language, and he continued reading the rest. Sud- denly the word flashed with its real meaning in his mind. And he knew then it was a very serious mat- ter. He didn't know what to do. A sound came to his ears. It was the sound of approaching footsteps. He became so alarmed. If the sailor happened to take just one look into the room, he would surely be spotted. The sound of the footsteps became louder and louder and when the man walked past the room, Mazlan felt very much relieved. \"Whew! That was close,\" he whispered, \"I'd better get mo- ving.\" He knew he had to sneak into the third room, because the man was already in the second room. \"I don't know what this whole set up is about,\" he thought, \"All I want to do is to find uncle and Lias and then scram.\" He burst into the third room and saw his uncle tied to the window. He looked so tired. \"Uncle,\" he called, \"We've to run home now. It was then that he realised that his cousin was not there. \"Where's Lias 1\" \"Wasn't he with you all the time?\" \"No. He came here earlier. And I've come to bring him back ... er. ..you too.\" \"He's not here. He never was since last night.\" Mazlan did not waste time. He untied his un- cle's hands. \"We'd better sneak out uncle,\" he stated, \"1 saw something in the other room.\" \"What is it?\" \"Guns!\" \"Guns1\" \"Yes sir. There are so many boxes of them. 51 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
There are all sorts of them. Each one of them is marked with bold letterings.\" \"Then there are all sorts of guns,\" the uncle added, pulling his hands free. \"Who knows? There may be guns of all types - rifles, pistols, automatic weapons, machine-guns and what not.\" 52 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
An Enen1Y's Plot JUST THEN someone came running into their room. It was Alias. His face was pale and his chest was heaving tremendously. \"Lias. Where've you been 1\" Mazlan inquired. The small boy had to take his time. \"In the next room,\" he said panting. \"The one where they kept the boxes?\" Mazlan asked. \"Boxes? No. There were no boxes around. But there was a table and a sort of a radio on it.\" \"Steady boy,\" his father cautioned. \"Tell me exactly what you saw in there.\" Alias had to wait to catch his breath. '\" was coming through the door, father,\" he started, '\" saw the stranger going up the tower room. So I snooped around trying to find you. Instead of coming in here, I entered that room. It was a mistake father. I thought it was your room. Inside it, , saw a few empty tins. They 53 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
are tins of fruits. I saw the lables on them. Perhaps the stranger is living on canned fruits. Perhaps cann- ed foods like sardines and meat too. Yes. There are a few matches. In the middle of the room is an old table with a wooden box for the chair. The table is made of wood. On the table is a big blackish metal box. It looks like a radio to me. You know, I heard some crackling sound in it. There are a few buttons on it. Beside the box, there is a pair of round discs, attached together with a wire. The discs too are attached to the set with a wire... \" Alias had to stop talking because his uncle had just put up his hand. \"Listen boys,\" he said, \"Listen very carefully. We must all try to escape. For all I know that radio set Alias was talking about is actually a wireless set. I didn't know they have one around here. Last night around 2.00 a.m., the stranger left this room. And I could hear the dragon whinning again. Yes. Before that he went to the right, to the tower room I assume. Then he passed by to the left, to the cellar surely. That was after you two have left. I was think- ing what it was all about. It was after you've re- ported seeing guns and wireless that I guess there's a plot afoot.\" \"Plot?\" Mazlan asked. \"That's right. The stranger went up to the tower probably to signal to someone at sea. During the day like this, it would be dangerous to signal with that kerosine pressure lamp in the tower. So he made use of the wireless set in the other room. Whoever is out there will know when it's safe or 54 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
