other reason to stay. You must be able to see that?
”

Miss Corrigan laughed.
“
I see what I want to see, like everyone else,
”
she said flatly.
“
Drink up, my dear, I have things to do.
”

The sun had only just risen above the horizon, casting a red and gold glow over the whole island, when Helen slipped on her clothes and started through the village towards the jetty and the
Sweet Promise.
Taine-Mal was already on board, though; as soon as he saw her, he came hurrying across the jetty, his usual cheerful grin stretched on his face.
“
Hullo, little sister, how are you now?
”
he greeted her.

Helen swallowed her amusement.
“
How are you?
”
she retorted.

His grin grew, revealing yet more filed teeth to her gaze.
“
I am happy now the shark is dead and my family is revenged,
”
he said.

“
You must be,
”
she agreed sympathetically.
“
I’
m afraid it wasn
’
t quite such a successful operation as I
had hoped,
”
she sighed.
“
My father would have done much better.
”

“
But our little sister understands these matters very well,
”
he said with such obvious pride that she was touched.
“
The Boss said as much before he was hurt. The Boss like you very much.
”

Helen was afraid she would cry.
“
I think you are exaggerating,
”
she said mildly.
“
Will you help me on board?
”

He did so with a gentle touch that she found soothing balm to her bruised spirit.
“
I
’
m afraid that we won
’
t get mu
c
h diving done until Mr. de Vaux is better,
”
she said to him.

“
But you can dive,
”
he replied, astonished.

‘
But can you and Na-Tinn manage the boat between you?
”
she asked him quickly.

This touched his professional pride.
“
Of course,
”
he said simply.

Helen believed him. She went down below into the saloon in a thoughtful mood. Perhaps it would be possible, she thought. If
she
herself did the diving, the Polynesians were well trained when it came to looking after things ab
o
ve surface. Only she had never taken responsibility for a dive before. Supposing she couldn
’
t find the ship? It was quite possible, for she knew nothing whatsoever about navigation. Slowly she unrolled the charts that she had seen Gregory use, wondering if she would be able to understand them. Lines and lines of little figures covered the white sheets and at first sight she thought they were going beyond her. But when she looked at them closer, she found that they were quite reasonable. She could follow the
li
ne of the reef and she could see exactly which parts were deep enough for her to be able to take the
Sweet Promise
through to where the wreck was lying.

“
Taine-Mal!
”
she called up the companionway.

“
Little sister!
”

“
Has Na-Tinn come on board yet?
”

“
Sure thing. He
’
s patching the sails. The spare ones sure are a mess
!”

Helen hesitated.
“
Could
you ask him to come down here?
”
she said.

She shrugged her shoulders, knowing that she had already made her decision even if she was going to consult the others to see if they thought it was a possibility. She was going to take out the
Sweet Promise
and
she
was going down to the wreck by herself to lay the ship open ready for Gregory as soon as he was well enough to dive again.

Na-Tinn came down the steps and stood respectfully a few feet away from where she was standing, leaning over the table and frowning fiercely in an effort to concentrate on the charts better.

“
Do you know anything about these charts?
”
she asked him abruptly.

He shook his head.
“
No, little sister. But they are not needed by us. I can take a boat anywhere in Melongese waters without trouble. I have always known
these waters.
”

“
In a small dug-out canoe perhaps,
”
she said doubtfully.
“
But the
Sweet Promise
needs quite a bit of water under her.
”

Na-Tinn smiled
gently
.
“
I know the way to the wreck. I could find it blindfolded. Truly, little sister,
I know these waters.
”

“
I hope so.
”
Her eyes met his. There was something about his warm confidence that convinced her.
“
Gregory would never forgive us if anything were to happen,
”
she said.

“
The Boss will be pleased,
”
he answered.
“
Nothing bad will happen. It will be much worse if we lose the good time. The wreck may not stay on the reef for another season of rain and typhoons. The Boss won
’
t be pleased if we lose everything that way.
”

“
So we go,
”
Helen said
.

Na-
T
inn nodded and grinned.
“
I go
tell Taine-Mal,
”
he said.

Actually it was easier than Helen had thought. Na-Tinn cast off the ropes fore and aft and she slipped the engine into gear, shoving her knee against the long shaft until it clicked into position. Slowly the
Sweet Promise
came about and chugged out of the harbour, through the narrow channel in the reef and out into the rougher waters beyond. Helen knew a moment of acute anxiety as the men hauled up the sails and the wind took over from the engine, speeding the
Sweet Promise
over the open sea. The spray came down on the deck like fine rain, smelling salt and clean. Behind, they left a wake that was straight and true and before them was the whole archipelago of islands, each looking prettier than the last, and each with its own reef of coral and small, calm bays edged with white sand and palm trees, looking like a paradise indeed.

Helen turned the wheel over to Na-Tinn and went forward to check the diving equipment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be allowed to go wrong. She checked and double checked each individual part and then, when
she
was satisfied, went below and changed into her diving suit. Taine-Mal helped her i
n
to the harness that carried the cylinders of compressed air and tied the weighted belt around her waist. Na-Tinn dropped the sails and the anchor chain gushed out of its holes and dropped deep down into the sea. The
Sweet Promise
came to a shuddering stop and sat, quivering, in the navy blue sea. A few feet away the colour of the water changed, pointing out where the shelf was down below. They had come to the right spot, Helen was sure of that. So far it was going well, she thought, and hoped earnestly that the rest of the day would be as good as its beginning.

