Andy Adams

“ Uncle Charlie rubbed his jaw. “Well, Biff, I still don’t like the idea at all. But it surely would give us the time we need. We’ve got to get the working permit. And I’ve got to fuel my seaplane.”
“You’re weakening, aren’t you, Uncle Charlie?”
“I guess I am, Biff. I’ll come back for you in a couple of days. Dietz will free you once I convince him you aren’t the real Derek Zook.”
“Good. We’ll do it then. But before I go back to the hacienda and surrender myself, I could use some FOOD! How about you, Derek? Hungry? You missed your nightly feed.” ”

“ The giant band shell springs at a man, using a second muscle to propel itself, then slashes and cuts with its “door.” In moments, it can cut a man’s body to shreds.
These giants were surrounding Derek. Up close, Biff could see Derek had already received several cuts. Biff knew what this meant. Sharks would come racing through the water, crazed with hunger by the smell of blood.
Biff slashed away at the band shells with his knife. It did no good. The giant shells continued their attack, some of them turning on Biff. There was only one thing to do. Derek was nearly helpless. Biff grabbed him. ”

“ Charlie walked over to the door. “If I’d known how powerful that man is,” he added, “I never would have let you get yourself captured.”
Biff smiled. “Crunch isn’t as bad as he seems, Uncle Charlie. He’s really a very gentle man.”
“Gentle! You’ve never been given a Crunch bear hug!”
“I mean he’s a simple soul. He’s superstitious. He really thinks I can magic myself out of this place. He thinks that’s how Derek got out the first time. He doesn’t know, of course, that it was I, not Derek, he saw outside.” ”

“ Biff shook his head. He knew he looked like Derek. But Uncle Charlie was really asking a lot.
“Gosh, Uncle Charlie. It’s one thing for me to substitute for Derek when it’s only a joke. Like at the airport. But to do this—this is for big stakes.”
“I know, Biff. But, considering the fact that you will actually be doing this so the just rights of a man will be established, I don’t think you would be doing anything morally wrong.”
“No, I guess not. We would be stopping Dietz from stealing what belongs to someone else.” ”

“ Charlie Keene said.
“Don’t you remember, Uncle Charlie? You taught me that trick.”
Charlie Keene chuckled. “I take it all back, Biff. There’s nothing soft about that head of yours. Now, let’s get out of here! But fast!”
“Why, Uncle Charlie? We can get out any time we want to. Why don’t we both spend the night here? I’d like to gain Crunch’s confidence completely. He could be a big help to us on Martinique. It’s good to have a friend in the enemy’s camp.”
“Yes, Biff. I think you’ve really got something going. We couldn’t get back to Martinique tonight, anyway.” ”

“ Derek said sadly.
“Now, don’t be downhearted, boys,” Uncle Charlie said, trying to cheer them up. “Can’t expect to hit it the first day.”
“At any rate, we’ve got enough oysters to make a stew. If we had some milk,” Biff said.
“Afraid not, Biff.”
“Yeah. Where are we going to get milk? A seacow, maybe? Wish we’d kept some of them. We could have had an oyster roast.”
“Wrong again, Biff,” Charlie said. “Pearl oysters aren’t edible. These would make you so sick, you wouldn’t be any good for ten days.”
“What a waste!” Biff said, and stretched out on the sand. ”

“ Derek hit the catch, and his belt dropped.
“That’s better, Derek. Remember, that belt is what holds you down. If you have to come up fast, you’ve got to get rid of that belt fast.”
“But don’t try to come up too fast, Derek,” Biff said. “Especially if you’re down deep.”
“Biff’s right. A good rule to follow is not to rise to the surface any faster than the escaping air bubbles. Your body has to adjust to the variations in water pressure. All right, let’s go out and try it in the water now.”
They climbed in the dory. Uncle Charlie started the outboard, and they moved offshore about fifty feet. ”

“ Uncle Charlie demanded.
“Crunch has the key,” Biff said.
“And you’ve scared him so badly he’ll never come back. Let me take a look at this lock.”
Charlie examined the lock carefully.
“It’s no good, Biff. It’s too strong to force. I can’t open this lock. You’re just going to have to magic your way out.”
“Or get Crunch to come back and let me out.”
“Think you can, Biff? I doubt it.”
“I can try,” Biff replied. “Crunch and I were getting to be good friends. He’s not a bad guy. Dietz has a hold on him and forces him to do this dirty work. I’m going to call him.... Crunch!” Biff sang out. ”

