Bamboo Terror Read online

  Hazzard did not know it at the time, but his fears were groundless, and he would later feel ashamed at his quick damnation of the men that Chang had so carefully chosen.

  The men were long experienced at this type of jungle ambush. Not that the suddenness of it had not taken them by surprise, but at the instant of its happening, they knew at once what to do, and went about their business with a lethal thoroughness.

  Even as Hazzard was crawling forward in search of Lin, they had melted into the jungle. Now, they were appearing again as if by magic, singly and in pairs. The members of Chen's patrol became conscious of their presence only when their heads were jerked swiftly backwards and the cold sensation of razor sharp steel momentarily touched their throats to be followed quickly by the warm flow of blood and the sudden darkness of eternal night.

  Captain Chen listened to the diminishing fire from his left and became grimly aware that the enemy was moving silently through the thick undergrowth on his flanks and rear. There was only one thing to do; move forward across the clearing toward the spot where the foreigner had fallen. With him as a prisoner, perhaps the outlaw rabble would give up the fight and run away through the jungle.

  He gave the order and two men rose with him as he raced out into the clearing. The machine gunners watched them go and waited to give covering fire if it became necessary.

  A shot rang out. One of the soldiers behind Chen buckled without a sound and disappeared into the high grass. They came to the place where Hazzard had hit the ground. Chen cursed and raced on across the open space. Suddenly he was alone as one of Hazzard's men leaped up from the concealment of the grass and dragged the remaining soldier to the ground.

  Hazzard had reached the jungle, untied the boy's arms, and sat with Lin's head cradled in his leg. The boy still clutched the bush hat and watched Hazzard from behind his never ending grin. The wheezing from his lung was becoming more pronounced and hollow sounding.

  Lin licked his lips and tried to speak. Hazzard leaned over closely as faint words came from the boy's blood-decked mouth.

  "They . . . think . . . me . . . leader . . . they see . . . hat. . . they . . . think . . . me . . . leader. . . ."

  Hazzard looked down at the boy and realized that the dream of Lin had been fulfilled. To the boy, death was now nothing. He was dying content with the knowledge that he had accomplished his goal in life. He had earned the respect of the enemy as a leader. What greater proof was there than that they had shot him down with the first burst of gunfire? It was true that the leaders would always be fired at first. Lin was a leader, the enemy had proven it for ad to see.

  The shrill cry of one of the machine gunners pierced the jungle air as one of Hazzard's men faded to cut deep enough with the knife. Hazzard jerked his head up at the sound and saw before him the grinning face of Captain Chen.

  The sudden appearance of the communist officer startled Hazzard, but the fat, greasy face of Chen jolted an almost forgotten memory in the back of Hazzard's brain, and he sat staring in amazement.

  Chen knew that it would now be impossible to take Hazzard prisoner, and so he must die. He did not recognize Hazzard, the memory was lost among the jumble of long-forgotten foreign faces that had never been clearly imprinted upon his memory. He slowly raised his pistol to take careful aim, and mistaking the amazement on Hazzard's face for fear, he was not prepared for the sudden sideward lunge. He turned his body slightly to follow the movement, but he was that fraction of a second that stands between life and death too late.

  Captain Chen neither heard the deep sharp crack from Sam's angry muzzle, nor felt the .357 magnum slug when it entered just below his daring nostrils, went on to fill his brains with bits of finely ground bone, and lifted the top of his skull from his head as it made it's hurried exit to soar high above the trees to an unknown destination.

  Hazzard stood staring down at the lifeless form of Captain Chen. The eyes were open as though they had been startled by the sudden recognition of along-forgotten memory. Hazzard, too, was startled. Here before him lay the body of the man he remembered as Lieutenant Chen, the brutal interrogator of the Korean prisoner-of-war camps. He also recalled the oath he had sworn long ago, a terrible oath of vengeance. Now, his revenge completed by the unpredictable hand of providence, he felt neither elation nor remorse.

