Quest for the King (3 page)

Wesley continued to listen. After a few minutes, he said, "That's
better, Mary. Now look, just don't worry, eh? They're sure to turn up.
They wouldn't leave you in a hotel room and abandon you. You know
Uncle John as well as I do. He wouldn't do that." Then in a startled
voice, "What did you say?"

Lisa's voice came through the bathroom phone. "Mary, what makes
you think they've gone to Anthropos? Look, do stop crying. I can't
make out what you're trying to say. An' please-you mustn't call her
`that old woman.' She's nice, Mary."

For a few moments there was confusion, no one having a clear idea
of what Mary was saying. Finally both Kurt and Wesley had it straight.
Wesley said, "O.K, Mary, I think we have it. You say they disappeared
right out of the bridal car, and that it didn't stop anywhere. I guess
you're right. They must have gone to Anthropos.

"Now look. Stop worrying. We'll probably be able to fly there first
thing tomorrow. Cathay Pacific says we're to be ready to fly. Mebbe
there's some way we could get there ourselves-to Anthropos, I
mean."

Kurt's voice interrupted him. "Mary, its no use talking to Mum and
Dad. Dad won't let us say anything about Anthropos. He gets mad
whenever we do. He says the subject is taboo, an' we mustn't even talk
among ourselves about it. We do, of course. But cheer up. We're
coming tomorrow!"

They hung up eventually and gathered in the small entrance
lounge to the suite. Wesley said, "What can we do?"

"Nothing, as far as I can see," Lisa complained. "I wish she wouldn't
cry so much."

"Oh, Lisa-you must admit she doesn't often. An' it must be no fun
being all alone in a typhoon," Kurt protested.

"Mrs. Choi's with her."

"O.K, O.K, you two!" interrupted Wesley. "Let's not start quarrelling again. Mebbe there is some way we can get to Anthropos. But I
can't think of any right now. We'll have to play it by ear."

For a while they sat with worried frowns on their faces. Finally Kurt
said, "If they really have gone to Anthropos, mebbe we'll go too."

Wesley shook his head. "How would we get there? In any case, he
goes to a different time in Anthropos history than we do."

Lisa said slowly, "Oh, I don't know, Wes. If Gaal arranges the trips
I don't see any reason why he can't send us, or him, anywhere he
wants to."

Wesley's voice got squeaky, a sign that he was irritated. "Yes, yes,
yes! But how? When Uncle John went the second time he could choose
whether to go or not."

Kurt shook his head. "He had no choice the first time. He opened
a door-and hey, presto!-there he was in some sort of never-never
land. An' even the second time he wouldn't have had a choice if Gaal
hadn't provided him with one. All that happened was he realized the
opportunity had presented itself."

"O.K, clever sticks! So how do we follow him there?"

Kurt shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see how we can unless Gaal
gives us the chance. If we're to go, then he will."

"I'd like to get to go," Lisa said, longingly.

Wesley drew in a deep breath. "Well, it's a worry. Dad will go crazy.
He'll search Hong Kong by telephone, then start on the various islands. I wouldn't put it past him to go to Macau, or even into mainland
China."

Lisa grinned. "Just don't any of us say Anthropos!"

Kurt said, "Yes, but Mary will."

"Oh, shucks. You're right. There'll be no stopping her. I can just
hear the two of them-Dad and Mary-hard at it right now!"

There was another long pause. Then Kurt said something that
proved prophetic. "I have the horrid feeling that something pretty
frightful-or mebbe merely frightening-is going to happen, an' we'll
just be whisked into Anthropos whether we like it or not."

The storm abated during the night, and by morning the Friesens were
able to fly to Hong Kong. Aunt Jane Friesen called from the hotel
lobby as soon as they arrived.

"Hello! Is that Mary? This is your Aunt Jane-you know-Lisa's
mother. We're here in the hotel. Just got in. Darling, we've been so
worried about you! How are you, dear?"

"Oh, hi! I'm O.K., thanks."

"Did they come back?"

"You mean Uncle John? No, Aunt Jane."

"Oh, you poor dear! What a nightmare you've had! Never mind,
darling, we're here now. We're just going to the restaurant for lunch.
Would you like to join us?"

"Aunt Jane, are the kids with you?"

"Yes, darling, we're all here. Cathay Pacific called us from the airport early this morning. It was a rough flight, but we're fine."

Mary heaved a sigh. Her aunt and uncle would not understand, but
the kids would. It was a comfort, an enormous comfort, to have someone she knew nearby. "Thank you, Aunt Jane, I'll be right down."

Lunch was a bit of a strain. The Friesens were tall and thin, and
Mr. Friesen was "picky"-a stickler for "doing things properly." (Wesley's polite but slightly fussy frown was a reflection of his father's.)
Throughout lunch Mr. Friesen never wore any other expression. Mrs.
Friesen spent her time smoothing down any ruffled feelings after her
husband upset them.

"I still cannot comprehend what got into them!" he exclaimed. "You
just don't turn your nose up at your own wedding reception. What
happened at the reception, Mary?"

"I don't know, Uncle Fred. I didn't go. Mrs. Choi put me to bed. I
wasn't feeling well."

"You poor darling! I don't blame you a bit." Her aunt, who sat next
to Mary, reached over and squeezed her hand.

"It was a totally unacceptable thing for them to do," he continued.
"You just don't snub the guests at your wedding reception. And to
abandon a child like that, without the slightest warning-" He
stopped suddenly and looked hard at Mary. "You're sure they didn't
tell you where they were going? You're not trying to keep their secrets
for them, are you?"