“ Biff was thinking out loud.
“Pull what off, Biff?” Derek asked.
“I’ve got a plan. I want to know what you and Uncle Charlie think of it.”
“Fire away, Biff,” his uncle invited.
“It’s this. Suppose tomorrow, we pretend to find the fishery. We’ll fire off guns. Blast off on the boat horn. Dance around the beach like mad. In full sight of Dietz, of course. Make him think we’ve located the site. Only, of course, we’ll do all this where we know there are no pearls. We’ll put on our act at one of the first places we tackled, before Dietz became so vigilant. What do you think?” ”

“ How ’bout you?”
“The same.”
“Okay, Biff. We’ll rendezvous outside this gate at exactly six forty-five. It will still be light by then. But darkness comes fast. Night falls as fast as a theater curtain in the tropics. One minute it’s daylight. The next it’s dark. Dusk lasts about one minute. All set?”
“Right. And I hope you see double when we rendezvous.”
“See double?” Uncle Charlie was momentarily puzzled.
“Derek and me,” Biff said, grinning.
“Oh. I get you. Guess I’d stopped thinking clearly for a moment this time. Good luck, Biff.”
Charles Keene started the car and drove toward the hacienda. ”

“ Derek chimed in.
“Ever tried drinking it?” Biff’s uncle chuckled. “Don’t. Fresh water, my lad, is what we need. And there are no springs or wells on these islands.”
“Well, we couldn’t find any fresher air,” Biff said. “You’ve got to admit that, Uncle Charlie.”
“Sure, Biff, sure. But what we want is compressed air. For the Scubas. Those air tanks only carry enough for an hour’s diving. I have one extra tank. We have enough compressed air for about two hours’ diving daily. I mean two hours for each of you. I don’t think there’s any compressed air in Le François. I know there is in Trinité.” ”

“ Look at Crunch’s pearl!”
Again they all crowded around. This was a real beauty. It didn’t take an expert to know that Crunch had found a pearl of great value.
“Think we’ve found it, Uncle Charlie?” Biff asked. “I mean the fishery Derek’s father discovered?”
“It could be, Biff. It darn well could be.”
Biff looked at Derek. There was a smile on the Dutch boy’s face. Then the smile disappeared.
“What’s the matter, Derek?” Biff asked.
“My father found black pearls,” Derek replied.
“They’re all colors, Derek,” Uncle Charlie told him. “Actually, the black ones aren’t as valuable as the white. ”

“ As Dietz’s limousine reached the northern outskirts of the city, traffic thinned. Charlie dropped back half a block, still keeping the black car within easy vision.
Once the city was left behind, Specks speeded up. The limousine roared along the road. Charlie let it pull away although he didn’t have to. His sports car was much the faster of the two.
“Aren’t you afraid we’ll lose him, Uncle Charlie?” Biff asked, worried.
“Not a chance, Biff. This road goes only one place. The end of the island. No major turnoffs. If we stick too close on his tail, he might spot us. ”

“ Derek got into the same sleek, black limousine that had brought Biff to the hotel only an hour before. Dietz got behind the wheel. He wove through the crowded streets of Willemstad. The town and its houses and buildings looked very much like a small waterfront town back in Holland. The houses were the same type. Willemstad, Derek recalled, had been named for a small village back in Holland.
Leaving Willemstad behind them, Dietz sped along a narrow, winding road that climbed the foothills toward the highest point in Curaçao. ”

“ Biff withdrew another few feet. He wanted the big man to chase him. It took Crunch a little time to figure out the situation. Then, as he saw Biff move farther away from him, he made up his mind. He lunged toward Biff. Biff turned and ran.
The plan was working out fine. Derek would have plenty of time and opportunity to get out of his jail and head for the gateway.
Everything was fine with one exception. Suppose Crunch overtook Biff? The boy could almost feel the massive arms of the giant closing around him. Crunch’s grasp would be as powerful as that of a boa constrictor. ”

“ Derek had a pretty good idea now of what Dietz must be figuring had happened. Believing Specks was guarding the real Derek, Dietz must think that Keene had broken in on them and overpowered Specks, and that during the melee, he, Derek, had fled. It would be wise, Derek thought, to find out as much as he could.
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This man must be the one Keene had referred to as Dietz. Derek decided to find this out.
“Yes, Mr. Dietz. That’s what happened.”
“Thank goodness you made your escape,” Dietz replied. “Keene is a dangerous man. Dangerous to you and your father.” ”

“ Uncle Charlie smiled. It pleased him that his nephew and Derek had become friends.
“You will, Derek. And you’re right. Biff’s as fine a fellow as you’ll ever know. You two ought to have a great time, skin diving for pearls. You ever do any skin diving?” ”