  His eyes fed upon the single red-and-yellow ribbon on Chen's tunic. Then, for some unknown reason, Hazzard reached down, unfastened it and put the ribbon in his pocket. Slowly he turned away from the leering face of what had once been the arrogant Captain Chen, and knelt beside the wounded boy.

  Hazzard would never know if Lin had seen the death of Captain Chen. The boy's eyes were closed now, and his face held the calm quiet look of those who pass from life in peace.

  The jungle was silent again, and Hazzard sat for a long time beside the boy before he became conscious of the movement behind him. He spun around to see three of his own men standing with a gagged and very frightened prisoner, and he relaxed. It was over now, this deadly business in the jungle. Silently they returned. There were only eight men now. One other, the man who had been directly behind Hazzard as they stepped into the clearing, had been hit by the first round of firing.

  Two of the enemy had been taken prisoner, the others lay where they had fallen, only their weapons and ammunition had been collected. Lin, the bush hat still held in his stiff, dead hands, and the other man were buried on the spot. It would have been impossible to carry the bodies for two days through the heat of the jungle.

  The prisoners were roped together, and they began the long silent march back to the village. Hazzard had tasted blood, but the result was not what he had expected. He had come to relieve his bitterness by gambling in the jungle. They had won, but he had forgotten that those who gamble must also be prepared to lose.

  18 An Eye for an Eye

  TWO DAYS after Hazzard had returned from the jungle patrol, Chang sent word that he wanted to see him in the villa. Hazzard had hoped to see Ling Ling, but Chang was alone in the heavily decorated room. The tall Chinese had just finished a long interview with the two prisoners. They had talked readily after being confronted by the terrible specter of Ming Lee, and now Chang sat at the long carved table with a troubled expression on his usually impassive face.

  "I knew it would come eventually. That patrol was part of a large force camped just twenty-five miles north of here. They were out trying to reconnoiter our defenses," Chang paused and looked unwavering into Hazzard's eyes. "You did not tell me that you killed the officer that was leading them. I do not suppose that it will be of much interest to you, but he was Captain Chen Shu Wen, a highly regarded member of the Chinese communist secret police."

  "Yes, I know," Hazzard commented indifferently.

  "You know?" said the incredulous Chang.

  "I knew Chen when he was only a ratty little lieutenant," explained Hazzard. "He was in charge of the brainwashing when I was a prisoner of war in Korea."

  Chang digested this for a moment and then went on to make his point. "It means that they are finally going to attempt to annihilate us completely. I am thankful that they have no air force or naval units to use against us."

  "And if they come," asked Hazzard. "What do you propose to do? Stand here and fight it out to the last man?"

  "No, that would be foolhardy," and going to a large cabinet, Chang withdrew a detailed map of the village area. "Here, I will show you. It is time you knew. I did not think it would become necessary to tell you, but it begins to look like you might be here when they come."

  He unrolled the map on the table before them. "This is a map of the village and the surrounding area," and he began to point out various details. "Each of the buildings is mined by a large charge of TNT, and various other charges have been planted in the compound, along the streets, and under this very house we are in now. They are all connected together by electric wires that are marked by these blue lines."

  Hazzard noted the positions of the many
charges and had the uneasy feeling of suddenly finding out that he had been living on top of a gigantic powder keg.

  "In the event we are attacked in force by land," continued Chang. "All refugees, women and children, and the sick and wounded will be immediately evacuated by sea. We will fight a delaying action from prepared positions—here, here, and here. When ad noncombatants have been evacuated, a red dare will be fired from the cliff above the inlet. This will be the signal for the majority of our troops to disengage and make their way to the boats. Small parties of soldiers will then retreat slowly back through the village. When they have reached the jungle on the far side, they will immediately break off the battle and retreat to the boats. As soon as the enemy has occupied the village, the buried charges will be set off electrically from a point, here, on top of the cliff."

  "That's quite a plan," commented Hazzard. "Do you have enough boats to take everyone?"

  "Yes, more than enough," said Chang. "We will even have to destroy about fifteen that we will not be able to take with us."