unsafe to come here. They had to do it carefully and secretly for fear of the police. Only one kind of people is scared of the police... the bad people. And they are transporting an illegal shipment of firearms. \" \"What do we do now, father?\" Alias asked. \"Go home both of you.\" \"You mean you are not coming along?\" \"Not yet. These people are up to something. With a large room packed with guns, with ammuni- tion too, they can make a lot of trouble. There may be a lot of shooting with people killed here and there.\" He paused for a while. \"And I'm going to put a stop to it.\" \"No uncle,\" Mazlan reminded, \"It's danger- ous.\" \"That's why you boys must go home.\" \"No, not now,\" somebody said in a course voice. The three people turned around. It was the bearded sailor. He had obviously heard the three of them talking loudly, and had come in to inves- tigate. His face was as stern as the pistol in his hand. \"You've found out too much, now I'm going to get rid of you.\" \"Why?\" Mazlan argued, \"I've come here only to find my cousin and uncle...\" \"Shut up. I don't believe you now. I would have believed you if you've said earlier. But not after I've overheard what that blessed uncle of yours had intended to do.\" The two boys turned to look at the archaeologist. \"So you want to stop us eh!\" the stranger jeered. \"Then you've come deliberately 55 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
\"No not now,\" somebody said in a cour-e vok e. 56 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
to spy on us. Unless I get rid of you this place will never remain a secret for long. You know what happened to those two Americans 1\" Alias quickly remarked, \"You've sacrificed them to the dragons of yours.\" \"No. I shot them myself with this very pistol.\" The sailor gestured at his pistol proudly. The two boys shivered with fright. \"Because they had dis- covered what you people have just discovered.\" \"Wait,\" yelled the archaeologist, \"What about those dragons or dragon of yours 1 It's too late to deny it's existence. I've seen it ploughing through the water.\" The bearded sailor smiled. It was cynical and dirty. \"No. It's not a dragon really,\" he replied, ..It 's a ship. To be a hundred percent correct, it's a miniature submarine. Have you heard of the mid- get submarines used in World War II? They've been developed as a weapon by the Japanese. Ours is of the XE model. But we've shortened it from its former forty-eight feet length and added some external decorations like fins and such. Its six foot diameter remains the same. We've named it DRA- GON. Dragons are fierce monsters and I'd like to be fierce to people like you.\" The two boys were listening with mouths open. All this while people have been referring to it as a dragon. Now someone had the cheek to say it wasn't a dragon but a small submarine. \"The cellar down there is flooded,\" the sailor continued. He was beginning to boast again, which was typical among sailors. \"It's only a few feet deep. But dur- 57 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
ing high tide, it would enable our sub to come in.\" Then Alias' father spoke up. \"So it was the sound of your diesel engine that I heard and not the cry of the dragon.\" \"Right first guess. For centuries people on this island had believed there's a dragon under this island. The dragon had come from the Pahang River, according to the legend. All we had to do was to reveal some strange fins above the water and they'll do the rest for us. They had to keep away from this place for fear of the dragon. That was exactly what we wanted and we could do our work with no snoopers around.\" Alias' father spoke up again. \"And the sub of yours had to come in around 2.00 a.m. because that's when the tide is high.\" Mazlan then took his turn. \"And that sound of things dropped on the floor was the sound of boxes being unloaded from the sub.\" \"And we already know what are in the boxes,\" Alias added. His father raised his hand to prevent his son from talking too much but failed. The small boy just rattled off with what he had learnt. \"Guns. It's illegal to bring guns into the country in this way. When the police learns about this you'll die.\" \"You're all fools,\" the sailor said. \"Now you'll surely die. I'll be only too tempted to kill you fast- er.\" He looked at the archaeologist. \"Hey you,\" he said, \"Tie up these boys. I'll not shoot you though. I'll push you into the sea and let you drown. Then the stupid fishermen will find your bodies and they'll tell the police that the dragons had be- 58 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
come more savage.\" Mazlan shivered. He almost cried. He wished his mother was there. Reluctantly his uncle picked up the string from the floor and then tied up Maz- lan's hands. \"Don't worry Maz,\" the elderly man comforted. \"The police will capture them and we'll be all right.\" As soon as he had finished with Maz- Ian's hands he started with Alias too. \"You're stupid to wish for that dumb police of yours to come,\" the stranger continued jeering. \"They'll not come in shooting. They'll have to wait until you're all safe out of the way before they can attack. Then they'll have to wait for a long long time.\" He came closer and tied up the archaeolo- gist's hands. \"I'll not take any risk this time, I feel better if I tie up your hands and feet too.\" He push- ed them on the floor one by one and tied up their feet. \"Oh!\" he said suddenly and left the room. \"What's wrong with him uncle?\" Mazlan ask- ed. \"That crackling sound, do you hear it?\" There was silence. Then the boy nodded.\"Pro- bably that wireless set Alias has been telling us about,\" the uncle guessed. \"There's a message coming and that sailor of ours has hurried up to receive it.\" \"What's a wireless sir? How does it work?\" \"Well. It's just like Alias had described. It's a type of radio for transmitting and also receiving messages. Normally when you switch on a radio you can hear someone singing. When you switch 59 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
