CHAPTER 19
That night, Rebecca reported to her family that Monty and Alicia had spoken to the Doctor, and he had agreed not to disclose the corpse’s true identity, nor to insist on coupling with Rebecca.
Joshua still harboured the view that Monty meant trouble, yet he had to admire him for finding a way to resolve the problem with the Doctor. He would find a moment to personally express his gratitude to Monty.
The days went by and Monty and Alicia were enjoying life, except for the nightly irritation of having to make small talk with Hilda and Joe, who were always stationed at the table next to their sleeping quarters.
On one occasion, Monty and Joe were in the shower area at the same time.
“That’s quite a piece of woman you’ve got there,” Joe said. “Brains and beauty, that’s what I like.”
Conventionally, Monty should have made some analogous reference to Hilda but said only, “We’re both very happy.”
“Well, remember the old saying — variety is the spice of life.”
Monty stepped out of the shower. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“From time to time, some of us exchange for a night.”
“No, thanks. Forget it. If that’s what you’re after, don’t even come near us.” He pulled on his overalls, left the latrine building, and strode briskly to their enclosure. Hilda was sitting at the table.
“Hi, handsome,” she greeted him, her voice soft and sultry. An overall strap had fallen off one shoulder. She stood up as he started to walk past her, and leaning forward, revealed the full swelling of her breasts. “Where’s Alicia?” she asked.
He stopped. “Probably still in the shower.”
She looked at him longingly. “We have a few minutes alone.”
“Hilda, Alicia and I have coupled and that’s it. I’ve just told Joe the same thing. Now kindly leave us alone.”
He went into the enclosure and a few moments later, Alicia joined him. He tied the ribbon to their enclosure tightly.
Alicia sat down on the cot. “ You seem all bothered about something. What happened?”
“Joe was very high in his praise of you. He calls you brains and beauty.”
She stood up and put her arms around him. “That’s not what’s bothering you.”
“He wants a night with you. An exchange. I told him to stay away from us.”
“Well, I knew those two are awful. Maybe they’ll leave us alone now. But you’re soaking wet. Let me dry you off.”
He stepped out of his overalls and she rubbed him down with a towel. She soon felt the tension seep out of him, the desire in him rise. He pulled off her clothing and they rolled onto the cot.
The next few nights, the table near their enclosure was empty. “I guess they’ve decided to leave us alone,” Monty said hopefully.
After the next post-shift meal, as they were walking to the couple’s cave in the semi-darkness between the suns, Joshua stopped them.
“I wish to talk to you alone. Can your missus go on ahead?”
Alicia dutifully left them and continued on to their sleeping quarters.
“I want to thank you and the missus for what you did for my child.”
“Mr. Joshua, you don’t have to thank us. Rebecca is a dear friend whom we all love, and we would do everything we can to help her. We all hope that you and Syd can put your differences aside for the sake of Rebecca.”
He regretted his last statement as he saw the deep flush of anger suffuse Joshua’s face. Clearly, this was delicate ground as Joshua wrestled with his role as father and head of the family and his love for his daughter and his desire to keep her affection and loyalty. To his relief, Monty watched the anger slowly dissipate and Joshua merely nodded. “I put that quarrel behind me.”
“Then may I ask you to consider something? Syd wants to rejoin the camp. He would wait for a dark night and then come across the river. To get him back into the work force without anybody knowing would need your help. Can you think about it?”
Joshua did not have time to reply. A short, sharp scream, barely audible, caught their attention.
“What’s that?” said Monty.
And then he knew what it was and raced madly to the sleeping area. Hilda was sitting alone at the table as he rushed past her into the sleeping enclosure. It was empty. He charged out and collided with Hilda, a strap of her overall down, revealing a round, full breast. “Where’s Alicia?” he said wildly, angrily, fear sharpening his voice.
“Never mind Alicia. There’s me, and I can make you even happier.” Hilda flung herself onto him.