  "And where do you plan to go from here if you have to evacuate?" Hazzard asked.

  "That is something I cannot ted even you," replied Chang. "Only Ling Ling Yung and myself know. But be assured, we have chosen a very excellent place for a new base of operations."

  "Let us hope that we shad discover the informer who is in our midst, before we are forced to abandon this village," said the voice of Ling Ling Yung, and Hazzard jerked his head around to see her standing behind his chair. He realized that she must have quietly entered the room while he was absorbed in Chang's explanation of the evacuation plan.

  Chang came to Hazzard's defense. "I am sure that Mr. Hazzard has been doing his best to find the . . ."

  "I do not doubt Mr. Hazzard's capabilities," said Ling Ling as she cut off Chang's protest. She tilted her head and smiled down at Hazzard. "We have done nothing constructive to help him. How can we expect someone to assemble a difficult puzzle if we do not give him enough pieces to work with. This informer, whoever he is, is indeed very skillful, but I am sure that he will eventually be discovered. It is only that I desire to find out who this person is before it is too late." She paused and went to gaze out through the glass-paneled doors. "If only there were some way to set a trap, . . ." she said half to herself.

  The words echoed in Hazzard's brain. A trap! He should have thought of it before. It was the only logical solution. Now, time was fast running out on them. It would have to be done quickly. It might not even work.

  "You still need that ammunition that Sturmer tried to get, don't you?" asked Hazzard.

  Chang looked puzzled. "Yes, but . . ."

  "There must be more than one ammo dump along the coast that could be raided," said Hazzard. "Where's that map you have that shows ad their locations?"

  "Wait!" said Ling Ling. "I will permit no one to leave here on another mission until the spy has been caught."

  Hazzard looked at her and smiled. "No one is going anywhere—yet." Then turning to Chang, "Could I see the map?"

  Chang paused as he looked at Ling Ling Yung, then going to the cabinet, he brought back the large map of the coastal area and spread it across the table.

  Hazzard leaned over the map. "Now, show me where these other small arms depots are located, and then maybe I'll tell you how we just might catch our spy."

  Chang explained the locations of the various ammunition dumps, answered Hazzard's questions, and then both he and Ling Ling Yung listened while Hazzard outlined the plan that had begun to grow in his mind.

  "I want you to call a meeting and inform everyone that I will be taking a raiding party to the small seaport of Apowan, to raid the small arms depot there. You'll have to call the meeting tonight and announce that I will be leaving the day after tomorrow—let's say about nine at night."

  Ling Ling started to protest again, but Hazzard raised his hand. "Wait until I've finished, then I don't think you will have any objections," he told her, and then continued.

  "From past experience, our spy, whoever he is, will pass the information on to his commie buddies. By announcing our plans forty-eight hours in advance, it will give them plenty of time to set up an ambush—and I'm almost positive that our friend Hanoi Harry will be on the air with it sometime tomorrow night on his seven or eleven o'clock broadcast. We'll get everyone together at the quarters and listen."

  "What good will ad this do?" broke in Chang.

  "You haven't let me finish," smiled Hazzard. "As soon as we hear our friend in Hanoi ted us that they have set up an ambush, I will announce to everyone that I am not going north to Apowan, but instead, south to Fhu-Dien."

  "This is very interesting," remarked Chang. "It will throw the enemy into confusion for a short time, but they will still have twenty-four hours to inform their people at Fhu-Dien of our change in plans."

  "Exactly," said Hazzard.

  "But I do not see how this will help us to catch the spy . . ."

  Hazzard leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face. "If you were the spy, Mr. Chang, what would be your first reaction after I announce my change in plans?"

  Chang spoke without hesitation. "I would have to relay this new information to Hanoi as quickly as possible."

  "And that's just what I am hoping for," said Hazzard. "I am going to try and force his hand. He will have to get the new information out in a hurry, and when he moves, he might give himself away. His cover has been excellent so far—it's just about time he started getting careless."

