Death in the Andamans by M. M. Kaye Read Free Book Online

was the top of his pith hat when he came on board. But I saw his luggage. Very aged Gladstone bags. The Captain said he was seasick, but as the sea was like a mill-pond most of the way I was vaguely curious.’
    â€˜Probably the after-effects of a terrific yearly jag?’ suggested Valerie. ‘For all we know, Ferrers may have hidden depths. What do you suppose has happened to Charles? He’s had time to fetch enough water to fill a swimming-pool by now. Let’s go and ____ Oh, here he is. What have you been doing, darling?’
    â€˜Drinking Ferrers’s beer,’ said Charles, sloshing water out of a battered bucket into the radiator. ‘And now that both I and this hellish vehicle have received adequate liquid treatment, I propose that we set forth on our travels again. Get in you two.’
    â€˜What about Mr Shilto?’ inquired Valerie, complying. ‘Has he sent for a taxi, or is he going to try the alternative solution, and hike?’
    â€˜God knows!’ said Charles cheerfully. ‘I did not pause to ask. Ferrers’s back premises stink like a sewer, so I was not disposed to linger. I’ve no idea what the little man is using to manure his plantation — decayed octopi and sea-slug, at a guess. The pong is fearsome. John Shilto went out to investigate, and I left him to it. It will do him no harm to be asphyxiated. Let’s go ____ ’
    He pressed the self-starter and released the brake; and as he did so John Shilto came rapidly down the path between the palm trees, and breaking into a run, reached the car just as it began to move. His face was curiously flushed and he seemed to be labouring under the stress of some powerful emotion, for his pale eyes glittered with ill-suppressed excitement and his breathing was hurried and uneven.
    He jerked open the rear door of the car and tumbled in beside Copper, and having settled himself back and slammed the door, said breathlessly: ‘I’ve changed my mind. I think after all that I ought to come with you.’
    He wiped the sweat off his face, and becoming aware that his three companions were staring at him with unconcealed astonishment, forced a rattle of singularly mirthless laughter.
    â€˜I – I have been thinking,’ he said. ‘About Ferrers, you know. It is really high time that we buried the hatchet — high time! The — ah, misunderstanding between us may have been partly my fault, and if so it is only right that I should try and make amends. We must shake hands and let bygones be bygones. He is my only relative — first cousins and all that. Blood is thicker than water and it is not right that ____ Yes, yes, we must certainly see if we cannot make a fresh start … shake hands … After all, we must not forget that today is Christmas Eve, and “The Better the Day, the Better the Deed” — eh?’
    Mr Shilto paused expectantly as though for comment.
    â€˜Oh — er — quite,’ said Charles inadequately.
    He released the clutch with unintentional abruptness, and the car shot forward down the sun-dappled road that leads to Mount Harriet.

4
    Mount Harriet, the highest point in the Islands, was the hot-weather resort of the officials from Aberdeen and Ross, and the Christmas Eve picnic was an annual affair that took place in the grounds of the deserted summer-time Government House that crowned the flat-topped peak.
    Charles brought the car to a standstill on the weed-grown drive, and Ronnie Purvis, the Forest Officer, a slimly built man in a spotless white yachting-suit, pulled open the door and greeted Copper with practised charm: ‘At last, my lovely one! I’d begun to think you weren’t coming and that my day was going to be ruined. But you’re certainly worth waiting for. You look good enough to eat, and I don’t know how you do it! Come and hold my hand…’
    Copper descended from the car and said firmly: ‘I