Past her and part way down the cave, he saw an arm come out of a curtain and point a finger to another curtained area. He thrust Hilda aside and pushed into the indicated enclosure. Alicia, her overalls torn off, screaming, slashed at a naked Joe with her nails, who held her tight and was trying to push her to the ground.
“You fucking bastard, leave her alone!” Monty shouted, grabbed Joe by the hair and wrenched him back. Surprised, Joe turned, still in a paroxysm of desire, his penis erect, his face a fiery blotch of lust. Monty hit him hard on the chin, snapping his head back and sending him crashing against Alicia. With a bellow of rage, Joe leaped at Monty and both fell back out of the curtained area. Monty rolled away as Joe came at him. Joe tripped over a chair, and as he rose to his feet, Monty hit him again under his jaw. Joe fell sideways and for a moment was dazed. Alicia came running out, draped in a blanket.
“Run for the women’s cave,” he shouted to her.
Then he was hit hard by Joe and went careening along the corridor, sprawling amidst overturned tables and chairs, barely conscious as he watched the hulk of Joe bearing down on him. But Joe did not touch him. As his mind cleared, Monty heard a gurgling sound. A huge black hand grasped Joe by the throat. Joe, lust completely gone, vainly clutched at the fingers that were choking the life out of him. Hilda rushed at Joshua, but he slammed the back of his other hand against her face and she flew back, collapsing in a heap on the floor.
“Mr. Joshua,” Monty said through bleeding lips, “don’t kill him. It will mean trouble for you and for the rest of us.”
Joe‘s face was turning blue when Joshua finally released him. Joe fell back into a chair, cradling his head and massaging his neck, gulping deep gasps of air.
“This is the last time that you and your missus will cause trouble,” Joshua said to Joe. “I told you the last time, if you can’t stick with your partner, you’re not gonna couple. Your missus will go to the women’s cave and you to the men’s cave. Any more trouble, I will kill you.”
Thelma and Ernie arrived at that moment and sensed what had happened. Hilda lay weeping, curled up on the floor, a bruise forming on the side of her face.
“We didn’t mean no trouble, Joshua,” she repeated over and over. “Don’t separate us. It ain’t good for Joe.”
Thelma helped her up and sat her in a chair. She tucked the errant breast back into her coveralls and fixed the strap. Alicia was close by, still draped in the blanket.
“Mr. Joshua,” she said, “my overalls are ruined. Can I have more clothing?”
“Go to Emily. You “— pointing to Joe — “cover yourself and get outta here.”
Joshua stood by while Joe went into his sleeping enclosure and came out dressed. He was still breathing hoarsely, rubbing his neck, as he walked slowly out of the cave.
“Come on, Monty,” Ernie said, “Let’s clean up your face.”
They both walked towards the latrine. As they passed him, Joe lunged at Monty, but Ernie stepped between them and hit Joe with a short, sharp uppercut. Joe came at Ernie, swinging wildly, but Ernie ducked and danced out of the way. In growing amazement, Monty watched Ernie skipping and feinting, moving away as Joe advanced and then stepping in with a jab to the stomach and a blow to the chin. Even Joshua stopped to watch, rather than intervene. Finally, Joe was winded and his arms fell to his side. Ernie moved in, snapped Joe’s head up with a left and then a solid right to the jaw. Joe fell and lay still.
“Where the hell did you learn to do that?” Monty asked in admiration.
“Boxing was my sport at university, but it’s taken two years of digging to get back into shape.”
The fight had not gone unnoticed for several Warriors arrived, truncheons at the ready. Joshua bowed, waved them away, and dragged the unconscious Joe to the river’s edge and dumped him unceremoniously into the shallows. He spluttered to life and, still dizzy, staggered away to the men’s cave. Thelma accompanied a weeping Hilda to the women’s cave and helped her find a bed and get settled.
“Joe didn’t mean nothing. Alicia provoked him. He just got carried away. We all exchange here from time to time. We won’t bother them two anymore. Talk to Joshua — maybe he’ll listen to you.”
