Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure (108 page)

             
"
You
'
re
too
sensitive
old
fellow.
Surely
it
is
better
for
people
as
primitive
as
this
to
have
a
master
over
them
who
provides
all?
"
Kit
replied.

             
"
I
cannot
agree
that
they
are
primitive
–
or
even
that
they
are
less
able
than
we.
Might
is
all
we
have
on
our
side
my
friend,
and
might
is
not
always
in
the
right,
"
Harry
retorted.
"
Have
you
forgot
how
near
run
the
game
was
against
the
Barbary
Corsairs?
Think
on
it,
we
could
as
easily
even
now
be
serving
in
some
Musselman
'
s
palace.
How
would
they
argue
for
our
enslavement?
That
we
are
more
primitive
than
they?
"

             
Kit
was
silent
for
a
long
moment.
Then
he
mused,
"
I
wonder
how
this
fan
that
waves
above
us
is
worked?
"

             
Harry
chuckled,
recognising
that
he
had
hit
home
and
his
friend
did
not
wish
to
continue
the
discussion.
"
Beyond
that
screen
you
will
find
a
boy
our
age
pulling
a
pair
of
ropes.
He
is
the
power
behind
the
fan.
A
boring
task
I
should
think.
"

             
"
Damn
you
Harry,
"
Kit
replied
staring
at
the
screen
Harry
had
indicated.
"
Now
you
have
quite
taken
the
pleasure
out
of
my
enjoying
the
coolness
it
brings!
"

             
They
were
interrupted
by
the
arrival
of
several
others
and
Lieutenant
Beasley
accompanied
by
their
hosts
from
a
shooting
expedition.
"
Poor
shooting
in
this
heat,
"
the
lieutenant
remarked.
"
You
fellows
chose
wisely
to
remain
close
to
the
house.
"
He
accepted
a
dish
of
tea
from
a
servant
who
had
silently
materialised
with
a
tray
and
settled
beneath
the
fan,
"
Now
there
is
a
device
we
could
use
aboard
–
especially
in
this
clime.
"

             
Kit
glanced
at
Harry
and
said,
"
Perhaps,
sir,
but
it
requires
an
operator
such
as
he
behind
the
screen
to
make
it
work.
"

             
The
lieutenant
stared
at
the
screen
then
at
Harry
and
Kit
and
frowned.
Then
he
nodded,
"
Yes,
perhaps
the
wind
scoops
suffice
after
all.
"

***

             
Saying
farewell
to
Pieterzoon
proved
a
little
more
difficult.
Harry
had
come
to
enjoy
the
boy
'
s
company.
But
Pieterzoon
obviously
regarded
Harry
as
a
brother
and
seemed
to
realise
that
they
would
never
again
see
one
another.
He
shed
tears
he
manfully
tried
to
hide
in
the
presence
of
his
father
and
other
onlookers
touching
Harry
deeply
as
they
said
their
good
byes.
They
parted
with
an
exchange
of
small
gifts,
Harry
promising
to
write
from
time
to
time
if
he
got
a
reply.
Captain
de
Ruiter
had
been
very
generous
and
there
was
a
small
purse
and
a
fine
sextant
waiting
for
Harry
on
his
return
to
the
ship.
This
was
a
circumstance
which
embarrassed
him
immensely
especially
as
Eamon
Barclay
chose
to
make
a
noise
about
it.

             
He
wrote
a
polite
thank
you,
expressing
his
gratitude
for
the
gifts
and
his
hope
that
he
would
one
day
be
able
to
express
his
thanks
in
person.

***

             
The
Spartan
sailed
with
the
dawn,
threading
her
way
between
the
islands
and
thence
to
the
straits
leading
out
into
the
great
Indian
Ocean.
Shaping
her
course
for
the
Indian
Subcontinent,
the
Master
remarked,
"
Well,
the
mysterious
East
lies
all
about
us
and
from
what
little
we
have
seen
to
date
it
is
filled
with
heat,
insects
that
wish
to
consume
us
alive
and
the
seas
infested
with
pirates,
sharks
and
dangerous
reefs.
"
He
laughed.
"
Still
better
than
freezing
rain
and
gales
off
Brest!
"

             
"
Aye,
or
rotting
away
on
the
beach
as
so
many
of
our
friends
are
at
this
present,
"
retorted
the
Surgeon.

-

             
The
anchorage
at
Colombo
on
the
west
coast
of
the
island
marked
on
their
charts
as
Ceylon
was
thronged
with
shipping.