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r r
Ha'apu seemed satisfied. "So I believed. I wanted to make certain I understood.
My mind takes longer to think things than it once did. What I have brought to
show you . . ." he indicated the small package in his
143
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE . . .
lap, *'. . . could be understood and believed only by such a person."
"Of course," said Poplar, sneaking a fast glance at his watch. He wished the chief
would come to the point. Then Poplar could haggle, politely refuse, kindly suggest
the chief try the usual tourist markets downtown and wharfside, and he could get
to work. He'd found one new shell this morning that . . . But he didn't want to be
rude by hurrying the conversation. Some Matai were easily insulted. And he
wasn't famous for his diplomatic manner.
Ha'apu was working at the small package. It was tightly bound in clean linen and
secured with twine.
"But first you must promise me you will be careful of whom you speak to about
this. We have no wish to endure an assault of the curious."
Poplar thought back to the moaning jetliner that had passed overhead this
morning, crammed to the gills with bloated statesiders eager for a glimpse of the
quaint locals betwixt brunch and supper, and applauded the Matai's attitude. He
wasn't all that naive.
"I promise it will be so, Matai."
Ha'apu continued to work deliberately with the knots. "You are familiar with
Niuhi?"
"Yes, certainly." He peered at the shrinking pile of cloth and twine with renewed
interest. A good carving of Niuhi would be something of a novelty. At least it
wasn't yet another dugout or tiki.
"Then you will know this," said Ha'apu solemnly. He removed an irregular
shaped object and placed it carefully on the desk in front of the director.
Poplar stared at it for a long moment before he recognized it for what it was. The
realization took another moment to penetrate fully. Slowly he reached out and
picked it up. A rapid examination, a few knuckle taps convinced him it was real
and not a clever fake. It wasn't the sort of thing one could easily fake. And
besides, even the simplest islander would know he couldn't get away with it. He
brought it up to eye level.
144
He
"Ye gods and little fishes," he murmured in astonishment.
It wasn't a carving.
It was a tooth. And it was quite impossible. The tooth was almost a perfect
triangle. He reached into his desk and brought out a ruler, laid it alongside the
hard bone. Slightly under 18 cms. long, about 14 cms. wide at the bottom, and
over five thick. The base was slightly curved where it fit into the jaw. Both cutting
edges were wickedly serrated, like a saw. He stared at it for a long, long time,
running his fingers along the razor-sharp cutting edges, testing the perfect point.
A magnifying glass all but confirmed its reality. That failed to temper his
uncertainty.
"Where did you get this, Ha'apu? And are there any more?" he asked softly.
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r r
"This was taken from the wood of a paopao." The Matai smiled slightly. "There is
another."
It took Poplar about thirty seconds to connect this with what the chief bad told
him earlier. Einsteinian calculations aside, he could still add up the implications.
He leaned back in his chair.
"Now Ha'apu, you're not going to try and convince me that this tooth came out of
the mouth of a living Great White!"
The chief began slowly, picking his words. "The doctor is very sure of himself.
About three weeks ago, two young men from my village were out fishing an area
we rarely visit, rather far from Tafahi. There is better fishing in other directions,
and closer to home, but they wished also a little adventure. They did not return to
us, even hours after nightfall.
"All of the men of the village, including myself, set out to search for them. We
were not yet worried. We knew where they had gone. Perhaps their boat had been
damaged, or both had been injured. There was no moon that night. One cannot
see far onto the ocean at night by only torch and flashlight. We did not find them.
"What we did find, floating by a small reef and still 145
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE . . .
anchored to the coral, was the rear half of their pao-pao. It had been snapped in
two, Dr. Poplar, That tooth you hold now in your hand was buried in the side of
the wreckage. Television and great jet airplanes admitted, Doctor, old beliefs still
linger on most of the islands. I am the most educated man in my village and
proud of my learning. But this frightened me. We have lived with the sea too long
to doubt what might come from it. We put on an exhibition of rowing that could
not be matched, Dr. Poplar, in any of the Olympic games.
"It was very quiet on Tafahi the next day. Fishing, a daily task for us, had grown
suddenly unpopular. I pointed out there was still a chance to recover the bodies
or . . ." he winced, ", . . parts of them. But no one would return to that reef.
"I went alone. It is a small atoll . . . very tiny, not on any but the most detailed of
your maps, I should guess. That was where our two men had gone to fish. To the
northeast of it, I believe, the ocean bottom disappears very fast."
Poplar nodded. "The northern tip of the Kermadec-Tonga Trench runs across
there. In spots the sea floor drops almost straight down for, oh, 3500, 3600
fathoms ... and more."
"As you say, Doctor. The sun does not go far there. It is where He dwells.
"I anchored my paopao behind the protection of the little reef, safe from the
breakers on the other side. It was where the men had anchored. Swimming was
not difficult, despite a slight current."
"If you thought you might encounter a big Great White prowling around down
there, why'd you go in?" asked Poplar shrewdly.
The chief shrugged. "My family have been chiefs and divers for enough
generations for my genealogy to bore you, Doctor. I respect Niuhi and know him.
I was careful. Anyhow, someone had to do it. I did not swim too long or too deep.
I had only mask and fins
146
He
and did not use the weights. I also have respect for age, including my own.
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r r
"The small lunch I had brought with me did not take long to eat. The afternoon
was long, the sun pleasant. I dove again.
"I had given up and was swimming back to the boat when I noticed a dark spot in
the water to my left. It was keeping pace with me. The water was clear, and so it
must have been far away to be so blurred. It paced me all the way back to the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]