on a wireless set you can probably hear your friend talking to you. That sailor had kept his set on. When his friend wants to talk to him, he gives that crackling signal. His friend is somewhere. May be somewhere in the South China Sea. You never can tell. \" \"Perhaps on another island sir?\" \"Let's look at it this way then. A midget sub- marine cannot travel far. It's engine capacity is small. It had to be towed by a ship to get within distance. Furthermore, if he's on an island, there's a chance that he may be discovered by fishermen. That's why I believe he's on a ship in the South China Sea.\" The man stopped talking. There's nothing else to talk about. He was getting tired of talking too after being a prisoner for a spell. He looked at the two boys beside him on the floor. He felt sorry for them. Mazlan was his favourite nephew and he had come all the way from his home town to spend his holidays. Their hope was in the arrival of policemen. Minutes ticked by and there was still no sign of any rescuers. \"Father, I'm scared.\" It was Alias' voice. \"It's all right,\" the man comforted. \"He's going to drown us,\" Mazlan added. \"He wouldn't dare.\" \"He will. I know he will. He had already killed two men,\" Alias said. He was already half-crying. \"All right boys,\" the archaeologist said, \"So 60 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
he will kill us. But we'll die bravely. Don't answer any question that he asks:' He stopped talking for he had just heard the sound of approaching foot- steps. \"Here he comes,\" he whispered. 61 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
The Submarine Has Arrived A DARK FIGURE appeared on the doorway. Mazlan stiffened. He was more frightened to see him and wondered how the dark chap had been involved in this. \"Hantu Hitam,\" he yelled. \"Hantu Hitam will kill us all the same.\" The archaeologist lifted up his head. \"What1\" he said in disbelief. \"So that's your Hantu Hitam. He's nothing more than Ramasamy that I've been talking about.\" \"That's right,\" said the Indian man. The tale of Hantu Hitam is not true at all. The boy took a pot shot at a bird on the angsana tree. The pebble from his catapult hit the roof of my hut which was just nearby. I therefore went forward to scold him. Perhaps he felt so guilty and ran. He didn't know how to swim, therefore when he fell into the drain, he was quickly drowned. I am sorry for him.\" \"Get us out of here,\" the archaeologist demand- 62 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
ed, showing his tied hands. \"The culprit had just gone off to his wireless set. He may be back any minute and you'd better hurry. He has a gun.\" \"You don't have to tell me all that. I was eavesdropping just now. I've heard everything.\" The Indian bent down and started untying the knots. HIt's funny you know,\" he continued, \"I really had the grudge on you. I thought it was due to you that my boy was killed. I chased that boy of yours when he was heading this way. But I lost his track as I neared this place. It took me quite sometime to figure out that he might have come in here. When I reached here I heard voices. All the while I was hoping to find one of you. You know how I felt when I saw my son's body? I thought may be I can lay my hands on your boy. I wanted revenge, you see.\" \"Now that our hands are tied up like this,\" Mazlan said, \"Why don't you kill us. Have you forgotten about your boy?\" The archaeologist's hands are free. He went for Alias' hands as the Indian was untying Mazlan's. \"I've not forgotten my son's death,\" the Indian said. HAnd it's not your fault that he was killed. It is that threatening sailor who is to be blamed- and his dragon ship of course.\" The archaeologist looked out through the win- dow. \"H urry up,\" he said, finishing with the knots at Alias' hands. \"The tide is rising now. And I've a feeling that the sub is coming in. That's why the wireless message is about. I can bet.\" Mazlan was 63 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
