Bing Gananda 15

10 A Lion

Pandurina's den was a hollow beneath the roots of a great tree, cool and well hidden. Bing Gananda curled up beside the Shadocatch and was soon asleep. It had been a long night. And she hadn't slept much the day before. She had a mind to have another look at the men on the beach, but for now, it could wait.

The exhausted Bos'n was fast asleep. Tindor sat watching him. Jackson had lost his shoes in the water while swimming for his life, and his feet were already bruised and bleeding. They had nothing to eat, and no weapons. But they had found water.
Tindor was tired himself, but too uneasy to sleep. He jumped at every new sound. At times, in the distance, he thought he could hear the mutineers. As the day wore on, his eyes grew heavy. Eventually, he succumbed, and fell into a fitful sleep.

The sailors were busy. The Ship's Carpenter was directing the repairs. He had not been happy about the turn of events, but he could see which way the wind was blowing, and would make the best of things.
The repairs would take several days at best, perhaps as much as a fortnight. But there was no need to hurry. "Captain" Martin was planning to send a party out to forage for some fresh food. Surely there was game somewhere on the island. And they would need fresh fruit if possible. The Carpenter needed some timber too.
Hull was Martin's new Mate. He was taking some of the sailors to shore with the longboat, to see what they could find. As the men were getting ready to go ashore, Roper took Hull off to the side.
"Hull," he said, "Did anybody see anything strange last night?"
"Strange? What are you talking about?"
"Oh, nothing." Then he added hesitantly, "It's just... From the ship... Well..."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"There were these lights" Roper said in a low voice. "We saw them on shore."
"Lights?"
"Aye, kind of like the moon itself, but out there in the jungle."
"Well, we saw nothing." Hull told him. But he glanced at the island uneasily.


Tomono, the Shadocatch, moved noiselessly though the Jungle. Like most of the Shadocatch, he preferred to hunt at night. But there had been a lot of activity among the Lithorians, and now he was curious. There was a new scent in the air. It was like nothing he knew, and it was nearby.
Tindor woke with a start. It took a moment for his eyes to focus. There was a huge cat staring at him. He was afraid to move.
Then Tomono spoke. Tindor was sure the big cat was speaking, but he couldn't understand a thing. Then with a swish of his tail, Tomono sprang back into the jungle.
Tindor sat in shock for some time. This creature must have been what Jackson had seen the day before. It was a cat of some kind. But like none he'd ever seen. And he was sure it had tried to talk to him. Or was it all a dream?
It looked to be about a yard tall at the shoulders, and was covered with long, thick fur. The color was a pattern of light and dark grey. He had expected it to attack at first. But it had spoken instead. What kind of creatures inhabited this place, he wondered.


Tomono moved noiselessly away from the men. Here was something new. They resembled the Lithorians, but were much larger. He wondered if they were dangerous. He was not surprised that they couldn't understand his speech. It would take Blood for that. He wondered if they had met the Lithorians yet. They must be what had stirred up the Lithorians. He would leave them alone for now.
As he circled back toward his den, he heard something approaching noisily though the jungle. He crouched down and waited. It was another group of the men. They were talking loudly among themselves, oblivious to their surroundings. They were coming right at him.
The leader was only a half dozen paces from the cat when he saw him. His eyes shot open and he dropped his cutlass in panic. He jumped backward and fell over Grinder who was right behind him.
Tomono reared up and leaped over the fallen men, and bounded away into the jungle. One of the sailors belatedly fired his musket at nothing in particular.
"What the hell was that?" one asked once he had recovered.
"A bloody lion," another answered.
The men gathered close together, watching the jungle warily. Grinder angrily pushed the fallen man off of him, and struggled to his feet.
"What was it?" he asked. He had not gotten a look at it himself.
"A damned lion!"
"Big as a house!"
"There are no lions on these islands," Grinder said, half to convince himself.
For a moment he remembered those weird lights of the night before. But this was broad daylight. It was only some animal he told himself as he calmed down. And probably, not that dangerous. After all, it had run away. It was too bad they hadn't shot it for the meat.
But the men were spooked. They wanted to go back to the beach. At least there they could see what was around them. They were men of the sea. This dense and twisted vegetation seemed like a deathtrap to them.
But now they were confused. In the excitement they had gotten turned around. No one was sure which direction they had come from, and everything looked the same.
An argument broke out. Finally Grinder drew his pistol, and threatened to shoot. Then, he chose a direction, and started for the beach- he hoped.


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