Sword in Sheath Read Free Page B

cooked up to put me through. And speaking ofgifts from the gods — has anyone sent us the means of getting out of this stewpot? We didn't fly halfway around the world to translate rice bills and poems about cherry blossoms. We're working men, remember? And there's going to be a question or two asked if we don't begin to deliver. Mr. Safield may be paying for our stay in this dump, but that doesn't endear it to us — ”
    “I’ll have you know, my pampered pet” — Boone shed his cap and unbuttoned two more buttons on his damp shirt — “that there are good men and true on Leyte and elsewhere who would look upon these comfortable quarters as the height of luxury. You've been spoiled by too much stateside — ”
    “If this is luxury — “ Kane grinned. “Oh, I know — there was a war on hereabouts. But seriously, Dead-Eye, what about a little trip south for us?”
    “How would you like a voyage to the Celebes? See the strange native villages, revel in the cool sea breezes, sail romantically through the old pirate seas of the Sulu straits — ”
    “In what?” demanded Sam suspiciously. “A worm-eaten prau?”
    “In a nice clean Dutch steamer, a pre-war freighter. She's right here in the harbor now — bound for Jolo, Manado, and points south, wherever she can pick up cargo. She's the Sumba, Klees van Bleeker, captain. He was carrying cargo for us during the war, knows the islands like his own hand, and may be willing to take passengers. The war wiped him out financially, all he has left is his ship.”
    “The department vouches for him?” queried Sam.
    But Boone refused to answer that leading questioa “Judge him for yourself. He's co-operative enough, a nice guy. You'll find him in town now, down at the old Casa Blanca Part of the roof’s still on the lobby, so it's in business again.”

    “And do we let van Bleeker into our little secrets?” asked Kane lazily.
    Again Boone did not answer directly. He took out a cigarette and turned it around in his fingers, studying the white tube as if he had never seen one of those very interesting objects before.
    “I don't know,” he began slowly, “how much you've learned about the situation out here. Oh, we've supposedly liberated the islands and are in charge in Japan. But there's a civil war in China which may set off the powder barrel again, a revolt in Java which won't be ended in a hurry — if ever — and all sorts of dirty business afoot throughout the Indies. This is the proper time and place for interested people to try to gum up the works wherever they can. You've heard of the Nazi ‘Werewolves’, of the various bands of Japanese holdout troops which we come across now and again — well, we're not getting all of them — not by a long sight!
    “There were German subs in these waters which we haven't found yet — among other small mysteries. And some men are clever enough to go to ground and stay there until they are forgotten. We can't go over hundreds of islands with fine-toothed combs! It'll be years before our clean-up drive is over — if it ever is. And every holdout we miss will be a festering sore.
    “Just suppose some clever men — mind you, I'm not naming names — should undertake to organize little pockets of native agitators, holdout troops, ex-Nazis, and the like, on out-of-the-way islands. Keep them alive and going with supplies and use them to build up a skeleton force. If we didn't find out in time — it might be December Seventh all over again some fine day.
    “Now you're going to head straight into the biggest danger point— the Indies. There're hundreds of islands down there, some of which white men have never explored, some which Europeans haven't visited in years— officially. Even the Japs didn't seem to pay much attention to them — then. But now you might be able to discover some very odd colonies taking root on them. A Nazi on the run or a Jap holdout has nothing to lose now if he changes masters. He'll eat