finally freed. \"Let's go,\" the man commanded, \"And quietly does it.\" And so he led the small party outside. \"The cellar is to the left sir,\" Mazlan said. And the elderly man responded. They took several long steps, all the while on tiptoes. They eventually reached the concrete staircase leading to the par- tially flooded room. \"Let's get ourselveas a good hiding place,\" the leader said. \"1 know one. And a very good one too,\" Maz- lan said. He showed the way to the side of the con- crete staircase. The space had become smaller since the water level had risen much higher. The small party squeezed themselves into the small hiding place and waited. \"It won't be long now,\" Rama- samy said. His hands were clenched and he looked excited in the anticipation of a revenge. Samad, the archaeologist, for reasons un- known to others was looking upwards. Only when he started talking did the others realised that he had been thinking. \"To think that it was a pre-his- toric marine reptile,\" he whispered, \"It had turned out to be a sub. I've read about these midgets. One of them was used in the sinking of a Japanese battle- cruiser in Singapore harbour. The craft had to go up close to the water-line in order to raise its peri- scope to check where it was going. It was a bright idea of those culprits to fix thick steel plates on the dorsal part of the sub, so that its triangular shape would be mistaken for the fin of a shark or a dragon.\" Ramasamy turned on him. \"You were the 64 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
one who thought it was a shark's fin.\" The elderly man smiled. \"And the American zoologists even mistook it for an Ichthyosauria.\" \"What is it?\" the fisherman asked. \"Ifs a type of fish or reptile or whatever you call it. Ifs extinct by now. I should've known there's not even one of them is able to survive anywhere now:' \"Yes. To think there was a dragon here.. .' Mazlan echoed, \"Now there's another story behind it. By the way uncle, why were you so excited of the dragon or the pre-historic reptile in the first placer: \"Oh! Father wants to identify the species,\" Alias answered proudly to the disbeliefof the others. \"You want to learn its habits, don't you father and to protect and to preserve it.\" The father stared hard at his little boy full of approval and admiration. \"How did you come to learn so much?\" he asked. \"Oh! I've read that magazine cutting from your file father. You know mother had locked me up in the room this morning. I saw your big table in the room and I remembered the American article in that file of yours. So I thought I might as well take a look.\" \"How much of it did you read?\" \"Oh! Not much I guess,\" Alias answered and the archaeologist scratched his head sadly. \"These people always write long long essays. They are not interesting to read. I don't understand most of them. There was some mentioning of a pre-historic fish 65 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
caught recently in East Africa...\" \"Its name is Coelacanth;\" the elderly man snapped. \"You mean caught alive?\" Mazlan inquired. \"Yes. The Coelacanth is a primitive fish. It was believed to have been extinct since around 70 mil1ion years ago. It looked fearful, you can say. The base of its fins were fleshy. But in 1938 one of them had been captured alive in East Africa. So you see boys, there's always the possibility that a creature, believed to be extinct, may yet be found alive nowadays, somewhere. That was all the ex- citement about. You see, if I can confirm the exist- ence of the Ichthyosauria or the dragon, it will be another dramatic chapter in natural history.\" Suddenly further discussion was halted by Ra- masamy. \"Sh, He's coming,\" he whispered. Alias was curious. He had kept his eyes fixed to the water in front of him. \"The sub? You must be seeing things.\" \"The sailor,\" the Indian whispered, \"He's above us on the staircase-stupid.\" \"Alias is always stupid,\" Mazlan added. \"Quiet,\" the archaeologist hissed. Had it not been for his intervention, the boys would have given up their position. The sailor on the concrete staircase was now wearing a peaked cap, white in colour. He was looking through his binoculars in the direction of the open sea. He kept his glasses moving left and right in search of the telltale iron fins. Then he found his concentration and had his 66 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