Thelma shook her head in disbelief. The virtues of guilt and remorse were not Hilda’s. “Give it some time, Hilda. If there’s no trouble from you or Joe, I’m sure you could ask Joshua to reconsider.”
Thelma left her, returned to the couple’s cave, and put back in place the scattered chairs and upset tables. Ernie and Monty returned from the latrine, and Alicia soon showed up with a new pair of overalls.
“I’m sore all over where that monster grabbed me,” Alicia said. “Emily rubbed me down with some liniment she got from the Doctor, but it stinks.”
She examined Monty’s face. The bleeding had stopped, but his lips and lower jaw had swelled.
“I guess we won’t be kissing for awhile,” Alicia said.
Monty attempted a smile and grimaced in pain. “What happened?”
“Joe and Hilda were sitting at the table beside our enclosure when I arrived. I didn’t say hello but just headed into our space. Joe grabbed me from behind and clamped a hand over my mouth. I managed to get out one yelp, and then he dragged me down the corridor to their own enclosure. In those curtains, you could scream forever, and no one would hear. How did you know which enclosure we were in?”
He told her about the pointing arm.
There was a rustling and a scuffling of feet. A man and a woman came out of an enclosure near the back of the cave and sat at a nearby table. A second couple joined them. They nodded to Monty and Ernie who were facing them. There was more scuffling of feet as more couples appeared. Soon all the tables were occupied and there was a general hubbub of conversation, chatter and laughter. Some of the men had brought out glasses of beer and shared them around their table.
“I think,” Alicia said, “we were not the only couple preyed upon.”
Monty walked slowly down the row of tables, exchanging greetings as he went. Half way down, he found what he was looking for: a man’s arm, surprisingly untanned, a shirt sleeve carefully folded at the elbow. He reached out and grasped the man’s hand. “Thank you.”
“No,” the man replied, “we thank you. We have a life again.”
Monty and Alicia slept fitfully that night. Both were bruised and in pain, and they awoke grumbling and groaning, still tired. Monty kept a wary eye out for Joe as he showered in the open stall, although he noted Ernie wasn’t far away. Joe did come in while he was still there, but clearly was avoiding further trouble.
Alicia, at the women’s end of the latrine building, had to contend with a red-eyed Hilda who begged her to intercede with Joshua. Alicia was unsympathetic.
“Why should I, Hilda? Your husband brutalized me. If you had any brains, you’d dump him and find someone solid.”
“I’ve found someone solid, but you’ve got him.”
At the pre-shift meal, several of the couples approached Monty and the group. “Can we eat with you?” they asked and were readily welcomed. Monty could barely eat, but he washed down what he could with lots of beer and had to endure the jokes.
“When I first saw you this morning,” Jeff quipped, “I thought you were eating raw hamburger.”
“You should have seen the other guy,” Ernie said.
Alicia related what had happened. Deng Lee nodded, “Well, I won’t make it worse by telling you I told you so. That Joe is just a bad actor. There were always problems with or by him from time to time. I‘m glad you beat him off, but it took three men. Mind you, Monty, you’re the only one with any sign of a struggle.”
“I softened Joe up for the other two.”
They went off to the shift in high spirits. Monty saw Joe heading to his digging, eyes down, not looking to the left or right. Just a big bully whose bluff got called, Monty thought. Let’s hope that’s the end of his nonsense. But deep down, he knew it wasn’t —Joe would seek revenge, some day, some way.
The weeks flew by as Monty and Alicia settled into married life. The frequent pleasures of lovemaking and the deep affection they felt towards each other brightened their lives. The warm tropical air, relieved by the fresh mountain breezes that blew down from the majestic white caps, the lush grass on the bank of the blue, gurgling river where they took their meals, the sweet scent of pine added to their feeling of contentment. Only the wait for a dark rainy night and the expected arrival of Syd, and Monty’s constant thinking to find a way out kept them from becoming complacent.