“ The sound of feet striding briskly and firmly came from the rear of the room. Dietz swung around. His face went white. His heart pounded. It couldn’t be. It was impossible! Derek Zook was a prisoner guarded by Crunch. Crunch was a simple-minded soul, but a powerful man. Derek Zook couldn’t have escaped!
Biff Brewster came striding down the aisle.
The referee looked up. “And what is the matter concerning you that brings you before this Claims Division?” he asked.
“The matter of the claim to a pearl fishery, made by Brom Zook of Curaçao, sir,” Biff said. ”

“ Crunch wait until they far away, then come over here to give warning. Dietz bad man, very—”
Crunch left his sentence hanging in air. He stared in disbelief at the front of the tent.
He was looking at Derek. His eyes swung from Derek to Biff, then back to Derek and back again from one boy to the other.
“Is more magic!” Crunch howled, terror in his voice. He turned to run.
“Wait, Crunch. Stop.” Biff ran over to the Indian and took him by the arm. “It’s no more magic. There are really two of us. Me—I’m Biff. That’s my name. He’s my friend Derek. Come here, Derek.” ”

“ Uncle Charlie laughed. “No wonder you’re puzzled. They’re speaking a language made up of more different languages than any other in the world. It’s called Papiamento. The jargon is a combination of Dutch, English, Spanish, Portuguese, African, and Indian words. Carib Indians. A few French words thrown in, too.”
“Just like Curaçao itself.”
“That’s right, Biff. This island is filled with many races although the Dutch are predominant.”
Uncle Charlie looked at his watch, then glanced up at the sun. “Aren’t you getting hungry? ”

“ There was another man here, too, not so long ago. A man named Dietz. That knock could have been him.”
“I don’t think so, Biff. I’m sure it wasn’t.”
“Then who could it have been?” Biff asked.
“Why don’t you go to the room next door and find out,” Uncle Charlie suggested, grinning broadly. “Go ahead. Specks won’t give me any trouble.”
Biff shrugged his shoulders, opened the door, and stepped out into the hallway. He shook his head. That was Uncle Charlie for you. Daring, reckless, always making a mysterious game out of any situation. Keeping up the suspense as long as possible. ”

“ Dietz knows that he wouldn’t stand a chance of claiming to have made the discovery first.”
“Why not?”
“Because he doesn’t know exactly where it is.”
“Do you, Uncle Charlie?”
“I have a pretty good idea, because I know more precisely where Brom Zook was working than Dietz does. You see, Biff, a claim to a water area covers a lot of ocean. It isn’t like a land claim for mining. A mining claim covers a specific spot. A water claim can cover an area of hundreds of acres. I know the island group that Brom was searching in, but only Brom knows the exact spot where the pearl oysters are located.” ”

“ Uncle Charlie said. “Although they are the pearl diver’s greatest enemy, they can also help produce the pearl.”
“How?” Biff wanted to know.
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“The best pearl is the perfectly round pearl. The foreign body which gets into the oyster must be perfectly round to produce the perfect pearl. These round objects are the eggs of parasitic worms. The adult worms are the parasites of sharks.”
“So where you find sharks, you can find pearls?” Biff asked.
“Not exactly, Biff. What I mean is this: where there are pearl fisheries, the perfect pearls come from the eggs the shark’s parasites lay.” ”

“ As strength flowed back into the man’s body, he sat up. Frantically he shot his hand into a pocket of his wet, worn, sun-bleached dungarees. An expression of relief crossed his face. In the faint light of a rising moon, he inspected the two objects in the upturned palm of his hand. ”

“ A chabasco strikes without warning, with tornado-like violence, whirling and smiting and soaking. The storm ends as abruptly as it begins. The air regains its calm. Only the churned-up waters continue to smash upon the shore. ”

“ Brom Zook and Biff looked in the direction Derek was pointing. They saw the ugly, menacing clouds, forerunners of a chabasco.
“It’ll strike in a few moments,” Brom Zook said.
“And right at the spot we last saw Dietz,” Biff shouted. The winds were already getting heavier in the harbor.
“We can do nothing to help them. We’re too far away.” Derek’s father said soberly.
The chabasco struck. Dietz’s boat was right in the center of its fury. There was little chance that he and Specks would escape the storm’s vengeance. ”

“ Charlie Keene swung around. Ten feet away, at the edge of the sand apron extending from the undergrowth to the house, stood Crunch.
“Let me do the talking, Uncle Charlie,” Biff said in a low voice.
“You bet I will, Biff. You know how to handle that giant.”
“Come here, Crunch,” Biff said gently.
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The Indian approached cautiously. His head pivoted from one direction to the other. Crunch was looking for the evil spirits.
“I have kept my promise, Crunch. I have not made the magic that would take me out of here.” ”