glasses fixed. \"He's seen it,\" Samad said. \"You mean the dragon uncle?\" \"The sub you fool,\" Alias corrected quickly. The man had to be serious again. \"Cut it out boys.\" \"Yes sir.\" \"Yes father.\" \"That's better. Oh! There it is now. Can you see it? That moving fin above the water.\" \"Where?\" Alias asked trying to look in the direction pointed to him by his father. \"I can see it all right,\" Mazlan said. \"It looks like a shark's fin. And the tail fin is now appearing.\" \"The sub is entering the shallow water now,\" said Samad explaining. \"It's coming closer. Steady.\" The sailor with the glasses was waving about with his arms. It was incredible but there it was. The submarine was being guided in by the sailor. The craft slowly inched its way between the open- ing in the wall. The sound of its engine could be heard now. It had won over the sound of the lashing waves. The two boys had to put their hands on their ears as the sound was getting too much for them. Mazlan realised how noisy it was. They had mis- taken it for a dragon's whinning. Now they confirm it was the sound of diesel engine. The space in the room was much smaller because of the volume of the water brought up by the tide and the displace- ment made by the submarine. It had made the sound rise to its maximum 67 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
r\" \"J.IUh watur 110\", : ° . , \"Thl\" -Ill I ._ ' l 'nlll\"III\" II\\(: I I 68 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
pitch, More waves began to lash at the small hiding place as the submarine inched its way inside. Then the submarine broke to the surface and the waves lII. .\". -- ... .\" Submarine began to reach the boys' shoes. Yet the four out- siders did not bother to move. They stared at the midget submarine with awe and amazement. It was easy to see why the midget had been mistaken for a dragon. It had a set of fins on its dor- sal side. Actually they were of three different sizes. The biggest one had made it to look like a dragon. In front of the fin was the conning tower of the sub- marine, At the tail end was a flap which was a sort of a fin. It was made of steel too. It was slightly smaller than the dorsal fin so that it could only be seen when the craft was in shallow water. There was the periscope but its appearance above the 69 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
water would be mistaken for a dragon's snorkel. From the hull to the tail was bright bold painting which made it look more like a dragon's body. The fishermen were quite right when they had mistaken it for a dragon. Only it was created by man and made of steel. Mazlan wondered how evil man can be. God created dragon but He allow- ed them to survive only for a short period of time. On the other hand man made these type of submarines to fight wars with. And even after the war, in peace time like this, they continue to terrify people. Imagine that steel fin cutting a swimmer's body into two. A hatch then opened at the conning tower. A man dressed in white climbed out. His peaked cap, his tunic shorts and stockings were all white. There was a sort of yellow and blue markings on his shoul- ders but Mazlan could not make out what they were from that distance. The bearded sailor saluted him and began tying up a secure cable from the sub's hull, so as not to allow the craft from drifting away. The man jumped out and two more men climbed out after him likewise. \"They're navy men,\" Alias' father declared, \"The one they're saluting is obviously an officer.\" \"They're talking father,\" his son warned, \"I can hear them but I can't figure out what they're talking about.\" \"I don't get it,\" Ramasamy whispered, \"They're talking in some sort of a Chinese dialect but the bearded one spoke to you in English.\" 70 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
In turn the archaeologist put his hand on Maz- lan's shoulder. It took him a long time to speak. And when he did, his voice sounded so different. The words came slow and heavy. \"Mazlan,\" he whispered, \"Take Alias with you and run off to the police station, as fast as you can. You don't have to see your auntie first. You know the police station don't you?\" \"Of course I do sir,\" Mazlan said and in a similar tone too. It was certainly strange to hear him speak such. The uncle's face looked so un- usual. There were more wrinkles there than the last time Mazlau saw it. \"Don't ask me anything now. Just listen carefully and do as I tell you.\" \"I will.\" \"Good. This is what you must tell the police. Tell them that Communist spies have landed in Dragon Bay. And ask them to come in fast.\" \"Communist?\" Ramasamy asked alarmingly. \"Yes. I am sure I saw a Communist symbol at the conning tower. That's a Communist ship. And for all I know anything Communist is bad. I'm going to run up the stairs now.\" \"You can't,\" Ramasamy warned, \"They'll shoot you down.\" \"May be, but I'm going to risk that. May be they'll be too surprised to shoot. May be they would not have enough time to aim. May be they'll chase me. And when they do that, Maz you must swim out through that door. You can swim I'm sure.\" \"Yes sir.\" 71 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
