Bing Gananda 29

17 A Cutlass and Blood


As the sun rose, it began to burn off the remaining fog. Four men stood together on the beach. Hull was the leader. With him were Isaac, Ben and Ed. They were the only survivors. Except for Tindor. He was somewhere on this island, and they needed to find him. He was the only one left who knew how to navigate. And they wanted off of this dammed island.
Tindor knew they were looking for him, and he was determined not to go. He saw that Bing Gananda was still sleeping in Pandurina's den. She would sleep all day, he was sure.
He needed to find a place to hide. A place where he could also keep watch. And he needed a weapon. There were plenty of those back at the shipwreck, but that was also where the sailors were. He decided to go back. Perhaps the men were gone by now.

It was not far. Tindor took a careful look from the edge of the jungle. The beach looked deserted. The ship was not far from shore. It looked as if one could wade out to what was left of it. Tindor Stepped out from his cover, and began to run across the sand, toward the wreck.
But he stopped suddenly when he saw some movement on the beach. There were a number of bodies laying together in the sun. He had thought them all dead, but one had raised his arm.
Tindor walked slowly toward him, stopping to pick up a piece of wreckage to use as a club. But he did not need it. He found Martin, lying helpless, begging for water. Tindor had none.
"Mr Tindor," Martin said, "Kill me, please!"
"Kill you?"
"Kill me. I can't move anymore. I just want to die."
Tindor would have liked to do it. Martin was responsible for everything that had happened. But he was no murderer. And, that would be letting him off too easy.
Instead, he went to the other corpses. Finally he found what he had been looking for. He held up a cutlass, and walked back toward Martin.
If Martin was expecting to get his wish, he was disappointed. Tindor walked past him and back into the jungle.
He hefted the cutlass, and swung it around a bit. He had done a bit of fencing at school, and was rather good at it. But this was a different sort of weapon. Yet, he was sure it could be effective.
As he moved carefully through the thick foliage, he began to feel uneasy. Then there was a sudden fear, and an incredible urge to find Bing Gananda. Tindor broke into a run, and started for Pandurina's den, and Bing Gananda.


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