فصل 76

CHAPTER 76

STANDOFF

NEREZZA STARED OUT THE CAVE ENTRANCE. The rain had finally stopped, and dawn was breaking. For a moment his hopes rose, but then, by the gray light, he spotted the massive shape a few yards down the mountainside.

Nerezza spat out a curse. Mister Grin was still there, watching the cave, waiting.

Nerezza waded back to the place where he and the others had settled for the night, a relatively dry flat rock next to the underground creek. The last torch had sputtered out hours ago; the only illumination was the dim light filtering through from the cave mouth. The starstuff chest, locked tight shut, sat against the cave wall; the key was on a chain around Nerezza’s neck. O’Neal and eight of the crewmen were sprawled around the rock, dozing. The ninth crewman was watching Shining Pearl, who sat with her knees drawn up to her chest and her head down.

O’Neal opened his eyes at Nerezza’s approach. “Well?” he said.

“It’s still there.”

O’Neal nodded. “The Mollusks will be out there, too.”

“I didn’t see anyone.”

“You wouldn’t, unless they wanted you to,” said O’Neal. “But they’re there, believe me.”

“A standoff,” said Nerezza.

“Yes,” agreed O’Neal. “So what do we do now?”

Nerezza’s eyes went to Shining Pearl.

Fighting Prawn’s arms and legs ached. He had spent the night crouched in a tree overlooking the clearing; the rest of his men were in trees all around him. During the night, one of the younger warriors had dropped to the ground and tried to creep closer to the cave, but Mister Grin, whose sense of smell was extremely sensitive, had detected the intruder and gone after him. The warrior barely made it back to his tree.

At the moment the crocodile’s attention was again focused on the cave mouth. So was Fighting Prawn’s. His daughter was inside. He had to get her out. And he had to stop these men from taking the starstuff that had, for more than twenty years, made Mollusk Island a paradise on earth, where nobody ever got sick, or grew old. From the day this priceless gift had been bestowed on the island—literally falling from the sky—Fighting Prawn had worried that someday, somebody would try to take it away. Now that day had come.

“PRAWN!”

The shout came from inside the cave. Fighting Prawn recognized the voice.

“I am here, O’Neal,” he called down.

“We seem to have a problem,” said O’Neal.

“We will not have a problem,” said Fighting Prawn, “if you release my daughter, and leave the island. I will let you go unharmed. You have my word.”

“With the starstuff?”

“No,” said Fighting Prawn. “That is ours.”

“Then we still have a problem,” said O’Neal.

A pause, then a new, harsher voice came from the cave: “Prawn!”

“Who are you?” said Fighting Prawn.

“I am Captain Nerezza. And I believe I have something of value to you.”

There was a whimper, and then Nerezza appeared just inside the cave entrance. His right hand held a knife; his left gripped Shining Pearl by the hair. His eyes were on Mister Grin, who watched from fifteen yards away, apparently judging Nerezza to be too close to the safety of the cave to be worth pursuing, at least at the moment.

Across the clearing, Fighting Prawn saw warriors fitting arrows to their bows. Nerezza saw it, too. He pressed his knife blade against Shining Pearl’s neck.

“If I die,” he said, “she’ll die first.”

Fighting Prawn grunted a command. The warriors lowered their bows.

Fighting Prawn’s eyes went back to his daughter. Speaking in the Mollusk language, he said, “Are you all right?”

She started to answer in Mollusk.

“Speak English!” snarled Nerezza, jerking her hair.

“I asked her if she was all right,” said Fighting Prawn.

“Yes,” she answered, tears spilling from her eyes. “Oh, Father, I’m so sorry, I just wanted to …”

She was silenced by another jerk from Nerezza.

“That’s enough,” he said. “Now, listen, Prawn. If you want her to stay alive, you will do two things. You will get that croc away from here, far away. And you will give me and my men—and the starstuff—free passage to our boat, and then back to the ship. I will have my knife at your daughter’s throat the whole time.”

There was a low growl. Mister Grin was apparently becoming more interested in the humans at the cave mouth. He moved forward a few feet.

“Get rid of him,” said Nerezza, nodding toward the monster croc.

“How can I do that?” said Fighting Prawn.

“You’ll think of something,” said Nerezza. “You had better.”

Still holding Shining Pearl’s hair, he yanked her roughly back into the cave.