\"Alias, you must swim too.\" \"I can't,\" the boy protested. But the archaeol- ogist refused to listen. May be a naughty boy like Alias knows how to swim after all. Who knows may be he is pretending like he had often done many a time before. \"Maz,\" the man said again, \"You must know we all depend on you. In fact, the whole country is depending on you boy.\" \"That's right,\" Ramasamy added, \"I'm stay- ing too and I'm going to play it out with those people.\" \"No, Ramasamy. You must go too.\" \"I said I'm staying. I've got my revenge to fulfil.., \"All right then. Maz. Tell me exactly what you must do when you have managed to swim outside.\" \"Yes sir. Tell the police the Communists have landed here. Then tell your wife... \" \"Then what 1\" the man said angrily.\" I said only to report to the police. That's very important. After you've done that its not very important al- ready.\" \"I thought I'll tell your wife you love her,\" Mazlan smiled as he had often done whenever he had made a mistake. The elderly man was almost stunned when he had heard it. Did he think his nephew was four- teen or fifteen 1 He was not sure. ALL his anger vanished. He smiled. Mazlan was not sure but he thought he saw tears in his uncle's eyes. And the 72 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
man touched his head fondly. \"Those men are coming in this direction,\" Ramasamy interrupted. \"We'd better get ready for action.\" Mazlan could feel his heart beating tremendously fast and he prayed he would be able to carry out one of the most demanding duty in his life. 73 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
The Fight \"THEY MUST'VE heard us just now,\" Samad said. \"Get ready...Go!\" He got up to his feet and rushed up the staircase. Ramasamy followed close behind him. The four sailors saw them and auto- matically gave chase, yelling some God-forsaken language. Mazlan could hear his uncle remindin g him to run as he was being chased, \"Lari! Lari! (Run! Run!).\" \"Come on Lias!\" Mazlan said nervously, \"Let's swim out fast.\" He got to his feet. \"I can't. I am scared. I'll get drowned for sure. \" The bigger boy pulled his hands. \"Come on. Your father had given this order.\" Instead of follow- ing him, the smaller boy screamed at the top of his voice. \"No, no, no. Leave me alone.\" Mazlan became more nervous. Suddenly the bearded man reappeared at the doorway. He was 74 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
pomtmg his pistol at the two boys. Mazlan saw him and panicked. Without thinking he jumped madly into the water. The sailor shouted to make him stop. But there was no stopping of the boy. He swam. The sailor fired a shot but the boy was already hidden on the other side of the submarine. The sailor hurried down the stairs and fired more shots in the boy's direction. However there were obstructions everywhere... the bulky sub- marine, the hull, the fin, the deep water, the broken wall. Mazlan swam behind the fins and he could hear several bullets slamming against the steel. Finally Mazlan was able to swim out through the opening in the wall. Frantically he swam for the shore. \"Look then. There's the boy!\" A voice was heard calling out. Mazlan got more excited. He didn't know there were more men outside the build- ing, Oh! What an unlucky day it was going to be. From the jaws of death into the mouth of hell. That was it. He had escaped the shoutings of an angry sailor only to fall into the hands of several dozens of armed men. It was too late to retreat. Several of them had jumped into the water and had drag- ged him out. Poor Mazlan. \"There's no escape this time,\" he thought. He stared at the man in front of him. He didn't believe it but there he was... not a cruel looking enemy but a welcoming figure of a police officer. The marine police had arrived. Who in the world could have done it. \"Boy, you look about all in,\" the officer said grinning. 75 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
\"I am sir,\" he responded, \"They've got my uncle and cousin. Quick there's a sub in there sir. You may not believe it. But it's true. And they're Communists.\" \"Easy does it boy,\" the officer said calmly. \"We've been waiting here for quite sometime al- ready. When we heard those shots, we decided we've to go in. I've already sent half of my men through the front door. We know all about it boy; the scheme, the sub and everything.\" \"You mean you know all the time?\" \"Had we known earlier, there wouldn't have been several deaths. It was only after your aunt had reported that I realised there was more than a tale in the dragon mystery. You see we are all aware there's a war on in Vietnam. It's only on the other side of the South China Sea. The south is being supported by the Americans and the American planes have been attacking the north almost every- day. The north is Communist and it's being bombed ruthlessly. I've seen many Communist papers and I've learned that they had intended to set up several pocket bases behind the American lines and hoped to shoot at them unexpectedly.\" \"Vietnamese. No wonder we couldn't under- stand their language.\" \"What do they look like?\" \"Oh! Something like the Chinese. They've black hair, narrow eyes, yellowish skins...\" Then Mazlan saw the officer grinning and he stopped talking. 76 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