"Darling, please! Of course she's not!" his wife protested.

Wesley's voice was indignant. "Look, Dad, she was crying her heart
out last night! She could hardly talk to me, she was so scared!"

He snorted "It's utterly, totally..."

But at that point the waiter brought their orders on a trolley to the
table, and for a few moments the regular conversation gave place to
a discussion as to who had ordered what. The children had little
interest in eating. The issue of Anthropos drove normal things from
their minds entirely. Mary glanced at her cousins gratefully, feeling
that the ground under her feet was becoming a little more solid.

Wesley began to relax. "Danger over-I hope," he thought.

Lisa stared at Mary, wondering whether she had anything up her sleeve. In her mind she was saying, "You can never tell with that girl.
One minute she's crying, and the next she's into a witch's coven. I
don't trust her."

Once their various dishes had been sorted out they addressed themselves to the food. Mr. Friesen said, in a rather genial tone, "You children must not mind our not spending much time with you over the next
day or so. We have to trace John and Eleanor, and that may take time.
You haven't any suggestions where we start, have you, darling? I'll call
all the hotels, of course, and interview the drivers of both vehicles."

"They could be on one of the islands," his wife said. "Chung Chau
could be a lovely place for a honeymoon."

Mary said, "You won't find them. They're in Anthropos. I just know.
They got into the limousine but they didn't get out. It'll be a waste of
time to search for them-they've gone where we can't get at them."

Wesley drew in his breath sharply. "Here it comes," he thought.
Silence fell on the table as everyone paused in their eating and
looked either at Mary or her uncle. The only sound was the hum of
conversation from neighboring tables and muted traffic sounds from
outside the restaurant windows. Uncle Fred finally broke the silence.
"Mary, our children know that they are not to talk about this-this
Anthropos. I believe they have gotten over the-hm-well, rather
childish ideas they used to have. I'd rather you didn't encourage them.
There is no such place as Anthropos."

Though his voice was quiet, there was a hard edge to it that his own
children recognized at once. But Mary had never been easily intimidated by grown-ups, and though she was a good deal more polite
than when the Friesen children had first known her, she still didn't
seem to make a distinction between children and grown-ups.

"Oh, but there is! I've been there, Uncle Fred! I was there with
them last time and-"

"There will be no further talk about Anthropos, Mary." Mr. Fries.
en's face was red, and his voice louder. "I have already arranged to
interview both limousine chauffeurs this afternoon. I am not satisfied
with their stories. People do not simply disappear." He paused, and when he continued, his voice was gentler. "I'm sorry I asked you
whether you were holding something back. I don't believe you are.
I realize what a terrible shock this whole thing has been to you, Mary,
but there must be no more talk about Anthropos."

"Uncle Fred, I know what I'm talking about. I don't care whether
you believe me or not. I-"

"Mary-I warn you-"

Mary rose to her feet, red-faced. "You're not my father!" Her voice
was loud and shaky. People from the next two tables turned round to
see who was shouting.

Mrs. Friesen, who was seated between them, laid a hand on her
husband's arm. "Darling, she's just been through such a lot." Then
to Mary, "It's all right dear. He doesn't really mean it."

She placed her other arm around Mary's waist, pulling her close.
To the rest she said, "Let's get on with lunch. Mary'll be all right in
a minute. She's quite a girl, aren't you, Mary?"

Mary bit her lip, grateful to lean for a moment against Aunt Jane.
She was still angry, but the anger began to subside. The comfort of
a motherly arm began to melt it. Kurt watched her carefully. As she
sank back into her chair he smiled at her across the table. Then,
making sure his father was not watching, he gave her the thumbs-up
sign. His smile broadened as she smiled feebly back. In Kurt's mind
was the memory of their first supper together at Uncle John's, and of
the way Mary had stormed out of the dining room at his own insulting
remarks. He liked Mary, and he knew that both of them had changed
since those earlier, stormier times.

Wesley made an attempt to get the conversation on another track.
"Dad, d'you think it would be O.K for us kids to go to Lion Rock? It
used to be one of your favorites."

"What a wonderful idea! That would fit in excellently with our own
plans. I'm really sorry I can't come with you-I would love to do so,
but for all this business. And your mother, I think, would rather rest.
This afternoon I really must call some hotels, for John and Eleanor
have to be somewhere."

Mrs. Friesen's eyes widened as she glanced at Mary. Rather quickly
she said, "Let's talk about Lion Rock. How will you get there, Wesley?"

"Oh, it's easy, Mum. We just go along Peking Road to Nathan Road
and get the underground at Tsim Sha Tsui station. You know the one
-it's right in front of the Hyatt and directly opposite the Holiday Inn.
We change to the train at Kowloon Tong."

"It sounds very complicated to me." Their mother was uncertain.

"Oh, no, Mum, it's not really. We did it several times last time we
were here. The Chois-I called them before lunch-live in Shah Tin.
So do the Freeman Chans-you remember them?-Freeman and
Sook Kit and their two cute kids. Freeman's the architect, and Sook
Kit writes."

His father nodded. Now that the conversation was no longer about
Anthropos, tension seemed to have drained out of him. "I'm not sure
whether we remember them, but you did go to Shah Tin several times.
Don't forget that you have to change before getting to Kowloon
Tong-"

"I know, Dad!"

"-and do you really know how to get to the beginning of the climb
up to Lion Rock? We only went together once. What about the trails?
Can you remember them?"