In this regard, Syd was essential to his planning. Somehow, he and Robert had killed Guardians and Warriors, shot down one of their rocket ships, and acquired the special weapon. How they managed to do this had to be part of the planning.
He noted an easing in the behaviour of the garrison. The Warriors still patrolled the work area but rarely cracked their whips. Those with truncheons kept them belted against their stalk bodies. A young woman in Monty’s group showed up moments after the shift began and ran past a Warrior to her panning station, her face screwed up, anticipating the pain of the whip or truncheon. But none came. The Warrior motioned her out of the water Again she feared the worst, but the Warrior gently pulled her head forward.
“He wants you to bow,” Monty shouted.
The woman bowed and returned to her station. The Warrior walked on. Alicia heard from Emily and Rebecca that gold production was high which may have accounted for the change.
Even the camp commander showed signs of thawing. He allowed the slaves to hold a sing song during the next rotation of the moon.
Most of the slaves joined in. The evening lacked Syd as master of ceremonies, The Songbirds Trio was now a duet, and Stu Corrigan and his violin were absent. What was missing on stage was made up by the enthusiasm of the audience.
Warriors stood at the back, watching and listening, truncheons lowered to the ground. They were not there to intimidate.
As scores of throats raised their voices in song, the sound radiated out across the river and penetrated through the trees and bushes on the opposite bank. Despite the bright moon, no one noticed that one of the shadows in the trees was a little rounder than the rest.
Syd listened nostalgically to the songs, but his attention was focussed on picking out Rebecca. He had seen her a few times since he had started observing the camp. Once he had worked his way down to a point just across the narrow river where she was panning. He had to turn away to avoid calling out to her.
He crawled away until he was far enough inside the shelter of the trees that he could stand and made his way to a small cave opening. He carefully camouflaged the entrance and then felt his way through a cavern to a niche lit by a firebrand. The light revealed another cave. He kindled a fire and watched the smoke disappear into its upper reaches. He cooked a slab of squirrel meat and ate it with some of the vegetation Robert had taught him was edible. Waiting for a dark, rainy period between the suns was straining his patience. He watched each sunset, hoping for clouds to cross the moon.
Finally, one day, a solid mass of thick, grey cloud blanketed the sky. The rain pelted down, reducing visibility even further. Syd crawled through the dense underbrush to a point where the river narrowed and was close to the slaves’ quarters. The shift was still working. He didn’t recognize any of the women he could just make out through the sheets of rain and the gloom of the overcast sky. That meant it was not Monty’s shift. He would have to catch Monty on his way to or from the eating area. As this was the first dark night in weeks, Monty would expect him and would be looking out for him.
The siren blasted and the shift left the waterway. He saw the diggers walking rapidly towards shelter. He had discovered that the crown of the special weapon was malleable and he had carefully flattened it and strapped it and the box to his waist under his overalls. Using the stone axe, he buried Robert’s fur bag with the remaining weapons. He lined up a tree with a point on the opposite bank so he could find the cache in a hurry and left a small pile of twigs as a marker.
By now, the darkest period had begun. He could see no patrolling Warriors. He crawled out of the cover of bush and slid into the water. He dogpaddled across the short stretch, then stood up and sauntered casually to the path that led from the cave to the food area, and stopped between two trees up against the rock face, partly obscuring him. He was soaking wet and hoped he would not appear conspicuous standing out in the weather without a cape.
Dozens of slaves came along, heads bent, running to the food wagon. They paid him no attention. The last thing they cared about was some fool leaning against a tree in a downpour.
Then he saw Alicia just ahead of another figure. They were walking slowly, allowing the others to rush past them. He fell into step beside the figure behind Alicia.
“You made it,” Monty said. “I knew it had to be now. Wait by the next tree until we return with our food.”
When they returned, Alicia handed Syd a plate, took his arm and led him, both heads down to protect the food, into their enclosure. No one was at the tables which were draped with wet clothing. A short time later, Monty showed up and set his plate on their table. He looked around as he slowly took off his rain cape. There were no Warriors in sight. Ernie and Thelma arrived and joined Monty. Alicia came out and sat at the table.
