Free from the Listening Hills (Ss) (2004) by Louis L'amour Page B
Authors: Louis L'amour
dark hump of the hill and trees could be nowhere else near here. It must be the ship that had brought Koyama.
He worked his way along the shore to the edge of a village and as he had hoped, he found a catamaran. He shoved off and after a moment was alone, and slipping across the dark waters.
IT WAS ALMOST daylight when Steve Cowan, drunk with fatigue and his head throbbing with pain from the beating he had taken earlier, reached the shore opposite Neangambo.
The ship he had seen leaving Oland Point, theBenton Harbor, was there, and not far away, moored to a piling, was his own plane!
Steve Cowan wet his parched lips. All right, this was it. It was the work of minutes to bring the catamaran alongside theBenton Harbor . He paddled around to the bow, moored the boat to the anchor chain, and went up, hand over hand, at the risk of crushed fingers.
The deck was dark and still. He moved aft, slowly. Voices came from the saloon port. He slipped closer, then glanced in.
Peter Meyer, his face sour, sat at one end of the table. Nearby, her hands tied, was Isola Mayne. Behind her was the maid. Koyama sat with his back to the port, and across from him was Besi John Mataga, his face dark with fury.
"So?" Koyama's voice was sibilant. "You thought to betray us. Explain this, if you will."
Besi John laughed harshly. "Don't blame me for that. It was Cowan's work." He looked at the stout shipmaster. "Steuben, I think Cowan knew about what happened. You may resemble Meyer enough to fool some, Herman, but you didn't fool everyone!"
The thin Japanese officer, Koyama, made a gesture of impatience.
"All this is beside the point," he hissed. "Why did you kill our agent, the butler? The Burma man was valuable."
"I tell you I didn't know about it," shouted Besi John, angrily.
The Japanese master spy's anger increased. "You are a fool!" he snapped. "For that you will die." He waved his hand toward the women. "They must die, too. No one who knows our plans must remain alive."
Another voice, suave and smooth, broke in. "You must not do this, Commander Koyama. Miss Mayne is a famous actress, internationally known. She cannot disappear without causing complications. Better turn her over to my authority. I think I can make her see reason."
Esteville!The Frenchman was in this with them. All of which explained why the substitution of Steuben for Peter Meyer had been successful. Without hesitation Steve Cowan turned and walked into the cabin.
Mataga saw Cowan first. Trapped and in danger of losing his life, the renegade had been waiting for a chance to escape from the ship. Like a flash he leaped from his chair, darted through another door and disappeared. A loud splash revealed he had gone over the side.
Steve Cowan was too busy to follow. As Koyama lunged to his feet and whipped out a gun, Cowan raised his automatic and fired twice.
The Japanese officer's face turned sick, and he fell face forward across the table, dead.
It had happened so suddenly that it was like a slow-motion picture, but almost at once the saloon blazed with shots. Steuben grabbed for his gun, and lunged to his feet, firing desperately. Esteville crouched down, out of sight.
In a haze of powder smoke, Cowan saw Isola and the maid slip out of the door through which Besi John Mataga had disappeared. Steuben was down beside Koyama, now, the smoking pistol clutched in his lifeless fingers. Esteville was hiding behind a table. He had taken no part in the fight and there was no use remaining here any longer. Outside the crew had begun to shout and feet were approaching. So Cowan leaped through the doorway after the two girls, joining them at the railing.
A sailor, in plain sight, opened up with a rifle and Cowan knocked him spinning with one shot. Then with bullets from other members of the crew pattering around him, he swung over the rail and dropped Isola and the maid into the water near the catamaran.
More shots rang out and bullets snipped the water near the slim craft.
He worked his way along the shore to the edge of a village and as he had hoped, he found a catamaran. He shoved off and after a moment was alone, and slipping across the dark waters.
IT WAS ALMOST daylight when Steve Cowan, drunk with fatigue and his head throbbing with pain from the beating he had taken earlier, reached the shore opposite Neangambo.
The ship he had seen leaving Oland Point, theBenton Harbor, was there, and not far away, moored to a piling, was his own plane!
Steve Cowan wet his parched lips. All right, this was it. It was the work of minutes to bring the catamaran alongside theBenton Harbor . He paddled around to the bow, moored the boat to the anchor chain, and went up, hand over hand, at the risk of crushed fingers.
The deck was dark and still. He moved aft, slowly. Voices came from the saloon port. He slipped closer, then glanced in.
Peter Meyer, his face sour, sat at one end of the table. Nearby, her hands tied, was Isola Mayne. Behind her was the maid. Koyama sat with his back to the port, and across from him was Besi John Mataga, his face dark with fury.
"So?" Koyama's voice was sibilant. "You thought to betray us. Explain this, if you will."
Besi John laughed harshly. "Don't blame me for that. It was Cowan's work." He looked at the stout shipmaster. "Steuben, I think Cowan knew about what happened. You may resemble Meyer enough to fool some, Herman, but you didn't fool everyone!"
The thin Japanese officer, Koyama, made a gesture of impatience.
"All this is beside the point," he hissed. "Why did you kill our agent, the butler? The Burma man was valuable."
"I tell you I didn't know about it," shouted Besi John, angrily.
The Japanese master spy's anger increased. "You are a fool!" he snapped. "For that you will die." He waved his hand toward the women. "They must die, too. No one who knows our plans must remain alive."
Another voice, suave and smooth, broke in. "You must not do this, Commander Koyama. Miss Mayne is a famous actress, internationally known. She cannot disappear without causing complications. Better turn her over to my authority. I think I can make her see reason."
Esteville!The Frenchman was in this with them. All of which explained why the substitution of Steuben for Peter Meyer had been successful. Without hesitation Steve Cowan turned and walked into the cabin.
Mataga saw Cowan first. Trapped and in danger of losing his life, the renegade had been waiting for a chance to escape from the ship. Like a flash he leaped from his chair, darted through another door and disappeared. A loud splash revealed he had gone over the side.
Steve Cowan was too busy to follow. As Koyama lunged to his feet and whipped out a gun, Cowan raised his automatic and fired twice.
The Japanese officer's face turned sick, and he fell face forward across the table, dead.
It had happened so suddenly that it was like a slow-motion picture, but almost at once the saloon blazed with shots. Steuben grabbed for his gun, and lunged to his feet, firing desperately. Esteville crouched down, out of sight.
In a haze of powder smoke, Cowan saw Isola and the maid slip out of the door through which Besi John Mataga had disappeared. Steuben was down beside Koyama, now, the smoking pistol clutched in his lifeless fingers. Esteville was hiding behind a table. He had taken no part in the fight and there was no use remaining here any longer. Outside the crew had begun to shout and feet were approaching. So Cowan leaped through the doorway after the two girls, joining them at the railing.
A sailor, in plain sight, opened up with a rifle and Cowan knocked him spinning with one shot. Then with bullets from other members of the crew pattering around him, he swung over the rail and dropped Isola and the maid into the water near the catamaran.
More shots rang out and bullets snipped the water near the slim craft.