Bing Gananda 14

9 In the Jungle

Pandurina crept though the jungle with Bing Gananda on her back. Bing was angry. She knew that Gala Gania didn't like her, but this was too much. Now she was banished from her Holt !
"Come with me to my den, Bing." Pandurina said comforting her, as they moved silently among the trees.
Bing Gananda could see a slight hint of the coming dawn in the east. Then Pan stopped. Someone stood in their path. It was the eldest of the Eld again.
"Where are you going, Bing Gananda?"
She could not be angry with him. He had had no part in her banishment. And she was a little in awe of him. He seemed to know her. She wondered how he had found her.
"I will go with Pandurina," she answered.
"Ah, a loyal friend." But now he was speaking to the Shadocatch.
Bing was amazed when Pan replied to him. They were not Blood, were they?
"Bing Gananda is my friend!"
"And, a good friend is worth keeping, Pandurina. Keep her safe."
Now he spoke again to Bing Gananda.
"I too, have been to the mountain, and I too am Blood with Kurura the Terrible. You are a brave one, Bing Gananda. Beware of these men and their ship. They are not all evil, but this is not their world."
Then, he was gone. Only a slight glow remained.


Tindor had brought the Bos'n back into the jungle with him. Jackson was starting to recover his strength.
"What happened out there?"
"It was Grinder and Roper. They came at us with cutlasses. The captain's pistol misfired, and they killed him, and Billy too. Me, I went over the side."
Tindor was quiet for a time. Finally he said,
"Then... they have the ship."
"Aye."
"It's Martin. They killed Spitzer, I saw it."
They were silent for a while. Finally Tindor asked,
"Who's left, Jack?"
"Just you, and me."
"What do we do now?"
"I don't know, Sam."
Tindor thought for a while. It was beginning to get light.
"We need to get away from this beach," he said. "I don't like this jungle much, but we need to get away from here. And we'll need to find some water."
They got up, and began to push their way warily though the thick foliage, back into the jungle.


As it grew light, Grinder and Roper set out for the beach in the Jolly Boat. Martin and Hull met them at the shore.
"How'd it go?' Martin asked. "Who's left?"
"We got Daniels, Billy, and the Captain. The cook's with us."
"What about Jackson?"
They hesitated before answering. Then Roper told him,
"He went over the side."
"Then he got away."
"I don't know what happened to him."
Martin was angry.
"He got away!"
"Maybe he drowned."
Then Hull said,
"It doesn't matter anyway. We have the ship, and the crew."
Grinder asked,
"What about Mr. Tindor?"
"We don't know. He went off by himself last night and nobody's seen him since."
"He's harmless, don't worry about him. He may already be dead."
Then Martin said,
"To hell with them both. Get the boys together. Let's get this ship back in shape."
"Aye, Captain."
Martin smiled. He had his ship, and the world was waiting.


After a time of struggling though the thick vegetation, Tindor and Jackson finally found a small stream and lay down to rest. They had no idea where they were. Jackson's thoughts went back to the time on board the brig, just before the mutiny.
"Sam," he asked, "did you see anything strange before all the trouble started?"
He was thinking of those weird lights they had seen on the island.
"What do you mean, strange?"
"From the ship, we saw some kind of lights, moving around on the island. They looked a lot like moonlight, or... (spirits came to mind) ...I don't know what."
"Where? I didn't see anything here."
"Back in the jungle, near the mountain.
When Tindor didn't answer, he said,
"The Captain was right about this place."

*Bing Gananda may also be found in the sidebar, at the right.