Moments later, Syd emerged wearing a pair of Monty’s dry overalls and a rain cape and headed through the twilight gloom to the latrines. He relieved himself and was tempted to take a shower but decided not to push his luck and slipped back into Monty and Alicia’s enclosure.
Thelma came in and they hugged and kissed.
“Welcome home,” she said. “You look older and skinnier. Did they not feed you in the wild?”
“Quite the opposite. I feasted on barbecued squirrel, baby greens, and other good things. But as a change of diet, this lentil dish tastes good.”
Ernie joined them, and the two men embraced.
“We’ll need a new name for you. Our captors won’t recognize you, but the name of Syd Clark is notorious. You’re not only an escaped slave but a murderer many times over.”
“And at such a young age,” Thelma added.
Syd grinned. It felt good to be among friends again, despite the dangers. He was also mindful of the risks his friends were taking.
“My middle name is Franklin — my mother’s maiden name was Monroe — how about, Franklin Monroe?”
“It lacks the dash of Syd Clark but it will do,” Thelma laughed. “In fact, it has a certain nobility about it. I hope Rebecca will like your new name.”
At the mention of her name, his face became serious.
“Tell me about her. How is she?”
They related some of the events that had taken place.
“Her feelings for you haven’t changed,” Thelma concluded. “All she talks about is Syd Clark. You better eat more of that porridge if you want to survive a night of love with her.”
“Thelma, behave yourself,” Ernie admonished, shaking his head.
“Never mind, Ernie, this is what I missed as a vagabond. Life on the run was very serious.”
Monty sought out Jeff in the men’s quarters. “Get the message to our group that Syd is in the camp. Remember — no recognition, no greeting. He has a new name — Franklin Monroe. Emphasize again — nobody knows him.” Alicia passed on the same message to the women in the group.
Rebecca worked the station not far from Alicia. As they walked together to begin the shift, bent over against the driving rain, Alicia put an arm around Rebecca.
“Rebecca, Syd is in the camp.” Rebecca stopped, her eyes and mouth wide in joy and surprise, but Alicia held her tightly and pulled her along. “For his safety, you must not show any welcome or recognition. His new name is Franklin Monroe. Our plan is to get him back into the work force, but we need your father’s help. You have to talk to your father as soon as possible.”
“Franklin Monroe,” Rebecca repeated. “Can’t I see him?”
“We think it’s too dangerous at the moment. It might draw too much attention to him. We’re not worried about our group. They’ve all been warned. But Syd was known beyond our group, and some of the other slaves may recognize him. We need to be very careful, proceed very slowly.”
Rebecca paused, but Alicia dragged her on. “Perhaps we should just run off together.”
“No, Rebecca, you would then become an escaped slave, and they would hunt you down. It might also cause your father problems. You’ve waited this long, be a little more patient.”
“I will talk to my father.”
Rebecca took up her position but could hardly focus on the work. She stood for long minutes watching the water flow in eddies around her pan, daydreaming of a love that now seemed possible. Her gold recovery that morning was insignificant.
Her mother came by, still doling out drinking water. She noticed immediately the empty sack lying on the beach.
“Are you alright, Becky, or is the rain getting to you?”
“Mammy, I’m fine. I need to see pappy. I can’t wait to the end of the shift.”
Emily looked at her daughter suspiciously. There was a glow of happiness suffusing her face that even the rain couldn’t hide. She waded into the water and stood beside Rebecca
“Child, what is it?”
“He’s here, mammy, he’s here. Pappy has to help.”
A cold terror seized Emily, and she instinctively looked around.
“Mammy, he’s hiding somewhere. I haven’t seen him.”
The driving rain veiled the mother and daughter bending towards each other. Fright constricted Emily’s throat. “Becky, we have to be very careful. If he’s caught, all our lives are in danger.”
“Mammy, can you find pappy and tell him?”