The Polynesian brothers helped her over the side and into the water. She took longer than usual to accustom herself to the water and to fit her mask to make sure that the air was flowing properly and that she was quite comfortable. When
she
was quite ready, she signalled up to them for the rest of the equipment and then struck out downwards towards
the
dim shape of the sunken frigate below her.
T
he list of the wreck had increased since
she
had last been down. She wasn
’
t sure how she knew it, but she was quite sure that it had shifted. Her heart hammered within her as she moved round the shelf, changing her approach to the wreck so as to disturb it as
l
ittle as possible. Beneath the bows of the frigate,
she
could see the crushed coral that was holding the wreck on to the shelf. There was no doubt that it was beginning to give way. She would have to hurry if she was going to open up a hole large enough for them to crawl inside before the shelf gave way entirely and the frigate sank down into the measureless depths below where they would never be able to reach her.

She soon found the place where they had been working before and started the lengthy business of burning her way through the outer plate. It wasn
’
t long before the heavy metal gave way. Even in the waiter where weights are far less than they would be on land, it was as much as
she
could do to hold it away from the wreck and send it spinning down below. There was only the inner skin of the ship now to cut through and she set to work with a will, setting herself the
ta
sk
of doing a certain number of feet before
she
surfaced.

When
she
did surface, her oxygen gauge registered nearly empty. It was silly to take such a stupid risk, she told her
s
elf cros
sl
y, but even so a warm glow of satisfaction spread over her at the thought of how much she had achieved and quite by herself. By the time Gregory was well enough to dive, she would have opened up the side of the frigate and there would be nothing else to do before they went inside and brought up the gold.

Na-Tinn and Taine-Mal were as pleased as she was.
“
You tell the Boss about it tonight?
”
they asked her.

“
I might do,
”
she answered. She wasn
’
t very sure that she would talk to him at al
l.
If he still looked as grey and pale as he had the day before, he would be better off sleeping
a
nd resting rather than worrying about what she was doing. She wondered if Anita had whiled away the time with him all day and what they would have found to talk about. She wouldn
’
t have thought that they would have had anything in common, but since coming to the Islands Anita had surprised her. Even so, if she hadn
’
t seen her hanging over Gregory
’
s bed for herself, she wouldn
’
t have believed it of her sister-in-law. There had been nothing of the timid, self-effacing girl that
she
had always known in the look Anita had given Gregory then.

Helen refused to think about it any more. It was funny how her thoughts kept going back to that moment, but she wouldn
’
t allow it. She would keep busy and think about other things. And that was exactly what she did all day. It was later than usual when they took the
Sweet Promise
back into the harbour and tied up at the jetty. The sun had set and it was as black as ink all about them. Taine-Mal lit a hurricane lamp and gave it to Helen to carry to light her way back to the hotel.

“
You tell the Boss for us,
”
he told her;
“
You tell him we carry on just fine!
”

“
Yes,
”
Na-Tinn agreed.
“
You tell him, little sister.
”

Even so she might not have done, only when she got to the hotel, Miss Corrigan was there waiting for her.

“
Where have you been, child?
”
she demanded loudly.
“
I wanted you to help me prepare for my party!
”

“
I took the
Sweet Promise
out,
”
Helen told her.

“
So Gregory thought,
”
Miss Corrigan retorted, unmodified by the explanation.
“
You
’
d better go up and see him.
”

“
Now?
”
Helen said wearily.
“
I was hoping to change and freshen up a bit.
”

“
He
’
s expecting you immediately,
”
Miss Corrigan muttered relentlessly.
“
You should have told someone you were going!
”

Gregory
’
s door was shut. Helen hesitated outside, putting off the moment when she would have to knock go in.
“
Come in,
”
Gregory
’
s voice bade her briskly. He sounded positively robust to her anxious ears. Robust and quite strong enough to bawl her out if she gave him the chance. She opened the door and went inside, hoping that she looked rather more confident than she felt.

G
regory was sitting up in his bed. The grey look had gone from his face and he looked quite as well as she
had ever seen him.

“
Oh, you
’
re better!
”
she said with real pleasure.

“
Much better!
”
he agreed.

“
I
’
m glad,
”
she added awkwardly.

His eyes held hers mercilessly.
“
So you
’
ve taken out the
Sweet Promise
and brought her back —
”

“
Unscathed,
”
she interrupted him quickly.

“
Unscathed but
late
!”
he retorted.

Helen said nothing. She thought that she must look a sight, with her hair all wet from the sea, and her face and hands unwashed and sunburned.

“
How did the day go?
”
he asked more gently.

She told him that they were through the outer plate and that she had begun on the inner steel lining. He listened carefully to every word she said.

“
Any shifting?
”
he asked then.

“
A bit,
”
she admitted.

His eyes met hers again.
“
I was afraid of that,
”
he said.
“
Look, Helen, you
’
re to promise me you won
’
t attempt to go inside by yourself. Is that clear?
”

She nodded.
“
Yes,
”
she said.

He sighed with relief.
“
Then I don
’
t mind telling you that
my
leg hurts like hell and it
’
ll be a while before I can dive again.
”
He grinned at her with real affection.
“
You
’
re a better assistant than I deserve, Helen, my love!
”