When the four sailors were chasing them, the two men ran into the room where the boxes were kept. They hid behind some of the boxes near the door. The sailors could not see them and so they shouted for them to surrender. The sailor with the beard then turned around and left the room as if he had just remembered something. Before the archaeologist could stop him Ramasamy sprang up and chased the sailor. His action was so sudden that the other sailors couldn't shoot at him. They were willing to let him go then because they knew Samad was still inside the room. They drew their pistols and checked behind the boxes. When a chance came up, Samad ran outside and it was then that he saw a group of marine policemen running to- wards him. \"The Commies are in there!\" he re- ported. A young officer jumped inside the room and the whole party followed suit shooting as they did. The archaeologist ran down to the cellar. He was feeling tired and hungry but he still went on. When he reached the doorway he could see Rarna- samy jumping the bearded sailor. They fought and they rolled about on the sand. Ramasamy was fight- ing madly. He kicked the sailor two or three times in the stomach and the sailor finally fell flat on the sand. Samad warned the Indian fisherman. \"Stop it. Stop it. The police is here,\" he said. \"No. He'd killed my boy,\" the fisherman re- plied, \"This devil... he'll pay for it. I'll break his bones.\" He picked up a heavy piece of wood and 77 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
aimed at the man's head, but then he paused. \"What are you waiting for?\" Samad teased. Softly the fisherman answered, \"No. I can't do it. All night I've been waiting for this day to come. I've hoped to lay my hands on him. But now I can't. Somehow the hatred in me has died. He has no more bullets in his gun and he was so helpless. I feel sorry for him.\" The archaeologist smiled. He walked slowly to his Indian friend. Softly he said, \"Nemo adeo ferus est !11 non mitescere possit:\" \"Did you say something?\" Samad smiled again. \"Oh! I didn't mean to let you hear it. And now I've got to explain. It's a Latin quotation. It means 'No one is so savage that he cannot soften.' You've been asking for revenge. You fought so savagely and now you are so sensitive.\" \"I am not a killer,\" Ramasamy replied, \"I think this is all over. I wish I could kill that man. He was the one who had caused the sub to create so much trouble.\" \"Not long afterwards the policemen came to the scene. The senior police officer was still explaining to Mazlan when the rest of the party emerged from the building. 'This morning we received a report of an unidentified ship being bombed in South China Sea by an American jet fighter. The pilot claimed that it looked like a Communist ship. His com- 78 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
mander wanted to apologise to a private company in case the ship was privately owned, but no one had reported losing any of their ships. The myste- rious ship was only a few miles from our shore. It could have been any cargo steamer of course, but I thought it was acting as a depot ship for the small submarine. The small sub has been transporting supplies of arms and ammunition from this ship to a certain place on the shore. I studied the tale of the dragon and jumped to an exciting guess.\" The archaeologist had come close by now. \"By the way inspector,\" he said, \"Your arri- val seemed to be just in time. Had you come a mi- nute late, we'd have been dead by now.\" He looked at Alias by his side and shook his head. \"Someday you must learn how to swim.\" \"Thanks for saving us,\" Alias said. After that they all shook hands with the two police officers. \"We're going home now,\" Samad said, \"I just remember how sleepy and how hungry I am.\" Mazlan added, \"I must give aunt your message. Its yet to be delivered.\" He smiled and everyone smiled with him. As they were walking off, they could see the captured sailors being led away. Thus the archaeologist had failed again, to find a pre-historic remains. Now he had failed to get the extinct fish-like reptile. To- morrow he may fail at something else. Anyway he will keep on trying. Perhaps someday he will dis- cover something else just as exciting. Who knows? 79 PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
SINARAN BROS. SON. BERHAD PERPUSTAKAAN NEGARA MALAYSIA
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