Emily looked around one more time. “I’ll continue my rounds until I have a chance to talk to your pappy. In the meantime, pan for gold.”
Rebecca now panned in earnest and, by the time Joshua came by, had a decent showing in the sack. Joshua was very uneasy. One false move would destroy him and his family. But there was no turning back now. No, the decision to protect Syd had been made when the body was brought to the camp. He had no choice but to follow through.
He picked up the gold sack and waded into the water, pretending to discuss its contents. “Where is he, child?”
“I don’t know, pappy. Will you help us?”
“Of course, child. I’ll talk to Monty. I’m sure he knows where Syd is. We’ll figure what to do.” He paused. “Rebecca, there is something I want to remind both of you. When a man wants to mate with my daughter, I expect him first to ask my permission. I ask my daughter to remember this.”
“I promise, pappy, it would never have been otherwise.”
Joshua nodded and continued to review the diggings. He found Monty busy baling. Joshua took another bucket and helped him.
“Where is he? Is he in a safe place?”
Monty had a queasy moment. Joshua had never answered his request for help. If Joshua was not on their side, revealing Syd’s hiding place would be catastrophic for all of them. He swallowed hard and decided to trust Joshua.
“He’s in our enclosure. We’d like to find a way to get him back into the work force. If you don’t believe it’s possible, then he can slip out when it gets dark after the shift.”
Joshua kept on baling. “For my child’s sake, I’ll help.” He stopped baling and leaned closer in to Monty, his voice masked by the driving downpour. “You know, I always thought the Doctor would be best for my child. But the trouble he put us in makes me wonder about him. As for Syd, he’s the one my child wants. I think I can get to like him — he’s a good worker, and he puts his life on the line for my child.”
Monty kept making baling motions. “Do you have any ideas how to get him into the work force?”
“I have an idea. It’s too dangerous to put him in with the present slaves. Someone will recognize him. If he can wait a little time, there’s a transport of slaves coming from another camp where the gold has played out. We’ll be opening new staked areas further along the river, and the slaves will be housed in tents until more caves can be dug out. We’re just waiting for the rain to stop. From the landing point, I’ll lead the slaves along the river to their new location. As we pass the couples’ quarters, Syd joins us as though he belongs.”
“That’s an excellent plan, Mr. Joshua. I think it’ll work.” Monty repeated Syd’s new name to Joshua.
Joshua stopped baling. “Well, there’s something else you should tell him. If Franklin Monroe wishes to mate with my daughter, he better ask me first. My daughter has promised to remember this.”
Monty nodded. They continued baling in silence until the hole could be worked again. Then Joshua left, his huge figure disappearing into the endless sheets of rain.
It still rankled Joshua that Syd had defied him and in the fracas that followed had bested him. True, it was Robert who intervened and rescued Syd — it wasn’t Syd’s hand that felled him. It impressed him that Monty and Alicia, by concealing Syd, were putting their own lives at risk. He admired and envied the loyalty to each other that permeated Monty’s group. The group was slowly growing in size and the monthly singsong was attracting more slaves. He felt uneasy about this, but until he saw signs of revolt, he was unwilling to intercede. As at the old camp, gold production of the group was high and on a per person basis was better than the rest of the camp.
He continued to marvel at Monty’s ability to control his group. He once asked Rebecca, “Why do you all listen to him?”
Rebecca’s answer still mystified him. “Jeff says Monty has charisma.”
Joshua asked the Doctor, “What is charisma?”
The Doctor looked at him curiously. “Charisma is a kind of presence or confidence that a person has which causes people to see the person as someone special.”
My father must have had charisma, Joshua thought. An Ashanti warrior, he had attracted other warriors who followed him to the point where the king felt threatened. The king had betrayed his father and sold him to white slavers. On the plantation, other slaves had treated his father like a leader.
He wondered whether you inherited charisma. Whenever he saw Monty, he looked for signs of it, but wasn’t sure what he was looking for. When he knew Syd better, he would discuss it with him.