  Ling Ling regarded Hazzard with anxious eyes. "Then you will not go to either place?" she asked.

  Hazzard grinned. "No, why should I? I wasn't hired to go out and capture supplies for you. I was hired to find a spy. So far I haven't earned my keep, but by tomorrow, maybe I'd have earned the rest of my fee."

  Later that night Doctor Kelly, Maurice, Hazzard and Ling Ling Yung sat at the long teakwood table and listened to Chang outline the details of the raid.

  ". . . and if all goes wed," concluded Chang. "Mr. Hazzard should be back here just before dawn on the following day."

  Maurice shook his head in disgust. "I still theenk eet eez crazy idea. You see what 'appen to Sturmer."

  "There is no possible way for this information to leak out," said Chang. "Only the five of us know about this."

  "Nobody else knew about Sturmer either," commented Kelly.

  There was a long period of silence, and then Chang asked, "Do any of you have anything else you would like to say?" No one spoke. "Then it is settled. Mr. Hazzard will leave here the day after tomorrow at nine in the evening with two motor sampans and forty men. Maurice, you will make sure that the sampans are fueled and ready to go, and do it without making the crews ask too many questions."

  Maurice shrugged his shoulders. "Oui, I weel do zis, but I steel do not like eet."

  Chang rolled up the map and placed it back in the cabinet. The door opened and Wong came in with a large tray covered with cups and a pot of tea.

  "Tea? Bah! Too much tannic acid is bad for the stomach," growled Kelly as he took a cup from Wong, and raising it, he glanced around the room. "To the brave, but very foolish Mr. Hazzard."

  Hazzard drank with the rest, and wondered just how foolish his idea was. He would know in just about twenty-four hours.

  The next day Hazzard took his men out for a session in hand-to-hand combat. He had been there for about two hours, sprawled out in the shade of a large banyan tree, watching the men throw each other about the sand pit, when Chang came along the path from the village and sat down beside him.

  Neither of them spoke for about ten minutes. Chang appeared to be nervous over something, but Hazzard decided to conform to the old Oriental custom of patience, and wait for the Chinese to open the conversation.

  Finally, Chang spoke. "Do you think this plan of yours will work?"

  "I don't know," Hazzard replied honestly. "But if I was your spy, it would work on me." He paused and looked sideways at Chang. "Wh
at are you so worried about? It's not costing us anything to try."

  "It is not that," said Chang. "It is the knowledge that a large force of heavily armed men are camped on our very doorstep, and they could attack us at any moment."

  "Why don't you send out some men and harass them?" suggested Hazzard. "That might discourage them for a while."

  "I have learned from the two prisoners that their strength is four full companies," Chang told him. "That means there are over one thousand armed men. It would be suicide to send small parties against them. We could never catch them by surprise. They are probably sitting and waiting for us to do just what you suggest.

  Hazzard shrugged his shoulders. "What else did you learn from the prisoners?"

  "They were the ones who ambushed Herr Sturmer and his raiding party at Thai-Binh."

  "Oh? That's interesting."

  "More interesting than you think," said Chang, and he related to Hazzard the grisly details surrounding the deaths of the men that Chen had captured at Thai-Binh.

  Hazzard's blood boded as he listened to the story. If anyone had ever deserved to die, it had been Chen. It was too bad that the fat, greasy little Chinese had been dispatched so quickly and cleanly. For people like Chen it would be better if death could be slow and agonizing, stretched out over a period of days—even weeks. Hazzard had had no choice. It had happened too swiftly and without planning. He wondered what he would have done if he had taken Chen alive.

  "So you can see, Mr. Hazzard, why I am concerned about the presence of a large force of communists troops," concluded Chang. "I do not wish any of the people here to fall into their hands. It would not be pleasant."

  "And with an unknown spy running around here freely, it sort of gives them the upper hand," added Hazzard. "Wed, Chang, you come over tonight, and well ad listen to old Hanoi Harry together. If he says what I think he'll say, then we've got a good chance of catching our spy tonight," And to himself he added the words, 'I hope.'